Cow Must Be Declared National Animal And Should Be Protected Under Fundamental Rights: Allahabad HC

"The fundamental right is not only the prerogative of beef eaters. Rather, those who worship the cow and are financially dependent on them also have the right to lead a purposeful life": Allahabad HC

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While denying bail to Javed, who has been accused of cow slaughter, Allahabad High Court observed that the cow should be declared 'national animal' and its protection 'must be made a fundamental right.'

The court said on Wednesday that the country becomes weak, when the country's culture and its faith get hurt. In a 12-page judgement, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav noted that the applicant had stolen the cow, killed it, and also kept its meat. 

"This is not the first offence of the applicant. Earlier also, he had committed cow slaughter which had disturbed the harmony of the society. The fundamental right is not only the prerogative of beef eaters. Rather, those who worship the cow and are financially dependent on them also have the right to lead a purposeful life. The right to life is above the right to kill and the right to eat beef can never be considered a fundamental right."

The court said, "The government will also have to bring a bill in Parliament and declare cows the national animal and make strict laws against those who talk about harming them. Laws should come for those also who talk about cow protection by making cowsheds, etc., but have nothing to do with cow protection. Their only aim is to earn money in the name of cow protection."

"There are hundreds of examples in our country that whenever we forgot our 'sanskriti' (culture), the foreigners attacked us and made us slaves. Even today, if we do not wake up, then we should not forget the autocratic Taliban invasion and occupation of Afghanistan," the court observed.

Emphasising the historicity of the cow slaughter ban, the court said, "It is not that only Hindus have understood the importance of cows, Muslim rulers have also considered the cow an important part of India's culture during their reign. Babur, Humayun and Akbar had banned cow slaughter in their religious festivals. Mysore's ruler Hyder Ali had made cow slaughter a cognisable offence."