It is no coincidence that the states with the most militant Hindutva groups also happen to be electoral strongholds of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Telangana presents a strange exception to this trend, where the influence of Hindutva activism on public life exceeds the BJP’s power in elected bodies. At no time of the year is this Hindutva influence more apparent than during the annual Eid Al-Adha or Bakrid festival, when cow protection groups run amok on the state’s highways, in search of vehicles carrying cattle headed for ceremonial slaughter.
There has been a slew of incidents over the years where Hindutva vigilantes have harassed and attacked Muslim cattle transporters, often with the assistance of the police. This in a state where an avowedly secular Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is in power with informal support from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Interestingly, attacks by cow vigilantes have gone up by all accounts ever since the BRS and its informal ally, the AIMIM, came to call the shots in the newly formed state in 2014. This year, things have come to such a pass that a Muslim vigilante had to threaten a counterattack for the police to finally protect hapless traders from the cow protectors.
On June 16, Friday, Mohd Mushtaq, a local truck driver from Hyderabad, set off in his Ashok Leyland trolley to transport four oxen from Zaheerabad district (bordering Bidar in Karnataka), which is about 100 kilometres away, to the city. With Bakrid just about two weeks away (falling on June 29 this year), he knew that his odds of running into trouble were high, and his worst fears came true. Just before Mushtaq was about to enter Hyderabad near Patancheru (around 30 km away from the city), self-styled cow vigilantes or gau rakshaks began chasing him. Things could have gone very badly from there, but he had a lucky escape.
Mushtaq received help from Amjed Ullah Khan, who heads the Majilis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), a Hyderabad-based Muslim political party that aids Muslims targeted by Hindutva groups. Warning cow vigilantes of repercussions, Khan had been making statements over the last few weeks daring them to disrupt the cattle trade. His statements, which created a ripple, appear to have had an effect on the police, who have been clamping down on militant activities of Hindutva groups such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal to avoid clashes.
“In our case, because we called Amjed Ullah Khan, the police reached our location soon and ensured our safety. But I was forced to pay Rs 2000 to one of the gau rakshaks who said we can ‘quietly’ settle the matter, before the police arrived,” Mushtaq told TNM. Other cattle traders in Hyderabad also have similar tales to tell. Most often than not, drivers run away after being stopped by cow vigilantes due to fear of violence…
This story was originally published in thenewsminute.com. Read the full story here
