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Of Cows, Men and Murder

[email protected] (Agencies)
May 7, 2017

The reprehensible acts by cow vigilantes seem to be going on unhindered. Some incidents have happened right in front of the police, who have turned a blind eye.

vigilantes

Despite the Centre issuing an advisory last year on the action to be taken by the state governments over such incidents, not much has changed on the ground. This has only emboldened self-styled cow protectors to have a free run.

A big concern is that most of the attacks have taken place in the BJP-ruled states, and as the saffron juggernaut rolls on election after election, the future could be unpredictable.

Uttar Pradesh

Noida, May 5, 2017

Two contact workers, assumed to be Muslims, thrashed for “cow smuggling”

Dadri, September 28, 2015 (The trigger)

* Mohd Akhlaq (52), son Danish dragged out of their house, beaten with bricks for storing and eating beef

* Akhlaq dies, Danish suffers severe injuries

* Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath bans cow slaughter after taking over in March

* Orders sealing of illegal slaughterhouses, triggering protests

Jammu & Kashmir

Udhampur, Oct 9, 2015

* Truck attacked with petrol bombs after rumours of it carrying dead cows

* Driver succumbs to injuries 10 days later

* Seven held for murder

Reasi, April 20, 2017

* Nomadic family with livestock intercepted

* Family, including nine-year-old girl, beaten with iron rods

* Four arrested and charged with attempt to murder

Cow slaughter or possession of its meat in J&K is criminal offence carrying jail term of not less than 10 years (now also in Gujarat)

Haryana

* Beef is banned, 10-year punishment for cow slaughter

* “Beef biryani policing” -- police squads check random eateries for selling beef

Faridabad, June 10, 2016

* Gau Rakshak Dal members stop beef transporters

* Force them to eat cow dung

Rajasthan

Alwar, April 1, 2017

* 50-year-old dairy farmer Pehlu Khan dies after vigilantes beat him up for transpoting cows; four others injured

* 7 arrested, but none who were named in FIR

* Vipin Yadav, an accused, was compared to Bhagat Singh by cow vigilante Sadhvi Kamal

Has a dedicated Cow Welfare Department, but 2,000 cows died in state-owned shelters due to negligence

Delhi

Kalkaji, April 22, 2017

* Three youths beaten up by around 25 men, said to be members of People for Animal, for transporting buffaloes

* Youth were en route to municipal slaughter house

* Cops arrested the youth first, attackers later

Kerala House, Oct 26, 2015

* Delhi Police raid Kerala House after complaints that beef was being served

* Hindu Sena claims it received a tip off

* The menu, it claims, has all items in English, except one which is in Malayalam

Gujarat

Una, July 11, 2016

* Four Dalit youths stripped, tied to an SUV and beaten up for skinning dead cow

* But CID report says cows were killed by lions

* Video of incident posted on social media with warning

Punjab

* Case filed on August 6, 2014, against Gau Raksha Dal after a video showing members brutally thrashing “cow smugglers”, went viral

*Dal chief Satish Kumar arrested from Vrindavan on Aug 22, 2016, after being booked on charges of sodomy, rioting and extortion

Telangana

* Struggle against Al kabir and Allanna mechanical slaughter houses of Medak district (earlier undivided AP) has been going on for long

* 'Gau Rakshaks' keep vigil on trucks that carry bovines and raid them

* Such raids result in communal tension, particularly during Bakrid

Andhra Pradesh

East Godavari, Aug 10, 2016

* Two Dalits who were skinning a dead cow were brutally beaten by locals

* Farmers who were searching for their missing cows mistook the duo as cow thieves, tied them to a tree and thrashed them

* 7 arrests were made in the case

Maharashtra

Senior BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha seeks capital punishment for slaughtering cows and bulls

Jharkhand

Latehar, March 18, 2016

* Two Muslim men found hanging from a tree

* Mazlum Ansari (32) was a cattle trader; Imteyaz Khan (13) was the son of a cattle trader

Karnataka

Chikkamagalur, July 17, 2016

Seven Bajrang Dal members attack a Dalit family on suspicion of cattle theft and cow slaughter

Madhya Pradesh

Mandsaur, July 26, 2016

* Two Muslim women carrying buffalo meat slapped, kicked and abused by women members of Hindu Dal on suspicion that it was beef

* Police accused of making half-hearted attempts to intervene

Kerala

Surprisingly, for April 12 Malappuram Lok Sabha bypoll, BJP candidate N Sreeprakash promised “clean slaughterhouses for good beef”

Ernakulam, April 19, 2017

Eight RSS activists were arrested in connection with an attack on a house where a calf was slaughtered for Easter

Assam

Nangaon, May 1, 2017:

Two men lynched for “trying to steal cows” in a village, 130 km from Guwahati

Manipur

Imphal East, Nov 3, 2015

Headmaster of govt madrasa killed for “stealing cows” from his neighbouring village

What the Constitution says...

Article 48 (Directive Principles)

Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry: The state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Govt advisory of August 9, 2016

* States are enjoined upon and expected to ensure that any person who takes law into his/her own hands is dealt with promptly, and punished as per law

* There should be no tolerance at all for such persons and full majesty of law must come to bear on them, without exception

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Agencies
March 14,2020

New Delhi, Mar 14: Excise duty on petrol and diesel was on Saturday hiked by ₹3 per litre as the government looked to mop up gains arising from fall in international oil prices.

Special excise duty on petrol was hiked by ₹2 to ₹8 per litre incase of petrol and to Rs 4 incase of diesel, an official notification said.

Additionally, road cess on petrol was raised by ₹1 per litre each on petrol and diesel to ₹10.

The increase in excise duty would in normal course result in a hike in petrol and diesel prices but most of it would be adjusted against the fall in rates that would have necessitated because of slump in international oil prices.

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Agencies
May 30,2020

The GST Council is unlikely to make major changes in the indirect tax structure at its next meeting slated mid June.

A top government source said that the Centre is not in favour of increasing tax rates on any goods or service as it could further impact consumption and demand that is already suppressed due the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

It was widely expected that the GST Council could consider raising tax rates and cess on certain non-essential items to boost revenue for states and the Centre. Several states have reportedly taken an over 80-90 per cent hit in GST collections in April, the official data for which has not yet been released by the Centre.

"The need of the hour is to boost consumption and improve demand. By categorising items into essential and non-essential and then raising taxes on non-essential is not what Centre favours. But, the issue on rates and relief will be decided by the GST Council that is meeting next month," the finance ministry official source quoted above said.

The GST Council is chaired by the Union finance minister and thus the views of the Centre play out strongly in the council meetings.

However, the Council will also have to balance the expectations of the states whose revenues have nosedived after the coronavirus outbreak and wide scale disruption to businesses while they have still not been paid GST compensation since the December-January period.

To the question of wider scale job losses in the period of lockdown as businesses get widely impacted, the official said that the Finance Ministry has asked the labour ministry to collect data on job losses during Covid-19 and is constantly engaging with the ministry to oversee job losses and salary cuts.

On restrictions put on Chinese investment in India, the official clarified that no decision had yet been taken to restrict China through the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route.

Asked about monetising government debt, the official said that the issue would be looked at when we reach a stage. It has not come to that stage yet.

In the government's over Rs 20 lakh crore economic package, the official defended its structure while suggesting that comparisons with the economic packages of other countries should not be drawn as India's needs were different from others.

"We have gone in more reforms that is needed to give strength to the economy. This is required more in our country," the official source said.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: Google on Sunday marked India's 71st Republic Day by dedicating a doodle illustrating the country's rich cultural heritage that permeates and unites the diverse nation.

From its world-famous landmarks like the Taj Mahal and India Gate, to the wide array of fauna such as its national bird (the Indian peafowl), to classical arts, textiles, and dances, the doodle, designed by Singapore-based artist Meroo Seth, brings together the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Republic Day marks the completion of India's transition towards becoming an independent republic after its constitution came into effect. The governing document had taken nearly three years of careful deliberation to finalise, and its eventual enactment was joyfully celebrated across the country.

While the Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, it came into effect on January 26 -- a day when Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress back in 1929, as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime.

Festivities embody the essence of diversity found in one of the world's most populous nations, celebrated over a three-day period with cultural events displaying national pride.

Last year's doodle on Republic Day, designed by artist Reshidev RK, had featured Rashtrapati Bhavan in the background along with a display of the country's iconic monuments and heritage.

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