When rivers of blood flow to show how human we have become!

Smuggling of cattle from India to Bangladesh through porous borders may be illegal but slaughtering the same animals on the behest of religion to the extent of wasting their blood on to the streets where the streets turn red due to slaughter of humanity invites no punishment and is fully legal. This act portrays the epitome of humanity in modern times.

On the auspicious occasion of  Eid al- Adha, rainwater flowed on the roads of Dhaka and flooded many areas of the capital as it got mixed with the blood to create an unusual and disturbing scene; it appeared as though there were red rivers running across the city. Citizens have strongly criticized the two city corporations in charge of cleaning the sacrificial waste for this situation.

People from every corner of the country started to comment on this disturbing riot of Animal Slaughter. Many questioned that the Corporations like McDonalds', KFC, etc. are selling meat to earn profit and all love them, Muslims sacrifice the goat to feed the poor, and are questioned. Equally, it is true that Hindus, both of lower and upper castes, in many parts of India do eat beef. Nevertheless, Hindu religious sensibilities involving cows have led to riots and controversies. Over the past year, cow vigilantes have beaten up people engaged in transporting cows and beef. One of the reasons beef has become a political issue is also because the cow vigilantes form the support base of a political party.

Numerous numbers of cattle's are being slaughtered in the name of GOD in the renowned two-day festival of Nepal, Gadhimai Mela Festival, which takes place at the Gadhimai temple about 100 miles south of Kathmandu. This practice is performed to honour a Hindu Goddess. According to PETA, who opposes the practice, more than 2, 50,000 were slaughtered in the year 2009.

There is another reason. Unlike small animals, like goats that count as one sacrifice on Eid al-Adha big animals like cows and camels are counted as seven sacrifices and costs are shared by seven persons. Since camels are not easily available, cows are preferred by poor Muslims.

Animals are sacrificed by Hindus in all parts of India, mainly at temples of Goddesses such as Bhavani or Kali.The Rajput of Rajasthan offer a sacrifice of buffalo or goat to their family Goddess during the festival of Navaratri. The ritual requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage for young men. In southern part of India the sacrifice is done in front of Local Deities or Clan Deities. The ritual involves most caste members of the village with each caste performing different roles.

Religion, a method of guiding human behaviour by setting certain norms to regulate the society and make life easier and more balanced for an individual was, never meant to lose the essence of humanity. But this has taken an altogether different turn!

–Ritu Raj Boruah

(riturajboruah48@gmail.com)

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(The opinion expressed in this article are the writer's own and TNT- The Northeast Today may or may not hold the same views)