BJP’s cow protection Bill goes against Assam’s syncretic traditions

(Representative image)

Days after its second consecutive win in Assam, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems hell-bent on introducing a cow protection Bill in the multi-ethnic Northeastern state. The outlandish move, if one may call it, has sparked a controversy as it goes against Assam’s syncretic traditions. Many took to social media, expressing shock and slammed the Himanta Biswa Sarma government for importing what they called ‘the cow-belt culture’.

As of now, there is no legal prohibition on consumption of beef in Assam. The Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950 allows slaughter of cattle above 14 years of age with a proper certificate by a veterinary practitioner showing that the cattle is unfit for work or breeding.

Assam was among a handful BJP-ruled states in Northeast which have until now avoided implementing the party’s hardcore Hindu nationalist policies such as beef ban, mostly seen in ‘mainland India’. It was a conscious decision of the saffron party not to talk about anything related to food habits after its historic victory in the 2016 assembly polls.

The BJP had come to power promising a ‘poriborton’ (change) from what it called the corruption and mis-governance during the 15 years of Congress rule. To strike an emotional chord with the people of Assam, it promised to fulfil major issues such as illegal immigration, Clause 6 of Assam Accord, flood and erosion, tribal status to six ethnic communities, among others.

Very soon the party made deep inroads into tribal pockets winning key tribal council polls with its allies. To achieve this, the BJP had to go soft on its hardcore Hindu nationalist agenda given that the Hindus in Assam do not practice a monolithic theology unlike other parts of India.

Over the centuries, the state’s religious practices and rituals had evolved from animism and tribal cults, a portion of which had undergone some churning after 15th-16th century saint-scholar Sankardev introduced certain socio-religious reforms. Many indigenous communities in Assam, which identify themselves as Hindus, have distinct religio-spiritual practices.

It is also pertinent to mention that there is no distinct ‘cow worshipping’ tradition in Assam, although cows, bulls and buffaloes are an inalienable part of the state’s agrarian socio-cultural life. Even Assam’s prime festival, Rogali Bihu, celebrates this secular tradition of showing love and care for the bovines.

Needless to say, the BJP’s sole project has been to win elections and expand its base in as many states as possible. Replicating its cow-belt formula in the tribal-dominated Northeast would have hampered its reach in the region which is home to a sizeable Christian population, besides Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. This is the reason, why the BJP had stayed away from openly saying anything that would have antagonised its allies in the Northeast.

Ironically, it was ‘master strategist’ Sarma who as convener of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) was instrumental in expanding BJP’s footprint in the Northeast. Now, after becoming Chief Minister, he is pushing for a cow protection Bill in Assam, the gateway to the Northeast that is known for its distinct culinary practices.

However, one may be left wondering as to why is the BJP doing this in Assam now?

The answer is simple — the stage is being set for upcoming elections. The BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is known for underplaying or overplaying certain policies keeping polls in mind. For instance, the party had kept mum on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) during Assam elections, given it had angered the Assamese civil society and indigenous organisations, leading to massive protests. However, the same BJP overplayed the CAA in the West Bengal elections.

Now, to make up for the losses in West Bengal, the party needs to focus its attention elsewhere. The 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections will be a real test if the saffron party can repeat its 2017 performance or not.

It goes without saying that religious polarisation has helped the BJP increase its electoral gains in cow-belt states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana. Incidentally, these are the states which witnessed the highest number of incidents of cow vigilante violence and resultant deaths and injuries.

According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, at least 44 people — 36 of them Muslims — were killed across 12 states, including UP, MP, Rajasthan, Haryana, between May 2015 and December 2018.

Nevertheless, the BJP would not hesitate to push its polarising agenda ahead of the UP polls. To convince its supporters and potential voters in UP, the party will have to show its commitment to the hardcore agenda of cow protection and beef ban, and hence the Assam experiment. The possibility of more such restrictive legislation in Assam and elsewhere cannot be ruled out either.

Winning UP, which sends the highest number of lawmakers to Parliament, is of paramount importance for BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. That gives the background to why the law is now being pushed in Assam. It is yet to be seen how civil society organisations in Assam, which want Sarma to focus on finding solutions to all major pending issues, react to this divisive Bill.