A minister in India’s ruling Hindu nationalist government has stoked controversy by stating people who study in a missionary school in India go abroad and eat beef.
In his speech at 'Shrimad Bhagwat Katha Gyan Yagna' event in his constituency, India’s Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, Mr Giriraj Singh called upon schools to teach Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Hindu scripture and Hauman Chalisa (a hymn in praise of Hindu god, Hanuman) to help prevent children drifting away from traditional values.
“There must be a recital of one shloka (hymn) from the Gita in schools…we send our child to a mission school, he clears IIT… and becomes a doctor, engineer, collector or SP. But when he goes abroad, most of them start eating beef. It is because we did not give him Sanskar (values) and Sanskriti (culture). We are happy with his package but we fail to give him the teachings to become Shravan Kumar*,” the minister said.
The Minister said a random survey of households had found that only 15 households had copies of Hanuman Chalisa and even fewer households had Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana.
“I would like to say to people present here, this practice should start from the private schools since, at government-run ones, we run the risk of inviting accusations of imposing the 'bhagwa' (saffron) agenda," he said.
The Minister’s comments came under heavy criticism online.
Cow: India’s political animal
Cows are considered holy by Hindus and revered like a mother. The animal is also worshipped and celebrated during Hindu festivals.
Several communal clashes and mob lynching have taken place in India over rumours of people, mostly from the Muslim and Dalit communities, consuming or storing beef at home.
India banned the trade of cattle for slaughter in 2017 and killing a cow is a contentious issue in the country.
Despite this, India continues to be the world’s second-largest beef exporter after Brazil, with 80 per cent of it being buffalo meat.
*Shravan Kumar is a mythical Indian character who carried his parents in baskets tied to the ends of a bamboo pole and took them for pilgrimage.
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