Justice Markandey Katju
Some people said that I should not hurt Hindu sentiments by saying here is nothing wrong in eating beef.
But that is precisely what i will do.
While I respect sentiments which are rational, I will attack sentiments which are stupid and backward, both among Hindus and Muslims.
What is wrong in eating beef ? Most of the world eats it—Americans, Europeans, Africans, Arabs, Chinese, Thais, Australians, etc. Are they all wicked people, and we alone saints ?
To those who say that cow is our mother my reply is : do you drive your mother out of your house when she is old ? Most cows are driven out once they are unable to give milk, and left to starve. Do you starve your mother when she is old ? I have seen cows eating garbage and filth on roads, and even polythene bags which results in a painful death. I have seen cows on roads with their ribs sticking out because they had little to eat. Is this the way these cow lovers treat their mothers ?
Moreover, how can an animal be a mother of a human being. If it is said that cows are mothers because they give us milk, then goats, buffaloes, yaks, camels, etc are also mothers as humans drink their milk too.
Similarly, I will attack feudal, backward practices like burqa and oral talaq among Muslims.
We must spread scientific and rational thinking among the masses, and attack feudal, backward ideas, like belief that cow is holy..
The real problems of the country are socio-economic—massive poverty, unemployment, price rise, healthcare etc. The politicians, who talked a lot about ‘vikas’, etc cannot solve these real problems. There has been no vikas. So they try to divert our attention by such tactics for vote bank politics.
Of late communalism is being spread even in rural areas by certain vested interests. The patriotic, modern minded people should fight against it, and expose the nefarious aim of certain politicians.
The above content first appeared on Justice Katju’s Facebook page.