RSS mouthpiece, Panchjanya, has justified the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq over rumours that he had eaten and stored beef in his house.
The magazine’s latest cover story has quoted Vedas to justify the murder of ‘sinners’ who slaughters cows.
The report said, ““Veda ka adesh hai ki gau hatya karne wale pataki ke pran le lo. Hum mein se bahuton ke liye to yah jivan-maran ka prashn hai (Vedas order killing of the sinner who kills a cow. It is a matter of life and death for many of us),” states the article ‘Is Utpat ke Us paar’ (The other side of this disturbance)’ by Hindi writer Tufail Chaturvedi who edits the journal Lafz. Tufail is the name used by Vinay Krishna Chaturvedi.
Panchjanya’s report blamed the madrasas and and Muslim leadership for teaching Indian Muslims to hate Indian traditions. “Akhlaq (the Dadri victim) perhaps slaughtered a cow under the influence of such bad deeds.”
The mouthpiece further added, “Cow slaughter is such a big thing for us that for hundreds of years our ancestors have staked their lives to prevent it and counter the killers.There are hundreds of such occasions in history when Muslim invaders thrust beef into our mouths to convert Hindus into Muslims.”
“30.18 of Yajurveda says ‘hand over capital punishment to those who kill cows’,” he said, adding that “Gau-hatya Hinduon ke liye maan bindu hai (Cow slaughter is an issue of honour for Hindus). Muslims who commit such acts today are converted Hindus of Indian origin. It is important for social harmony that we respect faiths of each other,” Chaturvedi was quoted by Indian Express.
In the article, Chaturvedi has taken a dig at writers who returned their awards after the lynching of Akhlaq.
He wrote, “Aapko Akhlaq dwara ki gayi gau-hatya nahi dikhayi di (You overlooked the cow-slaughter by Akhlaq). You did not consider that in the entire reporting of Akhlaq’s death, there is no mention of Akhlaq’s enmity with anyone in the village).”
Prime Minister Modi had recently expressed his ‘sadness’ over the murder of Akhlaq, who was killed by a mob of over 100 people on 28 September. Seven out of 11 arrested accused belong to the family of the local BJP leader Sanjay Rana. The RSS is the BJP’s ideological mentor and is often believed to be influencing the policies of the central government led by Modi.