Eating beef and pork
By Justice Markandey Katju
I have been telling Hindus that there is nothing wrong in eating beef, and I have been telling Muslims that there is nothing wrong in eating pork.
I eat pork (particularly ham and bacon) and also beef, if legally permitted.
I reside in Noida, U.P. where beef is prohibited by law, so I do not eat it here. But when I go to Kerala, Goa or some other state where it is legally permitted I eat it.
I am not compelling anyone to eat beef or pork, but I see nothing wrong in eating it. Almost the whole world eats beef. And I regard cow as an animal, like any other animal, e.g. a dog or a horse.
I believe those who call a cow a mother ('gomata') have ''gobar' (cow dung) in their heads. Can an animal be the mother of a human being? Does that carry any sense?
Some people say a cow is a mother because she gives milk which humans drink. But humans also drink milk of goats, buffaloes, yaks, deer and camels. Are they all to be venerated ?
And my reply to those who say that beef eating is against Hindu culture is that not of all of Hindu culture should be preserved. Part of it, e.g. the caste system, is rubbish and outdated, and must be destroyed, if India is to progress.
I will keep attacking stupid, feudal, and backward customs and sentiments, whether Hindu or Muslim, which are irrational and outdated.
As regards pork, it was rightly prohibited by Islam because in earlier times there were no modern dairies, and pigs often ate filth, which could cause diseases like tapeworm.
But now pigs are raised in modern dairies in hygienic conditions, so I have suggested to Muslims to eat pork just like any other kind of meat, and ignore these Maulanas who have kept many of them backward.
As for people who are inclined to beat up Muslim meat eaters (usually accusing them of eating beef), let them come to me. I have a danda waiting for them which is getting impatient.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
