PM Has Political Mandate to Walk the Talk on Cow Vigilantism

New Delhi: It was a Town Hall to mark two years of the government's flagship online platform to connect with citizens. Held in Delhi's Talkatora Stadium in the first week of August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest when he used the occasion to rebuke cow vigilantism in no uncertain terms.

State governments should prepare a dossier of gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes), said the PM. "Around 70-80 percent are involved in activities that have no place in the society. They, therefore, don the mantle of gau rakshaks to hide their ills," Modi had added.

This was the Prime Minister breaking his silence after pictures of Dalits being flogged at Una, Gujarat by cow vigilantes embarrassed the government.

A day later, Modi had to clarify on the subject. He spoke about "fake cow-protectors" at a rally in Telangana. But this time, the PM also quantified such elements as just a "handful".

Two months later, at the annual Vijayadashami function in Nagpur, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat dedicated an entire paragraph to cow protection. Countless good people working in the field should not be compared with a few trouble makers, he said. "Countless good people are working for cow protection. These good people are working within the ambit of law and Constitution. Administration should see to it that those creating trouble should not be compared with cow protectors," he added.

The choice of occasion and the person to deliver the message was clearly well thought.

The Prime Minister's statement on cow vigilantes last year was also seen in the backdrop of the impending Uttar Pradesh polls where the BJP was attempting to wean away a section of Dalit votes from the BSP.

At the political level, two large social groups are generally at the receiving end of the cow vigilantism — Dalits and Muslims. Some sub-castes in these communities have been traditionally associated with skinning and disposing of animal carcasses. The two together also constitute 30 to 50% of the total electorate in many provinces. Their social and electoral coalition is, thus, formidable. To this end, both the BJP and the RSS have worked hard to adopt a more inclusive social image.

On cow vigilantism and public lynching, Prime Minister Modi has intervened once again. He's invoked Vinobha Bhave and Mahatma Gandhi. Except for Gujarat, there are no elections lined up this year. Political constraints have loosened up over the last six months.