Summary In many Indian states, the slaughtering of cows and selling of beef are either restricted or banned.
(Web Desk / AFP) - A senior leader of India s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that Muslims can continue to live in India, but they will have to stop eating beef.
Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana state, said the cow "is an article of faith" in India.
Khattar, who completes one year in office later this month as the head of a BJP government, told The Indian Express in an interview that the cow is an article of faith for the Hindus, and that Muslims would not be violating their religious beliefs by giving up beef.
“Eating beef hurts the sentiments of another community, even constitutionally you cannot do this,” he said in response to a question that preventing people from eating food of their choice was an infringement of their constitutional right.
Last month, Mohammad Akhlaq, a 50-year-old Muslim man, was killed by a Hindu mob in Dadri village of Uttar Pradesh over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home. His 22-year-old son was seriously injured in the attack.
Later, the forensic report confirmed that meat recovered family s fridge was mutton and not beef.
Responding to this Khattar said the killing was a "result of misunderstanding" and that "both sides" had committed wrongs.
Killing cows is banned in many states of India, a majority-Hindu country that also has sizeable Muslim, Christian and Buddhist minorities.
The Indian state of Maharashtra has toughened its ban on eating beef
In March, the state of Maharashtra toughened its ban to make even possessing beef illegal, a move seen by religious minorities as a sign of the growing power of hardline Hindus since nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
For Hindus, cows are worshipped as sacred, and many of the animals are often seen wandering unchecked around big-city neighborhoods and on highways during rush hour.
Cows are worshipped in India
Despite the slaughter of cows being widely banned, India ranks as the world s top beef exporter, according to a report by the US department of agriculture.
It is expected to export 2.4 million tonnes of beef in 2015, against Brazil s 2 million tonnes.
