After Pehlu Khan’s death, Meo Muslims want countrywide ban on cow slaughtering

The Meo Muslims are a community comprising mostly of dairy famers, with a population of 60 lakhs spread over in parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Meo Muslims, a community comprising mostly of dairy farmers, want the cow to be declared as the national animal or a countrywide ban on its slaughter in the wake of the lynching of a man by vigilantes on suspicion of cow smuggling.

Cows and buffalos are seen outside a dairy on the outskirts of New Delhi.(AFP File Photo)

The Meo community, which has a population of 60 lakhs spread over in parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, has called a meeting of its core committee on May 8 to discuss the issue in the wake of the lynching of 55-year-old Pehlu Khan last month by a group of cow vigilantes.

“The government should either declare cow as the national animal or ban cow slaughtering across the country,” Sher Mohammad, head of the Meo Panchayat-Alwar, told PTI today.

“We have convened a meeting to discuss this issue. We will write letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje,” he added.

He noted that Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan and the nearby region in Haryana have over 60 lakh population of Meo Muslim community who are mainly dairy farmers.

“We earn our livelihood by selling cow milk,” Mohammad said.

He said the allegations of cow slaughtering against the community by cow vigilantes is nothing new.

“Despite the fact that we are dairy farmers and do not run slaughter houses, we are beaten up, just on the basis of suspicion,” he said.

Pehlu Khan, who hailed from Haryana, was attacked by cow vigilantes in Behror in Rajasthan when he along with others was allegedly illegally transporting cows from Jaipur to Haryana.

Khan died during treatment at hospital while others were given treatment last month.