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Photos: The hurdles of a cow protection stand in rural India

With Lok Sabha elections beginning on April 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is in the run eyeing a second term. The last 5 years saw the government’s attention turn to policies protecting cows but these in turn have left rural communities dealing with their effects. Fear has led to farmers choosing to abandon old and infirm cows instead of selling them for slaughter causing road accidents. Stricter measures on infirm cows have left farmers struggling to protect their crops from increased strays. Incidents of mob lynchings over alleged cow slaughter and transport have also spiked, with the BJP maintaining it opposes all violence.

Updated on: Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM IST

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Stray cattle seen at a temporary shelter in Pilani, Rajasthan. One of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature policies has been protecting cows and farmers overwhelmingly supported Modi’s nationalist party when he swept to power in 2014. But the strict measures on cows, which are sacred to Hindus, have in turn caused major headaches for farmers and rural communities. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

Stray cattle seen at a temporary shelter in Pilani, Rajasthan. One of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature policies has been protecting cows and farmers overwhelmingly supported Modi’s nationalist party when he swept to power in 2014. But the strict measures on cows, which are sacred to Hindus, have in turn caused major headaches for farmers and rural communities. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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A farmer walks besides a fence put up to keep stray cattle out. Ahead of elections beginning April 11, one Hindu farmer Raghuvir Singh Meena said that the government is playing their politics; they don’t care about poor farmers. Critics warn that the BJP has emboldened fringe Hindu vigilante groups to attack minority Muslims and low-caste Dalits with impunity for eating beef, slaughtering and trading in cattle. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

A farmer walks besides a fence put up to keep stray cattle out. Ahead of elections beginning April 11, one Hindu farmer Raghuvir Singh Meena said that the government is playing their politics; they don’t care about poor farmers. Critics warn that the BJP has emboldened fringe Hindu vigilante groups to attack minority Muslims and low-caste Dalits with impunity for eating beef, slaughtering and trading in cattle. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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A farmer holds up crops destroyed by stray cattle near Pilani. Meena who is struggling like many farmers to protect their crop from stray, roaming cattle told AFP that they have tried everything -- scarecrows and barbed wire -- but the stray animals never miss a chance to eat away their crop. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

A farmer holds up crops destroyed by stray cattle near Pilani. Meena who is struggling like many farmers to protect their crop from stray, roaming cattle told AFP that they have tried everything -- scarecrows and barbed wire -- but the stray animals never miss a chance to eat away their crop. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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Even before Modi came to power, cow slaughter and the consumption of beef was banned in Rajasthan and many other states in officially secular India. But laws are now applied more strictly and punishments have increased. In 2017 the government tried to ban the cattle trade for slaughter nationwide, only for it to be rejected by the Supreme Court. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

Even before Modi came to power, cow slaughter and the consumption of beef was banned in Rajasthan and many other states in officially secular India. But laws are now applied more strictly and punishments have increased. In 2017 the government tried to ban the cattle trade for slaughter nationwide, only for it to be rejected by the Supreme Court. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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Incidents of mob lynchings have spiked, with 44 people -- including one in Rajasthan -- killed in cow-related attacks between May 2015 and December last year, says Human Rights Watch. The BJP says it opposes all violence, but even the fear of attack and tougher laws have disrupted the cattle trade. This has led to farmers abandoning old and infirm cows instead of selling them for slaughter, resulting in more strays. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

Incidents of mob lynchings have spiked, with 44 people -- including one in Rajasthan -- killed in cow-related attacks between May 2015 and December last year, says Human Rights Watch. The BJP says it opposes all violence, but even the fear of attack and tougher laws have disrupted the cattle trade. This has led to farmers abandoning old and infirm cows instead of selling them for slaughter, resulting in more strays. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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A stray cow stands near traffic on a road in Rewari, Haryana. Wandering cattle, often eating plastic rubbish or ruminating at busy traffic intersections, have become a much more common sight in towns, villages and cities since Modi came to power. In 2015, the last year for which government figures are available, more than 550 people were killed in accidents involving stray cattle. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

A stray cow stands near traffic on a road in Rewari, Haryana. Wandering cattle, often eating plastic rubbish or ruminating at busy traffic intersections, have become a much more common sight in towns, villages and cities since Modi came to power. In 2015, the last year for which government figures are available, more than 550 people were killed in accidents involving stray cattle. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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A former village head in Rajasthan’s Churu district said that because of these cow protectors no one dares touch the cow now. “There are not enough cow shelters and the ones that are there they are so overcrowded that each day one animal dies,” he told AFP. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

A former village head in Rajasthan’s Churu district said that because of these cow protectors no one dares touch the cow now. “There are not enough cow shelters and the ones that are there they are so overcrowded that each day one animal dies,” he told AFP. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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A sick cow lies down inside a temporary shelter. Sandeep Kajla, head of the Gramya Bharat Jan Chetna Yatra, a social organisation based in Pilani, said one farmer can look after one animal but here, cows are roaming around in hundreds. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

A sick cow lies down inside a temporary shelter. Sandeep Kajla, head of the Gramya Bharat Jan Chetna Yatra, a social organisation based in Pilani, said one farmer can look after one animal but here, cows are roaming around in hundreds. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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Voter unhappiness was already evident when the BJP lost state elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in December to the Congress. The country’s only dedicated “cow minister” in Rajasthan was also booted out. It was a major turnaround from 2014 when the country’s 262 million farmers largely backed the BJP, which has promised to double farm income by 2022. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

Voter unhappiness was already evident when the BJP lost state elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in December to the Congress. The country’s only dedicated “cow minister” in Rajasthan was also booted out. It was a major turnaround from 2014 when the country’s 262 million farmers largely backed the BJP, which has promised to double farm income by 2022. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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Some villagers are now pooling money from their modest savings to herd the strays into makeshift shelters, at least through the harvest season. In December and January, exasperated farmers across the northern state of Uttar Pradesh locked up stray cattle at district schools to protect their crops, meaning lessons had to be held outside. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 12:03 PM

Some villagers are now pooling money from their modest savings to herd the strays into makeshift shelters, at least through the harvest season. In December and January, exasperated farmers across the northern state of Uttar Pradesh locked up stray cattle at district schools to protect their crops, meaning lessons had to be held outside. (Abhaya Srivastava / AFP)

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