Mumbai, June 2 (IANS) Amid the debate over granting cows the status of a “national animal”, Congress leader Husain Dalwai on Tuesday said that while some people may consider cows as mothers, Muslims are not obliged to accept that belief.

Speaking to IANS, Dalwai said, “Earlier, the cow was referred to as a state animal, and now it is being called a mother. Even if Muslims take a step back, there is still an attempt to push them further. You may call the cow a mother, but we consider it an important animal of this country and a state animal. What is wrong with that? Those who described it as a state animal have said the right thing.”

He further stated, “You may consider the cow as a mother, but Muslims will not accept it. Is it necessary for everyone to do so? We call India ‘Bharat Mata.’ However, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel, he reportedly referred to Israel as our fatherland. Such statements do not make sense.”

Addressing the gathering in Bijnor recently, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “Cow is our mother. We share the same bond with her as we have with our mothers. There is nothing to prove here, and this relation needs no name or status.”

“Gomata is the self-proclaimed Rashtramata; there’s no need to declare her to anyone,” CM Yogi said.

The Chief Minister’s unequivocal assertion came in the wake of recent calls made during Bakrid by some noted Muslim clerics to declare the cow a national animal. The reason they cited was that it would discourage cattle slaughter and raise the sanctity of the milk-yielding animal.

Noted Islamic clerics, including those from Ajmer Dargah Sharif, Kolkata’s Nakhoda Masjid, and Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, urged the Muslim community to refrain from cow sacrifice during Eid-ul-Azha.

Ajmer’s Syed Sarwar Chishti called upon PM Modi to convene Parliament to declare the cow a national animal, ban slaughter, and beef exports.

All India Jamiatul Quresh demanded a ban on beef-export companies and national animal status for cows. The outfit’s working president, Mohammad Javed Qureshi, claimed that beef export companies were minting money through illegal cattle slaughter and also claimed that such restrictions hurt livestock farmers.

Clerics, however, also raised concerns over increasing cow vigilantism and alleged harassment of cattle traders at the hands of self-styled cow vigilante groups, taking the law into their own hands.

–IANS

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