The BJP’s recent triumph in West Bengal has raised significant concerns and marked an unsettling shift, particularly given the state’s status as one of India’s top consumers of beef, with daily consumption estimated between 1.5 to 3 million.
Almost immediately, stringent new Animal Slaughter Rules were enacted, such as animals must have a ‘fit certificate’ from authorized local officials and a government veterinary surgeon before being slaughtered, a public slaughter ban, age and condition, designated facilities with penalties from violations leading to imprisonment six months or a fine of up to ₹1,000, or both. Facing public scrutiny and potential repercussions, many Muslims opted out of the cow sale-trade arena, to the mystification of many, as they expected retaliation, but nothing happened.
Eid ul-Adha (Bakr Id) is on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Muslims traditionally purchase cows in large quantities for the celebration. This year, however, significant changes disrupted this practice. Surprisingly, Muslim youths began to take on the role of cow protectors, encouraging Hindu traders with the plea, “Don’t sell your mother!” ahead of the festival. The empty cattle markets have sparked profound irony, with public reactions expressing a strong desire for peace.
Senior clerics, including Maulana Shafique Qasmi of Kolkata’s Nakhoda Masjid, have made heartfelt appeals urging Muslims to forgo cow sacrifices to uphold communal harmony and obey state regulations. The new laws have left Hindu dairy farmers deeply in debt, grappling with unsold herds, while Muslim buyers resist the risks involved. Empty cattle markets in areas like South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad have caused cattle prices to soar, with no one buying. One would have never predicted that cow trading would become the new face-off between communities!
However, there was also rife. There were outbreaks of attacks in different places in Bengal: In Durgapur, BJP members physically assaulted four Muslim cattle traders, subjecting them to public humiliation. Meanwhile, in Kolkata, the police confiscated cattle from a Muslim family, and there were reports of youth attacking a lorry merely transporting plywood, mistakenly suspected of carrying cattle.
Reacting to the new laws, Humanyun Kabir, former TMC politician, has strongly opposed the West Bengal government’s new restrictions on cow slaughter that were notified ahead of Eid al-Adha on May 28th, warning the new West Bengal government not to play with fire. He said, “We respect the law. But qurbani will happen. Whatever is written in the Quran will happen. I want to tell Suvendu Adhikari directly not to play with fire. It may prove dangerous for you. The Muslim community will not compromise on qurbani,” he said.
However, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya brushed aside Kabir’s remarks and maintained that the issue was about enforcing law and preventing illegal activities. “Illegal slaughterhouses will not be allowed to operate,” he was reported by PTI as saying on Thursday.
He clarified that the BJP does not interfere with people’s individual food preferences but firmly opposes open or public slaughter of cows. “Illegal slaughterhouses will not be allowed to operate. But if someone says they want to eat beef, they will eat beef. In a democratic country, no one’s consumption of beef can be stopped,” the Bengali newspaper Sangbad Pratidin quoted him as saying.
Dr. Hafeezur Rahman, Author and Islamic scholar who is currently serving as the Convenor of the Khusro Foundation, revisits arguments he first made in a 2010 article for The Deccan Herald, and also an article in Awaz The Voice, stressing that Islam’s core principles are rooted in peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and social harmony. He argues that Islam places equal importance on devotion to God and respect for human rights, warning that violating the dignity and rights of others is itself a grave moral failing.
Rahman notes that in Islamic tradition, beef falls under the category of “permissible” rather than “obligatory.” In other words, consuming beef carries no special religious reward, and abstaining from it is not a sin. Citing the 11th-century scholar Al-Ghazali, he points out that classical Islamic scholarship openly discussed the negative effects of excessive beef consumption while praising the medicinal and nutritional value of milk and clarified butter.
He further argues that the cow occupies a respected place in Islamic scripture and history. According to Rahman, the Prophet Muhammad did not make beef a regular part of his diet, and there is no basis for claiming that beef consumption or cow sacrifice is mandatory in Islam. He highlights how several Muslim rulers and scholars in Indian history consciously discouraged cow slaughter in order to preserve communal harmony.
Rahman references Babur, who advised his son Humayun to respect the religious sentiments of India’s majority population by avoiding cow slaughter. He also cites Akbar, who imposed restrictions on cow slaughter across his empire to maintain social peace among communities.
Drawing from India’s Sufi traditions, Rahman notes that revered figures such as Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya, and other Sufi saints often avoided beef altogether out of respect for non-Muslim communities. He also points to historical examples during 1857, when Islamic scholar Allama Fazle Haq Khairabadi reportedly supported restrictions on cow sacrifice to maintain Hindu-Muslim unity against British colonial rule.
Rahman ultimately argues that communal peace should take precedence over provocation. He calls on religious scholars and community leaders to promote restraint, dialogue, and coexistence, warning that social harmony can only survive when communities consciously reject division and violence.
It is commendable that many people chose to respect both the wishes of the state and the sensitivities of the larger community during one of the most significant festivals in Islam. At a time when tensions could easily have escalated, many chose restraint over provocation and peace over confrontation. That decision reflects not weakness, but maturity – a recognition that preserving harmony in a fragile society is sometimes the greater act of faith and responsibility.
Peace does not survive on slogans alone – it survives when people choose understanding over outrage.
