Hindu mob kills muslim man after rumours he was eating beef. The ancient and medieval hindu texts recommend ahimsanonviolence against all life forms including animals because they believe that it minimizes animal deaths. With such a thorough understanding of indian history and culture, the author also manages to weave a compelling story out of historical evidence. This is not just a story of beef eating in india, but also that of the changing nature of a culture. Devta of this sukta is varunn the above mantra relates to the knowledge of celestial bodiescomprising of planets, stars etc. Shortly before he died, at the age of 101, the anglobengali scholar and polemicist nirad chaudhuri received the leader of the hindu. India references to ancient hindus beefeating past deleted. Modern hindus forbidden from eating beef but ancient hindus. Iam assuming that the questionnaire is falsely referring here to hindus as the followers of the alleged religion hinduism 1. Is the adoption of vegetarianism within hinduism a later feature caused by the influence of buddhism. The current outcry appears to be rooted in part in the election of. The mail detailed quotes from the mahabharata and the upanishads that people, even rishis wee eating beef ding the sanatana dhama period. It was to get one step ahead of the buddhists that the brahmins gave up beef eating, says b. Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to the attainment of heavenly bliss.
So when entire world was practicing vedic sanskruti culture some of them took gou medh as gou killings christians, muslims some of them took it as gou swami, gou wardhan, goupal hindu. Beef was widely eaten in ancient hindu india beef eating in. From ramayana to the scriptures, its clear india has a long history of eating meat. Questionare there references for eating meat in the vedic literature. In india, cow has been considered sacred, in fact worshipped by the hindu community. Has beefeating any relation to the origin of untouchability. Modern hindus forbidden from eating beef but ancient hindus ate the sacred cow ancient origins. It needs to be understood that the hindu texts itself do not disallow hindus from consuming beef. The cow was neither unslayable nor sacred in the vedic. Jha says his book has become a casualty of the culture wars that have plagued india since the hardline hindu. If one is so much bothered about if beef eating is forbidden for hindus then there are so many things mentioned about what to do or not to do in the scriptures. Spanning a vast region from kashmir to bali, thousands of years, diverse peoples and languages as different as hindi indoeuropean and tamil dravidian, hindu dietary customs could hardly be expected to be uniform, and they arent. Many hindus follow a vegetarian or lactovegetarian diet that are in sync with nature, compassionate, respectful of other life forms diet of nonvegetarian hindus can include.
Lactovegetarianism is an integral part of most schools of hinduism although there is a wide variety of practices and beliefs that have changed over time. Misquoted verses of hindu scriptures for meat eating. I do not have current access to the comprehensive list of rebuttals. Nonethnic hindus, or hindus by choice, often retain the dietary customs of their home country, so many american hindus eat beef as their parents did before them. Myth of vegetarianism in ancient india page 2 indian. In contrast, according to marvin harris, the vedic literature is contradictory, with some suggesting ritual slaughter and meat consumption, while others suggesting a taboo on meat eating. Buddhist texts also lay down rules for meat eating by the monks. But this fact cannot be regarded as evidence that beef eating was condemned in the rigvedic period.
I respect a hindus right not to eat beef, or any meat for that matter. Kolkata asianewsscmp any references to the beef eating past of ancient hindus have finally been deleted from indian school textbooks, after a threeyear campaign by religious hardliners. The manusmriti discusses diet in chapter 5, where like other hindu texts, it includes verses that strongly discourage meat eating, as well as verses where meat eating is declared appropriate in times of adversity and various circumstances, recommending that the meat in such circumstances be produced with minimal harm and suffering to the animal. By one estimate, 30% of all hindus are ovolacto vegetarians. Heres what vedas say on killing cows the problem lies with the inability to interpret the ancient texts in the correct sense. An extract from a new edition of a book babasaheb wrote in 1948. This book is a bonafide research report on the history of beef eating in hindu culture. An alternative history by wendy doniger of the university of chicago is really not a history at all. Jul 06, 2007 beef eating was also thought to stimulate sexual passion, so eating beef was advised for those wishing to conceive children. At best we may be able to name them and tell you which is the oldest, since we learnt that in ancient indian history at school. Read what ambedkar wrote on why brahmins started worshipping. Most surveys, including one by the office of registrar general and census commissioner of india, show 60% to 70% or even more of indians eat meat. Consider the following statements from the primary hindu book of law.
Eating of meat and beef in the hindu tradition the hindu. The claim of the hindutva gang that dr br ambedkar endorsed the hindutva project and opposed beef eating as cow was sacred. Hindu should not eat beef because we consider cow as our own mother. Is beef eating by hindus justified simply because the vedic people were eating meat or beef as claimed by some. Beef is a source of highquality protein and essential nutrients.
This article aims to correct the misconception that beef eating should be taboo based on what the scriptures supposedly say. Jan, 2012 questionare there references for eating meat in the vedic literature. The book demonstrates that contrary to the popular belief even today a large number of indians, the indigenous people in particular and many. There is clear evidence of meat consumption including beef during vedic.
I respect a hindu s right not to eat beef, or any meat for that matter. History 2004 and rethinking hindu identity forthcoming. Apart from matters of law and order, which are for courts to decide, these recent incidents raise important questions on whether beef eating is really unacceptable to hindus, and if it is, whether it justifies a more general ban on consumption of beef that applies even to followers of other religions. Rigveda, manusmiriti sanction beefeating, the milli gazette. October 28, 2010 proofs that beef was eaten by ancient hindus and is eaten by many hindus today.
However, the governments decision to increase the excise duty on fuel betrays an attempt to appropriate for itself the benefits that may have otherwise accrued to the citizens. Some hindu tantrics have included the ritual eating of meat as part of their spiritual practices. If eating beef in hinduism is considered as a sin then. The book demonstrates that contrary to the popular belief even today a large. This article was originally published in hindu voice uk in september 2006. Historical ties of hinduism and beef qrius formerly the. Ambedkar on beefeating and hinduism countercurrents. The myth of the holy cow by dn jha books the guardian. But to quote the scriptures in support of this belief is quite ridiculous. Poignant scriptural citations counsel against eating meat. Vigilante hindu groups in india have lynched several people for eating beef. Here weve got your hard core vegetarians, and weve got your spit roasted pig but no beef. Brother of indian man murdered for eating beef calls for calm. Oct 10, 2015 there is no cow slaughter or beef eating in vedas or any classical hindu scriptures.
Hindu authorities in favour of slaying the cow and eating its flesh cited in jhas myth of holy cow, p. Jul 12, 2002 the myth of the holy cow by dn jha 183pp, verso. The answer can not be simple yes or no, since it would depend on your region sect and whatnot. My view is that it looks that people were eating meat during the vedic period. But this fact cannot be regarded as evidence that beefeating was condemned in the rigvedic period. Dietary habits in hindu scriptures vedas there is clear evidence of meat consumption including beef during vedic period historical vedic religion of hinduism. There is no cow slaughter or beef eating in vedas or any. News hinduism and its complicated history with cows and people who eat them july 16, 2017 by wendy doniger the conversation. A survey of vedas shows that amongst the nomadic pastoral aryans who settled here, animal sacrifice was a dominant feature till the emergence of settled agriculture. Strangulating history, the hindu, 14th august 2001. Many hindus who make up 80 percent of indias population do not eat beef because they consider the cow holy. Book excerpt read what ambedkar wrote on why brahmins started worshipping the cow and gave up eating beef it was a strategy, wrote the father of indian constitution, to vanquish buddhism. What you eat so what you will be is mentioned in the hindu scriptures. The tirukural, a 2,200yearold masterpiece of ethics, states, when a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he will abstain from eating it 257.
Jul 16, 2017 vigilante hindu groups in india have lynched several people for eating beef. Jul 10, 20 this article aims to correct the misconception that beef eating should be taboo based on what the scriptures supposedly say. Over the period people took altogether different and wrong interpretations and hence question like beef eating comes up. Dec 21, 2015 is beef eating by hindus justified simply because the vedic people were eating meat or beef as claimed by some. If the hindus were eating beef, when did they give it up. Even later brahminical texts provide evidence for eating beef. Heres the unpalatable truth about beef and hinduism the present controversy around beef eating, accompanied by violent objection and equally aggressive support, is engineered by extremist. I started this website in 2011 to compile and assessa the evidence for or against beef eating in ancient india. Holy cow bovine anarchy and the new identity of india. Apr 25, 2002 indias extremist hindu leaders have asked the countrys muslims to stop eating beef as a precondition for peaceful coexistence with the majority community. This book by d n jha is an example of how good things sometimes come in small packages.
It had become prevalent by 1100 ad across india, since albiruni wrote that while beef eating was prevalent earlier, it was not allowed later. History the book food for the spirit, vegetarianism and the world religions, observes, despite popular knowledge of meat eatings adverse effects, the nonvegetarian diet became increasingly widespread among hindus after the two major invasions by foreign powers, first the muslims and later the british. Why hindus stopped eating beef and began to worship cows. According to some scholars, bhrahmins converted to lactovegetarianism in response to the growing popularity of buddhism, where buddhists were accused, mainly by jains, of preaching non violence while being meat eaters themselves. The book demonstrates that contrary to the popular belief even. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is. Going by the books, cow was never meant to be holy. Be an expert in less than 20 minutes a short research film by agniveer breaking the myth of vedas endorsing.
Modern hindus forbidden from eating beef but ancient. I believe that these protesters are ignorant of what their religion preaches. Rigveda, manusmiriti sanction beefeating a recent photograph of some hindu protesters demanding a ban on nonvegetarian food in restaurants and government canteens in india made me sit up and take notice. Buddhists, when giving up meat during the buddhist or uposatha days, will forego beef. Earlier in the book, ambedkar introduces the concept of broken men, whom. The book has been exposed as being based off extremely faulty translations from the sanskrit. May 27, 2012 for first time on youtube, the video that shocked all beeflovers into silence. Humans have been eating beef since prehistoric times. A scholar traces the history of beef eating in ancient india. Few people eat beef, and there is a general dislike of beef especially among the bamar and burmese chinese, although it is more commonly eaten in regional cuisines, particularly those of ethnic minorities like the kachin. Meat eating in hinduism and buddhism hindu website.
Indias extremist hindu leaders have asked the countrys muslims to stop eating beef as a precondition for peaceful coexistence with the majority community. Beef eating in the hindu tradition by rohini bakshi beef. Hunting was a royal pastime, in which both men and women participated. Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle, particularly skeletal muscle. Hindu law books prescribe rules for meat eating for the four castes and specify which type of meat is allowed for human consumption and under what circumstances. David frawleys many books are perhaps the best literature explaining hindu dharma and its various branches of wisdom in the english language.
The steep fall in oil prices impoves indias manoeuvrability to address an economic recession. You can be bad hindu maybe but i dont think there is an authority that can kick you out. Hinduism and its complicated history with cows and. Beef skeletal muscle meat can be used as is by merely cutting into certain parts roasts, short ribs or steak filet mignon, sirloin steak, rump steak, rib steak, rib eye steak, hanger steak, etc. Hinduism and its complicated history with cows and people who eat.
We earnestly urged these hindu beef eaters to understand the vedic reality and not to propagate the unauthentic vedic hindu myth of cow sacrifice in yajna firesacrifice or beef eating, but they are discarding all of our points in a very fundamental way of muslims under which they kill cows and eat beef only to hurt hindu sentiments and. Does the vedic literature directly recommend vegetarianism. Diet in hinduism varies with its diverse traditions. One story is about fusing the head of a brahmin woman onto the body of a dalit woman. A recent photograph of some hindu protesters demanding a ban on nonvegetarian food in restaurants and government canteens in india made me sit up and take notice. The history of hinduism s issues with beef 08 apr 2015 posted by alison lesley professor kancha ilaiah says the hindu ban on beef is a cultural imposition by past and present political leaders. The history of hinduisms issues with beef 08 apr 2015 posted by alison lesley professor kancha ilaiah says the hindu ban on beef is a cultural imposition by past and present political leaders. Answerfirst question, are there references to eating meat in the vedic literature. Rigveda, manusmiriti sanction beefeating, the milli. Jul 30, 2017 from my perspective, in our day, the nationalist and fundamentalist hindutva hinduness movement is attempting to use this notion of the sanctity of the cow to disenfranchise muslims. In her book, doniger retells hindu stories and provides snarky interpretations. Why hindus stopped eating beef and began to worship cows the aggressive projection of hindu identity has significantly influenced politics in india during the 20th century.
An indian mob kills a muslim man suspected of eating beef. Did you know that the hindu right wing is on a rampage not just against the muslims but also. Oct 06, 2015 the mail detailed quotes from the mahabharata and the upanishads that people, even rishis wee eating beef ding the sanatana dhama period. One may also question that as yajnas were rituals, one cant say that the consumption of the flesh of cow and other milch animals was a common practice among the people in vedic india.
Sep 30, 2015 hindu mob kills muslim man after rumours he was eating beef this article is more than 4 years old a group of about 60 beat mohammad akhlaq with sticks and bricks and left son with severe injuries. A by mid2014 i had formed aa conclusivea view on this matter, summarised in the following statements. Certain hindu groups in the east of india, in indonesia bali and in nepal have continued to eat meat and practice animal sacrifice in their temples and have done so for many centuries. Doniger provides several variants of the theme of transposed heads. Just this past june, at a national meeting of various hindu organizations in india, a popular preacher, sadhvi saraswati, suggested that those who consumed beef should be publicly hanged. If eating beef in hinduism is considered as a sin then, why. Move away from beef, focus on development, nda partners tell pm modi. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us.
A scholar traces the history of beefeating in ancient india. Oct 08, 2015 sensitivities about eating meat in general and beef in particular have been present in india for decadespossibly centuries. Eating beef is not considered as sin in hinduism but is portrayed as if it is a sin. Beef eating in ancient india beef was widely eaten in. Not just beef, eating any kind of meat is by default prohibited in hinduism. Also i have never heard of expulsion from hinduism. Jhas interpretation of rigveda mantra 108614 underlines practice of eating beef, which is absolutely wrong according to vedas. So it has no concern with eating beef or any nonvegetarian food. Eating was not peculiar to the people of the western countries alone, but was popular with the. A gryhasutra recommends that beef be eaten by the mourners after a funeral ceremony as a ritual rite of passage. Lactovegetarianism is an integral part of most schools of hinduism although there is a wide. I have provided quotes which indicate meat eating and those that prohibit it. And it is not only the beefeating muslims and christians who are the target of hindutvas hate brigade.
Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Heres the unpalatable truth about beef and hinduism. Later, at the same conclave, an animal rights activist, chetan sharma, said. Vasishta, gautama, apasthamba and baudhayana, in their sutras ca.
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