Violent punishment by mobs to the suspects of cow slaughter was justified to either a “great” or “some” extent. Close to two in every five respondents –police personnel surveyed across 18 states — (that is a 38% of the total of 8,276 subjects) also believed this, that violent punishment by mobs to “suspects of cow slaughter” was somewhat justified. This is similar to the finding from a previous survey of police personnel published in the Status of Policing in India Report 2019 where a similar question was asked about their support for mob violence in cases of cow slaughter—35 percent of police personnel justified such mob violence (15% “to a large extent” and 20% “to some extent”) (SPIR, 2019). More than a quarter of the police personnel surveyed (see details below), who from IPS-level ranks supported mob violence to a great degree (Figure 2.8, Table 2.8)

These are only some of the worrying findings from a recent study on the ‘Status of Policing in India Report’ (SPIR 2025) conducted by Lokniti, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in collaboration with Common Cause that read together, shed light on this grim reality. The study, which analysed responses from 8, 276 police personnel across 82 locations in 17 States including Delhi, provides insights into the culture of abuse behind closed doors.

When asked if it is acceptable for the police to use violence against suspects of serious offences for the greater good of society, nearly two out of three police personnel (63%) surveyed, agreed. Of them, 22% strongly agreed and 41% moderately agreed. A notable 35% of the officers opposed the idea. Support for violence against suspected serious offenders remained consistent across ranks.

When surveyors asked policemen and women about torture, a significant number of police personnel expressed strong support for its use in interrogations across various crime categories. The highest support was for cases related to national security, such as terrorism, with 42% strongly backing torture. Over a third (34%) also strongly supported its use in cases of rape, sexual assault, and serious violent crimes such as murder (Table 2.6). Additionally, 28% strongly agreed that torture must be used against history-sheeters.

Mob violence involves targeted acts of violence perpetrated by a large group of individuals who perceive that they are administering punishment to a suspected wrongdoer, bypassing the rule of law entirely. It is very alarming that such a significant proportion of police personnel justify mob violence. For law enforcement officers to support open violence which entails suspension of the law itself, as a means of delivering so- called punishment to a person, is an absolute negation of the constitutional oath they swear to uphold. Similar to the support shown by police respondents to impermissible measures towards crime control, this significant support for mob violence signals police propensities towards violence and unbridled power. Incidents of the police not only overlooking such violence, but their active complicity have been reported on multiple occasions.[1]

Among other key findings in the over 200 page study are that

• One in 10 police personnel believes that couples displaying affection in public places should be detained!!
• More than half of the police personnel believe that hijras/transgenders/ homosexual people are a bad influence on society and the police need to deal with them strictly.

• Police personnel strongly support the use of more preventive arrests of ‘anti-social elements’ (48%) and forming special squads that can detain people indefinitely (43%). Both measures disregard legal standards.
• Twenty-percent of the police personnel feel that it is very important for the police to use tough methods to create fear amongst the public, another 35 percent think it’s somewhat important.
• One in four police personnel strongly justify mob violence in cases of sexual harassment (27%) and child lifting/kidnapping (25%). Across various categories of crime, constabulary and IPS officers are the most likely to justify mob violence, and upper subordinate officers are the least likely to do so. Police personnel from Gujarat showed the highest support, while those from Kerala showed the least support for mob violence.
• Twenty-two percent police personnel feel that the rich and powerful are “naturally prone” to committing crimes to a great extent, and 18 percent feel that Muslims are “naturally prone” to committing crimes to a great
• The survey was conducted across 17 states and UTs. State-level trends mirrored the all- India findings of the highest number of arrests in minor offences, also falling foul of the law. Police personnel in Odisha reported the highest proportion of arrests (46%) for the crimes of theft and extortion, followed by Nagaland (38%) and West Bengal (37%). The data further shows that police respondents from Punjab (60%) reported the most arrests – that is, six in every ten – against the crime of loitering and public nuisance, distantly followed by Nagaland and Maharashtra (29% and 25% respectively)
• The police responses also reveal that the highest proportions of arrests conducted for bodily crimes (such as murder, assault and kidnapping) were reported in Assam (30%), closely followed by Gujarat (28%), Maharashtra (26%) and Jharkhand (26%). Further, as per the survey, police personnel from Uttar Pradesh (UP) reported the highest proportion of arrests (25%) for crimes against women, followed by West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh in equal proportions (22% each). In terms of arrests, the official data corresponds with the survey finding that the highest proportion of arrests for crimes against women was made in UP (1,01,754, as per Crime in India 2022).
• Almost half of the police respondents believed that mob violence was justified to either “a great extent” or “some extent” in the cases of sexual harassment and assault (49%), child lifting or kidnapping (47%) and petty theft like pick-pocketing or chain-snatching (46%).

As was evident in studies conducted in previous years, anti-Muslim bias is high among police personnel with the corresponding disregard for due process and justification for mob violence. In keeping with attitudes towards contempt for due process (preventive detention, procedure during arrests), coercion (torture, a large section of policemen and the officers of law enforcement agencies appear to have communal bias in their perception about Muslims, who they believe are “naturally prone” towards committing crime to a great extent. This is yet another finding of the “Status of Policing in India Report-2025” (SPIR), released in New Delhi recently, which has pointed to a clear display of prejudices among the police personnel.

In this extensive survey and analysis, the SPIR-2025 has explored the nature, causes and factors that contribute to the perpetuation of police violence and torture in the country. It seeks to understand the police’s attitudes towards torture and the normalisation of its use and includes the perspectives and experiences of other accountability actors, such as doctors, lawyers, and judges.

Previous studies may be read here and here.

In the study, a large number of police personnel in Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat believe that Muslims have been analysed as naturally prone towards committing crime to a great extent. One in every five (19%) among the Hindu police personnel feels that to a “great extent”, Muslims are naturally prone to commit crimes, while one-thirds (34%) feel the same to “some extent”, while Sikh police officers were least likely to hold this opinion.

Out of the surveyed states, more than two-thirds of the police personnel in the states of Rajasthan (70%), Maharashtra (68%), Madhya Pradesh (68%), West Bengal (68%), Gujarat (67%) and Jharkhand (66%) held the opinion that the Muslim community is likely to be naturally inclined to committing crime to either a “great” or “some” extent. Police personnel from Delhi (39%) were most likely to believe that Muslims are naturally prone to committing crimes, followed closely by Rajasthan (35%), Maharashtra (34%) and Gujarat (34%).

The study also found that caste, religion, and political affiliation often play a decisive role in shaping the outlook of the police perception and influencing their actions. This bias not only shapes initial interactions but can also affect decisions on investigation, enforcement, and legal proceedings. The report according to the parameters of the study published in the report, surveyed a broad spectrum of law enforcement personnel, including constables, upper subordinate officers ranging from assistant sub-inspectors to deputy superintendents of police, and senior officials from the Indian Police Service (IPS).

The SPIR-2025 pointed out that Muslims are identified as one of the marginalised communities which are common targets of torture. Academic scholarship cited in the report suggested that torture tactics employed by the police against Muslim men suspected of terrorism deliberately target their religious identity and masculinity to humiliate the entire community.

Police respondents in states with harsh cow slaughter laws, such as Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, showed high support for mob punishment in such cases. Besides, despite a significant proportion of police personnel believing that Muslims are predisposed to crime, a considerable percentage also perceive that Muslims are likely to get justice to a “great extent”.

Meanwhile however, the study also cautions that these are the police’s perceptions, which may be marred by pre-existing biases and could be contrary to the lived realities of Muslims. Independent analysis of prison statistics indicates the over-incarceration of Muslims, suggesting potential biases within the criminal justice system.

Disregard for due process

The report also highlights a significant disregard for the rule of law among a notable section of the police. Nearly one-third (28%) of police personnel believe the criminal justice system is too weak and slow, with a preference for extrajudicial measures over due process. Alarmingly, almost two out of five (38%) feel that for minor offences, police should give minor punishment instead of following legal trials.

One in four police personnel strongly justified mob violence in cases of sexual harassment (27%) and child lifting or kidnapping (25%). This suggests that about a fourth of India’s police personnel support the idea of the mobs acting as the judge, jury and executioner in matters they consider grave.

Across various categories of crime, constabulary and IPS officers are the most likely to justify mob violence, and upper subordinate officers are the least likely to do so. Police personnel from Gujarat showed the highest support, while those from Kerala showed the least support for mob violence.

Ignorance, lack of compliance for legal procedures

There also appeared to be a lack of compliance towards arrest procedures across states, according to the study. Only 41% of police personnel said these procedures were “always followed”, while 21% admitted to “rarely” or “never” complying with them. Karnataka fared the worst, with a staggering 70% of its officials acknowledging they “rarely” or “never” follow prescribed procedures, while Kerala police demonstrated the highest compliance, with 94% of officials adhering to proper arrest protocols.

Gujarat: high bias against marginalised

In Gujarat, police exhibited the highest level of bias in their perception of Dalits and Adivasis, who they believed were “naturally inclined to commit crimes”. Among its personnel, 68% hold this view about Dalits, while 56% believe the same about Adivasis. Among Delhi’s police, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, a worrying 62% believe that Muslims are more “naturally inclined” towards crime.

About 30% of police personnel said that ‘third-degree methods’ are justified towards the accused in serious criminal cases, while 9% said they are justified in petty offences. IPS officers and those respondents who often conduct interrogations are the most likely to justify the use of third-degree methods. Besides, 11% of the police personnel feel that hitting or slapping family members of the accused is absolutely justified, and 30% said that it is sometimes justified.

Interviewees said that the victims of torture are mainly people from poor and marginalised communities. A lawyer described it as “all the faceless and voiceless” are targeted. The following groups are the common targets of torture: Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, people who cannot read and write, and slum dwellers.

The report concluded with a strong call for strengthening institutional safeguards and fostering a greater commitment to the rule of law within the police force. It recommended more active engagement and interaction between Judicial Magistrates and arrested persons, along with ensuring medical examinations during custody. The study also underscored the urgent need for more comprehensive and consistent data collection on police torture and custodial violence.

How the police view and even justify custodial torture

Police personnel were also asked how justified is the use of certain coercive and violent acts towards the accused so that criminal cases can be solved. The data reveals a troubling acceptance of coercive tactics, ranging from verbal abuse and threats to slapping and third-degree methods. Nearly

Almost half (49%) said that verbally abusing or threatening suspects in cases of minor offences such as theft is justified, with 32% endorsing slapping and 9% even supporting the use of third-degree methods. Support for such violent methods increased dramatically in cases of serious crimes. Three in ten (30%) police personnel justified third-degree methods in cases such as rape and murder, while half (50%) approved of slapping suspects and more than half (55%) endorsed verbal abuse or threats.

Threats and slapping or using light force are common. About a quarter (26%) of police personnel said that suspects are threatened often, while 34% said that this happens sometimes. Similarly, nearly two in 10 (18%) said that slapping or using light force is common, with 28% saying it happens occasionally.

Regarding third-degree methods, one in 10 police personnel admitted that such extreme violence occurs often, and 16% said it happens sometimes. Additionally, one in three respondents reported that investigating officers frequently use coercive tactics.

The findings reveal that close to half, that is nearly four in 10 police personnel believe that reporting of custodial torture should be mandatory, while a similar proportion supported it being mandatory in some cases. Around one in 10 felt it should never be mandatory. While a majority supported mandatory reporting, the fact that the largest group favoured it only ‘sometimes’ suggests a level of hesitation or conditional acceptance. The data also shows that officers at the police station level favour mandatory reporting more than their senior counterparts.

When asked if junior police personnel would feel comfortable fi ling a complaint against their seniors for the use of violence, provided legal protection, over four in 10 of police respondents strongly agreed, while 36% agreed moderately.

Seventy percent of police personnel who have a high propensity to justify torture also believe that training on the prevention of torture is very important. (Table 6.8)

The entire report may be read here

Sabrangindia and Communalism Combat before that, have been assiduously analysing and campaigning around the issue of both representation of Indian Muslims in the police force and administration and also the attitudes of men in uniform Vis a Vis India’s largest minority.

An introduction to the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission Report into the Bombay 1992-1993 brute anti-minority pogrom published an introduction by journalist, educationist and activist, Teesta Setalvad. She has researched the various judicial commission reports into anti-minority violence. This section. Anti-Minority Bias in the Police Force may be read here. Ex-IPS officer, KS Subramanian’s essay ‘Babri Masjid 1992 – Gujarat 2002 – Kashmir 2016: How the Sangh Parivar has wrecked India’s secular social fabric by sustained anti-minority violence’ may be read here.

In February 1995, in the cover story of Communalism Combat (www.sabrang.com) Vibhuti Narain Rai gave an interview that turned the searchlight within, on the Indian Police Force. Setalvad had met him at the National PoliceAcademy where I had been asked to become part of a training given my work in the post Babri-Masjid demolition Bombay violence. In this explosive interview he had argued, cogently and with statistics about the deep-rooted bias within the Indian police. “No riot can continue for more than 24 hours unless the state wants it to continue,” he had said in an interview, that, after it appeared in the February 1995 issue of Communalism Combat was reproduced by 35 Indian publications in different languages. This seminal interview may be read here.

This poor representation of various sections of India’s marginalised, make it almost impossible for the social issues and crimes most plaguing the country today, to be taken seriously by the police. In fact, one witnesses that in many instances the police collude with the majoritarian community, namely Upper caste class Hindu male to perpetuate even more violence on those who are already persecuted.

Though some progressive judgments such as the one in which the SC upholds Karnataka law on Reservations in Promotions for Govt. employees provide a glimmer of hope, the implementation on the ground remains questionable.

[1] See civil society reports on mob lynching that document police apathy and complicity in cases (Citizens Against Hate, 2018 and Human Rights Watch, 2019).

Related:

Anti–minority bias in the Indian Police
Mayhem in Malegaon: A fact-finding team of human rights activists and lawyers that visited riot-hit Malegaon returns with disturbing evidence of a “complete communal-isation of the police and paramilitary forces”
Local Jharkand Police Used Communal Slogans: NCM on Latehar Hangings
Controversy: DIG claims he never said ‘Muslims follow religion of terrorists’

The post Mob violence, police torture justifiable practices feel a significant section of India’s police: Study appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The disappearance of Gujarat’s cows in the past seventy years was detailed in the first part of this Investigation. Part II of this exclusive data-driven study reveals that during the census period 2012-2019, around 56.42 lakh males (bullocks) were culled and eliminated from the population illegally, which included 25.27 lakh native breed plus 31.15 lakhs crossbred males. Considering the 37.8 lakhs missing cows described in the earlier article, the Gujarat state, which claims to be a serious protector of cow progeny, failed to save 94.22 lakhs cattle with an average elimination rate of one lakh cattle every month. 

Is  the state not aware of this persistent culling that ahs resulted in these ‘disappearances’? 

Gujarat celebrated the 2005 Supreme Court judgement of imposing a total slaughter ban as a trend setter, but the analysis show that this amendment to the law, far from salvaging the bullocks, actually hastened their culling and elimination in substantial numbers, reflected in the drastic fall in male: female ratios.  During 1997, 2003 and 2007 censuses, the ratios were respectable 91:100, 85:100 and 79:100, but in the census of 2007, this ratio dropped by two-fold to 47:100. In 2019 it further declined by two-fold to 26:100.  Under the law, calves cannot be culled, but during the 2012 and 2019 census periods 19.65 lakhs and 26.54 lakh male calves went “missing”, which were almost three-times higher than the census period prior to the Supreme Court judgement.  From the census data it can be clearly construed that the Supreme Court judgement completely failed in its objective and actually proved to be anti-cattle.   This Investigation is scientific, based entirely on data collected from the five consecutive 1997-2019 Livestock Census’.

Gujarat’s farmers, burdened by an unrealistic law that does not recognise that economy drives the agrarian occupations, were forced to exercise their culling rights in defiance of the law, leading to the severe distortion of male to female ratios. This empirical investigation shows that, as against the state’s cow population of 76.26 lakhs in the 2019 census, the corresponding count for males was only 19.84 lakhs proving that 56.42 lakhs males went missing resulting in male: female ratio of 26: 100.  The data implies that the farmers reared only a quarter of born males and the rest were eliminated, illegally.  The data for the native breed bullocks shows that during 2012-2019 census period 25.27 lakh indigenous males were culled and eliminated illegally culminating in male to female ratio of 42:100.  The situation however is dismal among the crossbreds, as in the 2019 census, as against the cow population of 32.5 lakhs, the male population was barely 1.35 lakhs, which amounts to “missing” of 31.15 lakh males and a male to female ratio of 4:100!  It appears perplexing that the Gujarat farmers eliminated 96% crossbred males.  Surprisingly, in a reply to the RTI request, the state communicated its “ignorance” on the fate of the missing cattle.

Details of the Investigation

An investigation into the effectiveness and impact of any legislation is an integral part of assessing its quality and impact as also its objective achievements.  The states are expected to, and the court must insist on undertaking such studies, especially before the introduction of any major amendment.  In the case of cattle protection legislation, such a study is not only in the academic interest but has larger economic ramifications on the agrarian/farmers’ economy.  The Gujarat state has promulgated major, trend setting amendments to the Cattle Preservation Act over the last 70 years but has never undertaken any impact evaluation study to ascertain the effectiveness of such legislative policy.  Unfortunately, this law was always contested in the courts on the yardsticks of the rights of the butchers versus the utility of bovines to the farmers and the economy.  Emotional arguments overrode rationality. For this study I framed two leading questions for ascertaining responses:

(a) whether or if this legislation, 70 years on the statute books of the state, was actually successful in achieving the set objectives and

(b) Has the law impacted on the farmers culling behaviour and agrarian economics?

Introduction and Evolution:  The protection provided to the cows, calves and bulls in the legislation was accepted by all the stakeholders as a fait accompli without ever challenging its necessity, rationale and impact on the farmers, in the courts.  Belligerent efforts of the state to extend the protection to old unproductive bullock, however, was a major issue contested in the courts since 1950s.  Finally, the Supreme Court in its landmark judgement delivered in 2005 settled the issue by upholding the Gujarat’s amendment providing for a total ban on the slaughter of all classes of cattle. 

A supplementary objective of this study was to examine if the total slaughter ban judgement had any real impact on saving of bullocks and whether it has resulted in an increase in their population.  It may be argued that 15 years of a policy implementation is too short a period to evaluate field results, but in the case of Gujarat, facts suggest otherwise. Until 2005, various High Courts and the Supreme Court held ultra vires any ban on the slaughter of unproductive bullocks, but the Gujarat state implemented a total ban clandestinely.  In 1976, it issued a gazette notification under the Gujarat Essential Commodities and Cattle Control Act, and fixed a maximum bullocks slaughter quota for each district.  In 1989 a modified order was issued wherein the quota for Ahmedabad city was reduced from 363 bullocks per week to only 60 blocks per year.  As a result, in the entire state only around 85 aged bullocks per day were permitted for slaughter. 

In 2005, a revised Gujarat Essential Commodities and Cattle Control Act was promulgated under which again a notification was issued removing the bullock slaughter quota in the light of 2005 Supreme Court judgement but continued the aged unproductive buffalo slaughter quota, unaltered, without compensating for removal of the bullock quota. Thus, for the purpose of examining the effectiveness of the law, it is reasonable to assume that, in the state of Gujarat, a near-total ban has been invoked since 1976.  Forty years, amounting to two-cattle generations is a long enough a period for undertaking an empirical appraisal of this state’s cattle protection policy.

Methodology and criteria: In this article I present results of the census data analysis on male cattle growth for the periods, 1997-2003, 2003-2007, 2007-2012 and 2012-2019.  The census data for earlier periods is not available in the public domain.  The cattle population data was collated and analysed for growth employing the officially followed ‘static method’.  In addition, another accurate ‘exponential growth method’, explained in the earlier article, was also employed to understand the accurate growth in the male population.  Since, in Gujarat, neither male nor female cattle can be culled for slaughter the male to female population ratio should be equal (1:1).  In general, the farmers perceive that due to lack of a hump and sensitivity to the hot climate, crossbred males are not suitable for draft or agricultural work, hence their utility to the farmers is questionable.  In contrast, the indigenous breed bullocks are favoured for such work.  An analysis of cattle growth was therefore also carried out for both native and crossbred cattle. If the contention in the state’s affidavit in the Supreme Court that a large number of bullocks were needed by the farmers, was in fact, based on a truthful assessment of ground reality, the number of native males in the population should be equal to the number of native breed cows.  Similarly, if the state’s claim in the Supreme Court, that farmers did not consider aged unproductive bullock as a burden and each farmer reared at least one pair of such bullocks was true, the proportion of aged bullock population (aged more than 10-12 years) should be equal to number of farmers or 20-25% of the total population.

The Law Failed to Protect Male Cattle:  The data described in Table 1 portrays a shocking picture of a very low male population compared to the cow population.  As against the cow numbers of 76.26 lakhs, reported in the 2019 census, the males were only 19.84 lakhs, proving that around 56.76 lakh males were culled and eliminated illegally.  The male to female ratio of 26:100 implies that 75% males were culled and eliminated, although law did not permit.  The data on native breed vigorously negates the state’s Supreme Court affidavit on essentiality of bullocks to the farming and draft power.  If the claim was true, the farmers would not have rampantly culled male cattle.  Gujarat has been vocal on its’ promises to promote an indigenous breed of bovines.  The census data however proves that these utterances were only for public consumption and not matched by facts and figures from the ground.  In the 2019 census, there were 43.77 lakhs indigenous breed cows, whereas the male population was only 18.5 lakhs, which means 25.27 lakh male cattle went missing during the period.  In 1997 the working bullock population in the state was 25.85 lakhs which remained static until 2012 census, but in 2019 it declined by 43.5% to 14.61 lakhs.  The declining trend of working bullock does not require any explanation as it is now well known that farming in the state has become mechanized and the bullock cart days have given way to mechanized transport. The data proves that the state’s affidavit on the “requirement” of more than 10 million working bullocks was utterly false and meant to misguide the Supreme Court, possibly to ensure a favourable judgement.  Surprisingly, the Court did not ask for any more scientific evidence in support of all these claims. 

The state vehemently defended the argument that, cattle of any age and breed had high utility to the farmers, therefore could not be termed unproductive.  Although 42% of the native breed males were in existence because of their utility as draft beast, the crossbred males suffered heavily, in spite of promised protection in the law.  In 1997, 2003 and 2007 censuses, the M: F ratio remained static 23-24: 100, but the ratio dropped by half to 11:100 in 2012, whereas in 2019 it fell to all-time low of 4:100.  In 2019 census, as against the cow population of 32.5 lakhs, the male numbers dropped to only 1.35 lakhs which proves that around 31.15 lakh crossbred males went missing.   

Culling pressure on male calves:  From the census data it is also possible to deduce the age at which the farmers culled the males.  The Table 2 gives the data on the male and female calves (aged up to 3 / 2.5 years).  The Gujarat Cattle Preservation Act does permit culling of calves.  If there was no culling pressure, the sex ratio in the calves should be equal. The data in Table 2 however show that the M: F ratio in calves dropped from 55:100 in 1997 to 15: 100 in census 2019. The data implies that during 2012-2019 the farmers culled 26.54 lakhs male calves.  Here, it is assumed that there no female calves were culled, however, in the article I proved that the culling of female calves was also rampant.  It proves that irrespective of the age and breed, any cattle that was unwanted by farmers was eliminated from the population.  

The 2005 Supreme Court Judgement Proved to be Anti-Cattle:  The states’ goal of enhancing the bullock population by prohibiting the slaughter of 8000-9000 bullock, as per its affidavit in the Supreme Court, was a laughable rationale. The census data proves that the 2005 Supreme Court judgement impacted negatively on male cattle population in the state.  During 1997, 2003 and 2007 census, the overall M: F ratios were 91:100, 85:100 and 79:100, but in the 2012 census, it dropped to 47: 100 and in the 2019 census it further dropped to 26: 100.   In case of indigenous breed, during 1997 to 2007, the M: F ratios were respectable 90: 100, but in the 2012 census, it dropped to 60: 100 and in 2019 it further dropped to 42: 100.  The sex ratio in crossbred cattle was already low (20:100) during the 1997-2007 period, but in the 2012 census the ratio dropped by tenfold to 10:100 and in the 2019 census it crashed to all time low of 4:100.  During the pre-judgement period (1992-2007), the farmers culled around 45% male calves, but after the judgement, the farmers repudiated and increased the culling rate to 75% in 2012 and 85% in 2019.  This translated into culling of 19.65 lakhs and 26.54 lakh male calves in 2012 and 2019.  The data proves that post-Supreme Court judgement, the calf culling rate increased to almost three-times higher.  The working bullock population during 1997 to 2012 remained static and narrowly ranged between 24-26 lakhs, but in 2019 census the population declined significantly to 14.61 lakhs and proves that, instead of achieving the promised increase in the male population, the judgement impacted negatively and adversely affected the cattle wealth.  The above data underscores the interpretation that the 2005 Supreme Court judgement was a total failure as it was perceived to be overtly anti-farmer and impractical to implement.

Missing Bullocks based on Exponential Method: The above interpretations were based on the static data reported in the census reports, which grossly underestimates the growth as it does not take into account new calf births and culls due to natural deaths.  As per the method described in first part of this investigation, the expected population were estimated by considering the numbers of breeding females, the breeding cycles within the census periods and assuming equal male: female ratio.  The missing male cattle estimate was calculated after deducting the actual male population reported in the census from the project growth numbers.  The analysis shows that during the 2007-2012 and 2012-2019 periods, in fact an estimated 56.18 lakhs and 84.64 lakhs males went missing. If the numbers of missing cows are added to this, the size of the illegal cattle trade and the corruption dealings involved therein must run into several thousand crores.  This money belonged to the farmers, who must have been forced to part with the unwanted cattle earning pittance in return.    

In conclusion, the census data analysis explicates that the Gujarat’s farmers have rejected the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act because of which it has failed to achieve the set objective.  The farmers have, in fact, defied the law and culled 96% of the male crossbred and 60% of the indigenous male cattle.  The farmers’ culling behaviour has been in line with the rational and scientific husbandry practices followed globally.  The data also shows that the 2005-Supreme Court judgement has caused severe and negative impact as the rate of culling significantly accelerated after the implementation of the judgement.  It is estimated that this anti-farmer policy in 2012-2019 period must have caused a revenue loss of around Rs. 34,000 cores to the farmers as they could not monetize their agrarian operations by selling the excess cattle legally.  This means that it is a major policy failure with huge impact on the farmers’ economy. The state should appoint an ‘Inquiry Commission’ to investigate the fate of missing cattle, identify and punish the perpetrators who were involved in the illegal disposal.  The silence of the farmers should not be construed as their consent. This law requires an urgent review keeping the interests of farmers in mind.

In the next series the buffalo census data will be interpreted to show large scale illegal trade in culled buffaloes.  I will also prove that, contrary to the affidavit in the Supreme Court, the Gujarat dairy economy is buffalo -based and not cow.    

Part I of this Investigation was titled The Missing Cows of Gujarat – How Cow Protection Laws have failed to protect the animal in the state.

About the author: He has obtained Masters in Veterinary Science from Bombay Veterinary College and Ph.D. from Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Canada, under the Commonwealth Fellowship Program.  He was Dean of the Bombay Veterinary College, Faculty Dean and Director of Instruction at Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Science University.  He has more than 35 years of experience in veterinary research and has authored several original research articles and book chapters.  Both these investigations, Part I and II are excerpts from the authors’ forthcoming book.

Related:

INVESTIGATION: The Missing Cows of Gujarat – How Cow Protection Laws have failed to protect the animal in the state

The post INVESTIGATION- Part II: Disappearing Bullocks, Missing Cows, how Gujarat’s Farmers dodge an impracticable Cow Protection Law appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Gujarat’s farmers, hindered by an unrealistic legislation steeped in rhetoric and a dishonest objective, are illegally culling and disposing off the bovine animals: a close scrutiny of the 2012 Livestock Census data figures on breeding cows and female calves, the expected population are revealing: whereas in 2019 the figures of cows in the state should have been 114.04 lakhs, in reality only 76.26 lakhs cows were reported in the census.  The data shows that around 37.78 lakh cows went missing during the period, which means these were illegally culled and disposed of by the farmers.   The missing cow phenomenon was not a one-time aberration but consistent. 

An In-depth Investigation

History of protection law: The state of Gujarat has been a torchbearer of the cow-protection movement right from the pre-independence period. Until 1976, the state of Gujarat followed the Bombay Cattle Preservation Act, 1954, later retitled Gujarat Cattle Preservation Act, 1976.  The original law protected cows, calves, adult useful males, whereas, the bullocks were permitted for slaughter after veterinary certification. In 1991 an amendment was inserted prohibiting slaughter of bullocks below 16 years of age.  In 1995, the law was further amended to ban slaughter of even aged bullocks. This was challenged and the Supreme Court in their historic judgement, delivered in 2005, upheld the total-ban on cattle slaughter.  Subsequently the state passed amendments to make the law for slaughter stricter with even harder punishments.

Evaluation and Methodology: Although the law has been implemented over the last 70 years, been amended and made more stringent, its efficacy has not been really put to the scrutiny of various courts.  The periodic evaluation of economically important policies and laws is an integral part of legislative quality assessment, but at no stage has the effectiveness, efficacy and impact of this Act given its ambitious target, been independently assessed or investigated.  Neither the court the state legislature has demanded rationally culled out information on the efficacy of the law given its stated goals which are the preservation of bovine life.

At periodic junctures, the state has enhanced the severity of punishment on those implicated in slaughter. However, this law was not truly invoked in its true spirit, scrutinising the role of farmers, given their primacy in rearing (or disposing of) unwanted cattle.

In this article I report results of a methodical quantitative study on the impact of the Gujarat Cattle Preservation Act on the state’s cow population. The cattle population data published in 1997, 2003, 2007, 2012 and 2019 livestock census reports have been analysed (www.dahd.nic.in/about-us/divisions/statistics).  The effectiveness was measured by quantifying the cow growth rates and population proportion rates, whereas the impact was measured by estimating the proportion of unproductive cow population.

For calculating the growth rates, the methods employed by the officialdom are deceptive. The official reports employed a static method wherein the net number of cows were counted and recorded during the two censuses periods, after which the data was compared.  This method was not a true estimate of the cow growth as it did not take into account any new births and culling. Since cattle growth is exponential and compounded, the correct method should have been to estimate the ‘expected population’.  Cow growth is a function of the number of breeding cows and the young replacement female calves and the rate will depend on fecundity parameters, hence understanding this process is critical.

To produce milk, a cow must deliver a calf, hence continuous calf births are inevitable additions in the population.  A crossbred cow calf will attain maturity and deliver its first calf by age 2.5-3.5 years, whereas an indigenous calf’s first calving age is reported to be at 3.5-4 years.  Each productive cow must deliver a calf at least every 16-18 months. 

The analysis of the census data from 1997-2019 shows that the breeding cow population in Gujarat narrowly varied between 40-45% of the total cow population. During the census period of five-six years a breeding cow would complete at least three breeding cycles (calving interval 20 months) adding three calves to the herd.  A female calf in the last census, would have attained maturity and completed an average of two breeding cycles by the next census. The number of young female calves is also reported in each census.  To give a simple example, if a farmer had one female calf and one breeding cow in his herd, in the next five-year census period his herd size would become seven (two old and five new), provided none had died or been culled and eliminated.  Using this exponential equation and considering equal sex ratio in the new births, the expected cow population has been estimated for each census period. 

For example, using the 1997 census, 80% of the breeding cow numbers and 80% of the female calves, the expected population for the census 2003 census was predicted, and so on.  A standard census is expected to be carried out every five years.  Since the 2003, 2007 and 2019 censuses were carried out after six, four and seven years, respectively, census, the number of the breeding cycles completed by the female calves and the breeding cows were correspondingly scaled down or upped.  Since in Gujarat the cow numbers could decline only from natural deaths, the expected population need to be adjusted assuming an overall mortality rate of 20% of the expected population (considering higher proportion of aged cows).

Missing Cows in Gujarat: From the data it is evident that there was a wide gap between the expected and the actual population. The estimate show that based on 2012 census data on breeding cows and female calves, the expected population in 2019 should have been 114.04 lakhs, whereas in reality only 76.26 lakhs cows were reported in the census.  The data shows that around 37.78 lakh cows went missing during the period, which means these were illegally culled and disposed of by farmers.   The missing cow phenomenon was not a one-time aberration but consistent as the missing cow proportions were very high during all the census periods studied. 

Another measure to evaluate efficacy and impact of the cow preservation law is to examine the proportion of aged unproductive cows.  In the census process this information is collected and published under the category, ‘Others’.  The lifespan of a cow is reported to be 20-22 years and average productive age 10-12 years. If the farmers were complying with the law and did not cull but reared even unproductive cows, its proportion should be 20-25 % of the total cow population. The Census, however throws a up a dismal picture. In the Gujarat state during the last 22 years, the aged cow population never exceeded 2.4% of the total cow population.   Comparing the unproductive cow population from 2007 to 2019 prove that much celebrated landmark 2005 Supreme Court judgement banning total cattle slaughter which subsequently led to the passage of stringent laws did not reverse the trends.  Rather it had negative effects as the unproductive cow proportion fell from 1.95 % in 2007 to 0.85% in the 2019 census.  The severity of the unproductive cow culling can be measured from the data that in 2019 census, as against the cow population of 76.6 lakhs, only 0.51 lakhs were aged unproductive cows.  Since female calves and breeding cows are an economic asset, their numbers have shown an increasing trend.  The census data also showed that the proportionate rates of other cow categories (such as lactating, dry, infertile) had remained more or less stable, suggesting that the legislation did not result in any genetic improvement.  It is therefore almost certain that the farmers culled >90% of the unproductive cows, illegally. The results are in line with the common perception that, like any global farmer, the Gujarat farmers have understood economics and their decisions on culling and herd size restrictions are rational.  The results also show that there was zero compliance of the law and also debunks the state’s theory that the farmers in Gujarat respected cows beyond economics.

Conclusion: The data unequivocally establishes that even after 70 years of stringent implementation of cow protection laws, the law and subsequent amendments have been totally ineffective and failed to achieve the goal of protecting Gujarat’s cows. The RTI enquiries with the state Department of Animal Husbandry (dated July 12, 2020) did not elicit any explanation about the missing cows and their fate (vide their reply No. PVG/VHT/RTI/80/2020 dated August 4, 2020.  The analysis of the census data supports the apprehension that the true goal of the law was not to protect cows, but to target the beef trade and make it vulnerable to corruption to nurture through bribes a network of informal cow vigilante elements. It is very clear that the law has created a corrupt ecosystem wherein, the farmers are permitted to dispose their unwanted cows free from any fear of law; the meat traders are occasionally exposed to physical harm to create fear, to compel them to pay huge bribes to continue in the trade.  Unfortunately, the farmers do not realize that they are the ultimate losers, as neither have they been able to add cattle wealth nor were they able to legally monetise from the sale of unwanted cows.

In the next Part the Series, the author will debunk the Gujarat state’s hollow claim on the male cattle utility and preservation .

Click here for RTI Application Reply 

About the author:

He obtained Masters in Veterinary Science from Bombay Veterinary College and Ph.D. from Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Canada, under the Commonwealth Fellowship Program.  He was Dean of the Bombay Veterinary College, Faculty Dean and Director of Instruction at Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Science University.  He has more than 35 years of experience in veterinary research and has authored several original research articles and book chapters.  

The post INVESTIGATION: The Missing Cows of Gujarat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Beef Hysteria by Haryana Police Leaves Muslims of Mewat Terrorised

Biriyani far from being a source of culinary joy on Bakri-Eid has in fact turned into the reason or caution, trepidation and fear. Muslims in Mewat live in fear as the Haryana police has taken over the role of cow vigilantes in a brazen targeting if the minority. Deep terror and fear stalks Mewat in Haryana, the only district where there is a sizeable Muslim community in the state. The state has mandated the police to officially go on a beef-hunt:sniff beef from the biryani being cooked for Eid in homes and at street stalls.

In organised raids that defied due process and law, the police took away 'samples' across the town, without following procedures laid down in the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gau Samvardhan Act 2015. As a result small eateries elling beef have simply shut down shop.

Media leaks and hysterical reporting that quoted the state as saying that beef had been discovered were not countered by any objctive reporting by the media. The business has stopped, with the police threatening and aggressive. As everyone in the vicinity knows, the charge of ‘beef’ is life threatening and by the time anyone proves otherwise—if at all– the vendor could be lying dead or severely injured as incidents in the recent past have shown. The Haryana police officers have been quoted in the local media as saying that now the raids will no longer be random, but will cover all biryani vendors in the area. 

In the midst of this has come reports of a brutal attack on Muslims, in a village in Mewat where they were brutally beaten and killed, and the girls raped by a gang of youth. Local workers insist that at least two of the assailants were recognised as members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, with activisits naming them at a press conference held in Delhi by Anhad yesterday. This was hosted by Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar Ansari who had visited the village, and despite letters and requisitions, unable to secure justice for the traumatised family. The victims narrated their story of horror, with a simplicity that brought tears to many an eye. 

Although the house was looted, the modus operandi of the assailants according to Advocate Ramzan Chaudhry suggested a planned attack. The family was mercilessly thrashed, the girls raped over and over again, and two killed. Shabnam Hashmi said that two of the accused were found to be volunteers of the RSS as per their Facebook profiles. And according to her, weere also reported to members of the Gau Raksha Samiti in the state. 

The atmosphere in Mewat is not just tense, but openly communal and terrifying as the locals said. The family from the village had to come. The Haryana government appears to be  following the larger agenda of driving the poorer Muslims at this stage out of business, and ensuring that their freedoms are curtailed through the threat of arrests and mob attacks. Locals share this information with trepidation, insisting they not be quoted, and pointing out that the entire community is now living in fear of its lives. 

Local panchayats (meetings) have been organised  where the Qureshi community in the state was told to give up the meat business. All meat, not just beef. The Muslims have been for long dependent on this business to survive, are largely landless.Attacks have been taking place consistently regarding which some key questions have been raised. 

The festival of cheer Eid has turned into a nightmare for the Muslim residents of Mewat who are facing now not just the threat of mob violence, but of police wrath. 

Last week a horrific case of rape was reported from Mewat.

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