The recent ban on beef eating by Maharashtra government has sparked a nation wide controversy. As per reports in Muslim Mirror, the myth propagated by Hindu nationalist that it was the invaders Muslim and Christian who brought beef-eating to India.
Liking for cattle meat had nothing to do with Christianity or Islam.
But much before the advent of Islam in India and Jesus Christ was crucified, beef slaughtering and eating had been associated with Indian dietary practices. Facts and religious scriptures prove that it was the Vedic-Hindus who were among the world’s first urban consumers of beef.
The Vedas – the very roots of Hinduism, will prove that Vedic -Hindus were cow eaters.
Rigveda (6/17/1) states that “Indra used to eat the meat of cow, calf, horse and buffalo.”
Vashistha Dharmasutra (11/34) writes, “If a Brahmin refuses to eat the meat offered to him on the occasion of ‘Shraddha’ or worship, he goes to hell.”
Manusmriti (Chapter 5 / Verse 30) says, “It is not sinful to eat meat of eatable animals, for Brahma has created both the eaters and the eatables.”
Hinduism’s greatest propagator Swami Vivekanand said thus: “You will be surprised to know that according to ancient Hindu rites and rituals, a man cannot be a good Hindu who does not eat beef”. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand, vol.3, p. 536).
Charak Samhita, 100 B.C.: In therapeutic section, the flesh of cow is prescribed as a medicine for various diseases, prescribed for making soup, advised as a cure for irregular fever, consumption. The fat of the cow is recommended for rheumatism and debility.
Taittiriya Brahman , 500 B.C.: Verily the cow is food.
Buddha did taste beef and it is a known fact that he died due to eating pork. Emperor Ashok after converting to Buddhism did not turn to vegetarianism. He only keep a tight rein on the number of animals to be killed for the royal kitchen.
The followers of Buddhism continued to have a meal of flesh including beef.
The central focus of cow worship is to present muslims as anti-hindus and to establish a universal symbol for upper-caste Hindu identification.