Bharatiya or Indian civilisation is the oldest and living civilisation. Over the course of history, numerous civilisations came and triumphed for some time and then disappeared without a trace. The Bharatiya or Hindu civilisation, in spite of its antiquity and centuries of oppression, is as radiant and as dynamic as a young horse which is powerful, energetic, strong and has an unyielding spirit.
It has deep roots with an unmatched heritage of learning, culture, languages, food, history, science, spirituality, arts, architecture, mathematics, philosophy, doctrines of war and peace and much more. More than all this, Hindu civilisation has the concept of Ahimsa and Compassion. Compassion towards all living beings. Animals share this planet with us. A practising Hindu will not harm even an ant. This position is unique to the Dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.
Killing of animals for food or for fun is an anathema to practising Hindus. Civilisations survive on sacred principles. However, in a world where trade agreements are important, protecting sacred values is almost impossible.
This is the dilemma the Hindu majority India is facing. The cow is a sacred animal for Hindus. However, India has become a big exporter of beef. While cow and calf meat exports are prohibited, the water buffalo meat, also known as Cara meat, is legal. India has the distinction of being the world's biggest exporter of buffalo meat.
The biggest producer of buffalo meat in India is the company called 'Al-Kabeer', owned by Satish and Atul Sabharwal. It has invested £27 million (₹230 crore) on plant and machinery to have the most efficient way of killing the buffaloes and poultry. It is based in Andhra Pradesh, near Hyderabad, covering acres of land. The state of Andhra Pradesh is a leading contributor of cattle to Al-Kabeer, followed by Karnataka and Telangana.
At least 8 million to 10 million (80 lakh to 1 crore) heads of cattle are slaughtered every year to generate 950,000 (9.5 lakh) metric tonnes of beef. The Hindu holy site of Tirupati Balaji is also in Andhra Pradesh. The Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
43% of buffalo meat is produced in Chief Minister Yogiji's Uttar Pradesh. There are at least four major meat companies whose owners are Hindu. Apart from Al-Kabeer owned by the Sabharwal brothers, Arabian Export is owned by Sunil Kapoor, MKR Frozen Food is owned by Madan Abbot. Though it has been claimed that there are even Jain owners of slaughterhouses, I could not find any. However, many Jains outside India own grocery shops and franchises selling meat, fish and eggs.
To their great credit, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance food stores in India have stopped selling any meat products. No Hindu should ever do business involving meat, fish or eggs. The negative karma hits hard in this very lifetime.
Buffalo meat is marketed in different forms. Buffaloes are de-boned, that is, the bones are removed, and de-glanded, meaning the glands are removed from the carcass. A concept called 'Nose to Tail' means that every part of the animal is eaten. The animal's liver, heart, kidneys, tongue, pancreas and even the genitalia are consumed.
The frozen Halal buffalo meat has an array of cuts like the Shank (meaning meat from below the knee), Thick Flank (cut on upper portion of hind leg), Striplon (meat from lower back of animal along the spine from ribs to rump), Brisket (from the breast or lower chest of the cow), Knuckle (top side of the leg). Animal casings are the edible outer layers of sausage made from the intestines of animals like pigs, sheep and cattle. The faeces of these animals are in the intestines.
Apart from buffalo meat, India exports poultry and live goats and sheep. According to the 2023–24 statistics, India exported poultry worth £143.5 million (₹1,200 crore) and more than 7,000 metric tonnes of live exports of goats and sheep. The meat is exported to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia and many other countries, including China.
Between October 2023 to September 2024, 31,275 shipments of frozen buffalo meat were exported to China. A meat company called Fair Export, which is part of a Lulu conglomerate, has a presence in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
India's rise as a major player in meat exports is known as the Pink Revolution. It is a term coined by Durgesh Patel, who is also known as the father of the Pink Revolution in India. Started in 2014, Pink Revolution aims to modernise and optimise meat production. Durgesh Patel is obviously Hindu and Gujarati.
The blood of slaughtered buffaloes and poultry mostly ends up in the ground and rivers. The pollution renders the ground infertile and the rivers dead. The faeces and discarded animal parts further pollute the waterways. Small flecks of faeces can spread to meat in the slaughter process as hides and intestines are removed.
Meanwhile, PM Modi has chaired a high-powered meeting to improve the fishing industry. Nicknamed the Blue Revolution, £300 million (₹3,000 crore) has been allocated to focus on increasing fish production. Another scheme called PM-MISSY has been allocated £600 million (₹6,000 crore) to support fishing enterprises between the years 2023 and 2027.
As the world fish stock is running out, fish farms have started. Fish swim in their own faeces and cause great pollution.
Violence against defenceless animals rebounds on human society and it snatches away something humans crave for, which is peace, happiness and tranquillity. As India marches ahead in pursuit of material happiness, the violence towards animals will not give the country peace and happiness which should come with it.
The violence perpetrated on animals becomes like an unmovable cloud of despair, anxiety and uneasiness. It creates a nightmare situation of dystopia and negativity amongst human beings. This is especially true for India which has always lived by the principles of Ahimsa. In fact, Ahimsa is the secret to the immortality of Hindu civilisation.
This is an issue which spiritual leaders must speak out about. Their silence on the issue of condemning meat consumption and meat exports is putting the Sanatan Dharma into real danger. Hindu gurus hardly ever condemn meat eating openly and boldly.
Every Hindu child must be brought up on a plant-based diet. No Hindu home should have meat, fish and eggs. This is the bare minimum, but to cut out the immense cruelty involved in the milk industry, one should take that extra step and go vegan. I cannot emphasise enough the urgency of this matter.
I call upon the following gurus and spiritual organisations to speak up about meat eating and slaughterhouses at every event and at every lecture to protect our heritage:
Swami Avdheshanand Giri (Acharya of Juna Akhara), Ganapathi Sachchidananda, Sri, Sri, Mata Amritananda (Amma), Swami Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sadhguru Jaggi Maharaj, Mohanji (Mohanji Foundation), Sant Trilochan Darshan Das Ji (Sachkhand Nanak Dham), Baba Gurinder Singh (Radha Saomi), Namra Muni, Dalai Lama, Swami Chidanandji (Parmarth Niketan Ashram), Supreme Master Ching Hai, Lokesh Muni, Satguru Uday Singh (Namdhari Sangat), Acharyashree Ratnasundarsurishvarji, Acharyashree Hemchandrasurishvarji, Radhanath Swami (ISKCON).
Organisations:
BAPS, ISKCON, RSS, Arya Samaj, Chinmaya Mission, Brahma Kumaris, all the Kathakars and all the four Shankaracharya.
(Nitin Mehta is a writer and commentator on Indian culture and philosophy. He has contributed extensively to discussions on Hinduism, spirituality, and the role of Gurus in modern society. You can find more of his work at www.nitinmehta.co.uk.)
(The views of the author need not represent the views of Eastern Eye)
