Northern Indian Muslim dairy farmers live in fear as 'gaurakshaks' apply for gun licences: Report

The call to apply for gun licences in bulk appeared on multiple cow vigilante WhatsApp groups after Daya Ram, a resident of Mewat’s Bisaru village, was allegedly attacked by cattle smugglers in the night.

Muslim men in India's Mewat region are living in fear ever since the news of ‘cow vigilante’ leaders urging their associates to apply for gun licences en masse came to light, reported The Hindu.

Mewat is a historical region that comprises parts of modern day Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the report, the call to apply for gun licences in bulk appeared on multiple WhatsApp groups of cow vigilantes across the region after Daya Ram, a resident of Mewat’s Bisaru village, was allegedly attacked by cattle smugglers in the night.

Several cases of lynching have occurred in the past few years, which have made Muslim dairy farmers fearful and wary to carry on with their trade.

In Rajasthan’s Ghatmeeka village in the border of Haryana, Mohammed Ali, 27, and his two brothers, has quit dairy farming. “Since Junaid and Nasir’s death last year, we have quit our family business of dairy farming and we started working as drivers,” he told The Hindu.

Another dairy farmer Md Abdul (name changed to maintain anonymity), from Nuh told The Hindu "Earlier, we used to keep both buffaloes and cow for dairy farming, but now, who will risk bringing a cow from anywhere?"

The report states that the 57-year-old man and his two sons had briefly stopped cattle rearing after Pehlu Khan, who was transporting cows to Nuh from Alwar district was lynched to death by 'gaurakshaks'. A resident of the same village, Mr Abdul feared for his sons' lives, as they often went to animal fairs in Rajasthan to legally buy cows and buffaloes for their dairy farming business.

“For months, I did not allow my two sons to go to the fair to make purchases, and made ends meet with great difficulty by practising the trade in and around our village. However, as our means dried up, we started to buy buffaloes from neighbouring villages and continued our trade,” Mr Abdul told The Hindu.

“If a buffalo costs close to ₹90,000 in Rajasthan’s pashu mela (cattle fair), it costs close to ₹1.5 lacs when brought from Haryana,” he added.

The report states that cow vigilantes or 'gaurakshaks' allegedly frequent the Delhi-Mumbai highway and various routes from Rajasthan to Haryana to harass Muslim men.

Hamid Khan, another resident of Nuh told The Hindu that, while Muslim men were targeted for transporting cattle, Hindus were allowed to pass through without any problem.

“The Hindu men selling animals in pashu melas in Rajasthan were incurring great losses with the increased attacks of gaurakshaks on Muslim men, so they proposed that we pay an additional cost for them to deliver the cows and buffaloes to our villages, straight from the fairs,” Mr Khan told The Hindu.

For many dairy farmers like the 32-year-old Hamid Khan, incurring an additional cost of Rs 5000 helps them continue their trade while offering some protection.