14 July, 2009
Dabwali cow slaughtering incident
Markets shut down in protest
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, July 14, 2009In protest against the slaughter of cows that took place at Dabwali on Friday, various Hindu organizations today held a march in the city and managed to force the markets to remain closed.
Later, the agitators staged a dharna at the Sadhbhawna Chowk where the speakers sought the resignation of the Haryana chief minister for his “callous attitude in checking such heinous activity in his state.” They also accused the Haryana police of taking the issue lightly as they had not been able to nab the accused even after four days had passed.
They urged the Union government to declare the cow as national religious animal and demanded that anybody found guilty of killing a cow should get 20 years of imprisonment.
“If one kills a man, he is punished with life term, so if one kills a cow, which hurts the sentiments of crores of people, how can he be termed less guilty while announcing the verdict,” they said.
Speaking about the charter of demands, leaders said the government should get vacated all land— which were donated for cows— but were being used for other purposes.
It was also said that the slaughter house at Dabwali, where the carcasses of around 40 cows was recovered on Friday, should be handed over to some Gaushala Samiti. Otherwise, the protesters would secure possession on their own and construct a Gaushala there, least bothering about the consequences.
The protesters had given the call for bandh on Sunday and had personally visited the shops on Monday to urge all to cooperate.
Following this, many shopkeepers did not even roll up shutters and the rest too remained closed when volunteers visited them to make requests for closing down.
At some places, verbal duel between the volunteers and the shopkeepers was also reported, but the city witnessed bandh widely.
Among others, volunteers from the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Naujawan Welfare Society, Salasar Yatra Sangh, Bathinda Vikas Manch, Asra Welfare Society, Mahabir Sankirtan Mandal, Charan Paduka Seva Dal, Hanuman Seva Samiti and Peerkhana Seva Samiti took part.
Later, the volunteers informed over the phone that the president of the Truck Union, Bathinda, had announced collection of some amount from its customers as charity for the welfare fund of cows.
He also assured that no cow would be transported without getting the nod from Hindu organisations.
Haryana Watch's note: - A brief history of Sirsa:
1) Dabwali is the home-town of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhri Devi Lal and former Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Om Parkash Chautala. After being pampered with beef Biryanis at state-sponsored Ramzan Iftaars, are Muslims feeling so arrogant that they can get away in Cow Slaughter in such a Hindu strong-hold?
2) Perhaps the Muslims have forgotten that the lessons of history that Sirsa taught them.
During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the killing of cows was subject to capital punishment, until the mid 19th century. As the British came to power in Punjab during 1849, they encouraged cow-slaughter by Muslims and sale of beef to mock the religious beliefs of all the Hindus, including Sikhs.
In Amritsar itself, a slaughterhouse was opened adjacent to the clock tower near the Golden Temple where Muslim butchers began to slaughter cows. As beef began to be sold in Punjab for the first time for over half a century, conflict arose between the Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Birds of prey began to carry carrion and bones away from the slaughterhouses and this would occasionally drop within the holy precincts of the Golden Temple and other nearby Hindu temples. The Sikh and Hindu priests were infuriated at this, and began to protest to the authorities. The British Governor of Punjab ignored these protests
Sirsa's Jeevan Nagar is the home of Namdhari Kuka Sikhs - the army of Baba Ram Singh ji Namdhari. The fiercely vegetarian Namdharis are renowned for their love of cows and therefore, the protection of cows from slaughter remains the foremost concern of Namdharis.
The Namdhari Sikhs were passionate in the matter of cow killings. They were punished by the British Raj because they attacked butcher houses and murdered the butchers for which they were executed/ blown off with cannons or put behind the jails.
The then deputy commissioner of Amritsar opened a slaughter house outside the city. The butchers were asked to follow these instructions, “The cows will be slaughtered at a particular place within an enclosure. No butchers would bring beef inside the city for sale. Transgressors of these rules will be punished.”
Opening a slaughter house at Amritsar was a signal for opening many more in different towns of Punjab. This led to the development of strained relations between the Hindus and the Muslims because the butchers started selling beef openly in the streets of Amritsar. Peeved at this, Namdharis came forward to punish the butchers and embraced martyrdom during the British era.
In their zeal for protecting the cow, an armed Kuka Namdhari band attacked a cow slaughterhouse in the sacred city of Amritsar on the night of 15 June 1871.The Namdharis assassinated four Muslim butchers involved in cow slaughtering and wounded three other butchers. The cows were set free. To prevent any anti-cow slaughter movement, the British administration hanged five brave Namdharis (Sant Hakam Singh Patwari, Sant Fateh Singh, Sant Lehna Singh, Sant Jhanda Singh and Sant Beehla Singh Narli) to death.
Exactly a month later on 14 July 1971, another surprise raid by Namdhari fighters took place on a cattle slaughterhouse in Raikot, in Ludhiana district. A group of Namdharis were passing by a Gurudwara in Raikot, on their way to Bhaini Sahib when they were summoned by the local priests. The priests took the Namdharis to temple precincts where crows were seen to be dropping carrion and bones.
The Namdharis decided to spend the night there, and in the morning they attacked the local slaughterhouse and assassinated four Muslim butchers and seriously wounded seven others. These Namdharis were arrested and brought before the magistrate at the village of Bassin.
On 5th August 1871, three Namdharis (Mastan Singh, Gurmukh Singh and Mangal Singh) were blown into pieces by British cannons at Raikot. On 26th November 1871, two more Namdharis (the scholar Giani Rattan Singh of Mandi and Rattan Singh of Naiwala) who were innocent, but were considered associates of above hanged Namdharis, were blown into pieces by British cannons in Ludhiana.
Painting by Vassili Verestchagin showing the British execution of Namdharis by blowing them up with cannons in Malerkotla
Meanwhile, the British continued to encourage Muslim butchers to open slaughterhouses in the Punjab and increase the selling of beef. In January 1872, the Namdharis had gathered at Bhaini Sahib to celebrate Maghi. A Gurmukh Singh of Farwahi village narrated to Sardar Heera Singh a tale of how an ox had been deliberately slaughtered in his presence in Malerkotla, and how the police on this occasion used abusive language towards him. Against the wishes of their Guru Ram Singh, the hot-headed militant Namdharis decided to attack the butchers at Malerkotla. On 13th January 1872, approximately 100 Namdhari fighters, lead by Sardar Heera Singh and Lehna Singh started from Bhaini Sahib for Malerkotla.
On 15th January 1872, the martial Namdharis reached Malerkotla. At 7 AM, the Namdharis attacked, and a bloody fight ensued between the forewarned British Raj police, and the Namdhari fighters. The police, who received eight causalities, was lead by a Muslim officer named Ahmed Khan. Seven Namdharis were killed, and as more police reinforcements arrived on the scene at midday, the police captured 68 Namdharis, including two women and 22 injured. The British deputy commissioner of Ludhiana, Mr. Cowen, reached Malerkotla and without any judicial process, he ordered the barbaric execution of 49 Namdhari Kukas by having them blown away by cannons.
Some sources state that one young Namdhari lad named Bishan Singh attempted to choke Mr Cowen but was pulled off and cut down with a sword. In this way, Cowen murdered 50 Namdharis in all. Namdhari tradition records of how one Viriyam Singh, being too short, elevated himself by placing bricks under his feet so as he could be executed by cannon fire more efficiently. On 18th January 1872, in the presence of Mr Forsyth, another 16 Namdharis were blown away by cannons as they sang hymns from Sikh scriptures.
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