The killings of Rakbar and two other alleged cow smugglers Pehlu Khan and Ummar Khan is likely to set the narr... Read More

(This story originally appeared in on Aug 3, 2018)

The recent death of Rakbar due to alleged mob lynching has added fuel to the ‘cow politics’ in the Alwar region. While Congress termed it as ‘polarisation’ attempt, the BJP state government said it responded quickly and takes strong action in such cases.

“It’s not the reality of Rajasthan, it’s the reality of the world,” Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje said recently.

The killings of Rakbar and two other alleged cow smugglers Pehlu Khan and Ummar Khan is likely to set the narrative for the upcoming elections.

Over the past few years, ‘cow-violence’ didn’t seem to set the trend of politics in the state. Despite having 84 per cent Hindu population and 14 per cent Muslims, the Alwar LS bypolls saw BJP losing in all the 11 Assembly segments, and Congress winning the election by around 2 lakh votes. Surprisingly, in 2013 assembly elections, BJP had won 9 out of 11 seats in the district.

“BJP is doing this for polarisation of votes. People have understood the politics of hate. It’s no longer working. You can’t always win in the name of religion,” says Zubair Khan, former Congress MLA from Ramgarh, Alwar who lost to BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja. Ahuja has said on record that people indulging in cow smuggling are fated to be killed.

There has been a dramatic rise in cases of cow smuggling in the region. On an average, 150 cases of cow smuggling have been reported over the last 4 years as compared with less than 40 before that.

Similarly, Gau Rakshaks have also grown in numbers. As per an estimate, there are more than 50,000 self-proclaimed cow protectors who exchanging information about cow smuggling across the state.

“Most of these smugglers are from Haryana. They disturb peace and harmony of Alwar. We are gathering data of such criminals to thwart any such incident in future,” said Rajendra Singh, SP, Alwar.

