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Stray cows put other issues to pasture as India’s biggest state prepares to vote

Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party listen to their leader and union minister Smriti Irani during an election campaign rally in Allahabad, ahead of Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections. (AFP)
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Updated 22 February 2022
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Stray cows put other issues to pasture as India’s biggest state prepares to vote

  • Farmers and experts say increasing cattle population caused by policies introduced by ruling BJP
  • PM Modi this week promised that he will ‘get rid’ of the issue
Updated 22 February 2022
Sanjay Kumar

NEW DELHI: The buildup of stray cows in India’s most populous state has grown into one of the main issues in the ongoing regional elections as voters head to the polls on Wednesday.  

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, a largely impoverished state of 200 million people in northern India, say the number of stray cows ambling around towns and villages has been increasing and becoming a menace for crops; a disruption farmers and experts say is caused by policies implemented by the state’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Protecting cows, which are considered sacred to Hindus, was an important measure designed to boost support for the BJP in the heavily populated and Hindi-speaking belt that has been a heartland for the party.

When the party took power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, officials introduced policies that included a ban on cow slaughter and traditional cattle markets, as well as closures of butcher houses.

The measures led to a huge rise in the cattle population, subsequently impacting local farmers and their sources of income. Cow attacks, which led to heavy injuries and some deaths, have also blighted the state.

“The issue of stray cattle has deprived us of our peace,” 42-year-old Ashok Kumar Yadav, from the state’s Mainpuri district, told Arab News.

Like many other farmers across Uttar Pradesh, where agriculture is a mainstay, Yadav stays awake at night to guard his field or face losing their crops to the cattle.

“We have to be on guard all the time,” he added.

Yadav and his peers used to sell their old cattle in the markets or slaughterhouses for extra income, but he reported that farmers are “badly suffering” due to that economic opportunity being snatched away.

There were about 1.16 million stray cows in Uttar Pradesh according to the 2019 Livestock Census, up more than 17 percent compared to 2017.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would “get rid” of the problem during an election rally in the state on Monday, promising that officials will create a system that would generate income for the population.

Uttar Pradesh is one of five Indian states voting in phases in February and March, in what is seen as a barometer of Modi and BJP’s popularity ahead of general elections in 2024. Election results are expected on March 10.

While religion has been one of the main issues in previous elections across India, this time voters in Uttar Pradesh appear more focused on their ripple effect in the economy.

“Last time I voted for the BJP in the name of religion, but now we realize that politics of religion damages us very badly,” Shiv Veer Singh, a farmer from Etawah district, told Arab News.

“The disruption of the age-old economic cycle in the name of cow protection has damaged us all economically,” Singh said.

The BJP said they were working to address the issue.

“We have taken several steps for the protection of cattle by acquiring lands meant for cattle grazing. We took steps in building lots of cow shelters,” Rakesh Tripathi, the BJP spokesperson in Uttar Pradesh, told Arab News.

The Samajwadi Party, seen as a main challenger to BJP’s incumbency in Uttar Pradesh, has promised over $6,500 to those who have died to cow attacks.

Stray cattle is a “serious issue” for the rural economy that “did not exist until five years ago,” said Delhi-based economist Prof. Santosh Mehrotra from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Mehrotra added that the disruption of the cattle economy in rural India has also impacted other industries, including meat exports and leather and footwear, with the former valued at about $4 billion in 2015.

“The BJP only did politics in the name of cow shelters but did nothing to save cattle or take care of them,” political analyst Asad Rizvi told Arab News.

“People are angry over the issue of stray cattle and the BJP might have to pay a political price for this,” he said.

Topics: india elections

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Kremlin says it disagrees with Turkiye’s Erdogan that Crimea should return to Kyiv’s control

Updated 3 sec ago
Reuters
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Kremlin says it disagrees with Turkiye’s Erdogan that Crimea should return to Kyiv’s control

  • Kremlin said this week that President Vladimir Putin may visit Turkiye for talks with Erdogan once preparations are completed
  • Erdogan said this week that Turkish support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence was unwavering
Updated 3 sec ago
Reuters
MOSCOW: Russia completely disagrees with comments from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Crimea should return to Ukrainian control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Erdogan said this week that Turkish support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence was unwavering, and that the return of Crimea — which Russia seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014 — was a requirement of international law.
Asked about Erdogan’s comments, Peskov said the topic of Crimea “falls under the category of disagreements between us and our Turkish friends.
“Here we have completely divergent opinions. At the same time, we do not abandon our deliberate attempts to explain to our Turkish friends and colleagues our point of view, our position.”
Peskov said that Erdogan was under pressure from the United States over its traditionally close economic ties with Moscow
“As for Turkiye’s attempts to mitigate US pressure, indeed, the US is exerting undisguised pressure on the Turkish Republic, not shying away from intimidation, with consequences for the Turkish economy,” said Peskov.
The Kremlin said this week that President Vladimir Putin may visit Turkiye for talks with Erdogan once preparations are completed.
Turkiye, a NATO member, has played a key role as a go-between for Russia and Ukraine during their
2-1/2-year-old conflict, including arranging an export deal for Ukrainian grain.
Erdogan told Putin at a summit in Kazakhstan in July that Ankara could help end the conflict, but the Kremlin has not taken the Turkish leader up on his offer.

Malaysia widens probe into ‘horror’ care home child abuse

Updated 3 min 11 sec ago
AFP
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Malaysia widens probe into ‘horror’ care home child abuse

  • Investigators stormed 20 charity shelters across two Malaysian states on Wednesday, arresting 171 suspects including religious studies teachers and caregivers, and bringing to safety 400 children
Updated 3 min 11 sec ago
AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police expanded their probe Friday into a major Muslim company with links to a banned sect, after hundreds of children were rescued from alleged abuse at care homes believed to be run by the group.
Investigators stormed 20 charity shelters across two Malaysian states on Wednesday, arresting 171 suspects including religious studies teachers and caregivers, and bringing to safety 400 children.
In what is believed to be the worst such case to hit Malaysia in decades, police suspect the victims — aged from one to 17 — had been subjected to sexual and physical attacks.
They were also allegedly forced by the care home staff to abuse each other.
Investigators were “working toward” further raids and arrests as the probe on the organization called Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) continues, said police inspector-general Razarudin Husain.
Investigations and health checks so far show that at least 13 minors had been sexually abused, Razarudin said at a press conference.
The children, who are temporarily being housed in a police training center in Kuala Lumpur among other locations, are still undergoing medical examinations, added the police chief.
Razarudin had said on Wednesday that children as young as five were burnt with hot spoons, while others who were ill were not allowed to seek treatment until their condition became critical.
“The caretakers also touched the children’s bodies as if to carry out medical checks,” he said.
GISB has denied the allegations and said they do not run the care homes raided in the states of Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
“It is not our policy to do things that go against Islam, and the laws,” the group said in a statement this week.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he has urged relevant authorities to “investigate thoroughly” without delay.
“This concerns the faith of the community. It is important and a serious matter, involving abuse of power, misuse of religion,” he told reporters after performing Friday prayers.
Multi-ethnic Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with Muslims subject to sharia (Islamic law) in certain areas.
GISB has long been controversial for its links to the now-defunct Al-Arqam sect and has faced scrutiny by religious authorities in the Muslim-majority country.
Al-Arqam was banned by the authorities in 1994 for deviant teachings, while GISB members had in 2011 set up an “Obedient Wives Club” that called on women to be “whores in bed” to stop their husbands from straying.
According to its website, GISB runs businesses from supermarkets to restaurants, and operates in several countries including Indonesia, France and the United Kingdom.
Police believe the minors in the care homes were all children of GISB members.
“We believe that all 402 children are fathered by GISB members. That’s our suspicion at the moment,” Razarudin told AFP on Thursday.
“We feel that there’s a need for DNA samples to be taken.”
Religious authorities in Selangor state said this week they were closely monitoring GISB’s activities.
“(We) remain vigilant about any facts leading to deviations from true Islamic teachings,” they said.
The United Nations children’s agency underlined the “unimaginable horror” faced by the victims.
The children “will need long-term professional medical and psychosocial support,” said Robert Gass, UNICEF’s Malaysia representative.
The case has also rattled locals.
“This incident is very shocking and sudden,” said Uzair Abdul Aziz, 37, a Selangor resident.

Afghan fighters pull no punches after Taliban ban on professional MMA

Updated 34 min 12 sec ago
AFP
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Afghan fighters pull no punches after Taliban ban on professional MMA

  • Taliban authorities banned the sport in professional competition calling it too ‘violent’ and ‘problematic with respect to sharia’
  • A number of non-Afghan Muslim fighters have won world titles and enormous purses on the international stage
Updated 34 min 12 sec ago
AFP

KABUL: Hissing like a quiver of angry cobras, a group of young Afghan mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes shadow box in a Kabul club despite the uncertain future of the sport after a Taliban government ban on professional competitions.
Late last month, the Taliban authorities banned the sport in professional competition calling it too “violent” and “problematic with respect to sharia,” in the latest restriction based on their interpretation of Islamic law implemented since they swept to power in 2021.
“Initially, when a friend told me that MMA has been banned in Afghanistan, I didn’t believe but when I reached the club, all my friends were gutted, and obviously I was too,” 21-year-old Khalil Rahman said.
Rahman had ambitions to “raise Afghanistan’s flag high in the world,” through international MMA competitions, but now that professional bouts have been canceled, he and other trainees at the well-equipped private gym in eastern Kabul worry their days in the octagonal fighting cage are numbered.
For now, training and amateur competitions have continued with protective gear, leaving MMA enthusiasts in limbo, uncertain of the exact rules in the order from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
The state sporting authority was not immediately available for comment, but a source from the organization confirmed to AFP that the order text “was vague about what actually has been banned and the general directorate of sports and physical education has requested clarity.”
But Rahman is already thinking of trying to leave the country to follow his pro MMA dreams abroad.
His fellow trainee Mohammad Waseem Qayumi is holding out hope he can keep up with the sport at an amateur level.
“Initially, it made me sad when MMA was banned,” he said, sweating after punching and kicking through the training session.
“Then I thought if free fighting (without safety gear) is banned, that’s OK, I will put on headgear and other safety equipment and will continue to freestyle with my fighting.”
Qayumi was inspired by the growth of the sport in the country in recent years, as he saw Afghan athletes taking part in international competitions on popular MMA platforms like the US Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
A number of non-Afghan Muslim fighters have won world titles and enormous purses on the international stage, including Russians Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
“The people of Afghanistan are fighters, and this sport is also a fight, where you can kick and punch freely, that’s why people like this sport,” Qayumi said.
The Taliban government has not been recognized by any other state, complicating sports teams’ participation in international arenas, but athletes from other countries have recently been welcomed to Afghanistan for competition.
The authorities have also effectively banned women from sports and male athletes have been ordered in a new morality law to cover their bodies from the navel to the knee.
Bilal Fazli, who trains in a club based in a dark basement in the southwest of the Afghan capital told AFP he was disappointed to see an immediate drop in the number of trainees coming to the club after the ban.
“All the boys were frightened... The government could have done a better job by working on other important things such as helping the poor than banning sport,” the 21-year-old said before punching his trainer’s gloves hard in frustration.
“I don’t know what to do, we don’t have jobs and if we can’t even have the sports of our liking, maybe we will leave this country.”

Topics: MMA Mixed martial arts Afghanistan Taliban

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WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease in Africa and beyond

Updated 47 min 40 sec ago
AP
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WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease in Africa and beyond

  • The vaccine can be administered in people aged 18 or above a two-dose regimen
Updated 47 min 40 sec ago
AP

GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Friday it has granted its first authorization for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step toward fighting the disease in Africa and beyond.
The pre-qualification of the vaccine by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors like GAVI the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF can buy it. But supplies are limited because there’s only a single manufacturer.
“This first pre-qualification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The UN health agency chief called for “urgent” scale-up of procurement, donations and rollout to get the vaccine where it is needed most, along with other response measures.
Under the WHO authorization, the vaccine can be administered in people aged 18 or above in a two-dose regimen. The approval says that while the vaccine is not currently licensed for those under 18 years old, it may be used in infants, children and adolescents “in outbreak settings where the benefits of vaccination outweigh the potential risks.”
Officials at the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that nearly 70 percent of cases in Congo — the country hardest hit by mpox — are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85 percent of deaths.
On Thursday, the Africa CDC said 107 new deaths and 3,160 new cases had been recorded in the past week, just a week after it and WHO launched a continental response plan.
Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

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India’s top court grants bail to opposition leader Kejriwal in graft case

Updated 56 min ago
Reuters
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India’s top court grants bail to opposition leader Kejriwal in graft case

  • Bail paves the way for release of Delhi Chief Minister almost six months after he was arrested
  • Kejriwal’s release expected to boost AAP party, allow him to campaign in regional elections 
Updated 56 min ago
Reuters

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court granted bail on Friday to opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a graft case, paving the way for his release almost six months after he was arrested.
Kejriwal’s release is expected to boost the morale of his decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as it will allow him to campaign in regional elections next month in the northern state of Haryana, where AAP is trying to make inroads, and in Delhi early next year.
Kejriwal was first taken into custody in March by India’s financial crime-fighting agency, weeks before the country’s national elections, in relation to alleged irregularities in the capital city’s liquor policy.
Although he was granted bail in that case in July, he remained in detention due to his arrest a month previously by the federal police in a graft case related to the same policy.
Kejriwal, 55, and AAP deny the allegations and say the cases are “politically motivated.”
Ordering Kejriwal’s release, Justice Surya Kant said that the issue related to “liberty” and “prolonged incarceration” could not be justified.
The two-judge bench was split, however, on Kejriwal’s appeal challenging his arrest, with Kant holding it lawful while Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said the timing raised serious questions.
The federal police “must not only be above board but must also be seen to remain so ... in a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters,” Bhuyan said.
In its first reaction following the verdict, AAP said, “Truth can be troubled, but not defeated.”
Opposition parties have been demanding Kejriwal’s release, saying his arrest was an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to deny them a level playing field in the polls, charges denied by Modi and BJP.
Other countries, including the US, had urged a “fair” and impartial trial.
On Friday, BJP said bail to Kejriwal did not mean he was innocent.

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