The Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has warned of holding a “peaceful picnic” to celebrate the diverse food traditions of Meghalaya including beef dishes, if the State government does not immediately ban the cow protection march call made by a Hindu group.
TUR in a statement said that the picnic would be held at the location where the ‘Gau Dhwaj’ (cow flag) would be installed.
The Hindu group, Bramachari Mukundanand, representative of Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati of Jyotirmath, had through a press statement, after cancelling a scheduled a press conference, said it will hold the ‘Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra’ on October 2 in Shillong to declare “Cow as Mother of the Nation”
Condemning the plan to hold the yatra, TUR member Angela Rangad said, “This yatra calling for a nationwide ban on cow slaughter is a Hindu majoritarian communal attack on pluralist and secular culture of India and Meghalaya. Communities in Meghalaya savour all kinds of meat including beef and many indigenous communities even sacrifice cows for sacred reasons.”
TUR said the cow protection march would vitiate the pluralist and secular culture of Meghalaya. “The cow protection march and erection of Cow Flag in Shillong is not about religious freedom but is clearly about establishing the dominance of fascist majoritarian culture in India,” it added.
