New DELHI: India's top court yesterday rejected a petition seeking a nationwide ban on cow slaughter, a flashpoint issue for Hindus who consider the animal sacred.
The Supreme Court dismissed an activist's proposal to prohibit the slaughter of cows across India, a measure that would have effectively banned beef consumption in the nation of 1.25 billion. Cows are revered in the Hindu scriptures as the 'mother' of civilisation and many worshippers equate the slaughter of cows or eating beef as blasphemy.
But millions from India's huge minority populations -- including Muslims, Christians and lower caste Hindus -- eat beef, which isn't widely available and is banned altogether in some states.
