Zafar Sareshwala

A large section of Hindus believe that consuming beef is a virtuous act for Muslims. This has no basis. Islam never says that a believer must ear beef. Eating beef is permissible, but it is not a virtuous act. You can eat mutton, fish, or camel meat. These are not the staple foods of Muslims. Let's go back to the time of Babur.

The Baburnama, a book listing bunch of advices given by the first Mughal emperor to his son in his final days, states: "Son, if you want to rule this country, respect the beliefs of its people. They worship the cow, so refrain from eating beef. They consider the cow sacred and respect it greatly. Don't even touch beef."

There are many alternatives—oxen, buffaloes, camels, and goats. Cow slaughter was prohibited throughout the Mughal period, even during the reign of Aurangzeb. Beef imports increased during the British Raj because Europeans ate beef. In fact, they were the ones who introduced beef to India.

I want to make this distinction clear to Hindus. In 1955, Asia's largest Islamic educational institution—Darul Uloom Deoband—issued a fatwa, which said: "In order to maintain peace and harmony among different communities, we instruct Muslims to refrain from using beef for sacrifice, as alternatives exist."

#DarulUloom #Deoband had issued a Directive in 1955:”In the interest of Peace ✌️CoExistence between Communities We advise #Muslims to Refrain from offering #Cow for Sacrifice during #EidAlAdha & Otherwise because Alternatives are Available”Lets abide by it in Letter & Spirit

— zafar sareshwala 🇮🇳 (@zafarsareshwala) May 18, 2026

To maintain peace, if I want to respect your faith, even if it means sacrificing my own rituals, then this is the greatest and most important responsibility in God's eyes. Having said all this, I want to make it clear that the entire hype being created around beef is the work of people pursuing their own selfish interests.

It's crucial to clearly distinguish between beef and buffalo meat. Cow slaughter is banned in approximately 24 states. Despite this, India is the world's largest exporter of beef. Many people are unaware that this is buffalo meat, not cow meat. For years, India has accounted for 20 percent of global beef consumption.

But Muslims are not at the center of the entire economic cycle related to cows. In our country, cows are primarily owned by farmers. They sell them to traders, who then take them to slaughterhouses. More than 99 percent of farmers in the country are Hindus. When cows are slaughtered, the bones are taken by gelatin manufacturers, the blood by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and the leather by the leather industry.

These industries are primarily owned by Hindus, who export cow by-products on a large scale. But the law is strange. If beef is found in your home, you are guilty. But if you are caught with cow skin, bones, or blood, you are not guilty. Why are industries that use cow by-products like skin, bones, blood, and oil not being targeted?

A large number of Muslims involved in the meat industry are now moving on to other sources of employment. The beef issue is no longer going to make much of a difference. I have visited many areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Religious polarization is now a thing of the past.

This worked in the 1980s and early 1990s, but today the polarization is between the rich and the poor, the employed and the unemployed, and the homeless and the homeless. Baliyan, Sakshi Maharaj, Adityanath, and their ilk will soon be consigned to the history books.

What does an average Indian want? They want health, education, infrastructure, and jobs. Recently, during a trip to the interiors of Bihar, I and a friend saw people in extremely miserable conditions. I asked my friend, "Do these people look like Hindus or Muslims?" He replied, "They just look like they're suffering."

All the criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is baseless. I have known Mr. Modi for years. He is a man who believes that conflict between Hindus and Muslims will set the country back, and that only peace and harmony can move the country forward.

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There used to be some radical elements, who were a hundred times more powerful than people like Sakshi Maharaj. They ruled for more than two decades and spread terror among the people. Mr. Modi never even mentioned them by name, but where are those groups today? Why do you give them so much importance? All such radical elements will gradually disappear.

(The author is a former Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad and a well-known businessman. This article, was published in Deccan Chronicle earlier)