This refers to the editorial, “Killings not justified” (July 1). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a public meeting to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati ashram rightly said, “Nobody has the right and no one can be allowed to kill people in the name of cow protection. There is no place for violence in society. It is unacceptable.” However, a simple warning by the Prime Minister is not enough. Strict action is required to be taken against the so-called cow protectors. It is time for the vigilantes, moral police and street fighters to quit now. Breaking his silence on cow vigilantes in the country, Modi has also condemned their actions, saying most of them were anti-social elements masquerading as gau rakshaks. The self-appointed gau rakshaks (cow protectors) have created a reign of terror in the country. Attacks on backward class and Muslims in the name of protecting the ‘holy’ cow is totally unjustifiable.
Unlike them, Mahatma Gandhi preferred ‘persuasion’ and other non-violent (ahimsa) ways to achieve gau raksha (cow protection). By 1946, the Mahatama was clear that, “Cow slaughter can never be stopped by law. Knowledge, education, and the spirit of kindliness towards her alone can put and end to it.” Prime Minister Modi should ensure that people indulging in such heinous activities should be punished under the law in a fast track mode so that others may learn lessons.