Yogi Adityanath, the recently appointed BJP chief minister of the largest state of the Indian Union, has again become the subject of media attention. This time, for a weird reason. People belonging to a Scheduled Caste, the Mushahar Community in Uttar Pradesh, have alleged that they were given soap and shampoo by the local administration a day before the visit of the chief minister to their locality. They stated that they were asked to take a bath and clean up before attending a function at Kushinagar, where the chief minister was to inaugurate an immunisation programme. Some even claimed that they were asked to use perfume for the occasion. In videos widely shared in the social media, members of the community were seen displaying the soap bars and shampoo sachets. This experience of the Mushahar community with their chief minister only exposes the pervasiveness of the caste system in Premier Modi's modern day India.

Yogi Aditayanath has been an ardent champion for protection of cows. Since 1998, as a member of parliament, he twice tabled bills banning cow slaughter throughout the republic, constitutionally a secular state. Before moving into the chief minister's residence, he ensured that the premises were purified with cow's milk and all leather furnishing were removed. Though Muslims constitute 20 percent of UP's 220 million population, not a single member of the community has been inducted in his 26 member strong Cabinet. Claims have been made that it is the first government in the state not to have a Muslim representation at that level. Government data informs that the state has the highest rate of interfaith conflict.

It is no surprise that the recent Union Government order to ban cow slaughter has been implemented assiduously in the UP. After all, Yogi was the poster-boy of the 'ban cow slaughter campaign'. The food police had been mobilised to crack down not only on illegal sale of beef, but also on legal sale of buffalo meat. Curiously, the ban has also been extended on the transportation of buffaloes.

Like many other industries in India, the meat industry overlaps informality. The point not to be missed is that no other informal or semi-formal sector has been subjected to such sudden and punitive scrutiny as the meat industry. The government claims only illegal abattoirs have been affected by the ban. Muslims, on the other hand, view the prohibition as a ploy to make them jobless. All BJP-led states are experiencing stringent imposition of beef ban and associated penalties for violation.

In the UP, both big modern meat processing plants as well as small butcher outfits have been adversely affected. The perfunctory ritual of license renewal of the meat-processing entities has now become a matter of serious scrutiny for the municipal authorities, often resulting in inordinate delays and uncertainties, taking a toll on the livelihood of tens of thousands of Muslims.

The BJP spokesperson's claim that "milk products are constantly going down because of illegal slaughterhouses" does not hold water. Official data informs that the number of both buffaloes and cows in the UP are on the rise: milk production has grown by 17 percent since 2012. The value of export of buffalo meat had expanded by as much as 27 percent, generating more than USD 4 billion in 2016. UP accounted for 43 percent of the total amount.

This targeted approach in law enforcement has been accompanied by steep rise in vigilantism in the UP and elsewhere. Yogi's former organisation the Hindu Yuva Vahini and other extreme right organisations have been in the forefront of the gau raksha (save cow) movement. The abominable Akhlaq case, lynching of a Muslim man over rumours that he had eaten beef which was later found to be goat meat, in 2015 in UP, is a stark reminder of such vigilantism. In another incident in April this year, Pehlu Khan was murdered by the vigilantes who accused Khan of committing the sin of taking his freshly purchased cow to the slaughterhouse. None of these gruesome acts of violence merited condemnation from the BJP leadership. It appears that bovines are more valuable than human lives to the champions of Hindutva.

The poor supply of buffaloes from UP and Bihar has sounded the death knell for the country's first fully automated abattoir in Tangra, West Bengal, that was set up only in 2012 at a cost of Rs. 25 crore. The beef ban has not augured well in the predominantly Christian population of northeast India. Observers note that the decision will take a severe toll on BJP's electoral prospect in that region. Apart from Muslims, the beef ban, shutting of abattoirs and the 'protection of cows' have also adversely impacted India's Dalit community who survive through buying and selling of animals and their carcasses. The prohibition is an assault on their livelihood as well.

Significant resistance to the Centre's decision is gaining traction across the India. In a recent judgment, the Allahabad High Court observed that food choice is a right to life and no one, whether the state or a vigilante group, has the right to take that away from someone. On May 30, the Madras High Court stayed the Union government's controversial notification on banning the sale of cattle in animal markets for slaughter on grounds that it violates the Parent Act. Only days ago, West Bengal Chief Minister termed the central government's decision to ban the sale of all kinds of cattle for slaughter across the country "unconstitutional", adding her state would not accept the decision. The beef ban has also triggered off public furore in the Left-ruled Kerala where beef accounts for 60 percent of total meat consumption. Its chief minister sent a protest letter to the PM, saying that the Centre couldn't draw up a menu and change the food habits of the people. The move was likely to hurt millions of poor farmers and squeeze supplies of the Rs. 1 lakh-crore meat industry.

About a week ago, India's solicitor general informed the Supreme Court that in order to prevent smuggling and ensure their protection, all cattle would soon be tagged with a tamper-proof identification number, similar to social security numbers that citizens are being delivered. It will include a range of data including the type of horn and tail! Press reports inform that production of cricket ball out of Portuguese cork and UP buffalo hide has dropped significantly in Meerut. "No one wants to carry leather … to Meerut. There is fear of the road", notes a Hindu ball manufacturer. One waits to note if soon the powerful Indian cricket authorities would raise the demand for the introduction of cricket balls that are not made of leather.

The writer teaches International Relations at the University of Dhaka.