In India, A Cow Is Safer Than A Woman.

-By Rudrangshi Saha

The recent tragic murder of 19-year-old Aryan Mishra by a Gaurakshak or cow-vigilante, who mistakenly believed Aryan was a Muslim smuggling beef has made one thing crystal clear- in India, a woman might not be able to walk on the streets safely at night, but a cow enjoys a level of protection that is not only astonishing but downright infuriating. Where does the “vigilance” disappear when it comes to the lives of women? Or does our society reserve its fiercest guardians for those with hooves? If a cow commands such zealous defence, should we, the women, start branding ourselves with horns just to feel a fraction safer?

Cow vigilantes- or criminals with saffron-lotus badges- seem to be above the law, armed with a license to kill in the name of religion. Their sole mission? To execute anyone, mostly Muslims, they even suspect to be carrying beef. This raises several alarming issues. Every religion has its prohibitions: Sikhs can’t smoke, Hindus avoid beef, and Muslims steer clear of pork. But here's the thing- it’s up to us whether we want to follow them or not. Our Constitution guarantees the right to practice, profess and propagate any religion, and by extension, eat what we please. You don't like beef? Fair enough, but who gave us the right to enforce our dietary choices on others at the tip of a sword?

Going back to the case of Aryan Mishra: The vigilante who took his life was sure remorseful, but not of the fact that he took the life of an innocent young boy. Rather, for the supposed sin of killing a “Brahmin Hindu”. Now, if Aryan were Muslim, would his death have even registered on the vigilante's conscience? What kind of twisted logic condones murder for religion? Is the value of life measured in caste and faith now?

What these so-called "protectors of religion" are really doing is pushing an agenda of polarization, puppeteered by political forces who thrive on division. Protecting the faith? Hardly. It’s pure propaganda masked as righteousness.

In today's India, the contrast couldn't be starker: radical measures are being taken to protect “Gau Mata”, yet the mothers and daughters of this nation are preyed upon and harassed in broad daylight, and society remains shamefully passive.

Last year in the Lok Sabha, Mohua Moitra struck a chord when she questioned this government’s priorities: "When you wanted to protect cows, did you count them? Did you differentiate between a Jersey, a Gir, or a Sahiwal (breeds of cows)? No. You just built cow shelters. But for women, we have to wait, be counted, and fit into your arbitrary quotas before action is taken?"

"Women in this country don’t want your hollow ‘vandanas’; we demand real, tangible action," she declared. And she's right. The government loves to chant its appeasement slogans, but where’s the action?

According to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, there are approximately 7,676 cow shelters across India. Now, compare this with the number of schemes launched for women's safety and welfare—fewer in number and far less successful in implementation. Take schemes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao or One-Stop Centers. Out of dozens of schemes, only a handful have shown any tangible results, with most caught in bureaucratic red tape or shallow execution. Protecting cows isn’t the problem. The issue lies in the lawlessness of self-proclaimed cow vigilantes who take justice into their own hands, parading their crimes as acts of religious duty.

Just imagine- we have more shelters for cows than safe spaces or successful programs for women. While we go to great lengths to protect cattle, women remain vulnerable to violence and abuse, their safety often compromised by those sworn to protect them. We can’t enforce our beliefs through murder or vigilante justice, just as we cannot ignore the suffering of women in a society that treats them as secondary to religious or political interests.

The fight for women's safety should be as fervent as the ardour to protect cows. If we can build thousands of shelters for animals, then why is it so difficult to create a safe environment for women (ie, humans)?

In the past few years, over 50 people have been murdered by cow vigilantes in India. These "torchbearers of Hindutva" claim to defend our values, but whom are they actually saving us from? The innocent lives they snuff out?

These radical religious extremists also preach that Muslims are the root cause of all social ills, conveniently ignoring the fact that of the approximately 30,000 reported rapes in India every year—many of the perpetrators are Hindus. Take Nirbhaya’s case, where one of the rapists was named “Ram.” Or consider Revanna, a monster who mass-raped hundreds of women. And what about the recent rape of a woman in the bustling streets of Ujjain? Where was the outrage of these vigilantes then?  Now, imagine the outcry of these “Rakshaks” if any of them had been Muslim. The focus wouldn’t be on their monstrous act; it would be on their religion, igniting political and religious tensions while the victim’s suffering is drowned out in the chaos.

In such cases, shouldn't the real concern be justice for the woman who endured such unimaginable horror, rather than using her trauma as a pawn in the filthy game of religious politics?

Nowadays, the question isn’t just about right and wrong- it’s about whose bloodline you come from, whether you eat beef or not, whose gods you pray to, and how those factors twist the narrative away from the suffering that deserves immediate attention.

While we squabble over petty religious debates, the real victims- the women brutalized and denied justice are forgotten. Crime knows no religion or caste, but in a polarized nation, justice is often warped because of it. When will we wake up and realize that violence, whether in the name of religion or against women, is destroying the very cohesion of our “Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic” nation?

In conclusion, as we remain neck-deep in riots over “maans, machli, mandir, Muslim, gaayein”, the safety, dignity, hopes and aspirations of women are being systematically shattered, their cries silenced by the noise of religious chest-thumping. The blood of the innocent stains the hands of a society more invested in pseudo-religious grandstanding than in securing justice. Hence, it's high time we refocus our energy on what truly matters and face the ground reality- cows aren't the ones in desperate need of justice. We are.