Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, several Muslim organisations and clerics have renewed calls for the cow to be declared India’s national animal, arguing that such a move could help bring uniformity to cow protection laws and reduce violence linked to cow vigilantism.
The demand, historically associated with Hindu nationalist groups and BJP leaders, has now found support from sections of Muslim leadership in Uttar Pradesh and other states. India’s current national animal is the tiger, while the cow does not hold any official national status.
Maulana Arshad Madani, president of a faction of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, said he had first raised the demand during an All-Faith Conference in Mumbai in 2014. He called for the cow to be declared the national animal and sought stricter legal provisions against cow slaughter and illegal trade.
Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi, national president of the All India Muslim Jamaat, said he plans to organise a meeting of Muslim organisations in Delhi to prepare a joint memorandum for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Razvi, a nationwide law on cow protection could help end mob lynching incidents carried out in the name of cow protection and remove inconsistencies in state-level laws.
Siraj Qureshi, president of the All India Qureshi Jamaat, whose community has traditionally been associated with the meat trade, also expressed support for the proposal and said the organisation was open to meeting the Prime Minister over the issue.
Maulana Yasoob Abbas of the All India Shia Personal Law Board said the government’s approach to cow protection should be implemented uniformly across the country rather than selectively in certain states.
Meanwhile, Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said the cow should be granted national animal status out of respect for Hindu religious sentiments.
The issue of cow protection has long been part of the BJP and RSS political discourse. The BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto had pledged stronger cow protection measures as part of preserving India’s cultural heritage.
However, opposition leaders and critics have often accused the BJP of adopting an inconsistent stand on beef consumption and cattle slaughter. While strict bans exist in several BJP-ruled northern states, beef consumption and cattle trade continue in states such as Goa and parts of the Northeast, including Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
Kausar Hayat Khan of the Indian Union Muslim League, who also backed the proposal, said a single national law could remove contradictions in policy implementation across states.
The renewed demand comes at a politically significant time, with Uttar Pradesh expected to head into Assembly elections in 2027 and debates around cow protection once again returning to the centre of political discourse.
