In the on-going Kerala Flood rescue and rehabilitation scene there has been many Whatsapp / Twitter messages doing the rounds, most are for asking people to donate and help the victims with basic necessities for people in rescue camps and also for people who have been isolated in the floods and find it difficult to arrange for daily needs especially when, when there is no electricity and easy transport available to major mass of the people.
Many messages are also contrary to these, saying people don’t need these stuff and they are doing absolutely fine and just send electricians, plumbers and other helps and they should be good in a week or so, which is surprising not because the guy seems to think that all is well but because the guy has the audacity to propagate the lie when the entire world knows the extent of damage and distress caused by the deluge.
One of the most surprising message I have seen out of these is the one asking Muslims to desist from doing Kurbani (Sacrifice) on Eid ul Adha ( Bakri Eid) and instead donate that money to flood victims and the message also gives a crude calculation, where it says there are roughly 20 Cr Muslims in India and out of those even 1 Cr do Kurbani and if a single goat cost 10,000 INR then the amount accumulated would be 10,000 Cr for the victims.
First of all I was a little taken a back and then I thought probably it’s not a bad idea and then when I was thinking more about it I searched and found the National Action Plan Report of Government of India on Goats and going through it I could see what this festival of sacrificing animal actually means for India and its farmers.
The report says that India occupies first space in terms of goat population. Chevon (Goat meat) is widely eaten in India since ancient times and goat milk use has been consistently increasing and in fact research being done on it to see goat milk uses, therapeutically and for medicinal purposes. It further goes on to say that Goat husbandry provides glimpses of future hope for employment generation, nutritional security and prosperity to the millions of small and marginal farmers in the country
It further elaborates its Role in Rural in Indian Economy and says Among all species of farm animals, Goats have the widest ecological range and have been poor people’s most reliable livelihood resource since their domestication during Neolithic Revolution about 10 millennia ago. Goat plays a significant role in providing supplementary income and livelihood to millions of resource poor farmers and landless laborers of rural India. Small ruminant rearing ensures self-employment and acts as a cushion in distress situations like drought and famine.
Goat Population in India: From the goat population of 135 Million in 2012 more than 33 million are either farmed by the resource-poor marginal farmers or by rural poor households which acts as a supplementary income to them.
Also the distribution of goat population in India is as given below
The largest population is in Rajasthan which for its peculiar landscape indulge in more supplementary farming and rely less on traditional farming.
Now the conclusion is, these farmers during the month leading to Eid ul Adha travel to hubs (mandis) located in major cities and sell their produce at premium rates which helps them earn enough to supplement their household for the rest of the year plus to start another kidding (new crop of goats).
So the person starting the message and then those circulating it has perhaps forgotten to inform you that the money actually will not be donated by the Muslims per say but the poor and marginal farmers of India who are already reeling under farm distress, bad crop and rising agri crisis.
The money as it is has been kept aside by the muslim who wants to sacrifice and the amount goes to government relief fund or the farmers is just a choice and religiously it should have very less difference because the purpose it is catering is the same. The sacrifice is not actually of the animal but it is of the hard earned money he has taken out from his earnings to make a sacrifice and distribute the meat to relatives, friends and the needy. The skin is given away for free which helps leather industry, the guts and other unusable parts are buried and thus the sacrifice in totality a charity in a well celebrated form.
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