Rise of the Planet of the Cows!

Welcome to the world. Ah, yes you were welcomed for sure when you first opened your eyes and cried making every other being in the room elated. But, welcome to a more bizarre and realistic world! Did you just think what was so abnormal about a thing that made me so amused? Well, brace for impact as Mr. Yogi has slapped U.P. with a COW Cess. Holy Cow! Isn’t it?

To make you more acquaint; on Tuesday, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government of Uttar Pradesh trotted out a new levy for ‘gau raksha’, or cow protection. This will take the form of a 0.5% cess, charged on all things excisable and tolls collected on state highways, bridges and infrastructure-making, as also government-owned companies.

It will add to taxes paid on liquor sold in the state. Getting a grin for the alcoholics? Here’s the catch people: Mandis, large wholesale markets licensed by the state that purchase most farm produce, will now pay 2% of income instead of the existing 1%, to protect cows. The same cess will be charged on toll collected by government agencies, for example on the Agra-Lucknow expressway road built and operated by a state government agency. In a state where young girls and women housed in state-run shelters suffer horrifying misery, how dumb animals will fare is not hard to guess. Now does it seems like a grave concern to us? Damn yes!

He was appointed as the Chief Minister on 26 March 2017

Now, let’s talk about why Mr. Yogi painted this picture.

a) Is it for removing stray animals from the streets- No!

b) BJP cares for the wildlife and all the flora and fauna that supports us- No!

c) To improve the living conditions of the cows in U.P- um.. Maybe (with a heavy heart)

d) Appeasement politics- oh yes! (in a heartbeat)

Cow politics began with victimising, attacking and, sometimes, lynching people alleged to be engaged in cattle slaughter. Till date, a lot of citizens are made to believe that cow protection is more important than the lives of human beings. Policemen, traders, small or large businesses; all face a serious threat from bovines and their human body guards.

The move is aimed to construct shelters for cows in all districts, gram panchayats, municipalities, municipal corporations and other local bodies, within the state. In every district, a cowshed, which can house a minimum of 1,000 stray animals will be built, for which the excise department will levy a cess of 2%. This will be called 'cow welfare cess'. Since misery loves company, those who already are annoyed by the current governance; this particular cess will only help in ripping your wallet apart inch by inch.

Now, let’s quickly take a sneak peek at the unseen effects of this out-of-the-box yogi-nomics.

India’s government spends about 1% of GDP on healthcare, and less than 4% on education. Tax collections are less than 17% of GDP. The state of healthcare and education in Uttar Pradesh is miserable. To anyone who cares for the people, spending priorities are clear. To my surprise, the govt. has not even landed on a figure for this activity. No budget, No plans only an ardent belief and wish to safeguard the cows in the state.

Albeit, I am a proud follower of Hinduism and well aware of the benefits that come along with a cow; I feel sorry for other stray animals in every so often town or city. Had this whole cess been about “animal protection” and not exclusively for cows many of us would be more satisfied. In a way, paying taxes for the welfare of our animals is good. But so is for every element of our ecosystem. What if we wake up tomorrow to find out some other party has made some other animal or a particular tree their centre of politics? Well, it will definitely be a good move to care about the environment and bring such grave issues to the mainstream. But as the history is evident and we were not born yesterday, we all know that this is all vote-bank strategy and appeasement politics.

If people are forced to finance what ultimately is a token of one brand of politics, while they are deprived of essential services, they have the ballot to express their views on the matter.

What can we do?

As of now, people in U.P. should pull up their socks to shell extra money for 'gau mata'. At the same pace, spread awareness and knowledge and raise your voice democratically. Politicians make a fool out of us only because of a sole reason- Unawareness and Lack of Education. While there are numerous other factors in play as well, these two are the main cause for such bizarre policies.

Ending on a lighter note, India isn’t the only one to have such offbeat tunes of economics.

we are not alone folks!