PM shocked at Stockholm but silent on Alwar

Even though it has been four days since Pehlu Khan, 55, died after being lynched by ‘cow vigilantes’ at Alwar – that caused an international outrage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has maintained a studied silence. He, however, tweeted his shock on Friday at a truck mowing down four people in Stockholm, Sweden; but has still not had the time to condemn or condole what happened at Alwar.

The silence of the otherwise garrulous Prime Minister provoked people on social media to say that he would perhaps have reacted if the lynching had taken place in "Alwar de Janeiro". Nor has the PM or the CM offered the family any relief in sharp contrast to such offers made for, say, the victims of temple fire.

The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, first claimed that the lynching at Alwar had not taken place. The next day he tried to wriggle out by claiming that he had Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in mind when he said that and not Rajasthan. The lie is easily nailed because of live footage of Rajya Sabha proceedings but Naqvi has refused to tender an apology, merely informing the House that Home Minister Rajnath Singh would be making a statement on Monday (April 10).

The minister’s denial has incensed people. "Then how did Pehlu die? What about the videos where these goons can be seen beating us and Pehlu? Are the police lying too? Why have they registered an FIR? Why have they arrested people? Who injured me and my brothers?" Pehlu Khan's nephew Aarif Khan, who was also assaulted, retorted when his reaction was sought.

The dairy farmers in Nuh, Haryana – where a majority happen to be Muslims – are a worried lot. For years they have been buying milch cattle from cattle fairs in Rajasthan. But the manner in which two small trucks ferrying five animals back to Nuh were stopped and Pehlu Khan and his companions were beaten up, few dairy farmers will dare to venture out.

International media continued to report on the attack. A BBC team was told by a sobbing Irshad Khan, Pehlu Khan's 20-year old son, "As buffalos on sale in Jaipur were beyond our budget, my father advised us to buy five cows and four calves. Ramadan is near and he thought this would enhance milk production as it is our only source of income. Who knew he had made the biggest mistake of his life."

The BJP Government in Rajasthan had created a ministry for ‘Gaupalan’ in 2013, which was later relegated to a department while the minister was given additional charges. But four years after the ‘revolutionary’ move, the plight of cows continues to be poor in the state, pointed out a sarcastic tweet by Yogendra Yadav.

There has been no reaction from the Haryana or Rajasthan Governments either to allegations that Pehlu Khan was targeted by Hindu vigilante groups for being a Muslim. "They targetted us for being Muslims. Our father was beaten to death in front of our eyes. We had done nothing wrong,” says one of Khan’s companions. Pehlu Khan is survived by his wife and eight children, the youngest ones aged seven and five.

Correction: A typo in the strap was corrected to ‘Alwar’ at 17:13 hrs