Many farmers who visited the weekly cattle market at Hassan on Tuesday were disappointed, as there were none to buy their cattle. They were seen blaming the policy that restricted slaughter of cattle for no response from the buyers.

Farmers had arrived at the market with particular hope, expecting brisk trade ahead of the Bakrid festival. Instead, they found themselves stranded, having spent money on transportation with nothing to show for it. Video clips from the market that went viral on Tuesday captured the mood starkly, farmers sharing their woes with policemen posted at the venue, speaking of mounting debts, the cost of tending to unproductive cattle, school fees to be paid, and land to be cultivated. “We needed the money,” said one farmer in a clip, his frustration palpable. “Now we go back with nothing.”

No buyers

The Hassan district unit of Federation of Muslim Organisations has appealed to people of the community to stay away from cattle markets and refrain from slaughtering cattle during Bakrid this year.

The federation stated that the distribution of meat including mutton, beef, and camel as part of religious observance on Bakrid is a traditional and faith-based practice of the Muslim community. The BJP when in power in Karnataka enacted a law against cattle slaughter. The law had been used selectively to target the Muslim community for political gains.

After deliberation, the federation resolved to urge the community to celebrate the festival by sacrificing other animals such as sheep, and to ask merchants to stay away from cattle markets. “We can observe the festival meaningfully without getting drawn into a confrontation,” said Anshad Palya, advocate and State convener of the federation of Muslim organisations.

Protest

Meanwhile, leaders of Hassan district unit of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) staged a protest in Hassan, on Tuesday, demanding the repeal of the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, and urging the government to ensure farmers’ right to freely sell their livestock.

KPRS district president H.R. Naveen Kumar said the law had hit the farming community hard. Dairy farmers, he explained, rely on the sale of aged cattle and unproductive male calves as a crucial supplementary income. The current law had effectively shut that door.

“The government must make proper arrangements for cattle markets and ensure that both farmers and buyers can participate without fear,” he said. He also demanded that the government respect the food choices of all communities, and that the administration act firmly against pro-Hindutva organisations engaging in moral policing and disrupting.