1966 anti-cow slaughter riot

In 1966, several Hindu organisations, Hindu saints, men and women and a political party agitated to demand a ban on the slaughter of cows in India, as enshrined in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India. Among others, the Shankaracharya fasted for the cause. The agitation culminated in a massive demonstration outside the parliament house in New Delhi on 7 November 1966 (corresponding to Kartik Shukla Ashtami day also known as Gopa Ashtami as per Indian national calendar, Vikram Samvat). The Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi did not accept the demand for a ban on cow slaughter. People among the demonstrators broke curfew and burned cars and tried to set fire to central government buildings. After lathi charges and tear-gas shells failed to disperse crowds, police guarding Parliament House opened fire on the swelling mob. Casualty reports differed, but according to The Hindu, seven were killed and about 100 were injured.

Composition of demonstrators

The number of participants was estimated between 300,000 (3 lakh) and 700,000 (7 lakh). There were Sadhu, Sant, women and children among the protesters. The parties which organised the demonstration were the Jan Sangh, the Hindu Mahasabha, the Arya Samaj and the Sanatan Dharma Sabha.

Peaceful demonstrators turned violent

The demonstrators led by Hindu sadhus saints marched in front of the parliament house through the capital city in a silent, unarmed, and peaceful protest against cow slaughter. They were stopped just before the parliament house where the sadhus saints addressed them peacefully from a dais. The trouble started when a section of demonstrators tried to force their entry into the Parliament House. According to Man Mohan Sharma who was a journalist at that time, few people like Shashi Bhushan and few mafias from Haryana area were brought to cause violence which would be seen as if the protesters are doing so. This was done to curb the protest. Although there is no evidence of this, this is what the journalist says by putting forward the argument that no agitator who commits violence and arson would bring women and children with them. The police prevented from entering the parliament house and a running skirmish took place between the demonstrators, who slugged brickbats and other missiles, and a large force of policemen and policewomen including horse-mounted policemen. These malefactors among the demonstrators went violent and damaged adjacent buildings and vehicles. The police cane-charged the peaceful demonstrators and used tear gas to disperse them. The police shot at the protesters. The official count was that 11 people died in police firing. The curfew was imposed for 48 hours but was lifted the next morning. The people were very angry at this act of the government which took place in front of the running parliament in daytime.

Aftermath

Man Mohan Sharma, then the journalist of a newspaper Hindustan Samachar, told media in 2016 that they received an advisory from the government that no personal reporting would be done and only the press note of the government would be published word-by-word. The press note stated the number of casualties to be 11. Broken up by the incident, then the home minister, Gulzarilal Nanda resigned, taking responsibility for the Government's act and to save Indira Gandhi from criticism. The Shankaracharya Niranjandev Tirth, Swami Karpatri and Mahatma Ramchandra Veer observed a fast in protest. In the next Lok Sabha elections, Congress lost on all the seven seats of Delhi.

See also

• Cattle slaughter in India
• Cow protection movement
• Bhartiya Gau Raksha Dal