Dying Humayun told Babur to respect cows: Rajasthan BJP chief on Alwar lynching

JAIPUR: In the aftermath of the Alwar lynching incident, Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Madan Lal Saini has made a hilarious claim that when Mughal emperor Humayun was on his deathbed, he told his father, Babur, to respect cows, brahmins and women in order to rule India.

"When Humayun was dying, he called Babur and told him -if you want to rule Hindustan, you must keep three things in mind- respect cows, brahmins and women," Saini told reporters here.

His remarks came two days after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar said that incidents of lynching would cease if people stopped eating beef.

On Monday, Indresh Kumar had said that cow slaughter was banned across communities and religions. 

“Jesus was born in a cowshed. That is why they call it the ‘holy cow’. Cow slaughter is banned in Mecca and Medina. We should make it a resolution to rid humanity of this sin. If humanity gets rid of this sin, the society will get rid of this problem (lynching)... Mob lynchings are condemnable, but cow slaughter is a sin across religions,” the RSS leader had said on July 23.

Indresh was backed by Shia Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi, who said that security can’t be deployed everywhere and a law should be made to punish the ones indulging in cow slaughter.

“Muslims should stop eating beef. Killing of cows should stop. Meat of cows is 'haram' in Islam as well. You can't stop mob lynching, security can't be deployed everywhere. So a law should be made awarding strict punishment to those killing cows,” he said.  

It is to be noted that Babur, Humayun’s father, died in 1531 - almost 25 years before Humayun breathed his last in 1556 - a fact that Saini got completely wrong.

Moreover, Saini's account of history also stands in stark contrast to what is popularly known as Babur's wasiyatnama (will). According to popular belief, Mughal emperor Babur told his son Humayun that he needed to distance himself completely from any kind of religious prejudice, and should respect the sentiments of people.

Interestingly, Saini is not the first BJP leader to float a cow-related theory.

While speaking at a conference on cow conservation in August 2015, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had claimed that Babur had mentioned in his will that "we can either rule the hearts of people or eat cow meat."

All this comes at a time when a blame game has begun over the alleged lynching of a 28-year-old man identified as Rakbar aka Akbar in the Alwar district of Rajasthan by a violent mob over suspicion of cow smuggling.

In view of Opposition onslaught over the Alwar incident, the Centre too expressed its readiness to bring a new legislation banning mob lynching in the Parliament.