Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday sharply rebuked Islamic clerics who recently demanded that the cow be granted 'national animal' status, asserting that the animal's sanctity requires no formal declaration. The remarks came during a land-rights distribution programme held in Bijnor district, where over 1,600 families — including those displaced from Pakistan and former soldiers — received ownership certificates.

What Yogi Said

'Cow is our mother. We share the same bond with her as we have with our mothers. There is nothing to prove here, and this relation needs no name or status,' Yogi Adityanath told the gathering. He added, 'Gomata is the self-proclaimed Rashtramata; there's no need to declare her to anyone.'

The Chief Minister accused the clerics of 'double standards,' arguing that the cow has been a revered figure in India for centuries and that raising demands for a formal status now exposes what he called their 'duplicity and mindset.' He further stated that those who seek to categorise cows as mere animals 'harbour a devilish mindset.'

The Clerics' Demands — and Their Concerns

The controversy was sparked during Eid-ul-Azha (Bakrid), when several prominent Muslim clerics publicly called upon the community to refrain from cow sacrifice and urged the government to grant the animal national animal status. Their stated rationale was that such a designation would discourage cattle slaughter and elevate the animal's protected standing.

Among those who spoke out were religious figures associated with Ajmer Dargah Sharif, Kolkata's Nakhoda Masjid, and Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. Syed Sarwar Chishti of Ajmer called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene Parliament specifically to declare the cow a national animal and impose a ban on slaughter and beef exports.

The All India Jamiatul Quresh also demanded a ban on beef-export companies, with its working president Mohammad Javed Qureshi alleging that such firms were profiting from illegal cattle slaughter and that existing restrictions were adversely affecting livestock farmers.

Notably, the same clerics also raised concerns about rising cow vigilantism, alleging that self-styled vigilante groups were harassing cattle traders by taking the law into their own hands — a contradiction that Yogi cited as evidence of the clerics' inconsistency.

Ghaziabad Stabbing in the Background

The Chief Minister also addressed a recent murder in Ghaziabad, describing stabbing incidents carried out under the guise of friendship as 'reprehensible and unacceptable' and warning they would not be tolerated in the state.

On the day of Bakrid, a youth named Surya Pratap Chouhan was stabbed to death in the Khoda area of Ghaziabad by individuals reportedly known to him, triggering widespread outrage from his family and neighbourhood. The key accused, identified as Asad, was subsequently shot dead by Uttar Pradesh Police in an encounter after he allegedly opened fire at officers.

Broader Context

The cow protection debate has periodically resurfaced in Indian public discourse, particularly around Eid-ul-Azha. This year's episode is notable because the demand for national animal status came from Muslim clerics themselves — a position that cuts across the usual political lines but has drawn a sharp counter-response from the ruling establishment in Uttar Pradesh. The state has been at the centre of multiple cow-related policy and law-and-order flashpoints over the past several years.