The UK Government and the Hindu community there seem on a collision course and at the centre of the conflict is a six-year-old bull named Shambo.
The problem started when Shambo, part of the herd kept at the Skandavale Temple in Llanpumsaint, south west Wales, was diagnosed with tuberculosis. According to the government policy, every animal testing positive for bovine TB has to be slaughtered and that had the Hindu community up in arms, vowing to save the black Friesian bull.
According to them, killing Shambo would be a religious desecration and Hindus from across the globe would join hands to stop the move.
It seems a precarious situation now because bovine TB is the most alarming animal health problem in Britain and slaughtering of the infected animal if essential. But Hindus consider cow sacred and hence the stand-off.
Ramesh Kallidai, secretary-general of the Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), has already warned that slaughtering Shambo would be considered “highly sacrilegious”.
He said
To have a sacred bull from the temple slaughtered is completely unthinkable for us and is a matter of grave concern. It strikes at the very core of our beliefs. Killing Shambo will violate our faith tradition and desecrate our temple. It goes against all accepted norms of our faith.
Photo: BBC