Dear Reader, It is now more than seven decades since the Indian Constitution came into force. One clause in the constitution has in recent years acquired a new found prominence. This is Article 48 of the Directive Principles of State Policy which notes that the state shall take measures to “prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle”. The prohibition of cow slaughter has had both religious significance and also been subject to immense political debate since the time the republic was born. But how did it become part of the Indian Constitution? This week, we tried to find the answer to this question. Article 48 needs to be seen in context of the significance attached to the animal during the nationalist movement and the shades of majoritarian sentiment carried within it. It also needs to be read in the context of the Partition of the country and the atmosphere of religious animosity in which the Constitution was being drafted. We turned the pages of India’s freedom struggle to find out how the cow was being made use of in nationalist propaganda. Turns out, several senior Congress leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi did make references to cow protection in their speeches. Consequently, a group within the nationalist movement was forceful in its demand for legislation of cow protection, the ripples of which were soon felt by the drafting committee of the Constitution. How did the big leaders of the drafting committee react to consistent demand for legislation of cow protection? What role did Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, B R Ambedkar play in the inclusion of Article 48 in the constitution. Why was it a Directive Principle and not a Fundamental Right? How did the inclusion of Article 48 impact the country thereafter? This story answers these questions. The importance attached to the cow has attracted immense scholarly attention over the years. Historian Ian Copland’s 2017 research paper, ‘Cow, Congress and the Constitution: Jawaharlal Nehru and the making of Article 48’ is a fresh take on the often ignored role played by the Congress party in the inclusion of cow protection in the Constitution. In this context, this 2018 article from our archives does an in depth analysis of why the cow is worshipped in Hindutva politics. Wish you a pleasant weekend ahead. Sincerely, Adrija Roychowdhury | 
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