Law, religion and public order in colonial India: contextualising the 1887 Allahabad High Court case on 'sacred' cows

Matthew Groves focuses on law, religion and public order in Colonial India in the context of the 1887 Allahabad High Court case on 'Sacred' Cows. The drama and political ramifications of the cow riots and the light that they throw on the subterranean world of nineteenth-century Hindu society have made them a natural target for scholarly inquiry. The 'holy cow' is such a modern Indian icon that most people assume the animal has always been sacred to Hindus. Muslims, by contrast, have always been meat-eaters and beef has been a staple of the Indian Muslim diet since the Arab conquest of Sind in the early eighth century. The Code of Civil Procedure, the Indian Penal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure were all enacted within three years of the transfer of power, prompting Law Member James Stephen to reflect in a minute of 1872.