Beef Supplies Dwindle in West Bengal Amid BJP's Political Rise, Report Says

Beef is increasingly disappearing from menus and markets in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, according to a report by Al Jazeera, as supplies of the meat become harder to obtain following the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the region.

The report, headlined "'More dangerous than drugs': BJP's war on beef in India's West Bengal," states that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party gained influence in the state, beef has been vanishing from menus, forcing changes in local diets.

West Bengal has historically been one of the few Indian states where beef consumption was relatively common and less socially or politically fraught compared with other parts of the country, where cow slaughter is banned or restricted in many states due to the animal's sacred status in Hinduism.

Al Jazeera's report suggests that the tightening of beef supplies in the state reflects a broader pattern seen elsewhere in India, where the BJP's rise has often coincided with stricter enforcement of laws or informal pressures curbing the beef trade and consumption.

Al Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request for further details beyond the published excerpt, and the full scope of the changes described, including specific data on supply reductions or accounts from vendors and consumers, was not available at the time of this report.

This article is based on an excerpt from Al Jazeera's original reporting; further details from the full report could not be independently verified.