Indian minister says beef ban law is needed ‘to protect cow vigilantes’

An Indian politician has provoked a backlash for suggesting that a law banning the slaughter of cattle was needed to shield vigilantes who violently attack others in the name of cow protection. The so-called “beef ban” was passed by the lower house of Karnataka’s state assembly on Wednesday, and includes a strict prohibition on the killing of all forms of cattle as well as tough sentences for offenders. While female cows are revered in Hinduism, some Indian states permit...