--- description: Modi spoke about the controversial killing for the first time since it took place over a week ago title: Modi Addresses Beef Issue, Calls for Religious Harmony image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc66003ac192ab4ed/69886798f887dc0c12e92ca6/rtx1sybm.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Appeals for Calm After Lynching of Alleged Beef Eater by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 9, 2015 4:30 AM CUT  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers remarks during a Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly at the U.N. in New York City on Sept. 28, 2015 India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers remarks during a Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly at the U.N. in New York City on Sept. 28, 2015Andrew Kelly—Reuters by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 9, 2015 4:30 AM CUT Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally [addressed](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/08/us-india-politics-beef-idUSKCN0S21O720151008 "undefined") last week’s lynching of a Muslim man accused of eating beef, appealing for religious tolerance and ending his silence on a controversial incident that has raised concerns about growing violence against minorities in the officially secular South Asian nation. Speaking at an election rally in the eastern state of Bihar, Modi appealed for a focus on economic progress rather than communal tensions, Reuters reported. “We must decide whether Hindus and Muslims should fight each other, or against poverty,” he said. “Only peace and goodwill can take this country forward.” Modi’s silence on the issue had [begun to cause controversy](http://time.com/4060906/dadri-lynching-beef-bisara-mohammad-akhlaq/ "undefined"), particularly as members of his party — the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — made statements both implicitly and explicitly condoning the [killing](http://time.com/4055298/india-beef-muslim-lynched-killed-cow/ "undefined") of 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq by a furious Hindu mob. Tests later determined that the meat found in Akhlaq’s fridge — rumors of which led to his death — was mutton rather than beef, a government official [told](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dadri-lynching-Meat-in-Akhlaq-fridge-was-mutton-not-beef/articleshow/49280525.cms "undefined") the _Times of India_ newspaper. On the same day Modi made his speech, BJP legislators in India’s northernmost state Jammu & Kashmir reportedly [assaulted](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34473354 "undefined") one of their Muslim colleagues in the state assembly for serving beef at a government hostel. “I have done nothing wrong,” Abdul Rashid Sheikh, the lawmaker who was punched and kicked, told Reuters. “It \[eating beef\] is my religious right and also my fundamental right.” The sale and consumption of beef has become something of a political football in the country since Modi came to power in May 2014, with his party advocating a nationwide ban that is [already being enforced](http://time.com/3829261/india-maharashtra-malegaon-beef-ban-photographs/ "undefined") in multiple states. Cows are considered sacred by the Hindus, who make up a majority of India’s 1.2 billion-strong population, but other religious groups like Christians, Muslims and even some sections of the Hindu population regularly consume their meat. Critics allege that a ban on beef, a comparatively inexpensive meat for many Indians, is being unfairly deployed to persecute religious minority groups, which disproportionately occupy lower socioeconomic strata. “People should ignore controversial statements made by politicians,” Modi was [quoted](http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prime-minister-modi-breaks-silence-on-dadri-lynching-episode/article7738896.ece "undefined") as saying later in his speech, “as they are doing so for political gains.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4067568/modi-dadri-lynching-beef-rally-bihar-hindu-muslim/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4067568/modi-dadri-lynching-beef-rally-bihar-hindu-muslim/"},"headline":"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Appeals for Calm After Lynching of Alleged Beef Eater","datePublished":"2015-10-09T04:30:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:39:35.556Z","description":"Modi spoke about the controversial killing for the first time since it took place over a week ago","url":"https://time.com/4067568/modi-dadri-lynching-beef-rally-bihar-hindu-muslim/","keywords":["India","Narendra Modi","Muslim","Speech","beef","Hindu","rally"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc66003ac192ab4ed/69886798f887dc0c12e92ca6/rtx1sybm.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc66003ac192ab4ed/69886798f887dc0c12e92ca6/rtx1sybm.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers remarks during a Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York","caption":"India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers remarks during a Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York","creditText":"Andrew Kelly—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4067568/modi-dadri-lynching-beef-rally-bihar-hindu-muslim/","name":"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Appeals for Calm After Lynching of Alleged Beef Eater"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Camels for Cash: India's Fleeting Camel Trade","description":"The camel trade may not have a place in modern India, but it still thrives at the annual camel fair in Pushkar","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/T8mInizu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2012-04-16T21:03:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/T8mInizu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4067568/modi-dadri-lynching-beef-rally-bihar-hindu-muslim/","duration":"PT4M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4067568/modi-dadri-lynching-beef-rally-bihar-hindu-muslim/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```