Kolkata, India – Less than a week before Eid al-Adha, the sprawling Dhulagarh cattle market on the outskirts of Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state, has a deserted look.Traders are huddled in groups under a tin shade while more than 200 head of cattle readied for sale before the Muslim festival remain tied to bamboo poles in the open, braving the summer heat.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBut there are no customers in sight.A Hindu seller, who had come to the market from East Midnapur district, 130km (81 miles) southwest of Kolkata, tells Al Jazeera he has taken out multiple high-interest loans to buy his stock for the festival, which falls on Wednesday and Thursday. In a state with nearly 25 million Muslims, or 27 percent of its population, it should be an occasion for good business.But, he says, this year is different.“Who will buy a cow? People are living in fear,” the Hindu seller says on condition of anonymity because he fears reprisals from the authorities. Livestock for sale at the Dhulagarh cattle market outside Kolkata [Ritwika Mitra/Al Jazeera]For decades, the Dhulagarh cattle market was visited by sellers – almost all of them Hindus – and Muslim buyers to prepare for a ritualistic sacrifice to mark Eid al-Adha. Besides a goat or sheep, many Muslim families often pool together money to sacrifice a steer, buffalo or camel and divide the meat in seven equal shares for the “qurbani”.Although a 1950 law prohibits public slaughter of cattle, the culturally diverse state of West Bengal has long been ruled by Marxists or centrist …
