#EidMubarak was one of the most popular Twitter hashtags on Monday, as wishes for the Muslim festival of Id al-Adha, or Baqraeid, resounded across social media. In India, however, a counterpoint was provided by other trending hashtags such as #EcoFriendlyEid, #BloodlessEid and #Stop_Killing_Animals.
Twitter analytics estimated that #EidMubarak received more than 63,000 mentions on Indian twitter by Monday evening, while BloodlessEid had 28,000 mentions and #EcoFriendlyEid had almost 15,000 mentions.
One widely shared graphic created by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti cited demands for an eco-friendly Diwali and Ganesh Chathurthi and asked why there was no similar demand for an eco-friendly Eid with a ban on animal slaughter.
Patanjali founder and yoga guru Swami Ramdev tweeted his wishes to Muslim brothers and sisters. He said Hindus and Muslims have common ancestors and asked Muslims to give up animal sacrifice, adding the #EcoFriendlyEid hashtag.
Followers of the self-styled godman Rampal, who is currently serving a life sentence in Hisar Central Jail for murder, tweeted memes and videos produced by his Satlok Ashram featuring teary-eyed goats and weeping Muslim children.
Twitter user Ashutosh Vashishth, who is also followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tweeted: “Celebrating #EcoFriendlyEid will have many benefits like no bloodshed and we can also save tons of water...”
More than 1,68,000 people viewed a video shared by the Indian chapter of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals showing animals at Mumbai’s Deonar slaughterhouse on the eve of Eid.
Other Twitter users pointed out that animals are slaughtered every day. “Gentle reminder: Animals are slaughtered daily in India and not just on Eid. Would be great if you keep your animal love to yourself on our festival day,” tweeted Mumbai-based fashion blogger Amena Azeez.
Mythologist and author Devdutt Pattanaik tweeted an image of deforestation and chopped trees, saying, “Killing plants is non-violence because I eat plants and use their dead body as wood. Killing rats and termites and ants is non-violence because pests eat my food and damage my house. Killing animals is violent because I don’t eat animals but my enemies do....Those who cry hoarse at the killing of animals in the name of religion are perfectly fine at the killing of trees in the name of development. Some lives matter more than others.”
