Is it okay to ban beef in a secular country like India on                                          religious grounds....?

Reasons why beef  should not be banned

                           A secular state is a concept of secularism , whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matters ofreligion,

1. By the very definition of secularism, the state cannot ban cow slaughter citing the reason to be: "Banned in Hinduism". The state has no right to ban cow slaughter simply because it is banned in Hinduism just like it has no right to ban idol worship simply because it's banned in Christianity/Islam. (Before you accuse me of pseudo-secularism, know that I support Uniform Civil Code as well)
2. Coming to economic arguments, what is the economic benefit of keeping bulls or dried up cows? (If the cows are artificially inseminated and the fields are ploughed by machines, it is a burden on the farmer to feed bulls). The cows slaughtered for beef are not the milk-giving ones. India leads the world in beef export and it fetched India Rs.13725.23 crores in 2012. So in purely economic terms, it is an unsound decision to ban cow slaughter.

                

 3.   Now let's come to how the lifestyle of the people is affected.  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation UN (FAO) report titled Livestock Information, Sector Analysis and Policy Branch says the largest consumed meat in India is beef (Note: meat does not include chicken) . The total consumption of beef in India per year is 26 lakh tonnes[1], as compared to 6 lakh tonnes of mutton and 14 lakh tonnes of pork. Given that this is the case, a nation-wide ban on cow slaughter will have a considerable effect on lifestyle and is an encroachment on the fundamental rights.

4.  If it's about animal rights, why be partial to cows? What about pork or mutton?

Contrasting views within Hinduism about cow slaughter

The verse in Hindu scripture which is said to ban cow slaughter is:

Rig Veda 10.87.16: “yaḥ pauruṣeyeṇa kraviṣā samaṅkte yo aśveyena paśunāyātudhānaḥ,yo aghnyāyā bharati kṣīramaghne teṣāṃśīrṣāṇi harasāpi vṛśca"

which specifically mention horse (asva) and not cow, and asks Agni to cut off the heads of those who eat horse and human meat.

But another verse which speaks about slaughtering bulls as food,

Rig Veda 10.86.14:  uksnó hí me páncadasha sakám pácanti vimshatím, utáhám admi píva íd ubhá kuksí prnanti me v’shvasmad índra úttarah

Translation: Fifteen in number, then, for me a score of bullocks they prepare, and I devour the fat thereof: they fill my belly full with food. Supreme is Indra over all. (Indra eating bulls)

and another on sacrificing ox & cow to Agni,

Rig Veda 8.43.11: uksánnaya vashánnaya sómaprsthaya vedháse stómair vidhemagnáye

Translation: Let us serve Agni with our hymns, Disposer, fed on ox and cow, who bears the Soma on his back.
 
Swami Vivekananda writes in “The complete works of Swami Vivekananda (volume-3 page 174) : 

“There was a time when a Brahmin without eating beef could not remain a Brahmin”. 

(and on page 536)

“You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to the old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it.”

Having said all this, it is irrelevant to me whether Hinduism prohibits cow slaughter or not. I am a Hindu who eats beef (it's pretty common over here in Kerala). Hinduism is a pretty inclusive and tolerant religion. My whole family does and I don't think the secular state has any right to tell me not to eat it.