What is the significance of cows in hinduism

What's being invoked here isn't morality or sentimentality or chivalry or economics: this is an assertion of fictive kinship that effectively argues that all cows are Hindu women. This is not the first time the cow has become mixed up with politics.

The first organised Hindu cow protection movement was launched by a Sikh sect in Punjab in about In , Hindu religious leader Dayananda Saraswati founded the first cow protection committee. Conflicts over cow slaughter often sparked religious riots that led to the killing of more than people in alone.

In , at least eight people died in riots outside the parliament in Delhi while demanding a national ban on cow slaughter. And in , Acharya Vinoba Bhave, considered by many as a spiritual heir of Mahatma Gandhi, went on a hunger strike to ban cow slaughter. The "holiness of the cow" is also a myth, argues Dr Jha. In his masterly work The Myth of the Holy Cow , Dr Jha cites religious scriptures and ancient texts to show that Hindus did consume beef in ancient India. This flew against the Hindu right-wing assertion that beef-eating arrived in India with the coming of Islam.

Not surprisingly, he was threatened after the book was published in India. And American academic Wendy Doniger correctly argues that Hindus "do not always treat cows with respect or kindness; cows are sometimes beaten and frequently half starved". To solve the problem, Debroy offered one tongue-in-cheek solution. Only genuine Delhi cows should be eligible for social security and other benefits. City officials, meanwhile, have adopted a different approach: the cow catchers. Under pressure to reduce cow populations, Delhi has hired nearly of the urban cowboys, who are charged with catching and shipping cows outside the city limits, sometimes to special reserves where the animals are cared for.

And it can be downright dangerous. There are Muslims, Parsis, Christians and other religious groups here. Lower-caste Hindus are also being attacked. Attacks of this type are not new. This has been going on since Hindutva began in And indeed, in , in a north Indian town, five lower-caste Hindus were lynched for skinning a cow.

But, as local analysis shows, the violence has greatly increased under the Modi government. As these and so many other recent attacks demonstrate, cows — innocent, docile animals — have become in India a lightning rod for human cruelty, in the name of religion. Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in.

Are cows sacred to all Hindus? Supporters of secularism and members of other religions denounce these laws. They are seen as an attack on fundamental human rights and as a form of discrimination with regard to other religious communities Muslim and Christian in particular which authorise the consumption of beef.

As the cow is a sacred animal for Hindus, all products derived from it are highly valued. There are a number of ways to use milk. It is, for example, transformed into yoghurt, which, savoury or flavoured, is incorporated into meals.

Yoghurt is also the base for the sauce for chopped vegetables and spices and is also consumed as a drink, mixed with water or iced milk. Ghee , a type of clarified butter, is highly popular. Also buttermilk , a by-product of butter, forms a major part of the rural diet. Cow urine is sometimes included in a purifying mixture used in some religious rituals. Cow dung is used as a fertiliser and fuel.