Why sacred cows in hinduism

These religious considerations have led to stringent laws and a rise in the numbers of cattle protection groups, spurred by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Especially since the enforcement of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals regulation of livestock markets rules in , the sale of cattle to slaughterhouses for use as meat or leather has become very difficult. The law has also severely impacted several communities involved in such businesses, including lower caste Hindus, for whom beef is a cheap and important source of food.

Nearly 6 million cows roam freely on India's roads, according to the livestock census and the number is expected to go up substantially in the next livestock report, due later this year. The numbers have caused a rise in incidents of traffic accidents involving cows that have been reported in the last couple of years, although comprehensive statistics on the problem are still missing.

According to Arjun Sheoran, advocate and the head of the People's Union for Civil Liberties in the northern city of Chandigarh, the changes in cow protection laws and their harsh implementation have led to an exponential rise in the number of stray bovines.

People, who cannot afford to look after their cows after they stop producing milk, are forced to leave the animals on the streets. Thus, "many cows, which are abandoned, end up in urban areas where they create massive traffic and public health and hygiene issues," Sheoran told DW. Read more: Can India take the lead on Asia's renewable energy future? In West Bengal, for example, authorities intensified a cattle seizure drive earlier this year after reports that a car lost control because its driver was trying to avoid hitting a cow.

In Noida, north of the capital New Delhi, a year-old man died after his motorcycle collided with a stray cow. Cows themselves have been victims of traffic accidents, with nearly 7, animals dying on railway tracks in India's Uttar Pradesh since April this year, according to data collected by the North Central Railway.

Legislators in India, backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have announced steps to protect stray cows.

Most recently, the government of India's Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh said it was passing a resolution to declare the cow the "national mother. Two are forward and two are afterwards. More seriously, most states forbid cow slaughter, and the ban on beef has been criticised by many because the meat is cheaper than chicken and fish and is a staple for the poorer Muslim, tribal and dalit formerly untouchable communities.

Not surprisingly, the cow is also India's most polarising - and political - animal. Last month, a year-old man in northern Uttar Pradesh was killed in a mob lynching over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home.

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence over the killing nearly two weeks later, members of his party thrashed an independent lawmaker in Kashmir for hosting a beef party. Earlier this month, Hindus and Muslims clashed over rumours, again, of cow slaughter in Uttar Pradesh.

A row over banning beef is threatening to stoke religious tensions in restive Kashmir. While campaigning for his party in the crucial state elections in Bihar state, Mr Modi ridiculed a regional rival for saying many Hindus eat beef. There are worrying reports that supporters of the BJP and right-wing Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the state have launched a virulent campaign against cow slaughter and beef.

Although the government's own animal census shows that the cow and buffalo population has grown - a 6. Vigilante cow protection groups have mushroomed. They claim to have a strong network of informers and say they "feel empowered" because of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP government in Delhi. By the 19th century, the cow-protection movement had arisen.

One of the implicit objects of this movement was the oppression of Muslims. Famously, Gandhi attempted to make vegetarianism, particularly the taboo against eating beef, a central tenet of Hinduism. He used the image of the Earth cow the one that King Prithu milked as a kind of Mother Earth, to symbolize his imagined Indian nation.

His insistence on cow protection was a major factor in his failure to attract large-scale Muslim support. Yet even Gandhi never called for the banning of cow slaughter in India. He said ,. It is not as if there were only Hindus in the Indian Union. There are Muslims, Parsis, Christians and other religious groups here. Lower-caste Hindus are also being attacked.

Attacks of this type are not new. The sacred cow Hinduism favours a vegetarian diet and protects the cow as a sacred animal and source of prosperity. The cow, a revered animal in Hinduism In the Hindu religion, the cow has acquired a sacred status. Products which come from the sacred cow As the cow is a sacred animal for Hindus, all products derived from it are highly valued.

The pig: an impure animal Like beef, pork is also forbidden in Hinduism. Assouly, Olivier, Les nourritures terrestres. France : Actes Sud. Quien, Aleandra, Dans les cuisines de Bombay. More on this topic.