India will hold a “bovine science” examination on Feb. 25. The official website of the exam includes books and research papers on the topics of “Myth of the sacred cow,” “Cow care in Indian animal ethics,” and “Killing the cow means the end of human civilization. and research papers for reference and review.
The exam was conducted by Rastriya Kamdhenu Aayog (KRA), part of the Indian Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which was established in 2012 to “help the central government formulate appropriate policies” for “modern and scientific management of animal husbandry, take measures to protect and improve cattle breeds, and prohibit the slaughter of cattle and other livestock.” According to information posted on the KRA’s official website, the online exam on Feb. 25 will be multiple-choice and candidates will take it in batches according to their Education level.
Officials from India’s Ministry of Livestock said the exam was arranged to “instill curiosity about cattle” in the public. But on social media, the “bovine science” examination has caused controversy. Some claim that the reference material provided in the exam is partly not scientifically verified, while some critics argue that the real purpose of the exam is to try to politicize the “cow,” an animal considered sacred by Hindus.
In India, people keep cows in their homes, give them names, speak to them, and decorate them with garlands and ribbons. Cows are also given the right to walk freely, in the streets and alleys, and even in the middle of downtown and highways.
Local Time January 5, 2021, the capital of India, New Delhi, the local cold wave weather. Farmers have been dressing their cattle to protect them from the cold. Photo credit: Vision China
Cold wave weather arrives in New Delhi, capital of India, Jan. 5, 2021, local time. Farmers have dressed their cattle to protect them from the cold. Photo credit: Vision China
The reason why cows are so respected in India is largely due to religious factors. Hinduism is the largest religion in India. According to the 2011 Indian census data, the number of Hindus in the country is about 970 million, accounting for 80.5% of the total population. In Hinduism, the cow is the mount of one of the main gods, Lord Shiva, and is therefore considered a “sacred animal” by Hindus. Therefore, the cow has a special status in India, and there are many myths and sayings about cow worship, such as Hindus asking for a cow’s tail before they die so that they can be reincarnated successfully, and so on.
However, there are some claims about cow worship that are scientifically controversial. For example, the syllabus issued by the KRA states that “the milk of Indian cows (known as Desi cows in India itself) contains Gold; Jersey cows (an English breed) are “prone to disease” because they are “lazy”. Slaughtering a cow can cause an earthquake. It also claims that in 1984, a gas leak in the Indian city of Bhopal killed more than 20,000 people, while those who painted their homes with cow dung were unaffected.
The cult of the cow also contains “derivatives” of the cow. The syllabus states that “cow dung is superior to other dung because it is antiseptic and prevents disease.”
“No other animal or human urine has as many components as that of the Desi cow. After boiling cow urine, we get a thick slurry which is rich in minerals, vitamins and is used to treat various diseases.”
On September 3, 2020, a minister in Madhya Pradesh, India, claimed in an interview that he was born in cow dung and mud and therefore is not infected with the New Coronavirus.
Hindu people garland cows and worship them as gods to celebrate the traditional festival in Amritsar, India, Nov. 22, 2020, local time. Photo credit: Vision China
Hindu people garland cows and worship them as gods to celebrate the traditional festival in Amritsar, India, Nov. 22, 2020, local time. Photo credit: Visual China
Although India has long since completed its transformation into a modern state, according to its 1949 constitution, all Indian citizens are “equal before the law without discrimination on grounds of religion, race, hereditary caste, sex, or place of birth. In fact, however, the Indian government has never succeeded in extending its end of governance to grassroots politics, and long-established religious traditions remain a major force in shaping the Life of Indian society.
Cows have been a controversial topic in India, especially since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014. Currently, 19 Indian states have banned the slaughter, transport or export of cattle. And, in recent years, violence and lynchings over allegations of private cattle slaughter have continued to increase.
Bloomberg reported in 2019 that public information shows that 44 people have been killed in lynchings by “cow protection groups” across India since 2014, most of the victims being Muslims. According to The Times of India, two Muslim herdsmen, then 35 and 12 years old, were lynched for peddling bulls at an animal fair in the Indian state of Jharkhand on March 18, 2016. The attackers were from the local “cow protection group. The local police chief said, “They (the suspects) were not found to have any connection with Hindu militant groups.”
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