India and its fascination with Cow

Why Indians are sensitive toward cows?

There are a lot of jokes about Indians and their cows. It is well-known fact that the cow is a revered animal in India. You will end up in trouble if you are found hurting a cow in India. But the question is, why?

Indians usually don’t eat hamburgers with beef.

Why are Indians sensitive toward cows? Why does the cow hold such respect?

Historic significance

To understand this, let us take a short trip into the history of the Indian subcontinent. The agriculture you know was invented and groomed in India. Indian civilizations were far ahead of their global counterparts in terms of evolution. The ancient people in the Indian subcontinent discovered that it is better to cultivate crops in plain lands near rivers. This would give them stability and food security.

Very soon those guys discovered that some animals could be reared and used for enriching their lives. These were cows, sheep, horses, donkeys, etc.

These ancient people would majorly use cows for their dairy needs. They would obtain milk from the cow. They would generate curd, clarified butter, and other products. The bulls were tamed and used in agriculture.

Since the primary source of living for these native people was agriculture, they relied on the cows very much. The cow would feed their families and the bulls would help them in cultivating their lands. Thus, each family would own cattle and these cattle would definitely contain cows.

Unlike western countries, the ancient families in India were self-sufficient in meeting their dairy needs and small-scale agriculture needs. The animal that helped them was cows and bulls. Thus, people started conserving them and protecting them from other wild animals. Soon the cow became a revered animal.

The religious angle

The majority of the public in the Indian subcontinent are Aryans and the Dravidian races and are followers of Hinduism. Hindu religion focuses a lot on respect, gratitude, non-violence, and interpersonal relations.

Touching the feet of your elders, not arguing with your elders, respecting the choice of family members (arrange marriages), expressing gratitude towards anything that protected/ helped/saved you in tough times, etc. are very common things in the Hindu religion.

You can read more about the religious concept here: Explained: Why there are 330 Million gods in the Hindu religion?

The religious and social teachings in the subcontinent focused on expressing gratitude, protecting, serving, and saving someone who helped you. That’s the reason the majority of Indian people still live with their parents and don’t leave them. There is a sentimental value for the people, animals, idols, houses, and trees.

The Hindu families that were using these animals would consider them to be part of the family. Not just cows but all the animals that a family had. They would not abandon these animals when they got sick or old. The animals would be fed and protected even in their old ages because they helped the family survive in their youth. They became a part of that family.

Respect towards Milk & Clarified Butter

The Indian subcontinent uses milk and clarified butter as medicines and these are used to treat skin and body ailments. Ayurveda and other native medical practices in India relied on honey, clarified butter, and milk. The milk and clarified butter that was used primarily belonged to cows. That’s why cows became more popular in the Indian subcontinent.

Cumulative effect

Now, you have an animal that feeds your children, elders, and the entire family. You have an animal that walks beside you when you are cultivating your lands and helps you make your living. You have an animal that gives you the ingredient for your medicines.

On top of it, you are brought up in a culture that asks you to serve anyone who helped you. You are brought into a culture where your savior is worshipped and respected. You are brought into a culture where you are supposed to pay back your debt (both in terms of money and deeds).

What would you do with the cow?

You will protect it, respect it, and serve it.

And that’s what happened. People started respecting the cow because that cow fed them in their childhood just like their mothers. The bulls worked with them like their brothers.

The cow soon became a symbol of Hindu religion. It was respected, praised, protected, and served. The Hindus would protect it, respect it, and consider it an integral part of their family.

Now the times are changed and the majority of households don’t own cattle now. But the cow has already gained its place in the religion, books, and the hearts of people. People still consider it equivalent to their mothers and worship it.