The Sacredness of the Cow in India

Abstract

Cet article traite d'un aspect souvent négligé par les études consacrées au caractère sacré de la vache en Inde. Ces études, souvent polémiques, se sont préoccupées d'aspects techniques et environnementaux et n'ont pratiquement rien apporté quant & a g r a v e ; la compréhension de la logique culturelle contenue dans le caractère sacré de cet animal.Basé sur I 'étude de textes sacrés, sur des observations empiriques dans le Nord du Pays et sur des travaux d'anthropologues dans d'autres régions, cet article jette une lumière sur le caractère sacré de la vache dans l'Inde ancienne, sur les processus historiques qui ont abouti & a g r a v e ; l'émergence des tabous concernant la consommation du boeuf, sur les mythes et rites qui accompagnent ce phénomène, sur ses significations culturelles dans la société indienne. L'auteur estime que l'interprétation métaphorique technico-environnementale de Harris & a g r a v e ; propos du caractère sacré de la vache ne rend pas compte de manière adéquate du maintien de ce modèle culturel en Inde. L'idéologie religieuse indienne explique mieux cette persistance car la sacralité de la vache est un reflet d'actes symboliques ayant un caractère expressif et une fin en soi qui dépassent les simples considérations rationnelles. Social Compass, XXXIII/2-3, 1986, 163-175 The the cow is held in great reverence by the Hindus. She occupies a place closer to the divines and there is hardly any temple where the the cow does not figure prominently. The concept of sacredness of the cow is deeply ingrained in the thoughts, feelings, and aspirations of Hindus so much so that her protection and care is considered as a religious duty. There is a strong abhorrance for killing and eating the flesh of a the cow. They have become so inviolable that in big cities they wander unmolested through the busiest traffic. Even a bull that gores a man to death may not be touched. The mere slaughter of a the cow has led to many communal riots during the pre as well as postIndependence period leading to a loss of several human lives and valuable property in India (Batra: 1972; 1981a).

The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere

“…A Constituent Assembly was established to draft India’s first Constitution. From records of its deliberations [ 5 , 7 ], it is evident that the issue of legally banning cow slaughter was fraught with religious and emotional sensitivities. Staunch Hindus argued that cow slaughter went against the very core of their religion, while Muslims argued that any ban on cow slaughter infringed on their right to earn a livelihood as butchers, leather-makers, tanners and slaughter-men.…”

“…So charged was the atmosphere that riots broke out intermittently all over the country during these deliberations [ 6 ]. The final Constitution contains an Article inserted into the Directive Principles of State Policy, not legally enforceable but recommending that the States frame their own enforceable laws to protect cows from slaughter [ 7 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]: “The State shall endeavor to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” …”

“…In later centuries, the divine symbol of the cow came to be used as a symbol of Indian national identity for rallying against external invading powers [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]. Nowadays, almost 30% of the world’s cattle population of approximately 1.4 billion [ 8 ] resides in India.…”

Understanding transition in animal based food consumption: a case study in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat (India)

“…Some authors advocate utilitarian explanations, such as the necessary adaptation to climate and geography, or point out the economic interest of making effective use of cow by-products (Harris 1966;Gadgil and Guha 1992). However, this techno-environmental model does not seem relevant for India and it overlooks the underlying religious and sociopolitical forces (Brown 1964;Batra 1986;Doniger 1999;Hoffpauir 1982;Mahias 1988;Korom 2000;Lodrick 1982). During the Vedic period, cattle-meat was relished by the Emperors (Achaya 2009) and all types of meat were incorporated in Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia remedies (Zimmermann 1982).…”

Milk for “Growth”: Global and Local Meanings of Milk Consumption in China, India, and the United States

“…Cows were central to the subsistence and culture of the Indo-Aryan pastoralists who settled in the north of the South Asian subcontinent, and Vedic literature describes the high esteem in which they were held (Batra 1986). They were symbolically linked to the earth and mothers, both with life-giving properties (Korom 2000).…”