Article | Mother Cow : Our Responsibility and Important Link of Biodiversity | Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh | Central Chronicle

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Article

Mother Cow : Our Responsibility and Important Link of Biodiversity

-    Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh

Writer, Author & Social Activist

Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"

We should ask ourselves the question whether mother cow (Gaumata) is a pet animal or a stray animal? If it is a pet, why is it seen roaming in the streets, squares, alleys? Who are the owners of those cows who left them on the streets considering them useless? We have made Mother cow a beggar who comes to the door of our house for Roti and at the same time we are also harming this important link of biodiversity.

Mata rudranam duhita vasunam

swasadityanamritsya nabhih.

Pranu vocham chikitushhe janaya

ma gamanagamaditin vidhishth....

- It means, the cow is the mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus, the sister of the sons of Aditi and the storehouse of nectar in the form of ghee. Therefore, every thoughtful person should understand that innocent and unadulterated cows should not be killed. This is what has been said in the Vedas. We are the priests of culture, we are the guardians and carriers, and then where does our sense of responsibility go with the cows? There is an image in our mind of that Krishna who was the cow-keeper. He used to graze cows since childhood. Used to go with them to the forest and play the flute to bring them happiness. Poet Surdas has beautifully described this scene in his poem- "Nandkisor Charavat Gaiyan Mukhiin Bajawat Benu". It means that Krishna is grazing the cow and playing the flute with his mouth. 

But our cultural values and our sense of responsibility towards cows were blown away when the incident came to light that more than 100 cows died in a painful manner at a Gaushala. It was very painful to know that more than 500 cows shivering in the cold. All of them were left under the open sky. There was no arrangement for even a shed for them. There was no arrangement of straw and even water for the cows to eat. There was soil in the place of the fodder was put. Can any gaushala operator do such cruelty to cows? Unfortunately this is unbelievably true. While mother cow is not only our responsibility, she is Important Link of Biodiversity too.

 

In January 2020, the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying had released the 20th Livestock Census, which stated that there are over 5 million stray cattle in India. India's cattle inventory amounted to over 305 million in 2021. While the global cattle population stood at over 996 million. India has the highest cattle population followed by Brazil, China and the United States. In only Madhya Pradesh has 8,53,971 stray cattle. From the 2012 census to 2019, the number of stray cattle saw a jump of 95% in MP. Stray cow means is those cows which the owner is no longer claiming ownership or for which the owner cannot be determined. Cows and buffaloes roaming the streets and eating from garbage bins are a common sight in almost every part of India. Even though there has been multiple government interventions, the problem persists. It used to be that the gaushala was the right place for the homeless cows, but atrocities on the cows in the gaushala have created a dilemma. It has been proved that there is a need for strict monitoring of every cowshed.

Many questions had to be raised on the death of cows in the Gaushala, how much money was the government giving for this Gaushala and why was that money not used for saving the life of the cows? There are many questions which will be examined. The facts will come out. The guilty will be punished. Debates are happening and will continue to happen even with political spectacles on the eyes. But in the midst of all this, we should also take a peek in our heart that how much do we care about our cow mother? We should ask ourselves the question whether Mother cow is a pet animal or a stray animal? If it is a pet, why is it seen roaming in the streets, squares, alleys? Who are the owners of those cows who left them on the streets considering them useless?  We have made Mother cow a beggar who comes to the door of our house asking for bread. We are immersed in the joy of earning merit by feeding him one or two stale Rotis. Is this our only responsibility, towards our cow mother, that she should make arrangements for us to cross the Styx River after our death, but we should not give her enough food and shelter to live? In fact, after this incident, there is a need for introspection on the part of the government, administration as well as us citizens. If we remain sensitive about Mother Cow in reality, then such incidents will not be able to take shape and we will also be able to save the link of biodiversity from being harmed.

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 (60.02.2022)

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