More on India's Sacred Cattle

Azzi, Corry F.; Weizmann, Howard; Harris, Marvin

doi:10.1086/201478

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…[70][71][72][73][74] However, anthropologists and others criticized Harris' position on theoretical grounds. 56,[75][76][77][78] Some scholars, such as anthropologists Stanley and Ruth Freed, presented field data from India as evidence that Harris' technoenvironmental determinism was flawed, arguing that ''emotion, belief and attitude profoundly influence human behavior.'' 79 But perhaps the most effective rebuttal of Harris's position was presented by Frederick Simoons, 80 a cultural geographer with wide-ranging interests in cattle and milking practices in the Old World and field experience in India.…”

Section: Emergence Of the Sacred-cow Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbol and Sustenance: Cattle in South Asian Culture

Lodrick

2005

Dialect Anthropol

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Domesticated Indian zebu cattle were present on the western margins of the South Asian subcontinent as early as 6000 B.C. Cattle were important in the agricultural economy of the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley, but archaeological evidence suggests the bull was also assuming a symbolic or religious role in this culture during the third millennium B.C. There is, however, little to suggest that the cow was viewed as sacred. Following the decline of the Harappan civilization, northwestern India was settled by Aryan-speaking peoples who laid the foundations of modern Indian society. The Aryans were pastoral by nature and the economic importance of cattle to this society is mirrored in the role of cattle in ritual, in the pastoral symbolism of the Vedic literature (the ancient religious literature of Hinduism), and also in the association of the cow with various Vedic deities. Yet, again there is nothing to suggest the cow was viewed as sacred at this time. It is not until the appearance of the ahimsa philosophy at the end of the Vedic period, and the acceptance of this belief in the major religious philosophies of the region (Jainism, Buddhism, and later Hinduism), that the concept of the sanctity and inviolability of the cow began to crystallize. The ''sacred-cow concept'' appears as established doctrine in Hindu literature by the end of the medieval period (ca. fourth century A.D.), although popular practice appears to be at variance with this doctrine. A variety of historical, political, religious and social factors appear to have contributed to the general acceptance of the sacred cow doctrine by the Hindu population at large. During the 1960s, the ''sacred cow'' was at the center of a controversy in the social sciences concerning whether the concept was essentially religious in nature or reflected the ecological realities of the cattle economy of the Indian subcontinent. This debate notwithstanding, cattle remain central to the Indian economy, but also play a significant role in the religion and rituals of modern Hinduism, particularly those related to the worship of Krishna. Cattle have also assumed a political role in contemporary India, with anti-cow-slaughter legislation and the protection of the cow being identified with the emerging Hindutva movement. No understanding of South Asian culture can be complete without an awareness of the economic, historical, political and religious dimensions of cattle in the Indian subcontinent.

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Section: Emergence Of the Sacred-cow Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbol and Sustenance: Cattle in South Asian Culture

Lodrick

2005

Dialect Anthropol

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“…he controversy around cattle slaughter in countries where the larger percentage of the population practices Hinduism is enormous (Chigateri 2011;Sarkar and Sarkar 2016). In Nepal, where 80 percent of the people are Hindu (Central Bureau of Statistics 2013), cultural traditions forbid the slaughter of cattle and eating of beef (Azzi, Weizmann, and Harris 1974;Korom 2000;Shivaram 2009). This tradition stems from the religious belief that cows are the reincarnation of one of their gods, and therefore bad karma follows anyone who kills or harms the animals (Heston 1971).…”

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Nepal's Sacred Cattle: Profitability Analysis and Policy Implications

Ojo¹,

VanSickle²,

Thapa³

2022

AJAD

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This paper analyzes Nepal’s current livestock policy, which is rooted in culture and religion, and the extent to which its design has not kept pace with the continuing transformation of the country’s agricultural landscape. It estimates the impact of the no-slaughtering of cattle policy on dairy producers using Latin hypercube simulations to quantify a baseline and alternative scenario for cattle milk production. The baseline models the current production system, while the alternative scenario models milk production where producers are allowed to slaughter or export cattle. Results indicate that farmers’ profit per liter of milk increases by 19 to 31 percent in the alternative scenario.

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“…The cow politics during the period from 1950 to 1970 has not received sufficient academic attention. Although the nationwide cow protection movement during the period from 1966 to 1967 did attract political analysts, it remained confined to the legal–constitutional debates (Azzi et al, 1974; Balasubhramaniam, 1994; Derrett & Duncan, 1961; Harris, 1974; Harris et al, 1997; Nair, 1979; Sathe, 1967; Simoons, 1979). A few scholarly works on Hindu nationalism that emerged in the late 1990s readdressed the cow politics in the wake of radical ‘Hindutva’ movement (Adcock, 2013, 2018; Chigateri, 2008; Copland, 2005; De, 2018; Gould, 2005; Jeffrelot, 1999).…”

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In the Name of Cow: Legal–Constitutional Discourse and the Contours of Contemporary Indian Politics

Parveen¹

2020

Studies in Indian Politics

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The issue of cow preservation is predominantly seen as a battle between communal/orthodox and liberal/secular ideologies represented by Hindu nationalists and Congress, respectively. In this schema, Hindu nationalists projected themselves as protectors of cow, while Congress seemed to oppose such proposals. The question of how both regimes used cow as a significant symbol for strengthening their politics and positions for favourable political equilibrium in the past 60 years remains under-researched. The article argues that the dynamics of electoral politics in India should not merely be reduced to the ideologies of different political regimes; instead, a critical understanding of successful and timely appropriation of popular religious sensibilities needs to be explored.

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More on India's Sacred Cattle

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Symbol and Sustenance: Cattle in South Asian Culture

Symbol and Sustenance: Cattle in South Asian Culture

Nepal's Sacred Cattle: Profitability Analysis and Policy Implications

In the Name of Cow: Legal–Constitutional Discourse and the Contours of Contemporary Indian Politics

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