It is the latest attempt to claim “Indian heritage” against “Western traditions”. In recent years, the Animal Welfare Council, which made the proposal, has increasingly focused on the purported benefits of the cow, an animal notoriously sacred to Hindu culture.
New Delhi ( / Agencies) – “Considering the immense benefits of the cow, hugging one will bring emotional richness, increasing our individual and collective happiness,” says the Animal Welfare Council of India (AWBI), which has proposed transforming Valentine’s Day on the day of hugging a cow. “Keeping in mind the importance of the mother cow in making life happy and full of positive energy,” reads the proposal that AWBI posts on its website with the approval of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The idea that cows bring happiness and positivity is one of a number of claims about the benefits associated with the animal that Hinduism famously considers sacred. In recent years, cow urine has been promoted as a medicine and its dung has been claimed to protect against radiation.
The AWBI is a body under the Department of Animal Husbandry and has the task of advising on legal provisions for the protection of animal welfare. However, in recent years the Council’s attention has been focused on the cow, which is becoming an increasingly ‘political’ animal.
“Cow Hug Day” is therefore the latest attempt by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to claim Indian heritage by replacing Western festivities. In fact, in the Council’s statement he says that “Vedic traditions are almost on the brink of extinction” under the “dazzle of Western civilization.”
Earlier, for example, Modi had proposed replacing the Christmas celebration on December 25 with “Good Governance Day” to commemorate the birth of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a former Indian prime minister and one of the most important leaders of the BJP and Hindu nationalism. .
