Why is cow sacred, but buffalo is not? I always wondered about this as a kid. Most readers may know that the cow is considered a sacred animal in India and while beef is consumed and sold in some parts of India, it is banned in most states, and some Muslims have been attacked and mob lynched merely due to a suspicion of possessing beef, especially in northern and western parts of India. Growing up in a cow-worshipping society, I always wondered why cows but not buffalo, goats, sheep, or any other milk-giving animal have the same holy status. What is so special about cows that is not with buffalos? Both give milk and dung that have the same uses and meats of both can be sold as beef. The only difference is buffaloes are always black in color whereas cows are of different colors mostly shades of white. I strongly feel that their color and looks are the major reasons why the cow is holy and buffalo is not, definitely, their utilities as agricultural animals have no bearing on this. I feel casteism can be considered as the root of this. It seems the cow belongs to the upper case and the buffalo belongs to the lower caste, therefore, one is holy and the other is not.
Caste is an integral part of Indian society, this is true even today, rather, one can see the resurgence of case-based identity. Casteism differentiates and discriminates against people based on their birth. Some people are considered superior to others just because of their birth in families belonging to certain castes. There are phrases like "upper caste" and "lower caste" freely used in day-to-day conversations. This casteism has allowed the cows to get holy status whereas buffaloes have no such status. This is a simple case of casteism, the most common social discrimination method in India, the same as racism in other parts of the world. Buffaloes are victims of casteism or racism and cows are beneficiaries of this discrimination.
Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic.
© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com
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