In 2019, the government of Mr. Modi established the National Cow Commission with the express purpose of protecting cows. The website contains, among other things, the objectives: “the correct application of laws regarding the prohibition of slaughter and / or cruelty to cows.” Many Indian states, but not all, prohibit the slaughter of cattle.
The study material in the new course was designed by the Cow Commission, which falls under the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairy, and is widely distributed online in several languages, including English. The first online exam would be Thursday.
The material contains chapters on cow entrepreneurship and words from Hindu writings. The course deals with breed improvement, bioenergy from cattle manure, pesticides, medicines from cow urine, the concept of promoting cow tourism, the use of cattle manure instead of patch from Paris for ecological reasons and the difference between Indian and foreign cows. The commission is headed by Vallabhbhai Kathiria, a surgeon and former member of parliament from Mr. Modi se Bharatiya Janata-party.
The Indian cow, or zebu, does differ from the cattle breeds known in the West. The zebu, which is easily recognizable by its large shoulder bulge and pronounced dislocation, is more tolerant of heat and drought, and is resistant to some diseases, although it produces less milk.
However, the material that students were asked to absorb for the exam made unfounded allegations, such as one that there is a solar pulse inside the Indian cow’s hump that is known to absorb vitamin D from the sun’s rays and that in its milk. According to the material, bumpless “Jersey” cows do not have such powers.
Another part of the curriculum states that indigenous cows are ’emotional towards humans and other living things’, but that in foreign cows ‘none of these feelings are displayed’. Indian cows are ‘vigilant’ and ‘strong’, the material said, but foreign cows are ‘lazy’.