I grew up in the city of Hyderabad in southern India, one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. My favorite memories are of my yearly visits to my village in the remote area of Karimnagar, a small district in the state of Telangana, to celebrate its myriad festivals. I cherish each of these, but the most memorable is the harvest festival of Sankranti. Celebrating the first harvest of the year, we pray and we thank nature.
This festival is celebrated for three days, and the last day is dedicated to the cattle that play a major role in the lives of farmers. Waking up early in the morning and offering our prayers to the cattle was how our day started. The cow and bull are considered sacred for Hindus; they represent the symbol of dharma (the eternal law of the cosmos).
Cattle also represent prosperity and abundance in the Indian community. They are the farmers’ backbone. They substitute for human or mechanical labor on the farms, provide nourishing milk, their dung is used as fuel, and their urine is a powerful organic pesticide. So it is not strange that we worship them, and slaughtering them is considered a moral and legal crime.
Today in this changing world, their neglect is almost astonishing. Globalization has forced farmers to give up on traditional farming practices, and the prominence of these animals has diminished. The festivities moved to the cities, and idols of the animals replaced the actual ones, to be more convenient for people. But things changed so gradually that no one noticed when they started following just the rituals without their actual purpose. Now, these animals are left on the roads to fend for themselves.
The open garbage system in India is a huge menace to the well-being of stray animals. I have seen stray cows and bulls on the roads, chewing on something from the open garbage bins and looking for anything edible to survive. My uncle was even in an accident when his car struck one of these stray cows, a common occurrence.
The plight of these animals has become a major concern to society. They are discarded, and then people discard waste in plastic bags, and the animals searching for food consume the plastic, along with the leftover food materials. The plastic gets accumulated in their rumens and becomes hard. These animals look healthy, but that is just an illusion — they often die a slow and a painful death due to starvation……..Read More