Cow protection movement
The cow protection movement is a predominantly Hindu religious and political movement aiming to protect cows, whose slaughter has been broadly opposed by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians and Sikhs. While the opposition to slaughter of animals, including cows, has extensive and ancient roots in Indian history, the term refers to modern movements dating back to colonial era British India. The earliest such activism is traceable to Namdhari Sikhs of Punjab who opposed cow slaughter in the 1860s. The movement became popular in the 1880s and thereafter, attracting the support from the Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayananda Saraswati in the late 19th century, and from Mahatma Gandhi in the early 20th century.
The cow protection movement gained broad support among the followers of Indian religions, particularly Hindus, but it was broadly opposed by Muslims. Numerous cow protection-related riots broke out in the 1880s and 1890s in British India. The 1893 and 1894 cow killing riots started on the day of Eid-ul-Adha, a Muslim festival where animal sacrifices are a part of the celebration. Cow protection movement and related violence has been one of the sources of religious conflicts in India. Historical records suggest that both Hindus and Muslims have respectively viewed "cow protection" and "cow slaughter" as a religious freedom.
The cow protection movement is most connected with India, but has been active since colonial times in predominantly Buddhist countries such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Sri Lanka is the first country in South Asia to wholly legislate on harm inflicted against cattle. Sri Lanka currently bans the sale of cattle for meat throughout all of the island, following a legislative measure that united the two main ethnic groups on the island, whereas legislation against cattle slaughter is in place throughout most states of India except Kerala, West Bengal, and parts of the North-East.
Attitudes towards the cow
Hinduism
According to Nanditha Krishna, the cow veneration in ancient India "probably originated from the pastoral Aryans" in the Vedic era, whose religious texts called for non-violence towards all bipeds and quadrupeds, and often equated killing of a cow with the killing of a human being, especially a Brahmana. The hymn 10.87.16 of the Hindu scripture Rigveda, states Nanditha Krishna, condemns all killings of men, cattle and horses, and prays to god Agni to punish those who kill.File:Rajasthan, India - Festival of the Cattle ; shrine hanging - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The iconography of popular Hindu deity Krishna often includes cows. He is revered in Vaishnavism.
According to Harris, the literature relating to cow veneration became common in 1st millennium CE, and by about 1000 CE vegetarianism, along became a well accepted mainstream Hindu tradition. This practice was inspired by the belief in Hinduism that a soul is present in all living beings, life in all its forms is interconnected, and non-violence towards all creatures is the highest ethical value. Vegetarianism is a part of the Hindu culture. The god Krishna, one of the incarnations of Vishnu, is associated with cows, adding to its endearment.
Many ancient and medieval Hindu texts debate the rationale for a voluntary stop to cow slaughter and the pursuit of vegetarianism as a part of a general abstention from violence against others and all killing of animals. Some significant debates between pro-non-vegetarianism and pro-vegetarianism, with mention of cattle meat as food, are found in several books of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, particularly its Book III, XII, XIII and XIV. It is also found in the Ramayana. These two epics are not only literary classics, but they have also been popular religious classics.
The Mahabharata debate presents one meat-producing hunter who defends his profession as dharmic. The hunter, in this ancient Sanskrit text, states that meat consumption should be allowed because animal sacrifice was practiced in the Vedic age, that the flesh nourishes people, that man must eat to live and plants like animals are alive too, that the nature of life is such every life form eats the other, that no profession is totally non-violent because even agriculture destroys numerous living beings when the plough digs the land. The hunter's arguments are, states Alsdorf, followed by stanzas that present support for restricted meat-eating on specific occasions.
The pro-vegetarianism sections of these Hindu texts counter these views. One section acknowledges that the Vedas do mention sacrifice, but not killing the animal. The proponents of vegetarianism state that Vedic teachings explicitly teach against killing, its verses can be interpreted in many ways, that the correct interpretation is of the sacrifice as the interiorized spiritual sacrifice, one where it is an "offering of truth and self-restraint ", with the proper sacrifice being one "with reverence as the sacrificial meal and Veda study as the herbal juices". The sections that appeal for vegetarianism, including abstention from cow slaughter, state that life forms exist in different levels of development, some life forms have more developed sensory organs, that non-violence towards fellow man and animals who experience pain and suffering is an appropriate ethical value. It states that one's guiding principle should be conscientious atmaupamya.
According to Ludwig Alsdorf, "Indian vegetarianism is unequivocally based on ahimsa " as evidenced by ancient smritis and other ancient texts of Hinduism. He adds that the endearment and respect for cattle in Hinduism is more than a commitment to vegetarianism, it has become integral to its theology. The respect for cattle is widespread but not universal. According to Christopher Fuller, animal sacrifices have been rare among the Hindus outside a few eastern states and Himalayan regions of the Indian subcontinent. To the majority of modern Indians, states Alsdorf, respect for cattle and disrespect for slaughter is a part of their ethos and there is "no ahimsa without renunciation of meat consumption".
Jainism
is against violence to all living beings, including cattle. According to the Jaina sutras, humans must avoid all killing and slaughter because all living beings are fond of life, they suffer, they feel pain, they like to live, and long to live. All beings should help each other live and prosper, according to Jainism, not kill and slaughter each other.In the Jain tradition, neither monks nor laypersons should cause others or allow others to work in a slaughterhouse.
Jains have led a historic campaign to ban the slaughter of cows and all other animals, particularly during their annual festival of Paryushana. Historical records, for example, state that the Jain leaders lobbied Mughal emperors to ban slaughter of cow and other animals, during this 8 to 12 day period. In some cases, such as during the 16th century rule of Akbar, they were granted their request and an edict was issued by Akbar.
Buddhism
The texts of Buddhism state ahimsa to be one of five ethical precepts, which requires a practicing Buddhist to "refrain from killing living beings". Slaughtering cow has been a taboo, with some texts suggest taking care of a cow is a means of taking care of "all living beings". Cattle is seen as a form of reborn human beings in the endless rebirth cycles in samsara, protecting animal life and being kind to cattle and other animals is good karma.The Buddhist texts not only state that killing or eating meat is wrong, it urges Buddhist laypersons to not operate slaughterhouses, nor trade in meat. Indian Buddhist texts encourage a plant-based diet.
Sacrifice of cattle is particularly condemned in the Brāhmaṇadhammika Sutta of the Sutta Nipata of the Pali Canon, where cows are referred to in the following terms:
The sutta claims that cow sacrifice causes devas and rakshas to cry out 'An injustice' when a knife falls upon a cow who is sacrificed.
Sikhism
During the 1860s, the Namdhari Sikhs opposed cattle-slaughter. According to a Khalsa Bahadur article dated to 5 September 1903, the Sikhs consider cattle to be a useful animal but do not go to the lengths of the Hindus by considering it to be sacred. According to Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, many Sikhs refrain from eating beef as cows, oxen, and buffalo are a central part of the livelihood of rural Sikhs, with many Sikhs coming from agricultural-backgrounds. Thus, Sikhs generally respect cattle and do not slaughter them for food.Zoroastrianism
The term geush urva means "the spirit of the cow" and is interpreted as the soul of the earth. In the Ahunavaiti Gatha, Zarathustra accuses some of his co-religionists of abusing the cow.The lands of Zarathustra and the Vedic priests were those of cattle breeders. The 9th chapter of the Vendidad of the Avesta expounds the purificatory power of gōmēz – cow urine. It is declared to be a panacea for all bodily and moral evils, understood as which it features prominently in the 9-night purification ritual Barashnûm.
Christianity
There are no explicit food restrictions in Christianity though groups that follow the rulings of the Apostolic Council refrain from consumption of blood, meat containing blood, meat of animals that have been sacrificed to idols and the meat of animals that were strangled: "the Holy Spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper.". When speaking about the consumption of pork and other meats regarded as unclean in the Old Testament, Christ says: "And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?." Mark 7:18-19.The diet rules, states Tanya MacLaurin, vary among Christian denominations, with most not advocating any restrictions. According to David Grumett, Rachel Muers and other scholars, many Christian saints and preachers of Christianity such as Charles Spurgeon, Ellen G. White, John Todd Ferrier, and William Cowherd practiced and encouraged a meat-free diet. Devout Catholics and Orthodox Christians avoid meat on Fridays and particularly during Lent, states MacLaurin.