Why is Cow as Our Mother?

The Supreme Court of India has stated that cows should not be slaughtered in the name of religion in the country.

Scriptures have hailed the cow saying : Gawo vishwasya matarah, The cow is the mother of the universe.

The Cow is a mother not only because it provides milk with maternal affection but also in the sense that it absorbs harmful pesticides and chemical residues of the fodder, in her body and only a little quantity which she can not absorb, comes out through her milk. It has been found through researches at agricultural universities that if the same fodder containing DDT, BHC and other pesticides is given to the cow and buffalo the milk of cow contains only 5% of DDT and BHC etc, while the milk of buffalo contains 12% of the same.

It may be of interest to know that when the cow is milked, the milk coming out in the beginning contains only 2% fat which is good for old people and patients. The milk coming out next, contains 4% fat which is advisable for the growing children. The milk coning out in the last containing 10% fat is advisable for the calf, pregnant women and hard-working people. When the milk is turned into curd the top layer contains 50% fat which is good for pregnant women and lean and thin people. Curd in the bottom contains only 5% fat recommended for obese people, heart patients and diabetics. The middle portion of the curd contains 20 to 25% fat which is good for growing children. Buffalo milk contains about double the quantity of fat, which is not good for general health and at the same time is not easily digestible. Eminent Naturopaths and the Ayurveda cite various examples of how cow's milk can cure several diseases, treatment of which is still not found by medical sciences.

It is wrong to argue that cows after becoming dry, become a burden.

The fact remains, that even after becoming dry, the cow through its dung and urine, through NADEP process or through liquid organic manure process provides as much as Rs 20-25 thousand worth of manure in terms of NPK. Obviously, it is a boon to the poor farmers.

The first step to be taken is to stop indiscriminate killing of animals so that we can get ample quantity of animal dung along with animals for draught for manuring and farming.

In this context, I give below details of the process, popular in Africa.

Collect animal dung (fresh dung), put it in a sack, and tie it securely. Suspend the bag in a drum of urinated water. The sack should contain 40-50 kgs dung, the drum should have about 200 lbs. of water containing adequate quantity of animal urine. Use a stick to suspend the bag.

Move the stick up and down to stir the mixture and to quicken the release of nutrients. Do this every three days. Once the nutrients are fully released keep the water for 10-15 days. The liquid manure shall be ready for use, when the color of the water changes to dark brown.

The liquid manure is ideal for top-dressing of growing crops. It should be around the roots of the plants. Before use, the manure should be diluted in the ratio of 1:2.

The above process makes every animal, even old or barren, economically viable, since animal, whether cow or buffalo, horse or donkey can provide about 1,500 liters of concentrated liquid manure in a year, from its dung and urine, which if valued, on the basis of the cost of chemical fertilizer, chemical pesticides and better return on investment to the farmer, shall be worth thousands of rupees yearly and thus any farmer can earn much more than the expenditure he incurs in maintaining the animal.