Indian Officials Ask People To Hug Cows On Valentine’s Day

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s government-run animal welfare division has appealed to residents to mark Valentine’s Day this yr not as a celebration of romance however as “Cow Hug Day” to higher promote Hindu values.

The Animal Welfare Board of India mentioned Wednesday that “hugging cows will deliver emotional richness and enhance particular person and collective happiness.”

Religious Hindus, who worship cows as holy, say the Western vacation goes in opposition to conventional Indian values.

In recent times, Hindu hardliners have raided retailers in Indian cities, burned playing cards and presents, and chased hand-holding {couples} out of eating places and parks, saying that Valentine’s Day promotes promiscuity. Hardline political teams like Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal say such actions pave the way in which to reassert Hindu id.

Younger educated Indians no matter their faith sometimes spend the vacation crowding parks and eating places, exchanging presents and holding events to have a good time like some other Indian competition, particularly since India started the method of financial liberalization within the early Nineties.

The Hindu nationalist authorities led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing a Hindu agenda, searching for supremacy of the faith on the expense of a secular nation recognized for its range. Hindus comprise practically 80% of its practically 1.4 billion individuals. Muslims account for 14%, whereas Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains account for many of the remaining 6%.

The cow has lengthy been embedded within the Hindu psyche and is deeply revered by many much like one’s mom. Most states in India have banned cow slaughter. The animal welfare board’s attraction asks individuals to exit and bodily hug cows on Feb. 14.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst, mentioned the message is “completely loopy. It defies logic.”

“The unlucky half is that this has now official sanction,” he added. “This exhibits an eraser of yet another line between the state and faith, which may be very miserable. Now the state is doing what political and non secular teams have been campaigning to do.”