Kolkata-based NGO holds painting, essay-writing, photography contests to spread awareness on cows
“These hybrid (cows) produce milk which is often not healthy. There was a time when cow milk was the complete meal. Now doctors say we shouldn’t drink milk, that’s because of the jersey cows,” NGO member Avishek Pratap Singh said. The NGO was set up in Kolkata in 2014. “These hybrid (cows) produce milk which is often not healthy. There was a time when cow milk was the complete meal. Now doctors say we shouldn’t drink milk, that’s because of the jersey cows,” NGO member Avishek Pratap Singh said. The NGO was set up in Kolkata in 2014.
After having received “hundreds of entries” for its “selfie with gaumata” competition, Kolkata-based NGO Goseva Parivar is organising essay writing, poetry writing, painting and photography contests on cows. The contest began from October 21 and is open till December 31. Winners will be awarded on January 21 when the NGO marks its Go-Mangal Mahotsav.
NGO member Avishek Pratap Singh said the idea behind the competition is to create awareness on “how important gaumata is in the lives of Indians.” “We don’t have any affiliation to any political party or ideology. We are not connected to the BJP, RSS or VHP. This is something that most people assume. We are just a concerned group of citizens who have come together to ensure that cow as an animal is preserved, not for any religious reasons, but because 60 per cent of India’s population consists of farmers, and they are dependent on cows.
Through our NGO, we travel to villages and teach and assist farming communities on how to use cow dung and urine to grow crops. There are so many farmer suicides which happen across the country and that is because of the debt they incur by purchasing fertilizers and pesticides. Even for us, who consume these cereals and vegetables, it is so dangerous and leads to so many diseases, including cancer,” said Singh, adding that Goseva Parivar does not consider the Jersey cow or hybrid “gaumata” but only the Indian domestic cow.
“These hybrid (cows) produce milk which is often not healthy. There was a time when cow milk was the complete meal. Now doctors say we shouldn’t drink milk, that’s because of the jersey cows,” he added. The NGO was set up in Kolkata in 2014.
Comprising volunteers from across all walks of life, and no office bearers, the NGO membership is open to all, including those belonging to minority communities. “Ab kya zamana aa gaya hai ki gay ko Hindu maana jaata hai aur bakri ko Mussalman (These days the cow is considered Hindu and the goat Muslim). But even Muslims need to drink cow milk. And Muslim farmers also need cows. We are not gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes). We hope that at some point we can shut down all cow shelters because they are nothing but old-age homes for cows,’’ added Singh.
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