Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Desk-
For centuries, cows have been considered sacred by India’s majority Hindu population, a symbol of both the Earth and the divine.
Indeed, so revered are the animals that authorities had planned to rebrand this Valentine’s Day as “Cow Hug Day,” hoping the move would both boost citizens’ “emotional richness” and strike a blow for local heritage over what is seen as a western cultural import, reports CNN.
But the move appears to have backfired and been abandoned after it prompted a flood of internet memes, cartoons, and jokes by TV hosts about the importance of consent.
The declaration of February 14 as “Cow Hug Day,” had come in a statement Monday from the Animal Welfare Board of India, which called cows the “backbone of Indian culture and rural economy.”
The cow is “the giver of all, providing riches to humanity” due to its “nourishing nature,” said the agency, a statutory body that advises India’s Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying.
It said the push to hug cows was part of an effort to promote “Vedic” or sacred Hindu traditions, which it claimed have been eroded by Western influence.
“Vedic traditions are almost on the verge of extinction due to the progress of (western) culture over time,” the statement said. “The dazzle of western civilization has made our physical culture and heritage almost forgotten.”
But within a week of the announcement – after days of mockery and ridicule online – the idea appears to have been dropped.
For days, media outlets have been mocking the government’s plan, publishing satirical cartoons showing cows running away from amorous men, while internet users have delighted in posting videos of violent encounters between beast and man.
An anchor on one of India’s leading English-language news channels, NDTV, was even filmed attempting to hug several cows, which appeared to rebuke his advances.
“Consent is important,” he joked during the segment.
