COW
– AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Cattle population during the last decade has
come down from 20,45,84,000 in 1992 to 17,49,74,000
in 1997. Livestock census report 2002
is yet to be published. But it is presumed
to be nearly 15,00,00,000 only.
Throughout the country, the cow is considered
auspicious and held in great veneration, for
by means of this animal, tillage is carried
on, the sustenance of life is rendered possible
and the dining table of the inhabitant is filled
with milk, butter-milk, butter and ghee.
These cows and progenies graze in the forest
and pasture lands in the village boundaries
and eat different grasses, medicinal herbs,
leaves and seeds of bushes and trees and through
their dung the seeds of these plants are spread
throughout the land and forest. These
treated seeds with proper manorial cover germinate
as soon as the monsoon set in and grow faster.
This way the cows and calves spread and disperse
different types of plant species, including
medicinal and aromatic plants everywhere.
The birds sitting on the body of the cattle
eat the ticks and other insects and they also
eat the seeds coming through the dung and thus
help in spreading the grasses and other bushes
in the land.
The milk, butter, butter-milk and ghee produced
from these cows grazed in the forest land with
numerous species of grasses, herbs, bushes and
trees have better nutritive and medicinal values.
As per the paper presented, at the National
Seminar on “Role of pure Ghee in Health
and Nutrition – exploding myths” on 13-14 June,
2002 held at Anand, by Dr. Prasanna Mathad and
Dr. N.A. Murthy, Taranatha Government Ayurvedic
Medical College, Anantapur Road, Bellary the
quality and quantity of ghee will depend upon
the land, feed, fodder, water and environment.
They have quoted:
“To
improve the quality of milk and milk products,
we should feed the cows by giving:
(1) Grasses like, Ikshuvalika, Darbha (Cynodon
dactylon), Kusha (Desmostachya bipinnata), Kasha
(Saccharum spp), Gundra, Etkat and Katrana mulos
(2)
Vegetable and cereal wastes grown on
marshy land
(3)
Jeevanti (Leptadena reticulata) and Shatavari
(Asparagus Racemoces) improve the milk as per
research conducted by veterinary scientists
of Gujarat”.
In
Koutilya’s Arthashastra, he mentions that the
green grasses, food grains, oil cakes and water
from the ever-green forest or lands are more
potent than that of the dry areas. He
stresses, the quality and quantity of milk depend
upon the land and clime too. On the basis
of the “Samanaya Vishesha Siddhanta” the properties
which are similar one increase the dhatu of
similar characters or properties”.
The
factory-style cow-keeping industries, now firmly
entrenched in industrial countries have environmental
side effects that stretch along production line
from growing the vast quantities of feed grain
to disposing of the mountains of manure.
In developing regions meanwhile most cattle
farming continue to be raised as a sideline
to crops. Yet complex economic and social
forces lead to mismanagement of herds, causing
extensive and sometimes irreversible degradation
of dry-lands and destruction of forests.
Domesticated
animals have played a prominent role in the
human economy for thousands of years, providing
food, fuel, fertilizer, transport and clothing.
During most of this time, their presence was
largely beneficial. Indian livestock carry
about half of all goods to market and they plough
the fields too. But in the last century,
the numbers and impacts of livestock have swelled
space with human population and affluence.
Since mid-century of 2000, human numbers have
doubled to 5.4 billion (540 crore) while the
number of four legged livestock (cattle, sheep,
goats, horses, buffaloes, camels and pigs) has
grown from 2.3 billion ( 230 crore) to 4 billion
( 400 crore). The world’s most populous
countries, China and India, are also the livestock
titans. India is browsed by an estimated
10.70 crore goats, 17.50 crore head of cattle
and 7.40 crore of buffaloes. Australia
has an average of 10 sheep for every person,
for a world leading total of 16.50 crore.
As
per the ancient seers of the Vedic period, life
is a non-divisible, homogenous wholeness.
There is no hierarchy between the different
species inhabiting the planet – all are fellow
beings of one another and have to share the
resources of the planet. All the species
have to live together and share life in every
sense of the term.
Agriculture
is not an industry or a profession ;in our country.
It is an expression of reciprocity between the
earth, the skies, the sun, the moon, the human,
the animal and the plant kingdom. Hence
agriculture will have to be supported by cattle
raising, individually or collectively.
It will have to be supplemented by cottage and
village industries with the help of alternative
energies and appropriate technologies.
The
cow is the supreme animal before us supplying
bullocks for tillage and ;for traction, supplying
manure for growing of crops, providing energy
for cooking and lighting, providing urine for
environmental purification, plant protection
and treatment to human ailments and supplying
milk for the human subsistence.
Our
fore-fathers had recognized the importance and
usefulness of the cattle and they have developed
different breeds of them for dual purpose, i.e.
milk and draught purposes, according to the
prevailing environment and ecology in different
parts of the country. We have thirty recognized
breeds of cows (list enclosed) and many dozens
of non-descript breeds. They have specific
uses and utilities in their own regions.
Approximately
80 per cent of the 17.50 crore cattle population
of India belongs to the category of small-framed,
light weight and non-descript Zebu breeds (DESI).
The remainder consists of clearly defined, predominately
local breeds as mentioned above and those consolidated
by selection and crossing between these and
the indigenous breeds as well as though to a
small extent, some high performance imported
breeds of Jersey, Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss,
Red-dane, etc. There seems to be no dearth
of genetic potential among the local breeds.
Thus the development of the Indian breeds of
cattle population may be reckoned as guaranteed.
Our ancestors were intelligent enough to produce
a particular breed for a particular use in a
particular region. The main objectives
and features were:
-
High
traction capacity for the transport for
which e.g. Haryana and Ongole were bred.
-
Speedy traction for ;the artillery
carrier for which Khillari and Hallikar
breeds were bred, and developed.
-
Apart
from providing bullock draught labour also
milk supply in large army camps and settlements
for which Tharparkar, Gir, Red-Sindhi and
Kankrej breeds were developed.
-
High
milk productivity along with draught ability
– Gir and Sahiwal breeds were created..
These
aims laid a foundation for the future breeding
activities in the country and offered guidelines
with regard to the overall economic utility
of those mentioned above and many other breeds.
Development
will have to be based on the massive resource
of land, plants and trees, water, air, animal’s
and human-power or else we will stray with no
success.
Padmashree T.G.K. Menon
46 Samvad Nagar,Navlakha,
Indore-452001 (Madhya Pradesh)
