Why Rajasthan is going wild over cow safari
If Oscar was Wilde, Rajasthan is wilder.
The state is all set to launch a cow safari and if it works — moo and behold — a bull safari will be the next tourist attraction.
The "adventure-loving" Hingonia Gaushala, a state-owned cow shelter on the outskirts of Jaipur, plans to allow visitors temporary stays as well among its 15,000 cows. Also known as "Asia's best”, this is the same cow shelter where more than 8,000 cows died last year due to ill-health and accidental injuries.
According to this report, the visitors will also be allowed to graze, feed, clean, massage and even milk the cows. There will be 30 breeds of "desi" cows on offer.
And, if that's not enough to satiate your wanderlust and adventure, you can climb up on "machans" (a raised, makeshift bamboo platform) on tall trees.
Not funny
Rajasthan takes its cow business seriously. The state has nearly 8.58 lakh cows across 2,562 cow shelters. It also happens to be the first state in the country to have a ministry and a minister in charge of cow affairs, Otaram Devasi being the first to hold the portfolio.
Ahead of the last Assembly elections, the BJP had promised a separate ministry for cows in its poll manifesto. The party fulfilled its poll promise after coming to power as CM Vasundhara Raje named Devasi the minister of dairy and devasthan with the extra charge of the "Gopalan Department" in 2014.
Liquor is good for health of cows
The Raje government recently came up with a "clever" trick to introduce a 20 per cent surcharge on liquor, claiming that the proceeds will be used for protection of cows. “The state government hereby notifies that surcharge at the rate of 20 per cent shall be levied and collected on the amount of tax or any sum in lieu of tax payable on the sale of foreign liquor, Indian made foreign liquor, country liquor and beer sold by dealers registered under the provisions of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act 2003 with effect from July 23, 2018,” read an official order.
According to this report in The Indian Express, in April last year, Rajasthan had announced it will "impose a 10 per cent surcharge on all non-judicial instruments for the protection of cows, thus making rent agreements, mortgage papers and lease agreement costlier".
"The state government was also considering increasing the surcharge on non-judicial instruments to 20 per cent from existing 10 per cent for cow protection and propagation in addition to the liquor surcharge," the same report quoted unnamed official sources as saying.
A pan-India safari
The latest development in Rajasthan follows a proposal by the Union government last year. Minister of state (home) Hansraj G Ahir had announced that the government was considering a proposal to set up “cow sanctuaries” and start a "Project Cow" on the lines of "Project Tiger".
“We have been considering a proposal, and have been working on it for some days now… We need to stop cow slaughter, but the biggest stumbling block is who will take care of these cows… We need to make cow sanctuaries for this, and need to make arrangements for fodder also. Each state should have cow sanctuaries… Then we will be successful in stopping cow slaughter," Ahir had said.
“Isse hoga yeh ki kisan budhi gai ko bechne nahi jayega… Yeh ek paryay ho sakta hai, jaise Tiger Project… ek Cow Project bana sakte hain (This will stop farmers from selling old cows… A Project Cow, on the lines of Project Tiger, can be started… This can be an option),” Ahir, a BJP MP from Maharashtra, was quoted as saying in this report.
God is omnipresent, so are cows
But do we really need a safari to spot the ubiquitous animal? The cow belt of India is already bursting at the seams with hordes of stray, injured and unwanted cattle even as gaushalas (cow shelters) are forced to manage the bovines left at their doorsteps by owners who can no longer afford to take care of them, or by the municipal bodies.
Last May, the Centre had banned the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across the country, forcing poor livestock owners to free the animals which are of no use to them.
While the government wanted to make the livestock owners aware of the economic value of cattle after they stop giving milk, in a U-turn in April this year, the environment ministry drafted fresh rules according to which there will be no restrictions on the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets.
So, enjoy the cow safari while you can. The animals could soon get gau-ing.