4 ms·

Milk cattle are important sources of income in rural India. Milk is taken twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. It's used in the household and any ex

by pradn 4y ago

Milk cattle are important sources of income in rural India. Milk is taken twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. It's used in the household and any excess is deposited in the village's "milk center"/"milk bank". The collection center writes down the volume and quality of the milk brought in and the agriculturalist gets cash once a month. So it's a little financial bank in that sense, too. Of course, everyone mixes in some water to increase the volume of milk and get paid a little more. But the collection center can do some quick tests to tell. I'm unsure how effective those are. The cows/buffaloes produce milk every day as long as they're healthy and of the proper age. Feeding a calf as its growing up is an investment that pays off once they reach a proper age. But if a cow/buffalo doesn't feel well, it may stop producing milk for months a time, depriving the family of income. So there's risk. Each adult cow/buffalo can produce about 5000 RS a month in its prime. A government teacher might earn 10000-15000 RS a month. So even a few animals are significant source of income for rural families. There's significant labor involved in keeping the animals fed and milked. One might have to go out and get grass from common lands or store enough dry feed from the rice/wheat harvest for the months when fresh grass isn't common. Or one might have to take their animals out to the fields for the whole day so they graze. It's hard to take a day off and go on a trip in these circumstances. So usually someone's around to at least milk the animals.

pkaye 4y ago
What do they do with the cow/buffalo if it stops producing milk?
- srean 4y ago
  This has changed quite a bit recently so there is a before and an after. The before story is that they would be sold to slaughterhouses via intermediaries. Sometimes these slaughterhouses would be located out of state as slaughter is banned in certain states. Often the intermediaries would be from the Muslim community. With religion motivated cow protection being one significant platform on which the ruling party ran and won the elections, this has changed dramatically. There are two axes at play here, (i) the religious symbolism of cow that is dear to the Hindu supremacist ruling party and the (ii) Islamophobia axes of the same party. Consequently the cow slaughter has been drastically reduced in the states they control, by a concerted effort of the state machinery and by the actions murderous lynch mobs whose violence the government is, naturally, blind towards. Now this has created a reverse problem, especially Eastern Uttar Pradesh -- hordes of abandoned cattle that not only have been damaging crops but also has been killing people. This problem has risen to such a head that in the recent election campaigns the prime minister on his campaign tour in these regions promised magical solutions to this problem of stray cattle that would be revealed only after counting of the votes. To my knowledge no such reveal has happened, but scores of temporary and underfunded cattle shelters did crop up weeks prior to the election. As irony would have it their political platform of Go-raksha (protection of the cow) has morphed in to election campaigns of Go-se-raksha (protection from the cows). Of course to lighten this absurdity, the stray cattle are not referred to with the "go" prefix because that has been coopted by the said party. So these are referred to as 'awara pashu' (rogue animals) or "chutta saand" (stray bulls).
  - 1024core 4y ago
    With religion motivated cow protection being one significant platform on which the ruling party ran and won the elections, this has changed dramatically. There are two axes at play here, (i) the religious symbolism of cow that is dear to the Hindu supremacist ruling party and the (ii) Islamophobia axes of the same party. Consequently the cow slaughter has been drastically reduced in the states they control, by a concerted effort of the state machinery and by the actions murderous lynch mobs whose violence the government is, naturally, blind towards. Even Congress party supported a ban on cow slaughter in various Northern states, going back into the 50s, long before BJP (the party you're referring to) was born. You may want to read this article, which goes over the story of cow-slaughter ban in India: https://scroll.in/article/759157/a-short-account-of-indias-long-history-of-hypocrisy-on-cow-slaughter-laws https://scroll.in/article/759157/a-short-account-of-indias-l...
    - srean 4y ago
      I am aware (in the same way that I am aware that BJP weren't the first political party in India to introduce special requirements to regulate interfaith marriage), but that was a good article thanks. I am not sure, however, what the point of you repartee was. It does not contradict my comment comment.
      - 1024core 4y ago
        If you are aware that BJP wasn't the first party, and that Congress party actually banned cow slaughter in UP, Bihar, etc. long before BJP was born, then how can you say: With religion motivated cow protection being one significant platform on which the ruling party ran and won the elections, this has changed dramatically. You can't really say BJP changed things "dramatically", if Congress was busy doing it 30 years before BJP was born!
        srean 4y ago
        The policies of BJP are still motivated by what they are, so my claim still stands. The changed dramatically is the methods, the spate of problems and the consequences of these policies from the recent past. I dont remember cow protection vigilante mobs in the UPAI and UPAII governments, nor do I remember, deaths and damage caused by abandoned cattle from those times. Am happy to reconsider my views in the face of evidence.

by pradn 4y ago

pkaye 4y ago

What do they do with the cow/buffalo if it stops producing milk?

srean 4y ago
This has changed quite a bit recently so there is a before and an after. The before story is that they would be sold to slaughterhouses via intermediaries. Sometimes these slaughterhouses would be located out of state as slaughter is banned in certain states. Often the intermediaries would be from the Muslim community. With religion motivated cow protection being one significant platform on which the ruling party ran and won the elections, this has changed dramatically. There are two axes at play here, (i) the religious symbolism of cow that is dear to the Hindu supremacist ruling party and the (ii) Islamophobia axes of the same party. Consequently the cow slaughter has been drastically reduced in the states they control, by a concerted effort of the state machinery and by the actions murderous lynch mobs whose violence the government is, naturally, blind towards. Now this has created a reverse problem, especially Eastern Uttar Pradesh -- hordes of abandoned cattle that not only have been damaging crops but also has been killing people. This problem has risen to such a head that in the recent election campaigns the prime minister on his campaign tour in these regions promised magical solutions to this problem of stray cattle that would be revealed only after counting of the votes. To my knowledge no such reveal has happened, but scores of temporary and underfunded cattle shelters did crop up weeks prior to the election. As irony would have it their political platform of Go-raksha (protection of the cow) has morphed in to election campaigns of Go-se-raksha (protection from the cows). Of course to lighten this absurdity, the stray cattle are not referred to with the "go" prefix because that has been coopted by the said party. So these are referred to as 'awara pashu' (rogue animals) or "chutta saand" (stray bulls).
- 1024core 4y ago
  With religion motivated cow protection being one significant platform on which the ruling party ran and won the elections, this has changed dramatically. There are two axes at play here, (i) the religious symbolism of cow that is dear to the Hindu supremacist ruling party and the (ii) Islamophobia axes of the same party. Consequently the cow slaughter has been drastically reduced in the states they control, by a concerted effort of the state machinery and by the actions murderous lynch mobs whose violence the government is, naturally, blind towards. Even Congress party supported a ban on cow slaughter in various Northern states, going back into the 50s, long before BJP (the party you're referring to) was born. You may want to read this article, which goes over the story of cow-slaughter ban in India: https://scroll.in/article/759157/a-short-account-of-indias-long-history-of-hypocrisy-on-cow-slaughter-laws https://scroll.in/article/759157/a-short-account-of-indias-l...
  - srean 4y ago
    I am aware (in the same way that I am aware that BJP weren't the first political party in India to introduce special requirements to regulate interfaith marriage), but that was a good article thanks. I am not sure, however, what the point of you repartee was. It does not contradict my comment comment.
    - 1024core 4y ago
      If you are aware that BJP wasn't the first party, and that Congress party actually banned cow slaughter in UP, Bihar, etc. long before BJP was born, then how can you say: With religion motivated cow protection being one significant platform on which the ruling party ran and won the elections, this has changed dramatically. You can't really say BJP changed things "dramatically", if Congress was busy doing it 30 years before BJP was born!
      - srean 4y ago
        The policies of BJP are still motivated by what they are, so my claim still stands. The changed dramatically is the methods, the spate of problems and the consequences of these policies from the recent past. I dont remember cow protection vigilante mobs in the UPAI and UPAII governments, nor do I remember, deaths and damage caused by abandoned cattle from those times. Am happy to reconsider my views in the face of evidence.