A religious and political movement aiming to protect the
cows, whose slaughter has been broadly opposed by Hindus,
Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
The earliest such activism is traceable to Sikhs of
Punjab who opposed cow slaughter in the 1860s.
The movement became popular in the 1880s and thereafter,
the Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayananda Saraswati supported
the movement in the late 19th century, and Mahatma Gandhi
supported it in the early 20th century.
The movement was broadly opposed by Muslims.
Cow protection movement and related violence has been
one of the sources of religious conflicts in India.
The cow protection movement is most connected with
India, but has been active since the colonial times in
predominantly Buddhist countries such as Sri Lanka and
Myanmar.
Date-wise Events
April 24, 2017: The central
government, in its report to the Supreme Court, proposed
that all cows across the country should be given an Unique
Identification Number for tracking.
Sep 12, 2015: On this day, Hurriyat
leader Syeda Asiya Andrabi slaughtered a cow and released a
video in a bid to defy the ban on sale of beef in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Jul 25, 1947: On this day, in a prayer meeting,
Mahatma Gandhi opposed laws that were derived from religion.
According to him, Hindus should not demand cow slaughter
laws based on their religious texts or sentiments, in the
same way that Muslims should not demand laws based on
Shariat (Quran, Hadith).
Ramachandrapura mutt : largest cow protection centre in India
Indian cow : a moving temple (documentary)
History of Cow Killing & Cow Protection Superb Exposed By Rajiv
Dixit Ji
