TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IN INDIA By Savina Singh WLC-212

HINDUS’ LOVE FOR COWS  Myth: Hindus worship cows  Hindus respect, honor and love cows  Cows provide livelihood  Cows waste used as energy resource  Religious references

RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF ANIMALS

HISTORY  Vedas: Practice Ahimsa (non-violence) even toward Animals  Religious – Gods used certain animals as vehicles  Different animals used for livelihood  Bhagvadgita: Same souls in animals as in human beings

FESTIVALS INVOLVING ANIMALS  Pongal: Harvest festival in South  Deepali-Tihar: Cow as Lakshmi  Shivratri: Lord Shiv’s B’day  Elephant Festival in Jaipur

ANIMALS IN CHILDREN’S STORIES

ELEPHANT-SYMBOL OF ROYALTY  Tourism in Jaipur  Elephant Festival  Kings’ Ride  Endangered Species

OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE  Cows as agricultural resources  Organic matter broken down by bacteria – Methane and CO2  After separation of CO2, Methane gas used as Natural Gas  European cultures understand the religious and economic view of Hindus on Cows.  Diverse Wildlife, and Endangered Species

SALMAN KHAN IN BLACKBUCK CASE

REFERENCES  Blackbuck case: More trouble for Salman. (2015, April 24). Retrieved April 27, 2015, from  Five Festivals of the Holy Cow. (2013, January 11). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from spirituality/faith-mysticism/2013/holy-cow-festivals htmlhttp:// spirituality/faith-mysticism/2013/holy-cow-festivals html  Harris, M. (n.d.). India's Sacred Cow. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from cow.pdfhttp://sociology101.net/readings/Indias-sacred- cow.pdf  Prominent roles of animals in Hinduism. (2013, February 20). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from worldnews.blogspot.com/2013/02/prominent-role-of-animals-in-hinduism.htmlhttp://vedicviews- worldnews.blogspot.com/2013/02/prominent-role-of-animals-in-hinduism.html  Shea, R. (n.d.). Painted Elephants. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from  Why do Hindus worship the Cow. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from hindus-worship-the-cow/ hindus-worship-the-cow/