India: ‘Missed call’ movement to elevate cow as ‘mother of the nation’

‘Missed call’ movement to elevate cow as ‘rashtra mata’
Eram Agha,TNN | Apr 2, 2015, 04.01 AM IST


The Hindu Yuva Vahini plans to spread this movement across the region and then the state, if the response is good in Aligarh.

ALIGARH: The Aligarh branch of the Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), an outfit started by Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath, has started a "movement" over the mobile phone to elevate the cow as the "rashtra mata" - mother of the nation. A message being circulated by the outfit reads: "Make cow rashtra mata, give missed call on the toll free number - 07533007511."

Other Hindu right wing outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad support this move. The HYV plans to spread this movement across the region and then the state, if the response is good in Aligarh.

Mahant Kaushal Nath, associated with the HYV at Achal Tal in Aligarh, said, "This initiative has got support from other groups as well. We want to win the status of 'rashtra mata' for cows in India. People are expected to give missed calls if they support the move, and they will get a message in return acknowledging their support. Through this move, we also want to create consciousness among people regarding the condition of cows in our country."

Nath said, "We will try to create consciousness among people to either adopt cows and give them a home or donate money to gaushalas to help in their upkeep, medical treatment and wellness."

He said the response so far has been good, and members of the HYV will be meeting MP Yogi Adityanath next month to spread the initiative to other parts of the state.

Ram Kumar of the VHP said, "We have to work towards the protection of cows. Our outfit has set up posts in Aligarh to keep a check on cow theft. We have informed the administration of this years ago. This is social work, and no one should have any problems with it."

Pradeep Kumar, of the VHP in Aligarh, who supports the missed call campaign, asked if having the cow as the "rashtra mata" would make referring to Mahatma Gandhi as Father of the Nation somewhat awkward, said, "The cow is part of Sanatan Hinduism for ages. 'Father of the Nation' is just a title, nowhere written or recognised. A human being can never be father to a nation; it's hard to compare these disparate things. From a cow, we get milk; cow dung and urine have medicinal properties. A tree too is something that gives us oxygen and wood, so a tree too could be represented as life-giving."

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