India - Bovine Matters in Modi Government : At first of kind cattlesheds conference, ministers were a bit cowed down by slogans & scuffles

The Indian Express

At gaushala meet, why ministers were a bit cowed down

Discussions soon got overshadowed by sloganeering against cow slaughter and chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Gaumata ki Jai’.

Written by Amitabh Sinha | New Delhi | Updated: May 17, 2016


Government conferences and meetings at Vigyan Bhawan are formal occasions. Presidents, prime ministers and ministers speak, audiences listen intently, and protocol and procedures are strictly observed.

Not on Monday though, when the convention centre hosted the first-of-its-kind day-long national conference on ‘gaushalas’ (cowsheds), organised jointly by the Agriculture and Environment ministries.

Speakers, including two Union ministers, were repeatedly shouted down by the audience, their claims were challenged, and on a couple of occasions at least, arguments among the audience nearly erupted into fights. Some were simply angry that a booklet distributed at the venue had the picture of a foreign cross-bred cow on its cover.

The conference was meant to discuss ways to strengthen the cow economy, increase milk yields and promote indigenous varieties of cattle. And the audience consisted mainly of farmers, cow-owners and those associated with gaushalas. [. . .]
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