Why does India worship cows and feed them?

In India, the cow is the mount of Shiva. More than 80% Indians are Hindus, and they regard cows as gods. Every cow seems to ride on Shiva's back and patrol the land of India. That kind of sacred religious feelings is really difficult to understand with secular eyes. Although India has long been a modern country with separation of church and state, religion still has great influence in political life, and some violent conflicts in the past are also related to religious disputes. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Cows are the mothers of millions of people in India. The ancient sages, no matter who they are, came from cows. " However, when the sacred cow conflicts with secular life, it is difficult to solve it in a simple and rude way under the deep-rooted religious feelings and cultural atmosphere. According to official statistics, there are about 40 thousand cows wandering in New Delhi. Because the Constitution prohibits the slaughter of sacred cows, sacred cows are an important farming tool. After they get old, their owners are often unwilling to support them because of secular economic factors, but let them die, which is the biggest source of stray cows. From this point of view, the worship of the god cow does not go beyond the secular value orientation, but because the stray cow can be taken good care of by the citizens and will not be harmed at the same time, it can also be said that it is a traditional way for farmers to pass on the economic burden without incurring conscience condemnation. Of course, there are also some domestic cows that are put on the street and only brought home after being milked, creating economic value. There are also many villains who take advantage of the worship of the god cow. Driven by two major factors, this unique landscape of Indian metropolis has been created. There are about 200 million large cattle, accounting for 1/4 of the world total. As long as a few people adopt the above two methods, the number of stray cattle will continue to increase. Therefore, this measure of the Delhi High Court can only be an expedient measure. In fact, as a municipal official pointed out, from September 2003 to March 2005, they captured 30,000 stray cows, but in the end these cows took to the streets again. "Protecting cattle is a gift that India has taught the world. As long as Hindus protect cattle, Hinduism will be passed down forever. " But who should bear the responsibility of protecting sacred cows? If this responsibility is made universal, there will be opportunities for very few people to take advantage of it. In this regard, secular economic rules will play a decisive role. It is said that the stray cattle caught in this activity will be auctioned by the government, and the reward will be paid by the auction proceeds. These cows will be specially marked, and if they wander the streets again, their owners will be severely punished. This may be a solution, using the law to protect the divinity of religion and putting economic and legal responsibilities into practice. In any case, people who let the god cow live on the streets are not only disrespectful to religion, but also disrespectful to the law. Those who use it should be punished as they deserve. However, for poor farmers in the process of urbanization, the human and financial resources spent on raising a cow for a long time are undoubtedly a huge burden. Reasonable economic compensation from the state will be more like a radical strategy than rewarding cattle drivers. The worship of sacred cows is a beautiful religious feeling and a fine cultural tradition of traditional farming society. "The greatness and moral progress of a nation can be reflected in its attitude towards animals. Protecting cattle means protecting those helpless and fragile lives. " India's ruling party was unexpectedly defeated in last year's general election. Many analysts believe that the ruling party is the representative of vested interests in economic reform, while the Congress Party, which won the general election, organized a secular alliance, emphasizing balance and harmony and representing the interests of a larger class. Manmohan Singh, the "father of India's economic reform", served as Prime Minister and pursued a "humanized" reform policy. Then, in the face of the dilemma of changing religious belief or secular life, respecting tradition and culture and regulating secular life with legal and economic levers may be a manifestation of humanity.