Holy Cow Urine: A Reality Test :: Are all claims hoaxes only?

 Holy Cow Urine: A Reality Test

Are all claims hoaxes only?

By: Dr. Sandeep Pahal, Advocate

For the last several years Holy Cow Protection through claiming the utility of Holy Cows’ urine has been a main target and two miniseries of the Central Govt of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and also other organizations (Kamdhenu Ayog; Indian Council of Agricultural Research) under their control have made several claims proving the invaluable benefits of Holy Cow Urine. Their recommendations and claims say that Holy Cow urine is more valuable than Holy Cow milk and Holy Cows (Deshi/ indigenous cows) though produces less milk, should be reared economically for the production of Urine instead of milk. In the recent past, Cow Urine has been claimed to be a Boon and Amrit for Humans by none but the Director and a Team of nine senior Scientists of the premier Veterinary Research Institute (ICAR-ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122, India) and also by other institutions of two miniseries and many other institutions got economically supported by the two ministries. Amrit claiming news are often big news in national media (https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/cow-urine-can-be-a-boon-for-humans-ivri-505682; https://telanganatoday.com/cow-urine-can-be-a-boon-for-humans-ivri; https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1077560; https://m.sakshipost.com/news/cow-urine-can-be-boon-humans-ivri-187205; https://www.navhindtimes.in/2023/05/08/nationalnews/cow-urine-can-be-a-boon-for-humans-finds-ivri/; https://menafn.com/1106192033/Cow-Urine-Can-Be-A-Boon-For-Humans-IVRI; https://zeenews.india.com/india/cow-urine-can-be-boon-for-humans-vet-research-body-2604226.html; https://hindupost.in/science-technology/cow-urine-extract-from-indigenous-breeds-rich-in-anti-bacterial-and-anti-fungal-properties-ivri-scientists/; https://www.livehindustan.com/national/story-cow-urine-extract-a-boon-for-humans-said-ivri-scientists-research-8092840.html; https://atarikanpur.icar.gov.in/devrat.pdf) and people are quite enthusiastic and confused about the real value of Holy Cow Urine.

Protection of the Holy cow, though accepted and required need for ages in India, its implementation on the basis of scientific knowledge and modern animal husbandry lines has never been truly attempted as envisaged in our constitution. Article 48 of the Constitution provides the legal grounds for prohibiting cow slaughter and states that “The state shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” However, instead of science, pseudoscience, false beliefs, and religious considerations have been used to mobilize Indian masses to promote Holy Cow Protection which led to many cases of religious riots, lynching, and religious atrocities country-wide. Recently, The Supreme Court of India refused to pass directions to prohibit the slaughter of cow progeny, stating that the issue falls within the domain of the legislature (https://www.barandbench.com/news/perfect-game-played-parties-madras-high-court-initiates-case-against-discharge-ministers-involved-disproportionate-assets-case).

To understand the reality of the utility of cow urine (claimed nectar value of by various Institutions) an RTI was filed to know how ICAR under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying are utilizing thousands of tonnes of the Nectar/ Amrit excreted every day by cows reared at their livestock farms. The information was asked on the following points:

1.     1.  Number of cows reared in different Institutes

2.      2. Amount of cow urine collected from cows every year by institutes at point 1.

3.      3. Amount of cow urine wasted every year by institutes at point 1.

4.      4. Revenue earned from cow urine every year by institutes at point 1.

5.      5. Value addition products developed by institutes at point 1.

6.      6. Technologies developed and transferred for value addition of cow urine by institutes at point 1.

7.      7. Copy of the blueprint if any developed to use the claimed Boon or Amrit, the cow Urine, produced at the different Institutes at point one and others

The reply from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying was disheartening and read as,

“Total number of cows reared in all the institutes of DAHD 709. Urine is not being collected by the institutes. As it does not come under the mandate of the Institutes. No value-added products are produced in these institutes. No blueprint is available for the claimed boon or Amrit”.

A similar reply was also provided by Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar; and National Dairy Research Institute Karnal under ICAR in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. 

IVRI PME Reply in reference to PMOPG/D/2023/0154089 grievance lodged at CPGRAM portal

The reply from CIRC Meerut reads

What can be concluded from their replies under RTI?

1.  A. There is nothing like nectar or Amrit in Holy cow urine and it is just a hoax to fool the people of India if anything, valuable is there:

1.      Why the Indian National Institutions rearing thousands of Holy cows have not yet taken any benefit of the claimed nectar?

2.     Why the Indian National Institutions are wasting the wealth of India, allowing it to flow into the drains of their livestock farms?

3.      Why do none of the Indian National Institutions extract Gold or harvested Nectar or Amrit out of Holy cow urine available with them in thousands of Liters every day?

4. Why there is no viable technology on the ground or in the pipeline to harvest the nectar value of holy cow urine?

5. Why did none of the two ministries advocating the protection of holy cows order Institutes under their control to harvest the nectar from the goldmines (holy cows) available with them?

6. Why has none of the Institutions of the government yet developed a viable model to make aged, sick, and non-productive cows worthy to be reared till their natural death? Why they are selling such (declared useless) cows instead of mining gold or harvesting nectar from them?

2.     B. People are fooled to drink Holy cow urine telling them only imaginary benefits or half-truths. If not, why holy cow urine is not served instead of tea/ coffee/ cold drinks and other valuable drinks served in Government official meetings every day? Why has Holy cow urine not yet been declared the National Drink of India by the Government of India?

3.   C. Most of the Indian National Institutions are faking research and burning funds on Holy cow urine. If not, why they have not come forward to prove its utility at their own premises? 

4.     D. The Indian National Institutions doing research on Holy cows’ urine are doing it to fulfill some sociopolitical agenda by creating pseudoscience.

5    E. Scientists working to prove the utility of holy cow urine have lost their scientific temper to educate people to come out of their false beliefs and harm the holy cow to the maximum extent.

        F. Holy cow Scientists are either creating Fool's Paradise or living there. 

    There is an urgent need for intervention at the National level to save true science in India from fast propagating fake/ pseudoscience else it will be too late to be worthwhile in the modern era of science. There should be an immediate ban on funding of fake holy cow urine science else the scientists engaged and making claims be ordered to set a viable example of their claims.