India wants “Cow Hug Day” to take the place of Valentine’s Day.

Newslatestworld.com – This year, the government-operated Ministry of Animal Welfare in India encouraged Indian citizens to celebrate Valentine’s Day not as a holiday dedicated to romantic love but rather as “Cow Hug Day.”

The program is being used to promote Hindu principles more effectively.

The Animal Welfare Council of India stated on Wednesday (8/2/2023) that hugging a cow increases both individual and collective happiness and increases the depth of one’s emotional life.

Some devout Hindus, who consider the cow a sacred animal, believe that Western celebrations like Valentine’s Day go against the traditional values of India.

In recent years, extremists within the Hindu religion have carried out raids in Indian cities, burning greeting cards and presents and forcing couples holding hands to leave restaurants and parks.

Some people believe that Valentine’s Day encourages unrequited love and sexual activity.

According to extremist political organizations like the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal, these kinds of actions clear the path for the reassertion of Hindu identity.

Educated Indian youth of any religion typically spend the Valentine’s Day holiday in parks and restaurants, sharing presents with one another and hosting parties to commemorate the occasion in the same manner as any other Indian holiday.

This is notably the case ever since the early 1990s when India first started the process of economic liberalization.

This starkly contrasts with the Hindu nationalist administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is actively advancing a Hindu agenda.

They did this at the expense of a secular nation famous for its variety to promote religious supremacy.

Over 80 percent of India’s nearly 1.4 billion inhabitants identify as Hindus as their religious affiliation. 14 percent of the population was comprised of Muslims, while the majority of the remaining 6 percent was composed of Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains.

It has been deeply ingrained in the Hindu mind for a long time, and many people revere the cow just like its mother.

The slaughter of cows is prohibited in the majority of Indian states. The plea issued by the Animal Welfare Board also requests that members of the public come out and physically cuddle cows on or before February 14.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst, stated that the rule was absolutely illogical and contradicted all known principles of reasoning.

He stated that it was sad that this rule now had formal punishments attached to it.

“It is quite unfortunate that this further blurs the boundaries between the state and religion. He said that political and religious parties have pushed for something, which is now being done by the state.

Source: ap