by MUKUL DUBE
The man responsible for the idea of ‘hindutva’ believed that Muslims would not have defeated Hindus but for cow worship.
Vigyananishtha Nibandh, Parts 1 and 2, was published by Svatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak Prakashan, Mumbai, with no year of publication specified. Chapter 1.5 in it is titled “Gopalan Havey, Gopujan Navhey”, which may be translated as “Care for Cows, Do Not Worship Them”.
The Marathi text was obtained, in PDF form, by Professor DN Jha, and was translated for me by one of my sisters, who is a native speaker of Marathi. She had time only to deal with the first half. She spoke aloud in English while reading the Marathi original and sent me audio recordings. What appears below is my paraphrasing.
This is presented to show that the man responsible for the idea of hindutva, whose present-day followers did not hesitate to murder Mohammad Akhlaq, merely suspected of having killed a calf, did not himself regard the cow as divine. Indeed, he was not convinced even of their utility: he says towards the end of the essay that dogs and horses had served humans better. His animus towards the cow stems from his belief that Muslims would not have defeated Hindus but for cow worship. It is necessary to place all this before those for whom he is an icon.
In an agrarian country like India, it is understandable that the cow should be liked. The cow has been our companion for long. It provides so many materials and its milk has been responsible, together with grain, for the growth of our physical stature. The cow has become almost a member of the families which keep it. The compassionate mind and heart of the Hindu feel gratitude to the cow.
We are dedicated to the cow because it is so useful. It is our sense of gratitude which turns it divine. If you put questions about its divinity to people who worship it, they speak only of how useful it is.
If the cow is worshipped because it is so useful, does it not follow that she should be cared for well to maximise her usefulness? If the cow is to be put to the best use possible, you have to stop worshipping it. When you worship the cow, you lower the standing of mankind.
God is the highest, then comes man, and below man is the animal kingdom. The cow is an animal which has not even as much intelligence as the most stupid human. To consider the cow divine, and thus superior to man, is an insult to man.
The cow eats at one end and expels urine and dung at the other end. When it is tired it lies down in its own filth. Then it uses its tail (which we call beautiful) to spread this filth all over its body. How can a creature which does not understand cleanliness be considered divine?
Why are cow’s urine and dung purifying while even the shadow of a man like Ambedkar is defiling? This is one example to show how the intellect of man is destroyed.
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(Mukul Dube is an writer/editor/photographer and can be reached at dube.mukul@gmail.com)