Holy Cow of Nepal

When Nepal became a secular republic, the political parties unilaterally agreed to keep the cow as the national animal to discourage slaughter and protect the religious symbolism.  

The significance of the cow in Hinduism is an international debate with Indian scholars such as DN Jha calling it a myth, while Hindu nationalists speak of the importance of cows in Vedic literature (the earliest literature of Hinduism). 

The evidence of cows being strictly prohibited from being slaughtered has far less literature than people anticipate. People have to refer to Brahma- Vaivatra Purana which prohibits the sacrifice of cows and horses, which actually means that they were allowed to be killed in earlier epochs and therefore not a straight prohibitory argument.  

Some Hindu nationalists use vegetarian literature to specifically protect cows, while any literature associated with cow sacrifice is a translation error conducted by European Scholars. Arguments given by scholars such as DN Jha are dismissed as being communists. 

There is no doubt that the Hindu scripture such as Rig Veda did recognize the importance of cows but the argument that killing cows is prohibited could be challenged.  

The legal implementation of banning cow slaughter started in 1805 through the royal edict of King Rana Bahadur Shah.

Another major landmark is Jung Bahadur Rana the Prime Minister of Nepal’s visit to Europe in  1851, inspired by Code Napoleon, the Prime Minister dedicated an entire chapter of the newly formed Muluki Aen to protecting the cow. This was continued even by the present-day Nepali constitution. This action has had major consequences in Nepal, in 1971, Hindu-Muslim riots broke out when a Muslim was accused of killing a cow. 

These incidents don’t deter people from trying to kill cows.  In 2018, 20-25 cows and oxen were carried on vehicles from Makawanpur, Gorkha, Nuwakot, and Chitwan. The claim was that the herds were taken for dairy farming and the plowing fields- their intentions were not clear. Others claimed that the cattle were slaughtered in Dhading.

The same year, Sheikh Tuphael was arrested with cow meat from Ishnath Municipality. Tuphael's motorcycle was stopped in a random check but he tried to flee the scene before the APF team could intercept him. The patrol team chased him down and arrested him with 10 kg of meat which he confessed was beef that he was bringing from India. 

Cows and Oxen are brought from Khotang and Okhaldhungaand these are taken to Beltar Bazaar which then gets smuggled to India; Beltar Bazaar is the biggest cattle market. 

Finally, after the Uttar Pradesh’s government, a province of India, strictly enforced a ban on cow slaughter, a sharp rise of stray cattle on the Nepali side of the border in Nepalgunj occurred. 

The Nepali sacred cow is a fascinating subject with rich history and Hindu traditions.