If the men in saffron continue to get their demands fulfill, surely one day cows will replace the tiger as India’s national animal. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been flooded with requests from sadhus to make the cow as the national animal.
Many from Saffron party have met the Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to put forth their demand. The ministry has now taken up the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Javadekar has received thousands of letters from sadhus from across India led by Sadhvi Ritambhara, they met him in April to discuss cow protection and cow smuggling across borders.
MoEF officials are also baffled on why these representations are being sent to them instead of sending requests to Ministry of Home Affair. Despite pressure on the MoEF, officials say the matter does not fall under their jurisdiction since the ministry only deals with protection and prevention of cruelty of animals.
Moreover, issues related to cattle are dealt by the Department of Animal Husbandry under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. “Anything that deals with national declaration is always done by the MHA.
We have taken up the matter with MHA,” said a source who wishes to be anonymous. If cow does get the status of national animal, there will be dedicated funding and a programme for protection of cows and checks on cattle trade across borders, he said.