Preservation of Cattle Wealth in India Vis-A-Vis Hindu Ideals of Cow Protection

Abstract

The Hindu’s reverence towards cow, though religious aspect of cow protection cannot be ignored, but protection of milk cattle in a country which is suffering from acute shortage of milk, is an imperative need. Article 48 OF THE Indian Constitution enjoins on the State to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and in particular, to take steps for preserving and improving the breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milk and draught cattle. Article 48 has accorded recognition in somewhat “guarded and hesitant form” to the Hindu sentiments regarding cows. The paper intends to know the scope of Article 48 and judicial parameters in preserving the cattle wealth and maintaining the Hindu’s reverence towards cow.