The Times of India’s recent online edition has published the following news story sourcing Bang Showbiz under its Mad World section: a company in India is working on a soft drink made from cow urine. The Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is hoping to create the beverage-which is known as “gau jal”, which means “cow water”, by the end of the year. Despite concerns about the drink, Om Prakash, the head of the department in charge of the beverage, insists it will be “tasty”. RSS claims cow urine can be used to treat a number of ailments such as cancer and lever disease”.
I am not astonished. The followers of a cow protection guru of Ramachandrapura Math in Karnataka, famed for its silicon city of Bangalore, who appears on stage with a Zebu Brahmin bull in India had been subverting medical doctor’s healing efforts by secretly administering ARKA brand marked “Cow Cola” to patients through the next of kin. They get media support. Their claim is ARKA Cow Cola cures “all ills including cancer” citing old Sanskrit Ayurveda texts using the word “vrana” meaning ulcer, as cancer. My own younger sister was administered daily this Cow Cola by her priestly husband and her eldest son. They cited English language and Kannada language printed media of Bangalore for the justification of the dosage. My sister Sarojini who was under medical treatment of competent doctors suffered swollen belly and uncontrolled dicharges of liquid and solid wastes about two weeks before her final death.
I took up the matter with the publishers of the media without success. I also complained to the Press Council of India, the quasi judicial statutory watch dog of the printed media in India. The Press Council did not attend it properly even though it took from me an undertaking that having placed the matter before the council, I would not go for other legal remedies. Since then I have been a critic of the Press Council calling it a sleeping watch dog. I am glad to learn the new Chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice Markandey Katju, is an anti-obscurantist rational individual.
This was about seven years ago. Now India’s obscurantist political party, BJP’s (Bharatiya Janata Party) parental social outfit Rashtriya Svayam Sevak Sangh, meaning national volunteers organisation, restricted to only Hindu Nationalists as members, appears to have set up a commercial department for the promotion of cow cola. Its head Mr Om Prakash may find it tasty on account of his “sentiments”. Among the world’s 20 million Indians live a couple millions obscurantists. They may import cow cola from India for private and commercial distribution. It would be a great tragedy if cow cola is allowed as a ‘health drink!
Cow urine and cow dung are used in India by obscurantist traditionalists. Tourists to Bombay or elsewhere can easily observe men and women feeding some grass or corn balls to a cow. Then they tickle the cow’s genitals for opening up “cow cola” raw flow!
Among the traditionalists it is customary to drink a spoon full of a “punch” made of cow urine, cow dung, cow milk, curds made of cow milk and boiled butter. Its name “puncha gavya” is derived because it is made up five products including liquid and solid wastes of a cow. Especially in religious rituals it is an obligatory mode of human body purification to be eligible to perform the rituals.