Tejal Sinha
India is an agricultural country, where cattle play a predominant role as the backbone of the agricultural sector. Cattle includes cows, bulls, oxen, or calves. However, in India, cows are worshipped because they have acquired a sacred status within the Hindu religion.
Not only are the cows given a sacred status, but cow’s milk is also a nutrient-dense food consisting of varying amounts of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Meanwhile, according to the livestock census data, there are more than 5 million stray cattle in India. Stray cattle are a nuisance to traffic in urban areas and often cause road accidents. Since 2014, cow slaughter has been made illegal in 18 states of India, including Uttar Pradesh. 
However, the abandoning of cows and/or torturing them to give milk still continues. We have always heard our forefathers say, ‘Gaay Humari Mata Hai’ (A cow is like our mother), as a cow is always referred to Mother Earth. But how many of us even care about them, genuinely?
With an aim to protect abandoned cows, we have Dharam Raj Ranka, based in Hyderabad, who has dedicated his life to the service and protection of cows. The 80+year old gaurakshak has been actively involved in the day-to-day activities, ensuring that every cow is given the best care.
Once a professional jeweller, Dharam now works for the betterment of over 5,700 cows who are unable to give milk, and also houses around 300+ calves.
As we connect with him to know more about the cause, he says, “Once a cow stops giving milk, she is sent to a slaughterhouse, where she’s tortured and killed. It’s very sad to see this happen so often. So many of them are abandoned and are found injured on the streets in a lot of pain. I started Satyam Shivam Sundaram Gau Nivas to help these cows and give them a place to call home.
In 1990, we rescued around 200 cows from Uppal. We opened the first Gaushala in Tankbund in 1990, then at Old City Shiv Mandir Gaushala in 1997, Satyam Shivam Sundaram in Gaganpahad in 2000, and Burjugadda with the same name in 2010. There are 100+ workers who work for the betterment of the cows, and also veterinary doctors.”
Satyam Shivam Sundaram Gau Nivas is South India’s biggest gaushala, where thousands of cows are looked after with love and care.
What started as a small effort with 200 cows is now increasing in number and support. These cows are given shelter, fodder, medical support, and, above all, love and respect.
“We rescue these cows from slaughterhouses and don’t exploit them for milk or use them only for what they can give us. Our aim is to give them a peaceful and carefree life. In fact, several police officials had also helped to rescue these cows and bring them to our shelter house.”
While one might wonder how he manages all of it when it comes to funds, he says it all depends on the donations.
“We either go around to different places in the city to collect donations or people come here and donate here. People have been coming into the shelter homes for a long time to worship the cows and donate whatever they want.
The pandemic was a very tough phase as we couldn’t get proper donations, but now things have been slowly improving. However, we also request the government come forward with regard to the development, welfare, and betterment of the cows,” he signs off.
