HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, May 20: Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria inaugurated a two-day national conference on Gau-Vigyan to discuss the significance of cows in modern life and medical sciences at IIT-G today.
Speaking on the occasion, Kataria said, “Cow has been an integral part of Indian socio-economic and agricultural systems. Today, Gau-Vigiyan is working to strengthen our economy. Apart from this, it is also promoting major innovations in the field of AYUSH medicine”. The Governor also said, “Cows have been of great importance in our Indian culture and have been revered as mothers. In the Vedas, cow’s milk is considered nectar. Like milk, cow dung and cow urine are also valuable. Just as cow’s milk, curd, ghee, and butter are nutritious foods for humans, cow dung and cow urine are beneficial for the earth. Using cow dung as manure also leads to soil fertility”.
Kataria also highlighted that cows play a crucial role in the agriculture industry. The Governor said that it is not true that cows are important only from a religious and economic point of view. Rather, there are some scientific facts too that show the importance of cows. Agriculture is an important sector of the Indian economy, and cows have been shown to be very useful for agriculture. Natural farming is a modified form of cow-based farming. The use of cow dung and cow urine as fertilisers and insecticides leads to the strengthening of biodiversity.
“I am happy that, keeping all these points in mind, a National Conference on Gau-vigyan has been organised by the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS) and IIT-Gauhati in association with Bharatiya Govansh Rakshan Samvardhan Parishad. I am very happy to note that this two-day national conference covers the importance of cows in Indian history and tradition, the management of gaushalas and dairy farms, etc”. The Governor exuded confidence that the conference would provide a strong platform for the integration of ancient traditions with modern science, engineering, and technology. He said that valuable suggestions will also be received from scholars from all over the country.
The conference was attended by director of IIT-G Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, head of the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems Prof. Uday S. Dixit, chief convener of Cow Science Research Centre Devlapar, Nagpur Sunil Mansinghka, president of Bharatiya Govansh Rakshan Samvardhan Parishad Vinod Kayal, and a host of other dignitaries.
