This year, India’s government is asking citizens to spend Valentine’s Day snuggling up with a cow. In a statement this week, the country’s government-run animal welfare department announced that “Cow Hug Day,” a new celebration of India’s traditions, will take place on February 14. In recent decades, young Indians have increasingly taken up Valentine’s Day, which originated as a Christian celebration. Recent years have also seen an increase in so-called “cow vigilantes” across India, who attack members of minority groups involved in the cattle trade. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst, tells the AP that the introduction of Cow Hug Day “defies logic.”“The unfortunate part is this has now official sanction,” he says.

Source: The Hindu February 11, 2023 03:40 UTC