Dakshin Vrindavan

Dakshin Vrindavan (DV)

Founded	2013
Founders	S. Ashwin, Shankar Rama Varma
Type	Nonprofit organization
Focus	Protection of cows saved from slaughterhouses and abandoned cows
Location	Palakkad, Kerala, India
Area served	India
Chief Founder	S. Ashwin
Board of directors	Kanchana Hariharan, Ramesh K. Varma, Deepak Shankar and Tharananellur Satheesan Namboothiripad
Website	www.dakshinvrindavan.org
Remarks	Twitter:@daksinvrindavan Facebook:/dakshinvrindavan Youtube

Dakshin Vrindavan (Tamil - தக்ஷிண் விருந்தாவன்) (Kannada - ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ವೃಂದಾವನ), also known as "Care for Cows Dakshin Vrindavan Public Charitable trust", is a nonprofit organization registered in India for the protection of cows and bulls. The animal shelter is located in Palakkad, Kerala, India. It is the first Gaushala in Kerala. Dakshin Vrindavan saves cows from slaughterhouses and cruel transporters and protect them in their shelter. The trust also maintains abandoned cows, bulls, retired oxen and calves in their shelter. Dakshin Vrindavan consist of volunteers who offer their talents and resources to tend to the neglected cows of India. It provides the cows with medical attention, clean water, lush pastures and lifetime accommodation. This charity was founded in 2013. This Gaushala is known to be the first and the largest Gaushala in State of kerala.

History

The foundation of Dakshin Vrindavan was driven by Ashwin Sampatkumar's and Shankar Rama Varma's desire to save cows and bulls from slaughter and to serve them without expecting anything in return. Soon they realised that protection of cows is not just a charity but a social responsibility . They were soon joined by friends, peers and the community came together to make the organisation a reality. A trust was registered as a nonprofit organization under India Trust Act and was awarded with 12A and 80G certificates under Income Tax Act by which the Indian Tax payers donating to the trust, can claim tax exemption for the donation.

The first generation of Dakshin Vrindavan, started with the rescue of the first member of the shelter Balaram from a farmer who was about to sell him to a butcher, just because he was a bull calf, in 2013. Approximately 10 volunteers joined the cause, and a land was found out( on rental basis) for accommodating the calf. The land belonged to a family who helped Dakshin Vrindavan a lot in the initial years . Then came the rescue of almost 5 cows and bulls from illegal transportation, which were also housed in that land.

From that point on, Dakshin Vrindavan grew exponentially in terms of rescues. Many more rescue operation were carried out and abandoned bulls and cows were also rescued.

On June 2014, the Dakshin vrindavan team spotted a truck full of cows and Bulls in Mangalore which was on its way to slaughter house. The team intervened, sighted laws preventing slaughter of cows in karnataka and saved the cows. An astonishing eleven cows and bulls were saved from the rescue operation. This started the series of rescue operation done by Dakshin Vrindavan.

After few months of moving to the 10 acres of land, the Gaushala faced threats from Communist party as cow protection was against their party ideologies. The cows were relocated to a temporary land to ensure their safety. The communist party workers threatened to kill the cows and conduct a beef festival if the gaushala is not shut down. Apparently when the media approached the union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare S. S. Ahluwalia also the National Vice president of Bharatiya Janata Party,He was outraged and replied "This is not acceptable" " Gaushalas are constructed throughout the country under Article 48 of the Constitution. It is the duty of the Kerala government to take steps to improve the breeding of cows and bulls in the state and prevent them from being slaughtered. It should take action against the culprits in this case and let the Dakshin Vrindavan Gaushala function peacefully". Unfortunately, the problem still remains unresolved.

Dakshin Vrindavan is now in a rented place near Eruthempathy, Palakkad, Kerala, India. And Dakshin Vrindavan is yet to acquire a land on its own where the rescued cows and bulls can reside permanently without the fear of moving out.

Vision

"Saving cows from slaughter and illegal transporting and protecting these cows saved in our shelter till their natural death."

Principles

1. No Milking  ; In Dakshin Vrindavan no cows are milked and mothers milk is for the calves alone.

2. No Breeding ; Instead of increasing the mouths to feed inside the Gaushala, Dakshin Vrindavan prefers to take more cows from the street.

3. In case a pregnant cows is rescued , then the mother and calf is never separated.

4. Only organically grown green grass is fed to the cows.

5. Cows and bulls are never differentiated in the Gaushala. ( 50% of the residents are bulls)

Mission

To protect, save and house 1000 cows in our shelter by 2025.

Slogan

Protection of cows is not jus a charity but a social responsibility.

Programmes

First aid after a rescue operation

The programmes undertaken by Dakshin Vrindavan are:

Programmes
Rescue cows from Slaughter
Rescue cows from illegal transport
Find and save abandoned cows
Building shelter for rescued cows
Procuring feed for cows
Meeting medical needs
vaccination for cows
Performing Rumenotomy to remove plastic the cows have fed themselves

Building a permanent shelter for cows

All these years cows were on leased or rented lands and the shelter made for them were temporary. It is a dream for Dakshin Vrindavan to acquire a land and construct permanent sheds for the cows. The estimated cost is about 1 Crore Indian Rupees.

Dakshin Vrindavan has started raising funds for this endeavor and expects the completion of this shelter by the mid of 2020.

External links

• www.dakshinvrindavan.org