Goshala: Difference between revisions

[[File:FirstGaushala.jpg|thumb|300px|World's First Gaushala, Rewari]]

 

'''Gaushalas''' or '''Goshalas''' ({{lang-hi|गौशाला|gauśālā}}) are protective shelters for [[stray cow]] in [[India]]. Government grants and donations are the primary source of income of the cow shelters in India. Since 2014, when BJP government came into power in India, India has spent {{INRConvert|5.8|b}} on cow shelters in two years between 2014 and 2016.<ref name="Bloomb1" />

[[File:Gosala in Guntur, India.jpg|thumb|A goshala at [[Guntur]], [[Andhra Pradesh]].]]

India's first goshala have been established in [[Rewari]] by Raja Rao Yudhishter Singh Yadav.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020428/ncr1.htm |title=In stoic silence, historical tanks of Rewari await tourists |first=Nawal Kishore |last=Rastogi |work=[[Tribune India]] |date=2002-04-27 |accessdate=2014-01-06}}</ref><ref name="Mittal1986">{{cite book|author=Satish Chandra Mittal|title=Haryana, a Historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RKTigrrP1cC&pg=PP4|year=1986|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri|pages=4–|id=GGKEY:WZ4ZX97B5N2}}</ref><ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=TOFFAQAAIAAJ&q=rewari+first+gaushala</ref><ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=iUFalxUFFWkC&dq=dayanand+gaushala+first&pg=PA128</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bhaskar.com/news/HAR-HIS-dayanand-saraswati-and-farm-4054949-PHO.html |title=Interesting relationship between Swami Dayanand Saraswati and India's first Gaushala |first=Nawal Kishore |last=Rastogi |work=[[Dainik Bhaskar]] |date=2013-04-05 |accessdate=2014-01-06}}</ref><ref>https://www.amarujala.com/haryana/rewari/the-foundation-of-the-first-gaushala-was-laidon-the-shore-of-nand-sarovar-rewari-news-rtk542918986</ref> There are now goshalas all over India.

The first ''Gaurakshini sabha'' ([[cow protection movement|cow protection society]]) was established in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] in 1882.<ref>''The Making of an Indian Metropolis, Colonial governance and public culture in Bombay, 1890/1920'', Prashant Kidambi, p. 176, {{ISBN|978-0-7546-5612-8}}.</ref> The movement spread rapidly all over [[North India]] and to [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[Bombay Presidency|Bombay]], [[Madras Presidency|Madras presidencies]] and other [[Central Provinces|central provinces]]. The organization rescued wandering cows and reclaimed them to groom them in places called gaushalas. Charitable networks developed all through [[North India]] to collect rice from individuals, pool the contributions, and re-sell them to fund the ''gaushalas''. Signatures, up to 350,000 in some places, were collected to demand a ban on cow sacrifice.<ref name="Vishnu pp. 67-69">''Vishnu's crowded temple, India since the great rebellion'', pp. 67-69, Maria Misra, 2008, Yale University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-300-13721-7}}.</ref> Between 1880 and 1893, hundreds of ''gaushalas'' were opened.<ref name="ChapISec10">{{cite web|url=http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-i-introduction.aspx#item10|title=Report of the National Commission on Cattle - Chapter I (10. Beginning of mass protests against cow-killings)|publisher=Dahd.nic.in|accessdate=10 November 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927072033/http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-i-introduction.aspx#item10|archivedate=27 September 2013}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> Pathmeda godham is the largest Gaushala in India with over 85000 cows being sheltered in the small town of Pathmeda in southern Rajasthan.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gupta|first=Abhinav|date=2016-04-13|title=Shri Pathmeda Godham Mahatirth: World's largest cowshed|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-shri-pathmeda-godham-mahatirth-world-s-largest-cowshed-323837|access-date=2022-02-08|website=www.indiatvnews.com|language=en}}</ref>

== Government grants ==

Since the BJP government came into power in India in 2014, India has spent {{INRConvert|5.8|b}} on cow shelters in between the years 2014 and 2016.<ref name=Bloomb1>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-17/cow-urine-can-sell-for-more-than-milk-in-india |title=Cow urine can sell for more than milk in India |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=2016-07-18 |accessdate=2016-09-18}}</ref>

To prevent unproductive cows being sent to the [[abattoir]], the government started the Rashtriya Gokul Mission in mid-2014, a national program that involves constructing havens for retired cows. Proceeds from the animals' bodily waste are intended to pay for their upkeep. In May 2016, the Indian national government held an inaugural national conference on goshalas. The Niti Ayog is working on developing a roadmap for Gaushala economy to develop commercial use of cow urine and cow dung for various purposes.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sharma|first=Yogima Seth|title=Niti Aayog working on road map to develop Gaushala economy|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/niti-aayog-working-on-road-map-to-develop-gaushala-economy/articleshow/89145535.cms|access-date=2022-02-08}}</ref>

==Other sources of income==

Donations are the only source of income for the Goshala. Some goshalas offer [[yoga]] and music lessons for additional income.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Shri Shaktidarshan Yogashram|url=https://saveindiancows.org/shaktidarshan-yogashram/#|access-date=2021-03-01}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2022}}

* [[Ahir|Yadav/Ahir's contribution to Hinduism]]