Cows have been the subject of all kinds of uproar in India for several years. The uproar began after the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power and is growing day by day.

Over the past few years more than a hundred people from minority communities have been killed across India in incidents over cow slaughter and cow protection. Alongside these tragic events, various ventures are under way to invent and market cow-derived products.

The Indian government recently announced that it would provide loans of up to 60 per cent for any venture in cow-based products. That announcement has drawn many people to business in this new sector. On New Year's Day the South China Morning Post published a report on the new businesses and innovations built around cows in India.

The report, headlined "Would you use a cow dung face wash? They do in India", described how many cow-based products that were once unimaginable are slowly becoming popular in the Indian market.

The newspaper said new businesses and innovations have grown up around cows in India, and large e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Flipkart and eBay are being used to sell the products.

Soap, face wash, shampoo and even toothpaste made from cow dung are being marketed. These products have become popular with ordinary people and are easy to find on e-commerce sites.

Mumbai resident Umesh Soni founded a company called Cowpathy. The 36-year-old microbiologist has been making various products from cow dung since 2012, and also processes coffee from cow urine. His soap has already become quite popular.

He says that at first he gave the products to people as gifts, which also served to promote them, and demand grew later. He now supplies more than 400 wholesale shops in 14 countries. His company Cowpathy currently earns more than 2.5 crore rupees a year.

Attention on cows in India increased after the ruling BJP came to power in 2014. Over the past few years, more than a hundred minority Muslims have lost their lives in the country to religious frenzy over cows.

The cow is now regarded in India as a sacred national animal. Out of religious belief, a very large number of people also treat anything derived from the animal as sacred.

Citing Ei Samay.

Source: Online Desk. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.