		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="111265417"
		 data-section="2">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><p>The Indian government has withdrawn its appeal for citizens to mark Valentine’s Day next week not as a celebration of romance, but as “Cow Hug Day”, to better promote Hindu values.</p>
<p>The appeal had attracted widespread criticism from political rivals and on social media.</p>
<p>A terse statement issued by the government-run Animal Welfare Board of India said the appeal issued on Wednesday “stands withdrawn”.</p>
<p>Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst, said the call to hug cows had been “absolutely crazy, defying logic”.</p>
<p>He added: “The decision to withdraw the government appeal was to prevent the politics of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) from being ridiculed in the face of severe criticism from all quarters.”</p>
<p>Young, educated Indians typically spend Valentine’s Day crowding parks and restaurants, exchanging gifts and holding parties.</p>
<p>The Animal Welfare Board had said Wednesday that “hugging cows will bring emotional richness and increase individual and collective happiness”.</p>
<p>Devout Hindus, who worship cows as holy, say the Western holiday of Valentine’s Day goes against traditional Indian values.</p>
<p>In recent years, Hindu hard-liners have raided shops selling Valentine’s Day items, burned cards and gifts, and chased hand-holding couples out of restaurants and parks, insisting that the day promotes promiscuity.</p>
<p>Hindu nationalist groups such as Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal say such raids help reassert a Hindu identity.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been pushing a Hindu agenda, seeking the religion’s supremacy in a secular nation known for its diversity.</p>
<p>Hindus comprise nearly 80 per cent of the nearly 1.4 billion people.</p>
<p>Muslims account for 14 per cent, while Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains account for most of the remaining 6 per cent.</p>
<p>The cow has long been embedded in the Hindu psyche and is deeply respected by many.</p>
<p>Most states in India have banned cow slaughter.</p>
			<div style="padding-bottom:15px;" class="wordads-tag" data-slot-type="belowpost">
				<div id="atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68cd37679f339">
					<script type="text/javascript">
						window.getAdSnippetCallback = function () {
							if ( false === ( window.isWatlV1 ?? false ) ) {
								// Use Aditude scripts.
								window.tudeMappings = window.tudeMappings || [];
								window.tudeMappings.push( {
									divId: 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68cd37679f339',
									format: 'belowpost',
								} );
							}
						}

						if ( document.readyState === 'loading' ) {
							document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', window.getAdSnippetCallback );
						} else {
							window.getAdSnippetCallback();
						}
					</script>
				</div>
			</div>
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
