India’s top education board, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has written to the heads of all universities to encourage students to take part in the forthcoming “cow science exam” on 25 February.
Organised by central government’s Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (Cow Commission), a national body set up for the promotion of animal husbandry, the exam has provoked criticism for outrageous claims made in its prospectus.
This institution was once chaired by the man whose birthday is India's Teachers' Day. Today it's asking universities to teach how eating beef causes earthquakes and that Indian cows have literal gold in their milk.
— Amit Schandillia (@Schandillia) February 17, 2021
This isn't satire. This country is.https://t.co/xe73wJ2TzQ
The Cow Commission was compelled to remove some parts of the curriculum after a backlash from the public.
The revised study syllabus, however, still continues to promote the idea that cow urine is a “great elixir, proper diet, pleasing to the heart, a giver of mental and physical strength which will make you live longer.”
It also suggests that Indian cows have unique features such as a hump on their back, which has special power to absorb the sun's energy with the help of “a solar pulse” in the hump.
