Cow is god: Tripura tribals dont milk cattle

BAGMARA - Tribals of the dirt-poor village of Bagmara in Tripura have been holding on to their age-old custom that forbids consumption of cow milk, though nearly each household has at least one milch cow.

“We consider the cows as god; hence we stay away from any act of milking the milch cow,” Bagmara village chief Ranjit Tripura told IANS. The village is located 170 km south of state capital Agartala.

“We also believe that depriving the calf of mother’s milk is a sin and gods will not exonerate the sinner,” the nonagenarian tribal headman said.

Home to 356 families, consisting of around 2,000 men, women and children, the Bagmara tribal village, under the Rupaichari block in southern Tripura, has been ravaged by militancy for years.

The Tripura government has undertaken several schemes to develop this village sandwiched between two hills.

“To remove this age-old unscientific myth, the state administration has taken plans to train the tribals in modern methods of animal husbandry and to improve their economic condition,” state information department official Manoranjan Das said.

“A training camp on act of milking and care for milch cows was held last week, and more such programmes would be held in the near future,” he added.

About 300 families are dependent on traditional ‘jhum’ cultivation (slash and burn method of farming) and 342 families are living below poverty line (BPL).

To improve the condition of the people of 26 villages, including Bagmara, the state’s rural development department has constituted 441 self-help groups (SHG) and 72 more would be formed later.

“Despite grinding poverty, we have full faith in our gods and customs,” the headman said. “We are a tough group; you will not find a single inch of land in and around our village not utilised,” he said.

With tribals forming one third of the mountainous state’s total population of 3.8 million, Tripura has a rich cultural heritage of 19 tribes, mostly Hindu.

The Tripuris constitute the largest portion of the tribal community, representing more than 50 percent of the total tribal population of the state.

South Tripura’s district Magistrate Samarjit Bhowmik admitted his ignorance about the tribals not consuming cow milk. “I would definitely inquire about it and carry out some awareness campaign.”

“However, a large number of tribals in northeastern India still stick to their traditions and customs,” he said, adding that some people among the Chakma tribes never bring their pregnant womenfolk to the hospital, and follow their traditional process of using medicinal plants.

Tribal intellectual and renowned poet-writer Ratul Debbarman said: “It is interesting to note that although the religion of the majority of tribal people is termed as Hinduism, it is in fact a curious mix of Hinduism and animism.”

“The old gods have not yet been ousted and priests worship them alongside Hindu gods. The tribals worship elements such as water, fire, forests, and earth, each having its own god,” said Debbarman.

“A trace of their old faith is to be found in their practice of striking a bamboo in the ground during religious festivals and worshipping it. Sacrifice is an essential part of their religion,” he said.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)