Dairy in India

[Veganism]

In my Forum post just prior to this, I discussed "Cruelty-free Milk."  I now want to touch about the use of dairy and relationship to cows in India.

As many people know (but have a poor understanding of), in India cows are very sacred.  Moreover, the use of milk is ingrained in society through not just cultural but also religious discourse and practice.  Priests defend milk and humans' relationship to cows, and the cow is used as a religious symbol.

Moreover, Indians are ADDICTED to milk, as it is used in tea, and Indians are ADDICTED to tea and will find whatever excuses to continue consuming dairy.  However, they will be supported by their religious and cultural reasons, for they believe a cow is a mother (however, do they take milk from cows because they consider them mothers, or do they consider cows as mothers because they take milk from cows?).

In any case, if veganism is to spread to India's masses, it will have to take into account the unique cultural circumstances in that country.