It’s difficult for the poor to turn down money and other advantage, like schooling for kids, moreover when the missionaries are “nice” take interest in their lives, etc.
Conversion are rampant and they brainwash them against their gods, like they brainwashed us in Europe against our gods.
Even if they lose faith, and there is a good chance, they are likely to become atheists. And look at western society to know the damage…

Secularism is indeed a Western invention, a response to a Western problem only. It is alien to the Hindu society and it doesn´t fit in there. One needs to understand that being a Hindu involves all aspects of life, from governing or expecting governance in a certain (Dharmic) way, to daily life of an anonymous Hindu. A separation between state and religion or rather Dharma is impossible and it becomes an artificial foreign viewpoint that was useful only in the West.

All your viewpoint responds to that of a westerner`´s or westernised thinking aiming a western society, but doesn´t comply at all with the Hindu ethos. To understand a culture one needs to dive deep in it, put their own glasses and then some ideas will get clarified.

Your comment regarding animals for instance fully responds to a human-centered western thought, no matter how humane it is. Which is not at all the Hindu one. I think it is just the opposite: we should observe the behaviour of the animals and learn many things from them. For Hindus, animals form a part of the whole world family, a especially vulnerable part of our family that should be protected. This is the “human point of view” of the Hindus regarding animals, and especially the cow as a Mother, further and deeper than the western interpretations, for reasons that have been explained by the Hindu tradition itself, and that should be much more heard when we are talking of their own regard of the cow.
And the more spiritual or religious one is that the same One that permeates everything it is present everywhere including of course animals and even a blade of grass.

And sorry but considering euthanasia the result of “one of the few most human countries” would be, at the least, a matter of debate. “Merciful killing” would collide with the Hindu thought in many cases for reasons related to karma. And only in extreme cases could be a matter of consideration, as far as I understand it.

“What is human, what is mercyful (in the view of modern society and technology), and ignore the religious rules if contradicting”, you say. Why the modern society and technology HAS TO be the guideline for our understanding of life? Besides, what exactly IS a modern society and technology? For a Hindu “religious rules” percolate the whole life. They are not meaningless indoctrinations, but meaningful guidelines that help to live life in a meaningful way in full sync with the cosmos. Another reason for which for a Hindu, secularism is an artificial construct. And India is a Hindu country which accepted in its lap other (some of them) alien religions. In pure justice, those are the ones who should adapt to the host, ;-), and not the other way round.

Kudos to your brave and straightforward comment!

“Secularism is a western invention, it has never been part of India before westerners invaded and neither should it be.”

It seems only so, because most new developpments came/come from the West. There have certainly been other civilisations which were on the right side of the spectrum theocracy – atheistic/secular state. I think it is best to combine the two aspects: respect the tradition of the main founding religion(s), but don’t get locked into it and don’t make problems, because today the world is open.

“Cows have a special status for various reasons and are protected from harm.”

I think it is Jared Diamond who has explained why cows got sacred in India. A profane reason, like for ‘halal’ precepts and proscriptions introduced first in Jewism and then abolished by Christianity and later reintroduced by Islam.

I hear regularly about harmed, neglected, tortured cows and other animals in India. This week the Swiss TV reported about a lady (Esther Geisser) who takes care there:

https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/reporter/video/esther-geisser-und-die-heiligen-kuehe?id=8d50135f-8c46-41a9-9fef-68ae5924de23

The best known example with Ingrid Newkirk: https://www.animalrahat.com

Let’s think rationally about the difference concernning life and death of the human being vs. the animal:

– the human thinks abouth his future, about death; he might want to see his grandchildren grow up
– the animal lives moment by moment, day by day, is not concerned about the future

Hence death has a different meaning, and putting an end to life is much easier with animals.

In case of sufferings, the human can imagine its end and accept that period. He even accepts a painful treatment like surgery. Sometimes, the suffering is so high that he commits suicide.

https://exit.ch/en/
http://dignitas.ch/index.php?lang=en

Think about the fact that Switzerland is amongst the few most human countries in the world and it
permits nearly solely human euthanasia. Which leads to a ‘death tourism’ from more strict countries.

The animal cannot relativate sufferings, it seems endless and it can hardly commit suicide.

Hence we should apply euthanasia on animals including cows if deemed appropriate.

Now: slaughtering. Nowadays (in fact in the West since about 1850) it is more or less painless possible. Switzerland again led the pack by forbidding ritual slaughtering already in the 1893:

https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/011380/2012-01-11

To sum up: I think it is better to let a cow or any other animal (I see no difference) have a good life and care about it, but to put an immediate end to its life once there is a reason.

We should rather ask always: What is human, what is mercyful (in the view of modern society and technology), and ignore the religious rules if contradicting.

I don’t advocate eating meat, even less to form big farms for that sole purpose.

P.S. Research is nearing the possibility to grow artificial meat. Will Hindous be allowed
to eat such meat which genetically/physilogically identical to cow meat, and will Muslims consider its as halal?

Indian law contains many aspects of Hindu dharma, this is to be expected and is only natural as India has been the country of Hindu’s for so long.

Hindu dharma also roughly translates to law, so there can be no separation of law and religion, otherwise hindu dharma is just an act as people would likely only follow it whenever it suits them.

Secularism is a western invention, it has never been part of India before westerners invaded and neither should it be.

“For example why is cow slaughter and beef consumption banned?”

Read the veda’s or do a simple google search and you’ll find plenty of articles where this is explained. Cows have a special status for various reasons and are protected from harm.

“but it’s these handful of people in power with their extremist.thoughts and ideologies which is giving this peaceful religion/way of life called Hinduism a bad name.”

No, allowing cows to be killed and eaten on hindu land is what would give Hinduism a bad name. Allowing slaughterhouses where violence against animals is the norm is what I would call extremist, not hindu’s punishing those that violate the law.

“And this intolerant attitude has percolated down to the grassroots where the common man on the street is emboldened into taking law into his own hands if he feels that anything goes against his “Hindu” thought. That’s why a Hindu Rashtra is not looked upon kindly in today’s India.”

Hindu dharma does not teach us to be peaceful, inclusive and tolerant at all times, these are western liberal philosophies, not Hindu. You don’t think the weapons held by Hindu gods are just for show? In Hinduism there is ahimsa (non violence) and himsa (violence) and both are to be applied depending on the circumstance.

Bhagavad Gita, which is one of the most important Hindu scriptures, was taught on the battlefield. It is a perfect example of himsa according to Hindu dharma. There is no question of non-violence when dealing with adharma (anti-dharma) adherents, anyone who has read and understood the scriptures would understand that.

If you want to kill and eat cows, go to a country where such anti-dharma practices are allowed. In the current kali yuga (era of darkness) that means the whole rest of the world, so you have more than plenty of places to choose.

India has always been Hindu land with Hindu laws and you should respect them or relocate to a country that fits your non-Hindu lifestyle better.