The Myth of the Holy Cow [Paperback]

D. N. Jha (Author), Dwijendra Narayan Jha (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 2004

A book the government of India demands be ritually burned. Hugely controversial upon its publication in India, this book has already been banned by the Hyderabad Civil Court and the author's life has been threatened. Jha argues against the historical sanctity of the cow in India, in an illuminating response to the prevailing attitudes about beef that have been fiercely supported by the current Hindu right-wing government and the fundamentalist groups backing it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A well-argued and soundly documented study... (Choice )

Not since Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses ... has a book caused such a violent reaction. (Observer )

While cow veneration and vegetarianism may be the hallmarks of Hinduism today, Mr. Jha compiles copious evidence that this has hardly always been the case. (New York Times )

A meticulously researched, strongly worded, persuasively articulated challenge to long-held religious beliefs, The Myth of the Holy Cow is a unique and iconoclastic contribution to the study of Hindu beliefs, practices, history and customs. (Wisconsin Bookwatch )

Jha draws on an amazingly wide range of material … an enlightening endeavour, demonstrating a critical understanding of a popular misconception. (Journal of Asian Studies )

The pen might still be, if not mightier than the nuclear arsenal, at least a weapon worth scanning for, like knives at airports, a weapon capable of subversion. (Times Literary Supplement )

This book may not please Hindu fundamentalists, but its research is impeccable. (The Telegraph, Calcutta, India )

About the Author

Dwijendra Narayan Jha is Professor of History at the University of Delhi. His books include Ancient India in Historical Outline and Feudal Social Formation in Early India.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Verso (February 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859844243
• ISBN-13: 978-1859844243
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > History > Asia > India

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very clear and incisive analysis and breakdown of the sacred bovine myth in Hinduism, December 26, 2008

By 

Jeremy Brown "Jeremy" (Houston, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Myth of the Holy Cow (Paperback)

I got this book out of sheer curiosity given I had earlier read about how meat eating was not considered something sinful the way it is in modern mainstream Hinduism. The book explores this and supports it very strongly in a great scholarly fashion.

I am also not surprised to see some reviews from Indian Hindus who outright reject this as "communist" and buy into the white-washing of Hindu scriptures, which is rather sad given they are so full of rich cultural descriptives of ancient India and Hindu society.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative if brief, May 10, 2007

By 

Sarakani (Harrow United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Myth of the Holy Cow (Paperback)

A unique and important reference book - one of a kind, dealing with the commercially most valuable of man's domesticated animals. The story of the sacred cow is a stroy of humanity itself and here is a history of this animal from the Indian vantage. Controversially, it contends that the sacredness of cattle to Indians is probably a somewhat recent artefact of Indian culture perhaps bound with a shift in religious practices as well as in modern times, putting some blue water between Hindus and Muslims. Overall this is a work of short, comprehensive scholarship and fascintating to read. They've tried to get it banned in India which has to be seen as a predictable and primitive reaction. Really great for people interested in religion, cattle, Indian religions and historians.

15 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Is this real?, September 15, 2004

By 

Curious Reader "CR" (TX, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Myth of the Holy Cow (Paperback)

As a beef eating Hindu I am very much interested in finding how cows became holy for Hindus and beef a forbidden thing to eat. I browsed through this book in a book store and found it to be very disappointing.

First, it appeared to be intended more for creating controversy than for informational purposes. It clearly had a bias which turned me off.

Second, I am generally up-to date on current issues and remembered that it did not generate all that controversy as mentioned on the cover of the book. There were some rumblings but nothing of the sort described on the covers ("the government of India demands be ritually burned").

Later I searched on google with the book title and words "ban", "government of India" and found no news reports relating any government of India attempts at banning this book. There were no reports on ban by Allahabad High Court either. All I found were book reviews on the book and other articles written mainly by political commentators known for their leftist opinions.

Third, I found some material on internet on how the author misinterpreted much of the scriptures to support his conclusions.

It basically left me disappointed and I am still searching for some reliable and accurate material on this matter.