THE iconic Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra at Deolapar, around 50 km from Nagpur, will soon be the home to Maharashtra’s first-ever university dedicated to scientific research on cow and its progeny, to be formed under ‘The Maharashtra Govansh Sciences and Conservation University Bill 2025’. The university will function under the umbrella of Go-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra and carry forward the great research and development work at Deolapar for the past so many years. This move is aimed at restoring the importance of cow not just as a religious symbolism but also as a critical component of socio-economic and cultural revolution of the Indian society in sync with the demands of modern times.

 

“This is a golden moment for our Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra. All along, we have been working on what we may describe as Cow Culture. We have conducted extensive and intensive research on various aspects of Cow -- Gau-Mata -- as a critical component of life. We have established the utility of the five blessings of cow -- milk, curds, ghee, urine, and dung -- to the human individuals and the larger society. We have conducted research on modern scientific lines on all these, produced scientific papers, and also won as many as five international patents on various issues of gau-vignyan. The proposed university at Deolapar will be a dream come true for all of us,” says Padmesh Gupta, Chairman of the Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra at Gau-Teerth in Deolapar -- his voice choked with emotion, his eyes misty with a contentment that is hard to capture in words.

 

“Cow protection is a major national issue, all right. But there are practical reasons why many people hand over their cows or their progeny for slaughter. When the animal stops being productive, it entails a big burden on the person’s economic activity. At Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra, we decided to answer this practical problem with practical solutions. The idea of such a centre was first mooted by (the late) Moropant Pingle, an ideologue of the Rashtriya Swayamnasevak Sangh. The Deolapar area with so many tribal villages around was chosen to launch a special centre for protection and conservation of cow and its progeny -- way back in 1992. That activity has now assumed an iconic aura, so much so that the Government of Maharashtra is all set to launch a specialised university to continue with the work whose foundation we laid,” Padmesh Gupta states.

 

A successful businessman who established new benchmarks in industry, Padmesh Gupta has by now stepped aside from all that activity. He now dedicates his entire energy and time and resources to promote cow science, cow economics, cow culture. For the past few years, he has been leading the activity at Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra with the dedication of a devotee rather than a corporate leader. Joined in by a team of equally enthusiastic colleagues, Padmesh Gupta has been able to mobilise a lot of resources to give the mission a fillip it needs all the time. The conversation with Padmesh, joined in also by Amit Bajpayee who heads the Sales and Marketing and Public Relations Department of Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra, keeps zeroing in on Gau-mata. Ancient references from the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayan, Mahabharat and other texts flow interminably as he speaks on the subject of mission of lifetime.

 

His whole persona speaks -- intensely, animatedly, in the processing drawing in every listener around. Nobody, so to say, can remain unaffected by Padmesh Gupta’s infectious enthusiasm. For, in the form of the proposed university on cow sciences, he sees the fruition of the dream hundreds and hundreds of dedicated people have seen for long years. “You know, our main idea is to enhance the utility of cow and its progeny -- not just to the rural parts of the country, but also the larger Indian society in towns and cities and megapolises. But please understand clearly that this is not a business for us.

 

This is our mission -- of a non-governmental organisation like Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra. What we have been trying to do is to conduct extensive and intensive research into what benefits cow culture can bring to the humanity. We have developed various products, too, that can be utilised for commercial activity subsequently. We are engaging tribal people in this activity that can become an economic mainstay for their livelihood”, Padmesh Gupta says with a legitimate touch of pride and satisfaction to his words. But each time he makes such a statement, Padmesh Gupta hurriedly adds that the Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra at Deolapar has a whole eco-system of dedicated and specialised human talent. He says, “We have conducted research on how cow-products can be used for medical treatment of and recovery from ailments and diseases such as cancer. Our research on Panchagavya -- a combination of five core cow products (milk, curds, ghee, urine and dung) has the capacity to revolutionise human healthcare. We can cite examples of hundreds of people who have recovered from difficult medical challenges with the help of Panchgavya”.

 

At the Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra, the belief is that cow of Indian breeds is the best for the Indian conditions. So, deep and scientific research is conducted at Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra. “Our stress is on the improvement and refinement in Indian breeds. The new university will concentrate on breeds found in Maharashtra as a central focus, followed by work on breeds from other regions of the country. You will understand the criticality of our vision on this subject when you know that we have launched a modern IVF (In-Vitro Fertilisation) and are working on ‘Sex-Sorted Semen’ technology to improve the quality of Indian breeds”, Padmesh Gupta adds. What stuns a common intellect is the vast range of work that has been successfully done at Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra, Deolapar, over time.

 

That the centre has revolutionised life of tribal and rural communities around Deolapar is only one part of the big story. The other part relates to the global vision of the missionary work. In pursuance of the global goal, the Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra has enlisted support of institutions such as the Ramdeobaba University, the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, the Central India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Tata Consultancy Services among others. “Our emphasis is on service and not on commerce. As an NGO, we will do our work with dedication -- and hand over to the larger society the outcome of our missionary contribution. When the proposed university gets added to our mission, our hands will be strengthened all the more”, Padmesh Gupta says, his eyes glistening with innate pride. Every great achievement has to be based on great vision. And the Gau-Vignyan Anusandhan Kendra at Deolapar has that at its core.