Rearing cows decreases ‘criminal mindset’ of prisoners: RSS chief

PUNE: Hardline Hindu organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday that experience has shown that "criminal mindset" of jail inmates decreased when they were given the task of looking after cows, foreign media reported.

He was speaking at an award ceremony organised by the Go-Vigyan Sanshodhan Sanshtha, an organisation dedicated to "cow science" research.

"Cow is the mother of universe....it nurtures soil, it nurtures animals, birds and it also nurtures humans and protects them from diseases and makes the human heart as tender as flower," he said.

"When jails set up cow sheds and prisoners started rearing cows, the authorities saw that the criminal mindset of these prisoners started diminishing, and I am telling you this from experiences shared by some jail authorities," he said.

Entire society should come together to conserve cows and the importance of Indian breeds of cows needs to be conveyed to the people in a scientific way, he added.