KOLKATA: Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh rekindled the gold-in-cow’s-milk debate on Friday, saying that people in and around Kolkata — used to having “packet milk” — could not possibly find gold in the product.
Cattle-rearing was rare in and around Kolkata, Ghosh said at a BJP peasants’ wing meeting at the party’s Hastings headquarters in the city. “Why should everyone go in for only farming?” he asked, suggesting dairy as an alternative before wading into his gold-in-milk theory.
“I had earlier said milk contained gold but many people criticised me for that statement,” he said on Friday. “But how will people, who have not consumed real milk and have had only packet milk, find gold in it?” he asked. “People in Bengal have stopped drinking cow’s milk. They prefer liquor tea (over milk tea),” he rued.
Healthcare experts and the city’s academia, however, failed to find anything of value in the state BJP chief’s dogged pursuit of gold in milk. “I have not come across any evidence that cow’s milk contains traces of the metal,” IPGMER professor Diptendra Sarkar said. “The Indian Council of Medical Research should look into the matter if these claims are made repeatedly and settle the issue once and for all,” he added.
Sociologist and Presidency emeritus professor Prasanta Ray said proponents of such theories might want to “indicate to their supporters that they are rooted in tradition”.
“The cow is a symbol of ancient sacred tradition,” he said, adding: “Those who propagate such theories want to indicate that they are rooted in those traditions. That gives a kind of legitimacy to their brand of politics. They want us to believe that their ways are more indigenous and better than that of others. They want to assert that they are showing a sacred way and are on a moral high,” sociologist Prasanta Ray said
The best way to resolve such issues, Ray said, was to go to the laboratory and get the claims validated.
Ghosh later tried to explain that he meant to use the word “gold” as a “metaphor”. “Farmers are not getting a good price for their produce. Focusing on animal husbandry may get them better returns. They can also look at high-yield cattle breeds. That was what I meant when I spoke about gold in milk,” Ghosh said.
“Besides, milk’s nutritional value cannot be any less than that of gold. I don’t care what critics say. Those who have not had cow’s milk will not understand whether there is gold or silver in it,” he added.
