SBR: The Myth of the Holy Cow is a book that should not surprise anyone who has made any sincere attempts to understand the history of our country a little bit. But if you encounter those who think that “cow has been sacrosanct since Vedas/forever” or if you are one of those, this book will come in handy. Tracing the literary sources starting from Rigveda, the author clearly and firmly establishes that our ancestors, for a long time, were clearly beef eaters (not just meat eaters) and there was no inherent sacredness to a cow over other animals. The book is particularly relevant in the current times when the efforts to ossify a Hindu, even Indian, identity in terms of narrow dietary and moral preferences are at an all-time high and which tend to stop at nothing in silencing any hints of a complicated and nuanced cultural past.

To read or not to read: Yes, please. In today’s times, you either need to read it for yourself or be armed with arguments presented here to ward off nonsensical claims of others.