Do you know why the cow is sacred to Hindus and in India? You've probably heard that devout Hindus don't eat beef. That's right, you shouldn't. I was almost shocked when I was in South India for the first time (the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu) and our Hindu guide ate beef with the guests.
Cow box in a shop, where in Sanskrit it is encouraged to give cow food (the wording is that giving food is compared to paying homage to hundreds of thousands of gods)
First, there is a bit of a logical explanation: if you owned a cow, there was milk, butter, cream, cheese ( panir ) and yoghurt in the house. We make our own fresh yoghurt from cow's milk almost daily in the summer! (I do that here in Norway too). Not to mention chai which is also drunk with milk. The cow's droppings were used to make kuruks which were used for fuel and fertiliser. This also removed mosquitoes which are naturally abundant in hot climates. Even the urine is distilled and used in Ayurvedic medicine. Buffaloes are used in agriculture and to pull loads like horses and carts. When a girl was getting married, the best gift was to give her gold jewellery and a cow! Otherwise, the cow is symbolised with qualities such as patient, kind, generous and one who gives to everyone. It only eats grass, grain and water, but gives so much back to the earth and people. Also in religion, it is the pet of Shiva and was dear to Krishna .
In India, there are old-age homes (Gaushala) for cows where they are fed and cared for, but not everyone is so lucky. According to Wikipedia (livestock statistics) there are about 45,150,000 cows in India, the highest number in the world! Then you may understand that many wander along the streets or look for food in the garbage dump, because they are unable to take care of everyone. Just like donating money to the poor, it is a virtue to donate feed to cows in old-age homes or give them roti . So then you know why the cow is sacred in India :)