4 SOCIAL SCIENTIST religions inspired people to form better social orders. But it has to be understood that every religion is the product of a certain type of social milieu. Thus the stress of Buddhism on the protection of all beings in general and of the cows in particular helped to promote agriculture at a time when iron tools came to be used in cultivation on a wide scale in the middle Gangetic plains from about 500 BC onwards. But Buddhism did not abolish the varna-based social distinctions that had emerged on account of the unequal distribution of the surplus product among various segments of society. The brahmanical religion took the wind out of the sails of Buddhism by focusing on the idea of the protection of the cow. Cleverly enough it also declared the life of the brahmana as sacrosanct as that of the cow, and this idea was embedded in the minds of the masses along with the idea of punarjanma or rebirth. Evidently the tenet of protecting the cow greatly promoted plough-based agriculture and animal husbandry in the tribal areas which were brought under brahmanical influence through conquest and land grants. But now when we have far more advanced methods for advancing agriculture, cattle naturally take a back seat in priorities for protection. The 'sacred cow* theory becomes a fetter on our economic growth. We have to feed either animals which are uneconomic and unproductive or human beings who are engaged in producing activities. This point has been emphasized by several leading economists. Thus we can see the interaction between the needs of the material situation and the force of ideology. But this does not detract from the positive role that Buddhism played in early history. Similarly Christianity preached the gospel of equality between the slave and master who were placed in the same category in the world of god, although it did nothing to abolish the real social differentiation that existed between the two in the Roman empire. Islam played a progressive role in asmuchas it welded the various Arab clans and tribes into a polity and substantially reduced the perpetual tribal feuds that plagued them. It also preached the tenet of equality between the rich and the poor and insisted that the poor should be supported by the rich by means of charities and taxes. But even Islam could not ignore social reality in the land of its birth and had to allow a maximum of four wives to its adherent. This was certainly better than the clan chiefs having 20 to 30 or more wives. Although Islam was opposed to idol worship it had to acknowledge the sanctity of the Qaba stone which was very well established in pre-Islamic Mucca. Religions therefore cannot be viewed in isolation from the social circumstances in which they originate. From time to time when the older tenets of religion are found out of tune with the changing social and economic situations, movements are launched to reform religions and make them acceptable to their followers. The Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj and Brahmo Samaj are important examples in modern times. Of these the Arya Samaj movement seems to be most important. It campaigned against the