Sosamma Iype

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In this Indian name, the name Iype is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sosamma.
Sosamma
Born1942 (age 79–80)
Niranam, Thiruvalla, Travancore, British India
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipIndia
Occupationanimal conservationist
Spouse(s)Abraham Varkey
Children2
AwardsPadma Shri, India Biodiversity Award

Shoshamma Iype is an animal conservationist from Niranam, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. She was former Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Agricultural University and was awarded the Padma Shri for the year 2022 by the Government of India for her services to the conservation of the Vechoor cow.[1] She, who devoted her life to the care of the Vechoor cows, is often called as "Vechoor Amma" literally meaning mother of Vechoor cows.[2]

Biography[]

Sosamma Iype was born in 1942 at Niranam village in Thiruvalla of present-day Pathanamthitta district. She was a professor and researcher at Mannuthi Veterinary College.[2] Sosamma, who holds a PhD from the National Dairy Research Institute, worked as Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Agricultural University.[2] She retired from Veterinary College in 2001 as Director, National Bureau of Animal Genetics.[3] Despite retiring from official life, Shoshamma is still active in the Vechur Conservation Trust, an NGO formed for the conservation of domestic animals and birds of Kerala..[4]

Personal life[]

She and her husband late Abraham Varkey (Retd. Professor, University of Agriculture) have two children Dr. Rebecca Varghese and George C Abraham.[4] She now lives in Mannuthy, Thrissur district.[4]

Coservation of Vechur Cows[]

The Vechur Cow is a rare breed of Bos indicus cattle named after the village Vechoor in Kerala. Sosamma Iype with like-minded conservationists in Kerala, started a 25-year conservation project in 1989 to save the endangered Vechoor cows.[5] In the early nineties, Sosamma and her husband, Abraham Varkey, who is also a veterinarian, traveled for years with a group of young vet graduates to remote villages in the Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts in search of pure bred Vechoor cows.[5] The 8 Vechoor cows thus obtained were paid for and kept in the stables of the Agricultural University.[1] Multiple Ovulation and Embryo Transfer (MOET) technique was used for breeding the cow.[6] By 1998, the number of animals in the Agricultural University unit had increased and about 30 animals had been sold to outsiders to set up some field units.[6] At present there are about 7,000 Vechoor cows in the state.[2] Her interventions are considered by some people to be the second major biodiversity conservation initiative in Kerala after the campaign to protect the environmentally vulnerable Silent Valley.[7]

Opponents of the project have accused that the group is working against government policy by reintroducing an unproductive breed.[5] When the project was successful, Sosamma was accused of collaborating with the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh to patent the cow's genetic code. Environmentalist Vandana Shiva has claimed that the Roslin Institute in Scotland has obtained a patent for discovering the genetic makeup of Vechoor cows.[4] "The patent number is E.P.765390 and the scientists behind the project of Sosamma are behind it" Shiva said.[4] The national media and the international journal Nature published it with a great prominence.[4] But the investigations on this proved the allegations to be false.[5] The controversy, which began in 1998, took two years to resolve.[4] Based on her experiences in conservation of Vechoor cows, she has written a book named Vechoor Pashu: Punarjanmam which literally means "Vechoor cow: Rebirth".[1]

Awards and honors[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ് ഉയരം കുറഞ്ഞതിനെ തേടി; ഇപ്പോൾ 'ഉയരം' രാജ്യത്തോളം". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam).
  2. ^ a b c d "വെച്ചൂർ പശുക്കള��ടെ സ്വന്തം വെച്ചൂർ അമ്മ; പത്മശ്രീയിൽ തിളങ്ങി ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ്". Manoramanews.
  3. ^ Daily, Keralakaumudi. "ലേഖനമെഴുതാൻ അന്വേഷിച്ചു; വെച്ചൂർ പശുവിന്റെ പോറ്റമ്മയായി". Keralakaumudi Daily.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h സേതുമാധവന്‍, ഡോ ടി പി. "കല്ലും മുള്ളും താണ്ടി ഡോ.ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ് തീര്‍ത്ത 'വെച്ചൂര്‍ വിപ്ലവം'". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam).
  5. ^ a b c d "Holy Cow Small Packs a Big Punch". The New Indian Express. 20 December 2014.
  6. ^ a b Choubey, Alin. "Conservation of Vechur Cattle by Dr. Sossama Iype, Kerala – Nature-based solutions".
  7. ^ Jan 26, T. Ramavarman /. "vechur: Honour For Her Conservation Efforts | Kochi News - Times of India". The Times of India.
  8. ^ "Sosamma Iype awarded India Biodiversity Award for her conservation work with Vechur cattle". iMalayalee MultiChannel News Portal. 27 May 2016.


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