Nepal now has acquired the reputation of catering to and supporting the world’s largest animal sacrifice. Social campaigners are shocked by the fact that the government actually supports the unmonitored, cruel killings by donating Rs 4-5 million to the organizers. Officials from animal and human health departments dread the potential outcomes of the unchecked sacrifices: Bird flu, swine flu, goat plague, TB, food poisoning, et al.
In Nepal, even in year 2009, there is not a single law that protects the unorganized, unchecked transport and killing of millions of animals in the name of God.
A documentary made by Forum of Environmental Journalists, NFEJ, shows the savagery at the jatra. One scene shows 40–50 thousand buffaloes in a large field with hundreds of drunken men with knives moving around them. These are the people who are given the license to kill the animals. In another scene, the soil is seen soaked in blood and separated heads and bodies of thousands of innocent animals scattered all over. There is no method to these killings. The men are drunk and they pierce and gore the animals to death.
For decades, a lone crusader, Dr Jagdish Arohi, a Bara resident, was the only voice against this medieval madness. He stands with his posters and banners against the sacrifices. This year an anti-sacrifice alliance has been formed between religious groups, social activists and animal welfare organizations, both from Nepal and India.
It’s almost 200 years since the first anti-animal cruelty law was enacted and almost 150 years since India came out with statutes against cruelty to animals. Different Indian states prohibit animal sacrifice, which is why the majority of Gadhimai devotees are in fact Indians who travel to Nepal in order to continue the age-old sacrifice rituals. Gadhimai locally is actually known as ‘Indian Mela.’
“In India, today there is greater awareness about animal sacrifice and suffering, so people and rights activists are against it,” says N G Jayasimha, campaign manager for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in India. “Some states have banned animal slaughter even for religious purposes – including Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. So all these factors contribute to the numbers going to Nepal.”
Is it not ironic that New Nepal continues to cater to superstitious Indian and local devotees by organizing cruel and unorganized religious ‘festivals’? Campaigners face an uphill struggle in Nepal. Here, even in year 2009, there is not a single law that protects the unorganized, unchecked transport and killing of millions of animals in the name of God. Why?
Is it because we are inherently cruel and barbaric? Is it because we are ignorant? Is it because of our acute poverty? Is it because we remained isolated from the outside world for a long time? Is it because the Europeans never colonized us? Or, is it because we never saw any social movements apart from political movements?
Whatever the reasons, our passion to inflict cruelty to animals, whether in the name of preserving and adhering to age-old cultural practices and beliefs or religious rituals, has no rationale in the world today.
If Nepal truly wants to progress on all fronts and come out of the rut of this medieval penury and squalor, it also has to come out from the rut of this medieval mindset, of superstition and mindless cruelty.
I encourage the readers to think seriously about animal sacrifice, if they still believe in it. You have learnt the English language to read and communicate in the global arena and yet are stuck in rituals that are patently medieval for religious or cultural matters. Others who understand the barbarism of animal sacrifices want it to end and yet are confused as to what to do to start their own small movements from today.
Make a vow today to help stop the killings of millions of innocent animals in the name of religion. Convince your own family. Write a letter to your political leaders. Come to Gadhimai to join a peaceful demonstration. It’s so simple. Don’t wait another day.
avantikaregmi@aim.com
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