Animals in India have been worshipped in myriad ways since time immemorial – their role in the biodiversity and maintaining the ecological balance has been understood by our ancestors across geographies since ancient times.
But today most humans not just lack understanding and compassion with respect to other living beings but have developed this sense of entitlement and superiority – they have forgotten that every living being has a right to live on our planet and Mother Earth belongs to all.
Even the law of the land does not deter these inhumane ‘humans’ from inflicting cruelty on these voiceless and sentient beings who only ask for love, some food and shelter as their own homes have gradually disappeared and sacrificed in the name of development.
The worst affected is man’s best friend i.e., the lovable dog. While most people still tolerate/ accept pet dogs, the street or the community dogs remain the target of a million WhatsApp debates, unimaginable cruelty and are sentenced by humans to a life outside their territorial homes where they were born to life threatening roads.
And who gave these humans this right is something I keep wondering? Does our Constitution give us the right to do so, or did God come and say so?! We see paranoid residents who are forever talking about a likely attack on their ‘old’ parents or ‘young’ kids.
Well, statistically, there is a bigger likelihood of a road accident or a plane crash or an AC catching fire! do we still get paranoid and stop using these? Well humans are clever and will continue with what suits them. Further, I can’t even remember my aged grandparents ever worried about dogs on the street or my parents for that matter asking me to be careful in our residential complex or the roads or at the market where our community dogs lived.
In fact, together, all the residents including children took care of them – every child in our residential complex where I lived was taught compassion for other living beings, that all lives matter and to live and let live via story telling sessions by the elderly.
When there is advancement in every area of the society and there is progressive thinking too, it was heartbreaking to see two puppies of Kalypso Towers 9-10 and 11-12 poisoned to death and an old dog of 11-12 years in Kalypso Tower 3 beaten badly with a plastic stick that resulted in a fractured ankle and swollen legs.
While I prayed for the departed souls and got medical help for the one alive but scarred for life, I wondered what sort of society am I living in? Is killing or hurting these dependent animals right or the solution to the concerns that people may have.
Is this what an evolved species or a civilized society do? Would request our readers to please reflect.
I would like to end by a quote by Mahatma Gandhi – “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of humankind.”
