Tweet
After the Festival of Lights it is now the turn of buffalo fights which form an integral part of post-Diwali celebrations and are held every year despite being banned, writes Zafar Alam Khan
Thousands of people gathered on the outskirts of Bhopal on Thursday to watch a buffalo fight, which is organised a day after Diwali every year. People gather to witness Bhopal's famous buffalo fight, which forms integral part of post-Diwali celebrations.
Over a dozen buffaloes decked up with painted horns and feathers fought at the local ground in Kokta as ecstatic viewers wildly cheered on. The buffalo fight requires a lot of preparation and training.
"This is an age old tradition and we have really enjoyed it. Although this is wrong, but since it is an age old tradition therefore it cannot be broken." Rakesh Rajput, a spectator said.
Continuing for several generations, the event is organised every year just a day after Diwali, the festival of lights. The buffalo that manages to send its rival out of the marked field is declared the winner.
Apart from four months of training, the competing buffaloes are served rich food, lots of butter, milk and buttermilk and sometimes alcohol to enrage them. They are also fed dry fruits and nuts before the fight.
"We start preparing for the event almost four months back. We feed the buffaloes with soya bean, corn and ghee. In short we take care of it like our own children. When a buffalo wins, people praise the owner for taking good care of it," said Arun Yadav, a local.
"This is an age old tradition. The buffalos are fed with about 10 litres of milk a day to prepare them for the fight...We celebrate the day after Diwali with much fervour and gaiety," said Gauri Singh, a villager.
After learning that buffaloes were being forced to participate in fights until they are bloody, injured and exhausted, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asking that the fights be stopped. The Animal Husbandry Department immediately directed the district administration to intercede to stop the illegal fights, in which countless bulls suffer and die.
"It is sad that these animals are made to suffer in the name of 'entertainment," said PETA India campaign coordinator Sachin Bangera. "You can see fear and confusion in the eyes of the buffalo as they try to flee," he added.
The Madhya Pradesh Government has banned buffalo fights held in the State during the festive season, a Government source said.
In a letter written to the Joint Director, Veterinary Services, Ujjain, the Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry Department has said that such 'shows' should be stopped and action taken under Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act 1960.
"These buffalo fights violate the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which specifically prohibits inciting animals to fight and organising animal fights, they said."
The PETA had written to the Chief Minister in November 2007 urging him to take steps to check such fights in which the buffaloes were being forced to participate until they were bloody, injured and exhausted.
To prove their point, PETA also enclosed clippings of newspapers from Ujjain and Bhopal where most such fights were organised by the Yadav Samaj on the occasion of Dussehra.
"In these horrific spectacles, bulls are put into rudimentary rings where they gouge each other with their horns and hooves," PETA India campaign coordinator Sachin Bangera told Viva City over phone from Mumbai.
"Spectators goad the animals, beat on drums and cymbals, and try to work the animals into frenzy as they vie to win televisions, MP3 players or clocks while buffalos suffer serious injuries and many of them die. The fights also put people at risk as the buffaloes sometimes run amok, forcing spectators to run for safety," he said.
While those organising the buffalo fight are of the view that, "This is the identity of the culture and heritage. We should not compare this to other things like animal cruelty. This has certain parameters; the game is played under those parameters. We do not use any kind of intoxicants to provoke the animal; they play according to their nature. So, we should preserve the heritage and culture," Sadiq Ali, a buffalo owner said.
One of the organisers of the buffalo fight said that people come from various villages and take part in the event.
"This is the history of this place. People from all over come here with their buffaloes on the auspicious day of Sair, this is the culture that we have been following," said Shanta Prasad, an organiser.
The event has been carried out for centuries in which two buffaloes are made to lock horns and fight for the honour of an area, till one of them is pushed out of the field.
Cock fighting still taking place
In violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), the 'nawabi' game of fowl or cock fighting still takes place in the city.
Activists of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) found themselves helpless in stopping the torture on the innocent birds.
After receiving reports of the illegal activity taking place on select Sundays in the grounds, a Viva City team was witness to the sadistic pleasure of nearly 300 people. The bleeding wounds of the cocks only increased the enjoyment of the onlookers. That there were no takers for the animal protection was evident from the fact that local chapter of the SPCA, tried in vain to stop the cock fights. It even got a cold-shouldered response from the police who refused to register a case on complaint.
SPCA functionaries said the organisers of cock fighting claimed to have the permission of the district administration for the event.
Scrutiny of the papers revealed that permission was granted only for exhibiting the species and not for fights.
An animal lover, Bharat Pardesi telephonically informed the SPCA of the unlawful activity. When he reached the spot, he was horrified to witness the jubilation of the organisers at beholding that "fight for kill" of the cocks.
At the venue, one could see hundreds of people coming from far off places all of whom are regulars in the cock fighting circuit. Sources say that there is a vast network involved in cock fighting and betting in the events.
Because of the high stakes involved (bets between `50 and `3,000 are placed). Care is taken by the proprietors of cocks to make them a winning breed. The cocks are fed on a varied diet, including almonds, magaj and desi ghee. Besides, the fighter cocks are massaged and their beaks are sharpened on the eve of the event. This ensures that if the cock wins the 'bout', the proprietor stands to gain an astronomical price and he sells the cock immediately at the spot.
There are two ways by which a cock loses a bout: One is if a cock goes out of the approximately 35 x 40 feet arena, which is cordoned off by a synthetic rope, and second if a cock turns his back on the opponent and walks away for at least three yards.
Thousands of people gathered on the outskirts of Bhopal on Thursday to watch a buffalo fight, which is organised a day after Diwali every year. People gather to witness Bhopal's famous buffalo fight, which forms integral part of post-Diwali celebrations.
Over a dozen buffaloes decked up with painted horns and feathers fought at the local ground in Kokta as ecstatic viewers wildly cheered on. The buffalo fight requires a lot of preparation and training.
"This is an age old tradition and we have really enjoyed it. Although this is wrong, but since it is an age old tradition therefore it cannot be broken." Rakesh Rajput, a spectator said.
Continuing for several generations, the event is organised every year just a day after Diwali, the festival of lights. The buffalo that manages to send its rival out of the marked field is declared the winner.
Apart from four months of training, the competing buffaloes are served rich food, lots of butter, milk and buttermilk and sometimes alcohol to enrage them. They are also fed dry fruits and nuts before the fight.
"We start preparing for the event almost four months back. We feed the buffaloes with soya bean, corn and ghee. In short we take care of it like our own children. When a buffalo wins, people praise the owner for taking good care of it," said Arun Yadav, a local.
"This is an age old tradition. The buffalos are fed with about 10 litres of milk a day to prepare them for the fight...We celebrate the day after Diwali with much fervour and gaiety," said Gauri Singh, a villager.
After learning that buffaloes were being forced to participate in fights until they are bloody, injured and exhausted, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asking that the fights be stopped. The Animal Husbandry Department immediately directed the district administration to intercede to stop the illegal fights, in which countless bulls suffer and die.
"It is sad that these animals are made to suffer in the name of 'entertainment," said PETA India campaign coordinator Sachin Bangera. "You can see fear and confusion in the eyes of the buffalo as they try to flee," he added.
The Madhya Pradesh Government has banned buffalo fights held in the State during the festive season, a Government source said.
In a letter written to the Joint Director, Veterinary Services, Ujjain, the Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry Department has said that such 'shows' should be stopped and action taken under Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act 1960.
"These buffalo fights violate the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which specifically prohibits inciting animals to fight and organising animal fights, they said."
The PETA had written to the Chief Minister in November 2007 urging him to take steps to check such fights in which the buffaloes were being forced to participate until they were bloody, injured and exhausted.
To prove their point, PETA also enclosed clippings of newspapers from Ujjain and Bhopal where most such fights were organised by the Yadav Samaj on the occasion of Dussehra.
"In these horrific spectacles, bulls are put into rudimentary rings where they gouge each other with their horns and hooves," PETA India campaign coordinator Sachin Bangera told Viva City over phone from Mumbai.
"Spectators goad the animals, beat on drums and cymbals, and try to work the animals into frenzy as they vie to win televisions, MP3 players or clocks while buffalos suffer serious injuries and many of them die. The fights also put people at risk as the buffaloes sometimes run amok, forcing spectators to run for safety," he said.
While those organising the buffalo fight are of the view that, "This is the identity of the culture and heritage. We should not compare this to other things like animal cruelty. This has certain parameters; the game is played under those parameters. We do not use any kind of intoxicants to provoke the animal; they play according to their nature. So, we should preserve the heritage and culture," Sadiq Ali, a buffalo owner said.
One of the organisers of the buffalo fight said that people come from various villages and take part in the event.
"This is the history of this place. People from all over come here with their buffaloes on the auspicious day of Sair, this is the culture that we have been following," said Shanta Prasad, an organiser.
The event has been carried out for centuries in which two buffaloes are made to lock horns and fight for the honour of an area, till one of them is pushed out of the field.
Cock fighting still taking place
In violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), the 'nawabi' game of fowl or cock fighting still takes place in the city.
Activists of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) found themselves helpless in stopping the torture on the innocent birds.
After receiving reports of the illegal activity taking place on select Sundays in the grounds, a Viva City team was witness to the sadistic pleasure of nearly 300 people. The bleeding wounds of the cocks only increased the enjoyment of the onlookers. That there were no takers for the animal protection was evident from the fact that local chapter of the SPCA, tried in vain to stop the cock fights. It even got a cold-shouldered response from the police who refused to register a case on complaint.
SPCA functionaries said the organisers of cock fighting claimed to have the permission of the district administration for the event.
Scrutiny of the papers revealed that permission was granted only for exhibiting the species and not for fights.
An animal lover, Bharat Pardesi telephonically informed the SPCA of the unlawful activity. When he reached the spot, he was horrified to witness the jubilation of the organisers at beholding that "fight for kill" of the cocks.
At the venue, one could see hundreds of people coming from far off places all of whom are regulars in the cock fighting circuit. Sources say that there is a vast network involved in cock fighting and betting in the events.
Because of the high stakes involved (bets between `50 and `3,000 are placed). Care is taken by the proprietors of cocks to make them a winning breed. The cocks are fed on a varied diet, including almonds, magaj and desi ghee. Besides, the fighter cocks are massaged and their beaks are sharpened on the eve of the event. This ensures that if the cock wins the 'bout', the proprietor stands to gain an astronomical price and he sells the cock immediately at the spot.
There are two ways by which a cock loses a bout: One is if a cock goes out of the approximately 35 x 40 feet arena, which is cordoned off by a synthetic rope, and second if a cock turns his back on the opponent and walks away for at least three yards.
