“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” —Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
A number of stray dogs live in my office building; ones that I always play with or feed when I’m passing through. There are some that you just know to stay away from—like Foosa, who’s so abused that he reacts in the most unpredictable ways. Then there are Percy and Fudge, who with a little bit of petting, come to me almost everyday. They’ll follow me around the building or even outside on to the street when I go to grab lunch or a coffee.
Most of the dogs are battered and bruised; so much so that even after 3 months of being nice to Fudge, she’s still terrified and keeps her distance at times. The smallest movement or the softest noise will make her charge away in fear. Even when she does come up to me, she’ll keep lowering her head almost to the point where I can’t reach her. If a few pats manage to get by, she’ll slink away in minutes—repulsed by any prolonged form of touching. It’s clear that she’s been abused in the worst ways possible.
Just the other day I noticed a chunk of her ear missing; carved out in similar fashion to another dog. Now most of the dogs ear’s don’t sit right and this can be attributed to brawls and territorial disputes, but for both of them to have cuts on the same ear and at the same angle, hints at something far worse. I pointed this out to a couple of colleagues, both of whom have grown up in North India. From them I get a fair share of stories about the lawlessness and brutality that prevails in northern states, especially Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. They recounted various incidents that they had seen or heard of dogs getting beaten but one left me stunned.
Somewhere in UP, a dog once trespassed a large field owned by “psychopaths”. They were so furious at the impudence of the dog that they kept him in confinement for his wrongdoing—an equivalent to jailing a criminal in their minds. After a few days they setup a temporary courthouse so justice could be served. The dog had a lawyer and his case was heard but after being proven guilty of his crimes, they proceeded to execute the animal.
I don’t know whether this story is true or fabricated, but in the context of the Mahatma’s words, it represents a chilling state of our society and where it’s headed–especially when there is repression over education, culture and the arts.
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