This Country is literally going to dogs!! Stray Dogs, I mean!!
I remember during my childhood, the municipal corporations had dog squads which used to regularly catch stray dogs and put them in confinement. Parents taught me to always have my pet tied in a neckband so that the municipal folks dont catch it. That was then.
Now, the municipal corporations have been kept on a tight leash and chained so that they dont get to lay their cruel and wicked hands on the most important citizen of free India - the stray dogs!!
As an obvious result, the number of stray dogs have increased phenominally in our cities. It has snowballed into a major issue with rising number of incidences of stray dog attacks on the cruel species called human.
I spent three years in the city of Mumbai. There were as many as 20 stray dogs on the small lane that led to my room. Cruel people returning late from work were always at the mercy of these best friends of humans. Moreover, my room was at the ground floor of the house and the meeting place of these dogs was just there besides it. They used to discuss their issues in very loud barks throughout the night. I used to call it as the office of the All Kalina Dogs Association! Naturally, I had developed a certain degree of insomnia while tuning in to these nightly meetings.
Then I shifted my base to Hyderabad. Here, the story is almost the same. During past two months -
1) A 7 month cruel human baby was mauled by stray dogs. The cruel parents of the baby were asked to run from one hospital to another in the city during the course of which the baby died.
2) Stray dogs attacked many girl students of a women's college on the day of their exams. The girls were believed to have provided food regularly to these strays.
3) Dogs went on a rampage in a society and had bitten a lot of people.
As is the norm nowadays in modern India, the matters reached the court. The AP High Court ordered the civic bodies to take all possible steps to curb the menace of these good dogs and ordered the government to provide relief to all the affected cruel humans.
A meeting of all the stakeholders was then called by the AP govt bodies to discuss the issue and find possible solutions. Our cherished animal rights activist and former union minister, Ms. Maneka Gandhi was also invited along with earstwhile actress, Ms. Amala Akkineni who runs the NGO called Blue Cross. During the meeting, Ms. Gandhi and Ms. Akkineni blasted the civic body officials for their alleged role in staging the encounters of the good old stray dogs!!
Off late, I have turned an ardent fan of Ms. Gandhi and an avid hater of the abominably cruel human species. I staunchly believe that come what may, at any cost, we need to protect the animals. We may have to sacrifice a few of our own species while serving the great cause of animal welfare. This belief is as strong as a dog's loyalty to his master.
So, I decided to be very kind towards all animal species and not just dogs. After all, dogs are not the only animals that get such horrific treatment from humans!!
Since then, my lifestyle has seen a sea change. I am thoroughly enjoying this newfound life devoted in the service of animals.
First thing, I have stopped throwing stones at dogs to ward off their attacks. If they bite on my left leg I will put forward the right leg with a smile on my face. After all, that is the true Gandhian philosophy, rite? Slowly, they will understand the importance of non-violence and stop biting people.
Second, I am of the opinion that dogs be allowed to have ration cards. That will give them more rights as legitimate citizens and solve the hunger problem. Once that is done, they will not bite for food at least.
Next, as a community, they should have voting rights. That way, there would be a large clout in policy making. This will also result in the humans respecting the Dog point of view!! The only negative impact being that the political circles will see more dogfights than there are today.
Media will also be very happy since they will get more 'bytes' from this new 'breed' of politicians.
No dog has ever known to have 'eaten' money. So, automatically corruption will be down immediately. Party changing will also be reduced since no Dog will indulge in Horse trading! No dog will encroach on other dog's constituency since they are known to mark their own area and live within it.
I remember during my childhood, the municipal corporations had dog squads which used to regularly catch stray dogs and put them in confinement. Parents taught me to always have my pet tied in a neckband so that the municipal folks dont catch it. That was then.
Now, the municipal corporations have been kept on a tight leash and chained so that they dont get to lay their cruel and wicked hands on the most important citizen of free India - the stray dogs!!
As an obvious result, the number of stray dogs have increased phenominally in our cities. It has snowballed into a major issue with rising number of incidences of stray dog attacks on the cruel species called human.
I spent three years in the city of Mumbai. There were as many as 20 stray dogs on the small lane that led to my room. Cruel people returning late from work were always at the mercy of these best friends of humans. Moreover, my room was at the ground floor of the house and the meeting place of these dogs was just there besides it. They used to discuss their issues in very loud barks throughout the night. I used to call it as the office of the All Kalina Dogs Association! Naturally, I had developed a certain degree of insomnia while tuning in to these nightly meetings.
Then I shifted my base to Hyderabad. Here, the story is almost the same. During past two months -
1) A 7 month cruel human baby was mauled by stray dogs. The cruel parents of the baby were asked to run from one hospital to another in the city during the course of which the baby died.
2) Stray dogs attacked many girl students of a women's college on the day of their exams. The girls were believed to have provided food regularly to these strays.
3) Dogs went on a rampage in a society and had bitten a lot of people.
As is the norm nowadays in modern India, the matters reached the court. The AP High Court ordered the civic bodies to take all possible steps to curb the menace of these good dogs and ordered the government to provide relief to all the affected cruel humans.
A meeting of all the stakeholders was then called by the AP govt bodies to discuss the issue and find possible solutions. Our cherished animal rights activist and former union minister, Ms. Maneka Gandhi was also invited along with earstwhile actress, Ms. Amala Akkineni who runs the NGO called Blue Cross. During the meeting, Ms. Gandhi and Ms. Akkineni blasted the civic body officials for their alleged role in staging the encounters of the good old stray dogs!!
Off late, I have turned an ardent fan of Ms. Gandhi and an avid hater of the abominably cruel human species. I staunchly believe that come what may, at any cost, we need to protect the animals. We may have to sacrifice a few of our own species while serving the great cause of animal welfare. This belief is as strong as a dog's loyalty to his master.
So, I decided to be very kind towards all animal species and not just dogs. After all, dogs are not the only animals that get such horrific treatment from humans!!
Since then, my lifestyle has seen a sea change. I am thoroughly enjoying this newfound life devoted in the service of animals.
First thing, I have stopped throwing stones at dogs to ward off their attacks. If they bite on my left leg I will put forward the right leg with a smile on my face. After all, that is the true Gandhian philosophy, rite? Slowly, they will understand the importance of non-violence and stop biting people.
Second, I am of the opinion that dogs be allowed to have ration cards. That will give them more rights as legitimate citizens and solve the hunger problem. Once that is done, they will not bite for food at least.
Next, as a community, they should have voting rights. That way, there would be a large clout in policy making. This will also result in the humans respecting the Dog point of view!! The only negative impact being that the political circles will see more dogfights than there are today.
Media will also be very happy since they will get more 'bytes' from this new 'breed' of politicians.
No dog has ever known to have 'eaten' money. So, automatically corruption will be down immediately. Party changing will also be reduced since no Dog will indulge in Horse trading! No dog will encroach on other dog's constituency since they are known to mark their own area and live within it.
5 comments:
too good! keep it up!
waiting for da next one......:)
'gone to d dogs' :))
nice entry...
Good one...:-)
oye amby,
nice work there. Didn't know abt ur prose talent so much, dude.
Keep it coming.
Sudhir
this one is real good...bang on!
looking forward to read more...
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