Thursday, August 15, 2013

When I watch Namo speaking - - - - -

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Courtesy - http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Modi-Feb6-PTI1.jpg











Courtesy - http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/ww2/waving.jpg










Courtesy  - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-19815800,width-300,resizemode-4/Modi.jpg














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Friday, August 2, 2013

Choices reflect our persona


Once bitten but not twice shy

 Finally on the 23rd of June I was able to get back to my routine of going for a run in the morning. So at 5 am I hit the road at a slow trot. The humidity in Delhi was oppressive and bore down as a heavy weight on my shoulders, but nothing could diminish the joy of waking up to an early morning run.

From my residence I passed the Saket Mall where I was greeted by a pack of dogs. Nothing usually happens, but that morning one of the dogs was as surprised as I to find my right leg in his jaws. He trotted away shaking his head in disbelief, I too stood there incredulous. The pain was inconsequential when compared to the shattered camaraderie that I felt for the canine species in general. I felt betrayed and I am not ashamed to say that I chased the animal not in an attempt to pursue the well written remedy of biting the dog in return but of getting closer so that the stone, which had found its way into my hand by then could reach its intended target.

I now realise that this relationship that I felt I had with these stray canines was no different from that of the many TV presenters on 'nature channels' believed they had while they man-handled animals in their attempts to de-mystify them for viewers many miles and time zones away.

I was treating the strays not only as kindred spirits but also as 4 legged anthromorphs. I had assumed that my predilection towards dogs combined with the strays living in close proximity with our species would result in better understanding if not appreciation of each other.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the main difference between a domesticated animal and a wild one is one of being able to curb one’s animal instincts. Domesticated animals are able to curb their animal instincts because of training. However, stray dogs are not domesticated. They are in fact wild animals living in a concrete jungle. They have adapted their ways to survive in a hostile environment. So instead of recognising the danger that they pose to us humans I had enveloped them in a warm blanket of concern, empathy and marvelled, like many others, at the canines ability to live off the land.

I had mistakenly fallen for the pithy 'proximity breeds familiarity', which even we humans avoid in some of our intra species interactions, to assume that my relationship with these animals was one of mutual bonhomie.

The fact that strays are not solitary but live in packs, something which their forest dwelling relatives do, indicates that they recognise the urban environment as wild. The only reason they do not hunt is because humans inadvertently feed them with the waste generated in daily life.

This waste also breeds a variety of other creatures everything from, flies and mosquitoes to rats and cockroaches, who we see as pests. So even while we try to exterminate them, our hearts bleed for the street dog, we feed them and we clothe them, we have no problem with them lolling around our hospitals and we go to untold lengths to avoid confrontation with them.

Why so?

The answer is easy and it goes beyond the philosophical and the treat all animals with respect trope. We have extended our feelings for the canines in our homes to the strays. We have gone to such an extent that we have even got court rulings to help the strays live safely.

There are rulings on where and how to feed the unlucky critters and even on how many meals a day should they be fed.

This is a double boon for these animals, first they feed off the waste generated by humans; next humans go out of their way and make 'home deliveries' to feed and protect the strays.

In the wild would sensible people brook any man-made interference to the lives of the animals there? There is a reason why zoo's and wild life areas have 'dont feed animals' signs. Its not only for the safety of humans and animals, its also recognition that man is not master of all he surveys and more importantly it is necessary for nature to take its course.

Should we adopt the same form of behaviour for dogs that live with us and dogs that live on the street? There is a difference between ensuring strays are not ill-treated and treating strays like kings. The former is akin to ensuring that peacocks are not hunted down or tigers are not poached while the latter is similar to feeding animals in the wild. We should do the former and not the latter
Most will not consider stray dogs to be vermin like other creatures living off the waste of the land. However, the way we show our concern for them is putting a spanner in the works of their interaction with the urban environment.

Spaying and vaccinating the dogs for rabies is touted as a way to solve the problem of strays. But one doesnt really know how well the programme of sterilisation and vaccination of the strays has been going on. For example in Delhi, in 2008, a MoU/agreement was signed between the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Animal Welfare Board of India for 'Humane Stray Dog Population Management', which included sterilisation and anti rabies vaccination for which a Society for Stray Canine Birth Control was jointly created by the MCD and AWBI. Its budget was met equally by both organisations.

This money was to be allocated to 10 NGOs working on Animal Birth Control. According to the agreement the NGO's were given a target of number of animals to be controlled per locality for which the NGO's would get a certain amount of money. However, in 2011 there was news that the MCD was going to set up its own sterilisation units.

Reports of a recent survey indicate that there has been an increase the number of dog bite cases in the city, 30608 dog bite cases in North Delhi alone in 2012-13 while in the previous year for the whole of Delhi it was 17634? One needs to make mention that there was no clear differentiation given between bites from strays and from domesticated canines.

When I went to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital today (26th June), for the day three injection in the anti-rabies treatment series there were three others who had come for the same treatment, and I was in the 'injection room' for not more than five minutes. One can appreciate the preponderance of dog bites by the fact that rabies shots are kept filled in their syringes at the ready on the injection tray. This is of course unhygienic and may just reduce the efficacy of the dose.

While trying to get more information on this issue, I came across a website of an NGO dealing with strays. They say that they mark spayed and vaccinated strays by tattooing the inner thigh, they mention other NGOs brand or cut into the ear of these animals. Collars don't seem to be an option even though they are the best form of visual recognition and verification. I wonder if this is because putting a collar on a dog means that there is need for regular monitoring of its welfare (replacing collars etc) that would go beyond the mandate of the NGO, also it is cheaper to brand/tattoo/cut the dog, the issue of cruelty can be swept aside as the animal is under anaesthesia.

Stray dogs attacking and or biting humans is a form of man-animal conflict which needs some thought on how it should be dealt with. We need to come clean on what we want to do with the strays. Do we want to ensure that they are not ill-treated by other humans? Or do we want to make their life comfortable or in other words interfere with the natural process of living in an urban jungle? If it is the latter then there must be more responsibility than just feeding, providing warm clothes to these animals. It goes without saying that spaying and vaccination are programmes that have to continue.

I thought I was smart enough to recognise that the mongrel pup who entered home when I was 7 years and was baptised Snooty and who lived with us to the age of 15 is very different from her kith and kin that continued to live in the boondocks.

I made the mistake of not respecting the difference between the life in her adopted home and the life that she left behind. There were no territorial ambitions at home, there was no threat from other species or canines, food wasn't a cause of anxiety, further my father trained her, all this curbed her natural instincts. These very same instincts are needed in a jungle for a stray dog to survive. This is something we need to realise and then accordingly frame a programme that ensures both strays and humans can live together in peace.

Published in http://www.powerpolitics.in/Issues/August2013/page64.php