This is a series of posts on Kashmir where getting a head-start into writing has been a nightmare since it seems a highly personalized polarized situation. So we’d refrained comment without any clear evidence in our hands. However now we’re in possession of a bunch of official documents – which we’re digitizing and putting out and asking the relevant questions that arise from them. As with the other writing on ‘The Voice of Stray Dogs’, unless otherwise specified, the article is authored by Rakesh Shukla and expresses the opinion ofRead More

Sources of the text and pictures: Gadhimai Festival on Wikipedia, Enrico Fabian’s eyewitnes account of Gadhimai 2009, Richard Bull’s eyewitness account of Gadhimai 2009 Gadhimai Mela is considered the biggest single animal sacrifice on our planet. This centuries-old tradition is observed every five years in Gadhimai premises located in the village of Bariyapur of Bara District of Nepal near the border with India. In the 2009 ‘festival’ at between 250,000 – 500,000 animals were sacrificed. The next Gadhimai Mela will be in 2013! About 5 million people participate in theRead More

The State of J&K is the only one in the country which has not adopted the Indian Veterinary Act 1984. The result is extremely poor veterinary education standards and lack of genuine regulations governing Veterinary practices besides deprivation of VCI recognition to SKUAST Veterinarians. In other words for any misconduct and deviation, experimentation on animals, or failed surgeries or cruelty, AWBI cannot enforce and SKUAST is not liable to any action under VCI Rules (the touchstone of ABC Rules 2001). So why is this important? Because SKUAST is the agencyRead More

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At least 5,000 baby goats are reported to have been slaughtered at a temple festival at Poosariyur near Anthiyur on Friday, the 27th of April, 2012. Their blood is reported to have been consumed by the priests, and a number of devotees & “.. meat was distributed free of cost to all…” Apparently, all of this was done, and is done, to invoke the blessings of the deity, and to usher in prosperity. Eating the meat, it is believed “..will provide protection from chronic diseases…” This is obviously a regression,Read More