By Dr. K. Rajani Kumari
In the recent past, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of animals and birds to lead a life of “intrinsic worth, honour and dignity”, even at the cost of traditional faith and practices of human beings. In the wake of the Supreme Court judgment, the present paper throws some light on traditional practices of human beings v. animal rights.
Traditional sports and rituals involving animals are an integral and customary practice of many communities in rural parts of India during festival time. Jallikattu, also known as Manju Virattu (running of bulls), is a cultural celebration of certain Tamil communities that has been practised for more than 20 centuries. In jallikattu, bulls are left loose into an arena where men are challenged to chase and tame the animal.
Buffalo racing or Kambala is an annual festival organised by agrarian families after the harvest of the rabi crop in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka. It is a buffalo race in paddy fields filled with slush, but in the last 50 years Kambala has turned into a betting game.
Cockfighting, or Kolikatte, is held after festivals like Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is also organized on a few occasions in the vicinity of temples in some parts of Karnataka. The practice of cockfighting is synonymous with a bloodbath where organisers and participants cheer the cruel fight laced with sharp knives and fighting to death.
Traditional cockfights have become money-making and betting games. Some communities of South India hold ram fights during Dasara. Kichchu Haisuvudu is a ritual in the Mysore region observed during Makara Sankranti where cattle, bull and cow are made to jump over fire.
In many events involving animal sports, animals are abused, tortured, taunted with chillies flung in their eyes, doped on liquor, subjected to rough treatment and death. Age-old traditional sports for vested interests have turned into betting games against the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
The Supreme Court heard a flood of cases dealing with the rights of animals ranging from bulls, elephants, horses and dogs to even exotic birds. The Apex Court observed that the country cannot “import Roman Gladiator-type Sport” as it is against a culture of compassion towards animals.
Bulls could not be used as performing animals, either for the jallikattu event or bullock-cart races in the State of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere in the country. The Apex Court declared the Regulation of Jallikattu Act, 2009 unconstitutional, being violative of Article 254(1) of the Indian Constitution, in 2014.
In Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja, the Supreme Court held that bulls have the fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution to live in a healthy and clean atmosphere, not to be beaten, kicked, bitten, tortured or made to consume alcohol by humans, and that the right to life under Article 21 is stretched to include “Every Species”.
In short, the Supreme Court declared that animals have a right of protection from human excesses.
Cultural Rights and Reasonable Restrictions
On the other hand, Article 29(1) of the Indian Constitution guarantees to any section of citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct cultural tradition of its own the right to practise and conserve the same. They have a fundamental right to preserve it. But every fundamental right is not absolute; in the same way, this right is also subject to reasonable restrictions arising from issues of morality, health and public order.
Sport and games are for entertainment. Sports are covered by Entry 33 of List II (State List) and fall within the domain of the State List. It is the exclusive privilege of the State Legislature to make law relating to sports within the State List.
A blanket ban on an ancient sport involving practices connected with culture and religion becomes unconstitutional as per Article 29(1), but proper regulation and checks on such malpractices are very crucial in the interest of animal rights.
Hence, the doctrine of proportionality would necessarily be applied when the issue relates to fundamental rights of human beings and animal rights. But in case proper regulation becomes impossible, animal lives could be at stake.
In the name of sports, subjecting animals to cruelty is inhuman, barbaric and uncivilized. It is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India to have compassion for all living creatures according to Article 51A(g).
Organising, participating in or inciting any animal fight is a cognizable offence under Sections 11(1)(m) and 11(1)(n) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The duty of citizens is to uphold laws that prevent cruelty against animals.