GRUESOME
KILLINGS OF ELEPHANT: COMPLETE RUPTURE OF MORAL FABRIC
Anil K Khaware
Advocate
|
PERSPECTIVE: This has happened again. This is
continued unabated. The moot point is how long the 'civilized society' shall
take recourse to sadistic pleasure in attacking animal as large and benign as
Gajraj, which is the repository and beauty of animal kingdom both in terms of
size and its integrating nature. . How long we shall continue to write
"epitaph' of this unique animal and boast of civility despite the gruesome
acts of one of us? How and why the
humans could claim being 'most advanced race' if the dastardly act continues. I cannot resist the urge to pen the
pain, agony and relentless trauma sustained by the elephant before succumbing
to the attack of burning tyres hurled at it. The human compassion and lack of
it shall take such brazen route for sadistic pleasure is shocking. Not only
the elephant has lost life in such a gruesome manner, but our callous
indifference towards biotic life speaks volumes. The philosophy of “Nature
Man Spirit Complex” is in jeopardy. That the elephant is again the
target of street mongers in Tamil Nadu and the brazen act of hurling of burnt
tyres on elephant and the elephant was made to die after relentless pain in
ear when the burnt tyre remained engulfed in the ear of elephant for long.
The incident of Masinaguri, Nilgiri in Tamilnadu is alarming. The Elephant
was stated to run around due to writhing with pain and the burnt injury
spread other parts of its body and the picture went viral in social media.
During treatment the Elephant has succumbed to injury. The agony and trauma due to hurling of burnt
tyres that lead to killings of this benign animal is nerve wrecking. A Forest
Ranger was seen weeping by holding the trunk of the elephant is another side of
the story.  IMPACT: This has ruptured my soul beyond
redemption. This benign animal, of late is suffering enormous cruelty
and the vindictiveness of some segment of society is not understood. What has
happened in Kerala and elsewhere and now in Tamil Nadu, shows a pattern. The
elephant is now bordering on being “endangered” due to the act of 'civilized
society'. The Elephant is part of our culture, ethos and across the globe,
recognition of India is through Elephant. The nation resonates with it. The Elephant
in any case symbolizes the deity "Ganesh' which is symptomatic of piousness. |
In June 2020 , we know what had happened
in Kerala causing immense distress to mankind. In fact, I wrote then to shri
Prakash Javadekar, the hon’ble Minister of Environment & Forests and
Climate Changes. The letter dated 05.06.2020 is reproduced herein for ready
reference:
The response was also promptly received from the hon’ble Minister. After a while, even the project elephant division was refurbished. The current episode however suggest that needful has to be done in the right earnest. The response from the hon'ble minister was as under :-
I fail to comprehend as to when shall we wake up and why the Elephant is
not treated as Tiger or other endangered species. Wild Life is as important for
ecology as human life is. Therefore, it is time elephant is declared as
endangered animal of the highest order and punishment should be prescribed as
per Wild Life Act
NEED
OF RFEVAMPING of Wild life
Protection Act 1972
The
Wild Life Protection Act 1972 as amended periodically probably needs further
amendments. Though, There are Six (6) amendments already carried out. Though,
the Act is perceived as strong, but there has been impediment as regards implementation
of its provision and execution. There is another aspect to it. The Article 48 A
of the Constitution of India, entails and casts duty on its citizen to
safeguard and protect wildlife and environment. This was done in 1976 and by
way of 42nd Amendment and as per Part IV of the constitution
relating to directive principles of state policy. Moreover , Part-IV A was also
included in the constitution captioning as fundamental duties. Section 51 A
included some fundamental duties and people of the country is expected to
adhere to that. Pertinently, protecting and improving the environment so as to
make a better environment available to the future generation. When we speak of
environment, in fact, it is the biosphere comprising of various ecosystem such
as Land Ecosystem, Aquatic system and sub-systems such as Sea Ecosystem, Lake Eco system, River
Ecosystem, Forest Eco system etc. This is aimed at fostering sense of belonging understanding environment and compassion towards the living organism.
Our
country is quite rich in variety of natural resources and vast species of animals
and plants has its habitat here. The seasonal fluctuation and vast land mass
ensures the variety. Wild life is required to co-exist with the humans for a
proper and sustainable development. We should cherish and try to conserve and
protect our resources for the very existence of mankind. The WLA has certain
stringent provisions and presumption of guilt being one. Section 51 of the
Wildlife Protection Act (WLA) contains the mode and manner of trial. Section 50
of Wild Life Act relegates the section 457 of Cr.P.C so as to prevent any
stumbling block. Though section 451 of Cr.P.C shall have applicability. We may
not be oblivious to the fact that human beings, if aggrieved shall have the
recourse of law, but the animal cannot seek justice for itself. In this
backdrop, law and its smooth implementation is a must. It is therefore bounden
duty of every citizen also to ensure that the animals are protected.
The very
development index of a nation and society shall also be indicated by its wildlife
as man and wild life goes hand in hand and they are interdependent. This is
imperative for the balanced ecosystem. The wildlife has organic linkage in the
ecosystem and therefore protection of it is a sine qua non, as illustrated above, Article 48 A of the Constitution of India enjoins by way of Fundamental
Duties need of protection of wild life. The Wildlife Protection Act with suitable
amendment may prevent the endangered species from extinction.
CONCLUSION:
The pivotal position of Gajraj or Gajendra is part
of Puran, a sacred book in Hinduism. The Moksha or liberation of Gajendra finds
mention in the 8th skandha of Bhagwat Purana. This is reflective of
one of the famous exploits of Bhagwan Vishnu. It is believed that Lorrd Vishnu
had to came down to earth to protect Gajendra, the elephant from the clutches
of Crocodile and with Vishnu’s help, the Gajendra attained salvation i.e
considered to be liberation from the cycle of
birth and death. The Gajendra has thus attained a form like that of the
god (Saryupa Mukti) and went to Vaikuntha with Vishnu. The earth avatar of
Gajendra if meets with such a fate, it is disgusting and heart writhing. The
suitable amendment in wild life law is a need of the hour. The Project
Elephant deserve to get as adequate attention as “Project Tiger” was accorded
in 1972 and the offender should be dealt with more severely and no such acts
are worthy of tolerance, lest, this callousness may only increase.
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