Hyderabad: Festivals are a celebration of life, culture and traditions of a community. Sankranti celebrates harvest, food and farming. But in the last few decades, its focus has shifted to encouraging violence- directly and indirectly. Whether it is the use of Chinese manja or the infamous cockfights and betting in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, violence during Sankranti has become common despite legislation and court orders.
Cockfighting in AP
Cockfighting is a traditional and controversial practice mainly prevalent in Andhra Pradesh. It involves two specially bred and trained roosters (or cocks) who fight each other, often resulting in seriously injured or death. Betting is a common practice, often considered illegal.
Cockfights during Sankranti are conducted in East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts. Despite the activity violating the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 and the AP High Court’s 2016 order, it is considered a spectator sport in many rural areas.
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AP gaming act says on cockfights
The Andhra Pradesh Gaming Act of 1974 prohibits the use of birds or animals in fights for entertainment or gambling purposes. Under this law, police officers have the authority to arrest individuals who violate the regulations, seize any money involved, confiscate weapons used in the fights and take custody of the roosters. According to the Act, anyone found engaging in or suspected of gaming in public spaces or areas accessible to the public can face imprisonment for up to three months.
AP High Court’s 2016 verdict on cockfights
In 2016, the Andhra Pradesh High Court clearly stated that cockfighting did not align with any religious sanction. “Cockfighting is a cruel tradition that should never be allowed to define a culture and traditions. It has no religious sanction or significance as it is a pursuit for economic gain to reap monetary benefits through animal exploitation inflicting unnecessary pain on them,” the High Court said.
By January 24, 2017, the High Court ordered the formation of society for prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCA) in every district and joint inspection teams to monitor and prevent cockfighting and betting in the state. District collectors, superintendents of police and the district commissioners of police were directed to take strict action against perpetrators.
However, animal rights activist and advocate Shreya Paropkari tells Siasat.com that police filing status reports was merely a ‘lip service’ or in other words, a formality.
“It is a cognizable offence to allow one’s land to organise these cockfights. However, I haven’t seen a single first-information-report (FIR), a prosecution or a conviction if a violation takes place,” she notes, noting that public representatives misleading the public about court orders has further contributed to the unchecked continuation of the practice.
Terming the event as “debauchery”, Shreya observes that it is not just a question of animal cruelty but its impacts social fabric and morality of a society. “Calling this inhuman practice of cockfighting a part of our culture is offensive,” she opines.
Even after the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s stern warning, the event continues to garner support from sections of the society. Instead of reporting and highlighting its evil consequences, mainstream media glamorizes it and creates unnecessary hype.
Profiting from cockfights
The breeding and raising of the roosters has become a profitable business in both Telugu-speaking states. In regions like the undivided Khammam and Mahabubnagar districts which fall close to the border between Telangana and Andhra, raising roosters for cockfights has become a common occupation.
A chick costs around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500, and a fully-grown rooster approximately 2.5 years of age costs around Rs 1 lakh. Even the rooster which is defeated in the cockfight costs Rs 1,000 per kg for their meat which is high in protein as they are fed special food to win the fight.
“For those who have deep pockets a defeat in the fight doesn’t matter. But a majority putting their year-long savings after toiling hard and losing the fight affects their sustenance,” Shreya points out.
Chinese manja in Hyderabad
In Hyderabad, for the past several years, a cruel trend of flying kites with Chinese manja has changed the very nature of kite-flying.
Animal rescuer and activist Pradeep Nair from Animal Warriors and his team have been spending the last few days rescuing birds injured due to Chinese manja. In the last three days, the team has rescued around 20 birds, mostly pigeons and black kites. Among the many rescued were an owl and an oriental honey buzzard, a rare native Indian bird. They have been released after treatment.
Not just birds, humans and animals also get severely injured.
Due to the strict enforcement in Hyderabad’s city, Pradeep feels that the sale of Chinese manja has reduced. However, it remains a cause of worry in the peripheral areas of Hyderabad like Patancheru, Kukatpally and others.
“If the Chinese manja is seized from the main vendors who supply to the local shops, most of the banned manja can be contained. Once it comes to the shops, they do not sell them in bobbins (Charkhas) but in packets in smaller lengths of manja. This is one way for kite/manja sellers to evade getting caught,” Pradeep claimed.
As residents travel to celebrate Sankranti, Hyderabad roads fall quiet
Fun of kiteflying lost
Making it clear he follows Hindu traditions, Pradeep expresses grief that once a fun activity during Sankranti has turned into a money making business.
“We used to make kites with newspaper and broomsticks as kids. Kite flying is an exciting sport that involves a ‘battle’ between two kites. The outcome depends on factors such as wind direction, the skill of the kite flyers, and the nature of the competition. Today, the fun is lost,” he tells Siasat.com.
“Plastic kites have replaced paper kites. Presently, there is no enforcement against using such kites even if it leads to significant environmental damage,” he said.
Not just kiteflying, but the use of wood during Bhogi celebrations has also changed. Though traditionally worn-out furniture and other useless household items used to be burnt during Bhogi for which there was a scientific reason, presently communities have been purchasing wooden logs and burning it in tonnes, which is harmful to the environment.
NGT’s order prohibiting Chinese manja
Though the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had issued its order against the use of Chinese manja 4 years ago, and a petition was filed in the High Court about the NGT’s order not being implemented effectively, little has changed on the ground, if not for the worse.
“The responsibility falls on the society too. There has to be some contribution from the participants, and in the case of kite flying, all those participants have the choice of correcting their actions, unlike the case of cockfights, where the event is promoted and advocated by a few and others participate in it,” Shreya underlines.
Hyderabad police enforcement on Chinese manja
The Hyderabad city police commissioner’s seven task force teams have registered 107 cases and apprehended 148 individuals involved in the illegal sale of Chinese manja during this Sankranti season, from October 1 to Monday, January 13. In addition, they have seized 7,334 bobbins of manja, valued at approximately Rs 90 lakh.
Animal rights activists observe that practices like cockfights and the use of Chinese manja in kite flying continue to receive support from public representatives across party lines. Such inhuman activities, gaining social acceptance under the guise of ‘culture,’ could have a ripple effect.
“Following the Supreme Court’s verdict permitting bull-taming sports like Jallikattu and Kambala, we’ve seen similar movements emerging in Karnataka and other states, attempting to link cultural traditions with events that cause cruelty to animals,” Pradeep notes.
