November 1st, 2009 SindhToday

http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/66745.htm

Kathmandu, Nov 1 (IANS) Campaigners cutting across different religions Sunday asked the Nepal government to stop a prominent religious fair in the Terai plains where at least 500,000 animals and birds will be sacrificed at the end of this month.

“By perpetuating such a mass massacre in the name of religion, culture and tradition in the 21st century, we are projecting Nepal as a barbaric country,” said Pramada Shah, whose Animal Welfare Network Nepal is campaigning with animal rights organisations in Nepal, India and the West to pressure Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal into stopping the Gadhimai Fair.

The fair is held every five years at Bara district in southern Nepal and sees Hindus assembling from Nepal and India to sacrifice birds and animals for two days in the hope their prayers will be granted.

It is the world’s biggest wanton killing of birds and beasts with the carcasses not allowed to be consumed but either being buried or lying in the open in pools of blood for months.

Govinda Tandon, whose Stop Animal Sacrifices Alliance is taking part in the campaign, projected a horrifying picture of the killings.

“There are rivers of blood for months with carcasses lying everywhere,” he said. “The grounds are dominated by vultures while the stench makes life miserable for people living nearby. The only people who benefit are the skin traders who come and bid for the pelts.”

A petition signed by over 2,000 people is asking the prime minister to stop the killings, which they say are not condoned by any religion.

The campaigners are being supported by Indian animal rights organisations like People for Animals, Peta India and Beauty without Cruelty.

Noted animal rights activist and Indian MP Maneka Gandhi as well as the Brigitte Bardot Foundation founded by the celebrated French actress have also joined the campaign.

“Many people in Nepal and the subcontinent are concerned about this sacrifice,” Gandhi wrote in her letter to the Nepal prime minister. “Your government has taken so many humane steps – banning the export of monkeys, for instance.

“Since you have introduced the Meat Act, which makes the humane killing of animals mandatory, these acts during the Gadhimai Festival would be illegal.”

The campaigners are hoping that Maneka Gandhi will arrive in Nepal to throw greater weight behind the campaign.

Even government officials are urging for state intervention, pointing out the fallouts of such mass killings.

“During the 1995 fair, the PPR (peste des petits ruminants), a disease found among sheep and goats, entered Nepal and created havoc,” said Prabhakar Pathak, director-general at the state department of animal livestock services.

“The government has spent millions of rupees to stop the spread of the disease but it has pervaded all the 75 districts, including the Himalayan regions.”

Pathak said most of the animals meant for sacrifice are brought illegally from across India, bypassing quarantine posts and regulations.

“There is a high danger of bird flu as well as brucellosis, which can be contracted by humans and causes sterility,” he said.

However, the priests at the Gadhimai Temple and the organisers have vowed not to stop the killings, saying it was a religious necessity. They have also said this year at least 500,000 birds and animals will be killed, including 25,000 buffalos.

The campaign against the killings has received support from Nepal’s ‘Buddha Boy’, the teenager in Bara district who became known worldwide four years ago when he began meditating in the forest, reportedly without food and water.

“Ram Bahadur Bomjan, who has been meditating in Bara for nearly five years now, is disturbed at the thought of such mass killings in the neighbourhood,” said D.B. Bomjan, a prominent Buddhist banker who is part of the committee formed to facilitate the boy’s meditation.

“He has appealed to the administration of Bara and the temple authorities to stop the killings. He will also ask the pilgrims arriving at the fair not to go ahead with the sacrifices.

“In the past, we had the tradition of the sati,” said Shah. “But that was stopped. We are not against religion or tradition, only blind superstition.”

KATHMANDU, Nov 2: The animal rights lobby, which has gained momentum in the country due to the upcoming Gadhimai festival in Bara where some 500,000 animals are expected to be sacrificed, has decided to urge the CA committees concerned to help control the animal carnage.

The activists plan to write to the CA Committee on Natural Resources, Economic Rights and Revenue Sharing, Committee on Cultural and Social Solidarity, and Committee on Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles in this regard.

“Since CA is in a position to interfere right now, we have decided to write to the committees concerned,” Manoj Gautam, country coordinator of Roots & Shoots, Nepal, said, adding, “Even if the event cannot be totally banned, the government can control the entry of animals from India for sacrifice at the festival.”

Stating that animal welfare and conservation issues are correlated, Gautam added, “It is high time the authorities looked at the long-term consequences of such events.”

A group of animal rights activists has also planned to dispatch a team to document the transfer of animals from neighboring India. Of the total animals — comprising buffaloes, piglets, chickens, rats, goats, baby goats, roosters, and pigeons — 70 percent are brought from India. In addition, street plays will be held at various places to raise awareness against the killings.

Department of Livestock says it has no mandate

The Department of Livestock, on the other hand, has washed its hands off the Gadhimai issue, stating that it has no mandate to interfere even if it controls about a dozen of quarantine check posts in the country. As per the Quarantine Act, all animals and animal products entering the country are to be checked for health condition and see that they are transported in humane condition.

“The department has no mandate to stop the festival,” Director General of the department Dr Prabhakar Pathak said. He added checking cannot be effective as the animals are brought from many entry points and not only through the main border check points due to open border with India.

Dr Pathak admitted to possible health hazards caused by such unorganized mass slaughtering of animals. The impact of PPR disease that was detected among goats after the 1995 Gadhimai event is still haunting the country, he said.

The animal sacrifice in the five-year Gadhimai festival is carried out mostly by Indians from Bihar state, where any animal sacrifice is prohibited around the Bodhgaya periphery where Gautam Budhha attained nirvana (enlightenment).

Animal rights activists in India, led by the Indian Member of Parliament Menaka Gandhi, have strengthened their campaign against the barbaric killing of animals in what is said to be the world´s biggest animal sacrifice fair. They also submitted a petition to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal a week ago, asking the government to denounce the festival. Gandhi said in the letter that the event will portray Nepal in bad light before the international community and affect the tourism sector as well.

Campaigners: ‘End Gadhimai cruelty’

Kathmandu, November 1 2009 - The Nepalese government is under mounting pressure from Nepalese and international campaigners, including India’s noted activist Maneka Gandhi, to stop the centuries old animal sacrifice at Gadhimai Festival in Bara district.

Today during a press meet in the Reporters’ Club animal welfare campaigners, religious scholars and government representatives discussed the ‘world’s largest animal sacrifice’.

Drector General Dr Prabhakar Pathap of the Department of Livestock Services said he does not have the mandate to address the issue of Gadhimai but frankly admitted that the festival is a major cause for health concerns.

Dr Pathak: ‘In 1994 Gadhimai brought Goat Plague or Pest des Petite Ruminants PPR to the country. The government invested already one crore rupees to try to fight this disease. In fact, China has asked the Nepal government to address the problem as the disease can easily travel to neighbouring countries.’

Dr Pathak said there is only one quarantaine office in Bara district but not a single animal traveling to Gadhimai passes through this office. ‘The border is porous and we would need major resources to make sure no sick animal ends up in Bara.’

Animal welfare campaigners point out that PPR is a mild disease compared to Bird Flu, and that Gadhimai might actually cause human deaths due to a complete lack of effective monitoring.

Manoj Gautam, Representative of Roots & Shoots Nepal, asked why the government is able to test every person arriving at the airport for swine or bird flu, while on the other hand it seems to invite deadly diseases by allowing unmonitored mass sacrifice in Gadhimai. Gautam: ‘The government has provided 4,5 million rupees (US$ 60,000) to Gadhimai thereby inviting unwanted cruelty and disease to Nepal. How much more will the State have to spend on trying to eradicate the diseases it helps to create?’

Nepalese campaigners have joined hands in the Stop Animal Sacrifice Alliance and Animal Welfare Network Nepal. In a petition signed by over 2500 people the network calls for an end to the ‘extreme cruelty’ taking place at ‘the world’s largest animal sacrifice’. The petition is addressed to the President, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the Minister of Agriculture.

The network says at Gadhimai ‘innocent creatures are killed en masse in an unorganized und unregulated manner. The buffaloes are in fact killed by drunken devotees who enter the temple area with khukuri knives to cut off the heads of frightened animals.’

According to the network, ‘[n]o one can adequately explain why these practices are carried out year after year – except to say they are ‘traditional’. This however is not a valuable argument to commence these practices; Nepal, realizing the adverse effects, has abolished a number of ‘traditions’ in the past, including human sacrifice and widow burning. ‘

The alliance members are committed to peaceful protest only and plan to organize a sit in demonstration in Kathmandu next week.

The campaigners formed an international coalition including Indian groups such as People for Animals, Beauty without Cruelty and Peta India. International groups such as World Society for the Protection of Animals, Animal Aid Abroad, Brigitte Bardot Foundation, etc have joined the campaign by writing letters to the Nepal government and ambassadors in Europe, Australia and the USA.

Health risks

According to the campaigners the Nepal government must take immediate action to address the health risks of ‘the world’s largest animal sacrifice’ as these are a great cause of concern. ‘Due to the fact that the transport, killing, disposal and preparation of the animals and their meat goes unmonitored and the close proximity between humans and animals, Gadhimai can result in widespread food poisoning (Salmonella, E coli, Campylobacter, etc), Tuberculosis, as well as bird and swine flu,’ the campaigners argue.

The main concern is the spread of bird flu, the campaigners say. ‘With bird flu spreading throughout the north of India as well as the east of Nepal the movement of chicken and ducks is prohibited. In reality, due to the overwhelming scale of the event, Indian and Nepali authorities will be unable to check the illegal movement of potentially sick birds to Gadhimai,’ state the campaigners.

Indian concerns

One reason for the event’s huge popularity is its proximity to India, where some states have now banned sacrificial slaughter. The campaigners question if ‘the New Nepal want to cater to superstitious devotees who cross the border to do what is illegal in their own country?’

Animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi has mailed a letter to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal asking for his intervention. According to Gandhi, ‘[m]any people in Nepal and the subcontinent are concerned about this sacrifice. Your government has taken so many humane steps – banning the export of monkeys for instance. Since you have introduced the Meat Act which makes the humane killing of animals mandatory, these acts during the Gadhimai festival would be illegal.’

In her letter, the acclaimed animal rights activist, environmentalist and politician notes that ‘[a]ll over the Internet there are hundreds of articles that decry the animal sacrifices in Nepal. Tourists declare that they will not come back to the country. Nepal must be seen as a modern progressive nation. It may be seen as no coincidence that it is only the extremely poor and wretched places that have animal sacrifices.’

The campaigners urge the government to introduce and enforce a much-needed Animal Welfare Act to curb animal cruelty and promote genuine animal welfare activities across the country.

Background

The Gadhimai Jatra festival takes place every five years. According to the organizers some 700.000 people, more than half of them from bordering Indian states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, visited the Gadhimai Temple in 2004. This year the organizers plan to sacrifice 500.000 animals including 20,000 buffaloes. The festival starts on Mangsir 9, November 24. According to the rules of the festival all animals must be killed in the first two days.

Religious leader Palden Dorje a.k.a Ram Bahadur Bomjan plans to protest the sacrifice by making an appearance and bless the devotees ahead of the festival

KATHMANDU: Five years ago, when he enjoyed unbridled power and was planning to stage an army-backed coup to become the head of the government, Nepal’s king Gyanendra attended the festival of Hindu goddess Gadhimai in southern Nepal, throwing his weight, as the world’s Hindu emperor, behind an orgy of animal and bird sacrifices.

Today, with his crown abolished and Nepal declared a secular state, the former king’s kin is spearheading a passionate campaign to prevent animal sacrifices in the Terai temple.

“I stopped animal sacrifices at my parents’ house when I was eight,” says Pramada Shah nee Rana, whose grandfather Nir Shumsher Rana was a field marshall of the Nepal Army. “When I was married to Ashish Shah, King Gyanendra’s nephew, I realised animal sacrifices were deeply rooted in the family tradition. However, I have put an end to that too.”

Now her animal rights organisation Animal Welfare Network Nepal has grouped with animal activists in Nepal, India, France and the UK to begin a public campaign against the Gadhimai Temple fair starting from Nov 24, when the temple authorities say at least 500,000 birds and beasts will be slaughtered. The fair is held every five years when Hindu devotees from Jndia and Nepal gather to slaughter birds and animals for two days.

“The government must take immediate action to address the grave health risks of the mass sacrifice including bird and swine flu, TB and food poisoning,” Shah said. “If such mass sacrifices are still allowed in Nepal in the 21st century, it will send out the message to the world that we are still a barbaric nation.”

In 2002, a year after he ascended the throne following the assassination of his elder brother King Birendra, King Gyanendra had visited India where animal rights activists protested against his offering panchabali – five sacrifices – at the Kamakshya temple in Assam

Shah, who was educated in Delhi’s Army Public School and studied in Mumbai’s Sophiya College for two years, says her inspiration is former Indian minister and animal rights campaigner Maneka Gandhi.

Gandhi has already written to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, urging him to prevent the wanton killings. “Many people in Nepal and the subcontinent are concerned about this sacrifice,” she wrote. “Your government has taken so many humane steps – banning the export of monkeys, for instance. Since you have introduced the Meat Act, which makes the humane killing of animals mandatory, these acts during the Gadhimai Festival would be illegal.”

Shah is hoping that Gandhi will come to Nepal since a visit by her would give greater momentum to the campaign. “We are not against the Hindu religion,” she said. “We are against its perversions. No religion says that animals have to be sacrificed to appease god.”

At home, the campaign against the mass animal killings has been boosted by Nepal’s Buddha Boy Ram Bahadur Bomjan taking up cudgels on its behalf. Bomjan, who stunned the world five years ago when he was reported to be meditating without taking food or water, is asking the temple management as well as pilgrims and the district administration not to spill innocent blood in the birthplace of the Buddha, the apostle of peace.

“The campaign is producing results,” said D B Bomjan, a prominent member of the Buddhist Tamang community to which the Buddha Boy belongs. “Three villagers have already handed over three buffalos to us, which were intended for sacrifice at the fair, saying they have had a change of heart.”

     पशुपक्षी पनि हामीजस्तै ईश्वरका सन्तान हुन, यो संसार उनीहरूको पनि हो

 भर्खरै विजयादशमीको मूलतत्त्वलाई बिर्सेर “पशुपक्षीको हत्या गर्ने पर्व” को रूपमा परिणत हुँदैगएको दशैँको दशा र विकृत परम्पराको नाममा पशुपक्षीको रगतको आहाल सुक्न नपाउँदै बाराजिल्लामा गढीमाईको मेलामा विश्वकै सबैभन्दा बढी पशुपक्षीहरूलाई वलिको नाममा हत्या गर्ने दिन नजिकिदै छ। बाराको बरियापुरमा अवस्थित गढीमाईका उहिलेका कुनै एक पूजारीले सपनामा देवीले ‘वलि’ दिन आदेश दिएको नाममा यो रक्तरञ्जित मेलाले स्थान पाएको भनी मन्दिरका पूजारी सुनाउने गर्छन्। ‘वलि’ शव्दको वास्तविक अर्थ नजानेर निरीह पशुप्राणीलाई मारकाट गरेर एउटा भेँडाको पछि अर्को भेडा लागेको जस्तो धर्म कमाउने नाममा सचेतता र अज्ञानताको कारण पशुवलिको पछि लागेको  देखिदैछ।

वलिको साँचो अर्थ आफूमा भएको दुर्गुणहरू – काम, क्रोध, लोभ, मोह, मद, मात्सर्यहरूलाई सदाको लागि देवीदेवताको चरणमा अर्पण गरिदिएर आफूले आफैलाई जित्नु हो । वलिको अर्को अर्थ हो उपहार, समर्पण । तर यहाँ उल्टो भइरहेको छ। आफूसँग भएका दुर्गुणहरू आफूसँग जस्ता-तस्तै अनि पशुप्राणीहरूको वलिको नाममा हत्या गरेर मानिस धर्म कमाउन खोज्दछ कस्तो विडम्वना?

प्रत्येक पाँच-पाँच वर्षमा हुने गढीमाईको रक्तरञ्जितमेला जुन मङ्सिरशुक्ल सप्तमी र अष्टमी तिथिका दिन पर्छ (यस वर्ष मङ्सिरको ९ र १० गते पर्छ) सो दिन त्यहाँ  पशुपक्षीको रगतको खोलो बगाउन इच्छुकहरूको भीड लाग्छ। कमलो हृदय भएका साँचो धर्ममा विश्वास गर्नेहरूले हेर्न समेत नसकिने भयावह अवस्था त्यहाँ हुन्छ।त्यहाँ मानवता हुँदैन, मनुष्यता हुँदैन, हृदय हुँदैन, हाम्रो सनातन धर्मले सिकाएका दया, माया, करुणा केही बाँकी रहन्न त्यसवेला! यत्र-तत्र सर्वत्र पशु नै पशुको लासहरू, गिँडहरूले कतै नरक भनेको यही त होइन भन्ने भान पर्दछ।

मुसादेखि राङो, भेडा, बोका,परेवा, हाँसलगायतका पशुपक्षीलाई पशुवलिको नाममा, देवीलाई अर्पण गरेको नाममा त्यहाँ काटिन्छ, हत्या गरिन्छ, मारिन्छ। धर्मको नाममा यहाँसम्मको क्रुरता भन्नु पर्ने स्थित त्यहाँ जताततै देखिन्छ। जुन देशमा मन्त्रद्रष्टा ऋषि, महर्षि, विद्वान्, विदुषि, जगज्जननी माता जानकी, जीवनमुक्त महान् दार्शनिक जनक, शान्तिका अग्रदूत भगवान् गौतम बुध्दको जन्मभूमिमा धर्मको नाममा यस्तो धर्मान्धता! अन्धविश्वासको यस्तो पराकाष्टा! कस्तो विडम्वना?

कुनै जमानामा कसैले सपनामा पाएको आदेशको भरमा यत्रो रक्तरञ्जित कार्य हुँदा पनि हामी तैँचुप-मैचुपको अवस्थामा थियौँ र अझै छौँ। यस्तो कुकृत्य बुध्दि-विवेकले सम्पन्न मानिसको लागि कदापि सुहाँउने कुरा होइन।

निरीह पशुपक्षीको होइन हामीले आफ्ना दुर्गुणहरू ईश्वरको सामु वलि=उपहार दिनुपर्छ। कुनै वस्तुको वलि दिने हो भने लौका, घिरौला, मूला, नरिवल, गहत आदिको वलि सबैभन्दा सात्विक हुन्छ। यस्ता वस्तुको वलि गर्नाले कुनै पशुप्राणीले जीवनवरदान पाउँछ भने यस्तो पुण्यको कार्यलाई अगालौँ हत्या, हिंसाको सोचबाट टाढा रहौँ।

                                             पशुवलि निषेध चेतना अभियान

                                             गढीमाई मेला सचेतना समूह

                                                      काठमाडौँ, नेपाल

Dear Respected Sirs, Madams and Friends

Sadar Abhiwaadan

I have submitted the follwoing suggestions to the Organising Committee of the Stop Animal Sacrifice at the GADHIMAI MELA. I am circulating to you all for your comments and suggestions too. We should be involved in noblest act and help to stop animals (our relatives) sacrifice. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WAKE UP my GURUS, Dai, Bhai, bahini, Didi, Kaka, Kaki, AAMA, BAA, Chhora, Chhori, Sathi, Meet, Meeteni, Mama, Bhanja, Naati, Naatini, Bhada Bhadaini, Baaje, Bajai etc etc.

PUNYA Kamaun Pyaro Janaawar lai Bachaun!  

Request to  my GURUS, Dai, Bhai, bahini, Didi, Kaka, Kaki, AAMA, BAA, Chhora, Chhori, Sathi, Meet, Meeteni, Mama, Bhanja, Naati, Naatini, Bhada Bhadaini, Baaje, Bajai etc etc.

PLEASE  WAKE UP! PLEASE  WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!

Please help to raise funds for distributing flyers and to meet other expenses. DAAN GARNU JASTO ARU THULO DHAMMA KEHI CHHAINA.

DEUTA LAI MANNU HUNCHHA BHANE DEUTA KA CHHORA CHHORI (ANIMALS) LAI BACHAUN! SANCHAI DHARMATMA BANAUN!

If you believe in GOD then lets come to save their (GOD’S families (animals). Animals are in danger so help them to save.

Metta to all + to Animals (my families, relatives and friends)

Bikesh Shrestha

قد يكون البشر كافة سعيد وخالية من المعاناة. – Arabic

快乐与痛苦的自由，可能是众生。 - Chinese

Mohou být všechny lidi šťastný a prosté utrpení. – Czech

Alle mennesker kan være glade og fri for lidelser. – Danish

Mogelijk alle wezens gelukkig en vrij zijn van lijden. – Dutch

Tous les êtres peut-être heureux et libre de souffrance. – French

Möglicherweise alle Wesen glücklich und frei von Leid. – German

Όλα τα όντα, μπορεί να είναι ευτυχισμένη και απαλλαγμένη από πόνο. – Greek

כל היצורים החיים ייתכן שמח וחופשי מכל סבל. – Greek

Tutti gli esseri possono essere felici e liberi dalla sofferenza. – Italian

모든 beings 행복한 및 suffering 무료 수 있습니다. – Korean

Można dla wszystkich istot wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji i wolna od cierpienia. – Polish

Todos os seres podem ser feliz e livre de sofrimento. – Portuguese (Brazil)

Всех существ, может быть счастливой и свободной от страданий. – Russian

Todos los seres puede feliz y libre de sufrimiento. – Spanish

Alla varelser kan vara lyckliga och fritt från lidande. – Swedish

ทั้งหมดอยู่นั้น อาจมีความสุข และไม่เสียค่าใช้จ่ายจากทุกข์ – Thai

Truly, may all beings be happy. May they live always in peace and harmony. … May all beings be free from suffering. Yattha-laddha-sampattito mavigacchantu

May all sentient beings in the universe be happy. May we all be free from suffering and pain. May we all be free from attachment of greed, anger and ignorance.

May all sentient beings have equanimity, free from attachment, aggression and prejudice. May they be happy, and have the causes of happiness. May they be free from suffering and the …

May All Beings Attain the Light of Truth and Become Love.

“Sabbadanam dhammadanam jinati” The gift of Truth excels all other gifts.

1)            Those animals have been our parents.

2)            All kinds of animal meats mix together even with dogs.

3)            The impure smells of animals are not good for eating.

4)            Dogs usually bark at meat-eater.

5)            Meat-eaters have no mercy.

6)            Meat-eaters do not have a good reputation.

7)            All incantations cannot function out.

            It causes many animals to be killed.

9)            God and good ghosts do not like meat-eaters.

10)         Bad smells come from their mouths.

11)         Meat-eaters have bad dreams.

12)         Tigers follow their bad smell and kill them.

13)         Meat-eaters have no limitation of gluttony.

14)         Meat-eating cuts the renunciation of the practitioner.

15)         Meat-eaters may sometimes eat one’s own children of past lives.