Former Indian Union minister Maneka Gandhi has led a coalition of animal rights organisations in urging the government of Bihar, a state in East India bordering Nepal, to halt animal sacrifices and illegal animal transportation to Nepal for the Gadhimai festival.
The Gadhimai festival is a Hindu festival held every five years in Nepal at the Gadhimai Temple of Bariyarpur, in Bara District, about 160 kilometres south of the capital Kathmandu. The event involves the sacrificial slaughter of many animals, including water buffaloes, pigs, goats, chickens, and pigeons. It is estimated that 250,000 animals were sacrificed during the Gadhimai festival of 2009. People also make other offerings, including coconuts, sweets, and red-coloured clothes, so these should replace all animal sacrifices. The vegan documentary Christspiracy, which has recently been made available online to watch, features this festival known for being the world’s largest animal sacrifice event, showing the magnitude of the killings by using aerial shots.
The animal protection activists have called on the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government to urgently address the persistent issue of animal sacrifice within the state, and the illegal transport of cows and buffaloes to Nepal, citing the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the cultural principles of non-violence. Representatives of the animal advocates have met with Bihar’s Chief Secretary, urging compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives and Indian constitutional mandates against animal cruelty.
Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi is well known for her animal advocacy. She featured in vegan documentaries such as “The Land of Ahimsa” and “Mother’s Milk”, which dispel many myths about cows and the dairy industry in India. She served as a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi has held ministerial positions in four governments, most recently serving in Narendra Modi’s government from May 2014 to May 2019.
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