Anti-hunting laws were passed over 30 years ago but never enforced till prominent people in society started getting nabbed (Blood Sport, June 27). Why does no one ever make examples of the unscrupulous dealers, poachers and their accomplices who’ve nearly wiped out our fauna? If corruption weren’t so rampant, we wouldn’t have witnessed the Sariska vanishing act. Why only erstwhile landlords or today’s gun-toting neo-rich, severe punishment should be meted out to all alike. India should have kept organised hunting open as most of Africa has done where animals continue to flourish in hunting areas, due to proper control by bodies like cites. The economy of these countries is fuelled by this sport and a percentage of the revenue from hunting is ploughed back into conservation. Locals benefit by serving as trackers, guides, camp bearers, cooks, drivers; poaching is looked down upon.
R. Palchoudhuri, Calcutta
Your story on hunting as a sport left me feeling cold and disgusted. No animal kills another for any reason other than hunger or self-defence. It is only man’s perversion that makes him chase helpless animals and derive pleasure out of torturing them. A true nawab would be someone who helps creatures stay alive. Rajiv, as he is called in the article, claims to kill the animal quickly without it suffering—all for the sport of hunting! I wonder what would happen were a higher species to take over this planet and hunted these warped people in much the same way. While my heart is with wildlife conservers like Kartick Satyanarayan and the fiery Maneka Gandhi, I’d call upon the law to mete out the most stringent punishment on those (irrespective of their social or celeb status) who kill innocent animals to satisfy a bloodthirst.
Brinda Upadhyaya, Mumbai
The most appropriate punishment for ‘Tiger’ Pataudi would be to throw him into a tiger’s cage with only a knife for a weapon. He’ll then realise that shooting harmless black bucks is not sport but savagery. Jim Corbett always insisted that the tiger is a gentleman. Pataudi isn’t.
G.S. Hiranyappa, Bangalore
Now is the chance to nail the ‘Tiger’ and hand him the maximum punishment so that it sets a deterrent example to all other big fish to stay out of these muddy waters. This may allow our endangered species to breathe a little longer.
Satish Yeole, Chennai
Your story has exposed many facts that for long begged for a candid appraisal. Illegal poaching happens all over the country and no amount of legislation will end it completely. Hunting is man’s oldest profession and is permitted all over the world even today, with relevant local restrictions. In India, after the excesses of the Raj, hunting was controlled via game licences issued to ‘gentleman hunters’, allowing them to shoot up to two deer in an year, that too only males past their prime. Hunting was restricted from sunrise to sunset; use of vehicles was prohibited. The rules were strictly followed, and the gentleman hunter offered vital civilian support to forest staff. With the advent of the Wildlife Act 1972, all this stopped: the word ‘hunting’ became taboo. Instead, it became fashionable to speak about preservation/conservation and persons who had never seen forests and wildlife, except maybe on TV, turned experts overnight. Most of the forests were fenced and entry prohibited with chain gates. Everyone thought that was the end of hunting. In reality, with hunting banned, poaching took over. Poachers entered forests in powerful vehicles, used sophisticated weapons to shoot indiscriminately any animal that came their way. Shooting even a wild boar that destroyed crops became an offence, aggrieved farmers had no option but to break this impractical law which affected their livelihood. Reports of human beings killed by wild animals in areas adjacent to forests are increasing every day. Yet, none of the conservationists raises a voice. Perhaps human life is less precious than an animal’s! We have come full circle from the indiscriminate hunting days of the Raj to quixotically giving priority to animals over man, resulting in legislations which can never be practical. We must enact laws which foster a proper balance. It’s a pity the Nawab of Pataudi is being hounded for allegedly shooting a black buck and three hares in his own erstwhile province. Certainly his father, who flamboyantly signed the Instrument of Accession, would be turning in his grave, seeing the fate of his heir.
Dr Israel K. Mani, Pune
Your story exposes the extent of the sickness afflicting those with a killer instinct. Perhaps it’s a genetic disorder. Those caught should be put under clinical observation to free them of their lust to kill.
K.J. John, Vadodara
It is a shame that India’s wildlife is being lost to poachers and encroachment on what little remains of its forests. The guilty are not only criminals who poach but also silly, impractical liberals. Make wildlife a valuable economic resource, guard it zealously and give 50 years or so to replenish areas where it has been wiped out. Then allow hunters to hunt very old and infirm animals for large sums of money.
Mehul Kamdar, Wisconsin, US
To wriggle out of the situation, Pataudi can perhaps seek the help of Salman Khan’s lawyer who seems an expert in handling such matters. Seven years on, he says his client was not involved in the poaching case at all!
P.G. Menon, Chennai
You are absolutely right in your observations about the hunting of hare and other animals in the countryside. This is a source of entertainment and pastime for most villagers. They do not do it with the intention of breaking the law but for the heck of it. In fact, they may not even be aware about these laws. They have therefore to be educated about them and why endangered species should be protected. The government could start a campaign through the media to spread such awareness. Of course, the educated elite which considers itself above law must be brought to book.
Sachdi Nanda, New Delhi
Wouldn’t it be just punishment were the accused made to share the cold storage facility holding the prey?
Harsh Rai Puri, Bhopal
Despite launching a massive manhunt to track down Pataudi (as if he was a man-eater on the prowl!) and his co-accused, the Haryana police remained clueless about their whereabouts till the ‘Tiger’ surrendered on his own. Pataudi is not a petty criminal at large but a celebrity, scion of a former royal family and a respected cricketer. If the police in Haryana was not aware of the vip’s movements in Jhajjar, what sort of policing are they doing in such a small state?
K. P. Rajan, Mumbai
If Pataudi is guilty of killing the female black buck, then the rotter and his accomplices need to be locked up for a long time.
Prayag Raj, Edinburgh, UK
The tiger, we all know, is a gentleman—noble and courageous. Pataudi showed himself to be anything but that. He should now be nicknamed Jackal.
Ambuj Jain, New Delhi
It is the impotent who must prove their virility by slaughtering creatures who have no defence against their powerful searchlights, vehicles and weapons.
Jaswant M. Singh, New Delhi
Wonder who the animals are—hunters or the hunted?
Ramana, Hyderabad
Strange that while Papa Pataudi is being prosecuted for killing a black buck, son Saif is promoting Royal Stag?
Lalit Mohan, Gurgaon
In an attempt to pen a piece on Advani, Vinod Mehta ends up penning one about himself (The Wounded Warrior, June 27). All said and done, I still like Vinod Mehta’s unbridled hatred for the Right as much as I like the Right itself.
Madan Bharadwaj, Orlando, US
Advani’s position in the bjp is like a dead man walking, which is why the second rung is so eager for his execution. The bjp’s undoing was only a matter of time; it was perhaps a responsible Opposition in the Congress that helped nda survive the Tehelka scam or the Gujarat riots. It’s time people like Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan, Jaswant Singh revised their ties with the bjp and either took over or quit. It’s unfair that their names should be taken in the same breath as Uma Bharati, Sushma Swaraj, Praveen Togadia, etc.
Sameer Bhandari, Mumbai
Advani showed spunk and even though he was isolated—he even came close to quitting—he at least forced a relook at our recent history. To have lasting peace and a changed mindset from a previously held fixed position, some amount of tumult is necessary and is a small price to pay in the long run. Advani’s battle would have been a vain one if it hadn’t forced the bjp and the rest of India to do some much-needed soul-searching.
Ajit Tendulkar, Seattle, US
Sudheendra Kulkarni, by his percipient remarks on having a debate on Nehru’s contribution to Partition (‘Advani said nothing wrong’), has not only turned the tables on those in the Sangh parivar vociferous in opposing Advani, but also challenged those in the Congress to understand the similar mental agony Nehru went through by his unfailing presence at Rajghat on Gandhiji’s birth and death anniversaries.
Vinayak D. Phadke, New Delhi
Reading Lion in Winter and The Four Colours (June 27) on the political moves of L.K. Advani and Mayawati contradictory to their ideology, I wondered if any of our political parties/leaders could be trusted for what they profess. Politicians discard their sacred tenets at the first hint of it being inconvenient to their present or detrimental to their future. All are wedded to one ideology—of power. Only Communists appear to be marginal exceptions.
Bayar Venu Gopal, on e-mail
The newfound loves of L.K. Advani and Mayawati made interesting reading. Politicians are the masters of the old art of shifting their stand on any subject on earth. Ultimately, it’s the poor followers who are left wondering which avatar of theirs is genuine.
V.P.V. Ariel, Secunderabad
Ironic that while a series of yatras took L.K. Advani to new heights in Indian politics, just one yatra to Pakistan nearly drove him to political wilderness.
Nagaraj Shenoy, Bangalore
Your description of the sequence of humiliation in Freedom? My Foot (June 20) caused me deep anguish as a Hindu. Why does everyone around the world feel free to trample on the images and beliefs held sacred by Hindus? How would the West react if we designed a shoe or underwear with Jesus on them? I know how the Indian media will react. It’ll dub me fascist.
Subhash, on e-mail
The article What the Break-Up Means and the box PC Shoots the Sheriff (July 4) quotes the finance minister selectively and out of context. To a question whether the government would continue with or order an inquiry into the allegations made against the Reliance group, the finance minister replied that "if there are specific complaints or violations of law, we can look into them" and added that there was no need, at this moment, to order a general inquiry.
B.S. Chauhan, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi
While it was interesting reading Khushwant Singh’s piece on General Dyer and Jallianwala Bagh (Books, June 27), this was supposed to be a review of Nigel Collett’s book. Instead, from his very first sentence, Khushwant Singh hijacks the spotlight from Collet and his book (he, obviously, did not want anyone else to tread on his turf). He mentions Collett only in the last paragraph of his review!
Sunil Gupta, Mumbai
Ram Guha’s piece 1947: Degrees of Blame (June 27) was a succinct summary of some of the unanswered questions of Partition, resurrected by L.K. Advani’s observations on Jinnah. As he rightly says, Partition was the end or culmination of a number of processes that had got inextricably intertwined with our freedom movement. The seeds might conceivably have been sown in the late 19th century, but the single most potent catalyst that propelled these processes towards eventual Partition was Gandhiji’s ill-advised support to the Khilafat movement—and combining it with the non-cooperation movement—in 1920. Curiously, any discussion on the freedom movement, including the present debate, seems to falter here. The more one reflects with detachment and in hindsight, the clearer it becomes that it is time for non-partisan historians to initiate a fundamental, honest and fair reappraisal of the post-1920 phase of the freedom movement—Khilafat, civil disobedience and all. Such a reappraisal may well force us to come to terms with a few uncomfortable and unpalatable truths, such as that Partition was not about Religion but about (sharing) Power. Neither Gandhi nor Nehru would emerge entirely blameless from such a reappraisal, nor would anybody, even Jinnah, be made to bear all the blame for Partition.
Sharad Panse, Pune
There is more to the anti-democratic, adamant posture of the Devanagari protagonists than meets the eye (Tongue in a Twist, June 27). They belong to a politically vociferous but cultural and literary minority. In the few schools that they manage, they’re already teaching Sanskrit or Hindi as the third language, which arrangement they would not like to disturb. What they are proposing is to teach Konkani as the fourth language outside the curriculum (in Devanagari), as opposed to the third language inside the curriculum, as proposed by the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy. They are opposed to the official introduction of Konkani in Karnataka schools so that their children may continue to study Sanskrit or Hindi.
Aruna, Mangalore
I hail from Goa, hence I speak for the Konkani that’s being spoken here for over a thousand years now. We have documented evidence of Konkani being written in the Roman script for the last 500 years. There is no proof of Konkani being written in any other script before this period. The Goa government has opted for the Devanagari script for Konkani only for political reasons. It’s alienated the Christians in Goa.
Wilmix Wilson Mazarello, Goa
The Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy has taken a right step by selecting Kannada for Konkani. There are four weeklies, over 35 monthly periodicals and more than 100 regional bulletins published in Konkani in Kannada script. This script is used extensively by all sects of people in Karnataka for reading and writing. I haven’t seen a single magazine that is printed in Devanagari script in Karnataka. Konkani in Kannada script stands first in its literature in Konkani that has a history of 125 years. Outside Karnataka, the only other script that has potential for Konkani is the Roman one.
Aney Paladka, Mumbai
Historically, Konkani was a scriptless language till the arrival of the Portuguese in 1510 in Goa. The Catholic Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries were the first to begin Konkani’s written and printing tradition in the Roman script. The first Konkani book Doutrina Christa, written by an unknown Jesuit priest, was printed in the Jesuit printing press at Old Goa between 1556 and 1561. The Kannada script was used to write Marathi from 15th to 19th century and in 17th century for Konkani in Goa. The Devanagari script for Konkani was used only by a few Saraswats of Goa in the 20th century. Today it has no popular support or readership. It is artificially kept alive by the Goa government’s grant. But even if it’s the state language, it is hardly used for administrative purpose. In the absence of popular support and readership, Konkani in the Devanagari script will die a natural death, its written form will survive only in the Roman or Kannada script.
Dr Pratap Naik, Goa
Sardars and saris are not prerequisite to being Indian as Indivar Kamtekar claims in his Aizawl Diary (June 27 ). There are Tamilians, Malayalis, Kannadigas, Telugus, Nagas, Kashmiris, Khasis and Mizos in this country too.
V.I. Alengmawia, Aizawl
