It's Time Kerala Temples took Mercy on the Plight of Elephants
The New Indian Express Vellore|December 08, 2024
ACUTE ANGLE
Anand Neelakantan

In a recent judgement, the Kerala High Court devised a bizarre directive on using elephants for temple festivals. The directive includes maintaining a gap of three metres between elephants, a five-metre distance from fire torches, and an eight-metre buffer for spectators, besides norms for adequate rest and safe transportation of the beasts. At first glance, this directive looks progressive and humanitarian. Much cruelty is inflicted by taming the elephants, and the hardships these beasts face during the festival season are indescribable. They are chained for hours, forced to stand in the heat without proper food or water, listening to the high-decibel drumming amid a huge crowd. As most temple festivals happen around the same time, they are transported from one temple to the next in cramped trucks for hours. They have not evolved to take this torture, and often, they go berserk, resulting in tragic accidents and stampedes.

The Cochin Devasom board had challenged an earlier directive, stating the procession of elephants is an essential religious tradition followed for many centuries. The deity is mounted on caparisoned elephants and taken on parades. However, the honourable court, in its wisdom, has decreed that it is not an essential practice of Hinduism. One is curious to know how the court arrives at what is a necessary practice of a diverse religion like Hinduism and what is not. Hinduism has no central tenets, books, church, etc, to dictate what is essential and what isn't.

Bu hikaye The New Indian Express Vellore dergisinin December 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye The New Indian Express Vellore dergisinin December 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS VELLORE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
The New Indian Express Vellore

BOXING DAY TEST: EYE ON REDEFINITION

Rohit and Co would hope to save series with dominant performance against hosts

time-read
3 dak  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Deol's ton helps India seal series

HARLEEN DEOL'S maiden hundred set the foundation and India sealed the ODI series with a 115-run win over the West Indies.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Cranbrook to MCG, the rise and rise of teenager Konstas

NO MELBOURNE IDENTITY

time-read
3 dak  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Shooting mental sport, award snub can affect Manu anytime: Coach Jaspal

DOUBLE Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker finally broke her silence on her exclusion from the Khel Ratna list.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Excited with pack of pacers in SA20

WITH the third edition of the SA20 coming soon, the Ambassador of the franchise league and former South African fast bowler Allan Donald believes the new crop of pace bowlers coming from his home country are the ones to watch out for.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Timely lift for Haryana shuttler

DEVIKA SIHAG is stoked at the moment. She had a valid reason to be.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

PM Modi meets economists ahead of Budget

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with a group of economists and thought leaders in preparation for the Union Budget at NITI Aayog.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Air traffic record high, IndiGo leads the pack

INDIAN airlines carried a record 1.42 crore passengers on domestic routes in November 2024, marking the highest-ever monthly traffic.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Recharge plans for voice calls, messages to benefit customer, not telcos

THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recent directive to have recharge plans exclusively for voice calls and messages without any compulsion to buy internet data will benefit customers not much to telecom service providers, say industry experts.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
The New Indian Express Vellore

Year-ender 2024: Telecom sector sees tariff hikes, user losses, Vi fundraising

INDIAN telecom sector had a mixed bag in 2024, marked by tariff hikes, subscriber losses, and fundraising by loss-making telecom service provider Vodafone Idea.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024