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Rain Dogs: Rohit Chawla's book reflects on stray dogs' fate and our bond
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Chintan Girish Modi New Delhi
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Rain Dogs
Published by HarperCollins India
Pages: 164
Price: ₹1999
On August 11, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and authorities of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad to pick up stray dogs from all localities, and create dog shelters or pounds where they will be sterilised, dewormed and immunised. The court stated that the directive was meant to protect children, visually impaired people, the elderly, and homeless people living onthe streets from
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News18
21 hours ago
- News18
Indians Have Fought To Save Stray Dogs Since 1832
Only in India could there have been a riot to save voiceless animals; no wonder the British were totally taken aback in Mumbai The irony in the judgement by a two-judge Supreme Court Bench on stray dogs in Delhi becomes apparent when the unique 'Bombay Riot' of 1832 is recalled. That 'riot' was not, as some may think, a communal conflagration. It was over stray dogs. The British had decided to 'clean up" Bombay (now Mumbai) by killing all its stray dogs. But they had to face the wrath of the large Parsi community, which revered canines. Finally, the British had to back down. It actually began in 1813—some 212 years ago—when the British imposed a regulation to 'control" the city's stray dog population by permitting two periods of 'culling"—the euphemism for officially sanctioned mass slaughter. But it was never operationalised fully. Nearly 20 years later, though, they doubled down and even offered monetary incentives (eight annas) for every stray culled/killed. That led to greedy civic employees and private individuals killing even pet dogs. In May 1832, the Bombay Police was allowed to extend culling (killing) to 'any time that a nuisance and danger was deemed to exist". The then Governor, the Earl of Clare, declared that 'the lives of the inhabitants are endangered by the numbers and ferocity of these noxious animals which now infest every part of the Island". The East India Company also said stray dogs were 'worthless, noxious and disgusting animals". Notice the similarities with the rhetoric in 2025? But the British miscalculated on the propensity of Indians to be swayed by eight annas when it came to killing Bombay's stray dogs. The Parsi community was particularly incensed, especially the 'culling" being extended to any time of the year. Not many Indians today know—including even some Parsis presumably—that all dogs are sacred to the Zoroastrian faith as canines are believed to guard the Chinvat Bridge to heaven and are crucial for the soul's safe passage. In Zoroastrianism, dogs are considered beneficent, righteous and clean creatures who have special spiritual virtues and must be taken care of. A dog's gaze is said to drive off demons and they are supposed to be fed at commemorations of the dead. 'Ehtiram-i-Sag" or respect for the dog is an injunction for all Zoroastrians. Traditional funerary rituals also include Sagdid or 'dog-sight", when a dog confirms the death of a person by refusing to look at his/her mortal remains. The Vendidad (part of the holy Avesta) has detailed descriptions about treatment of dogs, including punishments for harming them. Zoroastrians are exhorted in scriptures to help dogs, both domestic and stray, and such acts are equated with helping humans; harming them is also regarded as harming humans. The Parsis of Bombay in the early 1800s still lived by these precepts though in the next two centuries many of these beliefs and traditions have apparently been sidelined. Back in 1832 the Parsis of Bombay were very aware of the regard for dogs in their faith and rose up in anger at the killing of strays ordered by British authorities who were ignorant of or oblivious to local sentiments. Matters came to a head on July 6, 1832, which happened to be a holy day for the Parsis. As dog catchers brutally rounded up stray dogs in the Fort area, 200 Parsis (a large turnout for 200 years ago!) came out to protest and the police turned up. Two constables were attacked as the protest spiralled; soon shops, offices and businesses shut down. By the next day, other communities joined the Parsis to protest against the killing of strays and their numbers swelled to 5,000, taking the British by surprise. People from all of India's faiths coming together to speak up for stray dogs was truly unprecedented; the same can be said about what is being witnessed in Delhi and other cities in 2025 too, nearly two centuries later. It was in effect, the first 'bandh' in India—roads were blocked, businesses did not open, and East India Company garrisons, officials, even judges, were targeted by protesters. The British initially decided to crack down and troops were called out. The Riot Act was read out to the incensed crowd, and some Parsi leaders were even arrested. That just made the protesters even angrier. It must be said that better sense prevails during the pro-stray dog demonstrations in 2025 so far. But the Bombay protesters were in no mood to back down. The British found this all-faith unity for a cause ominous and thus pivoted to negotiate. Led by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, the Parsis demanded an end to killing, and if need be, aggressive strays being relocated outside the city. The British were forced to agree! Experience now shows that relocation (or incarceration) do not work whereas sterilisation and vaccination do, a humane solution is clearly the key. Only in India could there have been a 'riot"— or at least a protest—as far back as the 1800s for the wellbeing of stray dogs, with people of all communities coming together to stand up to the British. People realised the value of street dogs to urban life even back then and spoke up for inhabitants of their city who had no voice. Colonial times were rife with incidents of senseless acts and decrees in the name of perpetuating a western idea of 'order'. But why reprise that now? The only silver lining to the dark cloud looming after the SC order is the fact that there are still issues which unite India across caste, creed and class; that kindness towards animals is a nationwide emotion. And above all, the belief that this unique legacy of India will guide authorities to decide independently and humanely rather than follow what the west does. After all, India totally banned hunting in 1972 while 'developed' nations still officially cull/kill millions of wild animals. The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 17, 2025, 15:58 IST News opinion Opinion | Indians Have Fought To Save Stray Dogs Since 1832 Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Rain Dogs: Rohit Chawla's book reflects on stray dogs' fate and our bond
Photographer and art director Rohit Chawla's book Rain Dogs gets to the heart of why human beings care about stray dogs, and what makes their blood boil when they imagine their fate premium Chintan Girish Modi New Delhi Listen to This Article Rain Dogs Published by HarperCollins India Pages: 164 Price: ₹1999 On August 11, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and authorities of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad to pick up stray dogs from all localities, and create dog shelters or pounds where they will be sterilised, dewormed and immunised. The court stated that the directive was meant to protect children, visually impaired people, the elderly, and homeless people living onthe streets from
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
HC pulls up Centre, Delhi for ‘passing the buck' on Sainik Farms regularisation
The Delhi High Court has once again pulled up the Delhi government and the Centre over the delay in any decision on regularisation of Sainik Farms in South Delhi. The Delhi High Court has once again pulled up the NCT government and the Central government over the regularisation of Sainik Farms in South Delhi.(Representational) During a hearing on Wednesday, a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed the authorities were not taking any final decision on the issue and just "passing the buck", which ultimately "stops at the court". "The basic question remains as to what the central government in consultation with the state government is doing for regularising these colonies. You have to make a final decision. It appears again that everybody is trying to pass the buck and as happens in these matters, the buck ultimately stops at the court," the bench observed. During Wednesday's hearing, the court asked why the authorities had not been able to bring a simple legislation to mitigate the problems of the residents. "First and last thing we want to know is: what is it that you are doing about these colonies? We can't be more clearer than this. They have been hanging fire without being able to lay a brick even for repairs and yet you are continuing to let them live the way they are for the last 10-15 years," the bench said. Delhi HC added, "You know very well why they are existing, how they are existing till now. None of the government will do anything to mitigate the problems." The bench also called on officers in the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to sit together to decide on the fate of its residents who had petitioned the high court. The Delhi high court had previously rapped the Delhi NCT government in March for its failure to indicate a timeline to regularise the Sainik Farm colony. South Delhi's Sainik Farms is an unauthorised colony. The area has remained in the unauthorised status since the 1980s. An unauthorised colony in Delhi refers to residential areas which have come up but on land that's not been approved for residential use in Delhi's master plan. Due to this, these colonies often face infrastructure issues. As reported by The Indian Express, Delhi has around 1,800 unauthorised colonies, of which 1,731 have been slated for re-development work under the Pradhan Mantri-Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY). However, Sainik Farms, along with Mahendru Enclave, and Anant Ram Dairy, was excluded from this list over land use violations. (With inputs from PTI)
