(IN): MP from Arunachal Pradesh in trouble over hornbill hat

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MP from Arunachal Pradesh in trouble over hornbill hat

*Rahul Karmakar

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Hindustan Times*

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Guwahati, June 03, 2009

First Published: 01:23 IST(3/6/2009)

Last Updated: 02:04 IST(3/6/2009)

 

 

Takam Sanjoy seemed like the MP least likely to make any news on day one of

the 15th Lok Sabha. But he did. In fact, he landed in a controversy — head

first.

 

The MP from Arunachal Pradesh West, a constituency China wants, sat through

Monday's session sporting a traditional headgear of the state’s Nyishi

tribe, to which he belongs. Many of his fellow MPs admired the piece

embellished with a hornbill beak and feather.

 

But BJP parliamentarian and animal activist Maneka Gandhi wasn’t impressed

and she reminded Sanjoy the hat was illegal. He later clarified the beak was

artificial but kept mum about the feather.

 

A day later, with pictures of the MP in his headgear making it to most

newspapers, animal rights activists and conservationists are aghast at the

“display of animal body parts” in Parliament.

 

“I am not aware if the display of rare wildlife body parts has debuted with

Sanjoy, but we expect the people in power to lead the way in dissuading such

practices,” Anuradha Sawhney of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

told *HT* from Pune.

 

“Tradition cannot be an excuse for such blatant displays; hiding behind

tradition is the worst form of offence for parliamentarians...” she added.

 

The declining population of hornbills — less than 500 are estimated to

remain in the hills of Arunachal — had made the government ban hunting of

the bird. Wearing headgears embellished with the bird’s beak was also made

illegal.

 

But these measures have failed to stop the headgear fetish among the Nyishis

and other tribes.

 

The Wildlife Trust of India subsequently introduced artificial fibre glass

beaks to save the bird from extinction. Sanjoy isn’t the only politician to

make the green brigade see red. President Pratibha Patil and Rahul Gandhi

had irked them during recent trips to the Northeast.

 

In Tawang last month, the President had donned a cap made from the fur of a

rare flying squirrel. “Organizers claimed it was made from yak hide but we

are not convinced,” said animal rights activist Azam Siddiqui.

 

Rahul had sported a headgear with peacock feathers during his election

campaign in Manipur.

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