(PK) God is not Dracula--but sacrifice continues

[Guest guest]

" God is not Dracula " --but sacrifice continues

 

KATHMANDU, MULTAN-- " God is not Dracula! " protested Animal Save Movement

Pakistan president Khalid Mahmood Qurashi via posters, 

web postings, and press releases as the annual Eid ul Azha began in 

Saudi Arabia on November 27, 2009, and continued around the world 

for four days.

 Qurashi reminds fellow Muslims every year that Islam requires 

charitable acts at the Eid, not blood sacrifice. This year Qurashi 

found himself reminding Hindus, too, as the Eid slaughters were 

compounded by the sacrificial massacre days earlier of more than a 

quarter of a million animals in Bariyarpur, a Nepalese village near 

the Bijar border.

 The Eid celebrates the conclusion of the Haj pilrimage to 

Mecca, which observant Muslims are to make once in their lifetime, 

if able. Reports from Saudi Arabia indicate that about 685,000 

sheep, goats, and other animals were killed for the Eid in 2009, 

continuing a slight downward trend evident for several decades. 

Globally, as many as 20 million animals were killed for Eid 

feasts--but, under pressure from governments throughout the Islamic 

world, more and more of the killing is done in slaughterhouses, and 

less by untrained heads of households at curbside.

  " Work to rectify this situation in Turkey has yielded fruit 

in recent years, with the Directorate of Religious Affairs working 

in conjunction with regional municipal and agricultural authorities  to reduce

the unsanitary and unacceptable conditions, " reported the 

Istanbul newspaper Zaman.

 The Bariyarpur slaughter, however, may have been the 

biggest yet, and the promoters reportedly made no concessions to 

either animal welfare or sanitation.

  " The history of this bloodthirsty event began when Bhagwan 

Chaudhary, a feudal landlord, was imprisoned about 260 years ago, "  

wrote Anil Bhanot for The Guardian, of London. " He dreamed that all 

his problems would be solved if he made a blood sacrifice to 

Gadhimai, " a Hindu goddess worshipped by the Bhojpuri people who

inhabit the Nepal/Bijar border region.

 Bhagwan Chaudhary and a local faith healer conducted the 

sacrifice upon his release from prison. The killing in 2009 began 

when Dukha Kachadiya, a descendant of the faith healer, " started 

the ritual with drops of his own blood from five parts of his body, "  

wrote Bhanot. Mangal Chaudhary, a descendant of Bhagwan Chaudhary, 

then beheaded the first of about 16,000 buffalo. The buffalo 

massacre was followed by the killing of about 50,000 goats, and then 

other animals including sheep, poultry, and rats.

 The Maoist-dominated Nepalese government spent 4.5 million 

rupees to build open-air slaughtering facilities, but most of the 

massacre reportedly occurred wherever massacre participants found 

themselves. The government motivation was money, reported Laxmi Sah 

and Pawan Yadav of the Kathmandu Post: " Contractors have paid 5.1 

million rupees for the use of flesh, hide and bones of the animals, "  

who were brought to the slaughter mostly at the expense of the 

participants, though the Nepalese government also purchases some 

animals for sacrifice as a political gesture.

  " Earlier, the festival management committee used to earn 

nearly two million rupees selling hides, while the local dalits 

[poorest of the poor] ate the flesh, " sacrifice committee vice chair 

Dhenukh Chaurasiya told Sah and Yadav.

  " The dalit community has refused to consume the flesh of the 

slaughtered animals this year, " Sah and Yadav noted.

  " Five years ago Nepalese king Gyanendra attended the Gadhimai 

festival, throwing his weight behind the orgy of sacrifice, "  

observed the Times of India News Network. " Today, with his crown 

abolished, the former king's kin leads a passionate campaign to 

prevent animal sacrifice. "

" I stopped animal sacrifice at my parents' house when I was

eight, " explained Pramada Shah, president of Animal Welfare Network 

Nepal. " When I was married to Ashish Shah, Gyanendra's nephew, I

realised animal sacrifice was deeply rooted in the family tradition. 

However, I put an end to it. " Shah joined with spiritual leader Ram 

Bahadur Bomjan, called the Buddha Boy by devotees, and with 

activists around the world to organize opposition to the Gadhimai 

slaughter. " The government used the lame excuse that this is an 

ancient culture that should run its course, " Shah said. " We intend

to work in coordination with Indian groups to raise awareness among 

he visitors, of whom 60 to 80% are Indian. We also want to work 

with the local communities, with the hope that the next Gadhimai 

festival will be different. "

" The organizers violated every code of animal welfare. The 

animals were not provided with any water and food in the days before 

the sacrifice, " testified Roots & Shoots Nepal representative Manoj 

Gautam. " Many young animals had already died from stress, 

exhaustion and dehydration before the killing started. Their bodies 

were left among the live animals. The sacrifices were carried out 

randomly within a radius of three kilometers of the temple. Everyone 

could kill anything, with whatever knife or sword. Butchers holding 

swords hacked randomly at thousands of buffalo. No one was holding 

the buffalo--many tried to escape. Baby buffalo were bleating and 

searching for their mothers. Not a single animal survived. The 

Gadhimai festival committee, despite countless promises, failed to 

provide a space where animals could be left for jeevandhan, " or 

ritual mercy.

  " Baby buffalo came up to me wanting to be petted. They were 

scared and needed some comfort, " said Animal Nepal program manager 

Krishna Singh.

  " A baby buffalo came up to me and touched my tripod, "  

recalled photographer Bibi Funyal. " I felt I would pass out if I 

continued filming. When I left, I had to step over thousands of 

bodies and heads and wade through animal blood. "

  " Now that I have observed the festival, I am convinced that 

these killings are among the worst cruelty in the world, " said Dutch 

journalist Lucia de Vries.

  " The Gadhimai killing brings to light what happens every day 

in slaughterhouses across the planet, " responded Nepalese writer, 

film maker, and blogger Sushma Joshi. " The only difference is that 

we see the crudeness with which animals are killed. I, an aspiring 

vegetarian, almost support sacrifices for this reason--because it 

provides a mirror for the world to see exactly what goes on their 

plates. "

 Three infants died of exposure and one man died after 

drinking moonshine during the Gadhimai festival, the Indo-Asian News 

Service and Nepali daily Kantipur reported. All four victims were  from Bijar.

  " It is unfortunate that Hinduism, which is the earliest 

religion to forsake the killing of animals, is misused to sacrifice 

animals, " wrote C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation director Nanditha 

Krishna. " The Rig Veda, the most ancient book of the Hindus, says 

'One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or another 

animal and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if 

such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not 

hesitate to cut off his head.' The Yajur Veda adds 'You must not use 

your God-given body for killing God's creatures.' The Atharva Veda 

says 'Those noble souls who practice meditation and other yogic ways, 

who are ever careful about other beings, who protect all animals, 

are those who are serious about spiritual practices.'

  " Contemporary Hindu ritual is based on the Manusmruti. Manu 

lashed out against all forms of sacrifice and meat-eating, " Krishna 

added.

 Nanditha Krishna's husband, Blue Cross of India chief

executive Chinny Krishna, invited Animals In Islam author Basheer 

Ahmad Masri to Chennai shortly before Al Masri's death in 1993, " to 

make a case among Muslims not to sacrifice goats for the Eid, and to 

give sweets instead of mutton to honor the occasion, " wrote Sharon 

St. Joan of the Best Friends Network. The mission had little effect 

on Eid slaughters, but then-Chennai mayor Abul Hassan was persuaded, 

and later endorsed the prototype for the Indian national Animal Birth 

Control program, ending the killing of street dogs.

  

 

-- 

Merritt Clifton

 Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

 P.O. Box 960

 Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

 Fax: 360-579-2575

 E-mail: anmlpepl

 Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

[Guest guest]

Dear Sirs,

Media support can play a major role in the creation of a more compasionate and

enlightened society. Please help!

Thank you!

Purnima L.Toolsidass

People For Animals Calcutta

6/1, Wood Street,

Kolkata 700016.

-

Purnima Toolsidass

khalid qureshi

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 8:00 AM

Re: (PK) " God is not Dracula " --but sacrifice continues

 

 

In my opinion, none of the religious leaders have succeeded in enlightening the

faithful about the essence of religion - compassion, truthfulnes, integrity,

etc. We who are concerned need to focus on a publicity campain in regional

languages, giving quotes from the different religoius books that show how

compassion and mercy are paramount; not rituals!

Purnima L.Toolsidass

People For Animals Calcutta

www.pfacalcutta.org

 

 

On Sat, Dec 12, 2009 at 9:57 PM, khalid qureshi <knrm2 wrote:

 

 

 

 

" God is not Dracula " --but sacrifice continues

 

KATHMANDU, MULTAN-- " God is not Dracula! " protested Animal Save Movement

Pakistan president Khalid Mahmood Qurashi via posters,

web postings, and press releases as the annual Eid ul Azha began in

Saudi Arabia on November 27, 2009, and continued around the world

for four days.

Qurashi reminds fellow Muslims every year that Islam requires

charitable acts at the Eid, not blood sacrifice. This year Qurashi

found himself reminding Hindus, too, as the Eid slaughters were

compounded by the sacrificial massacre days earlier of more than a

quarter of a million animals in Bariyarpur, a Nepalese village near

the Bijar border.

The Eid celebrates the conclusion of the Haj pilrimage to

Mecca, which observant Muslims are to make once in their lifetime,

if able. Reports from Saudi Arabia indicate that about 685,000

sheep, goats, and other animals were killed for the Eid in 2009,

continuing a slight downward trend evident for several decades.

Globally, as many as 20 million animals were killed for Eid

feasts--but, under pressure from governments throughout the Islamic

world, more and more of the killing is done in slaughterhouses, and

less by untrained heads of households at curbside.

" Work to rectify this situation in Turkey has yielded fruit

in recent years, with the Directorate of Religious Affairs working

in conjunction with regional municipal and agricultural authorities to reduce

the unsanitary and unacceptable conditions, " reported the

Istanbul newspaper Zaman.

The Bariyarpur slaughter, however, may have been the

biggest yet, and the promoters reportedly made no concessions to

either animal welfare or sanitation.

" The history of this bloodthirsty event began when Bhagwan

Chaudhary, a feudal landlord, was imprisoned about 260 years ago, "

wrote Anil Bhanot for The Guardian, of London. " He dreamed that all

his problems would be solved if he made a blood sacrifice to

Gadhimai, " a Hindu goddess worshipped by the Bhojpuri people who

inhabit the Nepal/Bijar border region.

Bhagwan Chaudhary and a local faith healer conducted the

sacrifice upon his release from prison. The killing in 2009 began

when Dukha Kachadiya, a descendant of the faith healer, " started

the ritual with drops of his own blood from five parts of his body, "

wrote Bhanot. Mangal Chaudhary, a descendant of Bhagwan Chaudhary,

then beheaded the first of about 16,000 buffalo. The buffalo

massacre was followed by the killing of about 50,000 goats, and then

other animals including sheep, poultry, and rats.

The Maoist-dominated Nepalese government spent 4.5 million

rupees to build open-air slaughtering facilities, but most of the

massacre reportedly occurred wherever massacre participants found

themselves. The government motivation was money, reported Laxmi Sah

and Pawan Yadav of the Kathmandu Post: " Contractors have paid 5.1

million rupees for the use of flesh, hide and bones of the animals, "

who were brought to the slaughter mostly at the expense of the

participants, though the Nepalese government also purchases some

animals for sacrifice as a political gesture.

" Earlier, the festival management committee used to earn

nearly two million rupees selling hides, while the local dalits

[poorest of the poor] ate the flesh, " sacrifice committee vice chair

Dhenukh Chaurasiya told Sah and Yadav.

" The dalit community has refused to consume the flesh of the

slaughtered animals this year, " Sah and Yadav noted.

" Five years ago Nepalese king Gyanendra attended the Gadhimai

festival, throwing his weight behind the orgy of sacrifice, "

observed the Times of India News Network. " Today, with his crown

abolished, the former king's kin leads a passionate campaign to

prevent animal sacrifice. "

" I stopped animal sacrifice at my parents' house when I was

eight, " explained Pramada Shah, president of Animal Welfare Network

Nepal. " When I was married to Ashish Shah, Gyanendra's nephew, I

realised animal sacrifice was deeply rooted in the family tradition.

However, I put an end to it. " Shah joined with spiritual leader Ram

Bahadur Bomjan, called the Buddha Boy by devotees, and with

activists around the world to organize opposition to the Gadhimai

slaughter. " The government used the lame excuse that this is an

ancient culture that should run its course, " Shah said. " We intend

to work in coordination with Indian groups to raise awareness among

he visitors, of whom 60 to 80% are Indian. We also want to work

with the local communities, with the hope that the next Gadhimai

festival will be different. "

" The organizers violated every code of animal welfare. The

animals were not provided with any water and food in the days before

the sacrifice, " testified Roots & Shoots Nepal representative Manoj

Gautam. " Many young animals had already died from stress,

exhaustion and dehydration before the killing started. Their bodies

were left among the live animals. The sacrifices were carried out

randomly within a radius of three kilometers of the temple. Everyone

could kill anything, with whatever knife or sword. Butchers holding

swords hacked randomly at thousands of buffalo. No one was holding

the buffalo--many tried to escape. Baby buffalo were bleating and

searching for their mothers. Not a single animal survived. The

Gadhimai festival committee, despite countless promises, failed to

provide a space where animals could be left for jeevandhan, " or

ritual mercy.

" Baby buffalo came up to me wanting to be petted. They were

scared and needed some comfort, " said Animal Nepal program manager

Krishna Singh.

" A baby buffalo came up to me and touched my tripod, "

recalled photographer Bibi Funyal. " I felt I would pass out if I

continued filming. When I left, I had to step over thousands of

bodies and heads and wade through animal blood. "

" Now that I have observed the festival, I am convinced that

these killings are among the worst cruelty in the world, " said Dutch

journalist Lucia de Vries.

" The Gadhimai killing brings to light what happens every day

in slaughterhouses across the planet, " responded Nepalese writer,

film maker, and blogger Sushma Joshi. " The only difference is that

we see the crudeness with which animals are killed. I, an aspiring

vegetarian, almost support sacrifices for this reason--because it

provides a mirror for the world to see exactly what goes on their

plates. "

Three infants died of exposure and one man died after

drinking moonshine during the Gadhimai festival, the Indo-Asian News

Service and Nepali daily Kantipur reported. All four victims were from Bijar.

" It is unfortunate that Hinduism, which is the earliest

religion to forsake the killing of animals, is misused to sacrifice

animals, " wrote C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation director Nanditha

Krishna. " The Rig Veda, the most ancient book of the Hindus, says

'One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or another

animal and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if

such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not

hesitate to cut off his head.' The Yajur Veda adds 'You must not use

your God-given body for killing God's creatures.' The Atharva Veda

says 'Those noble souls who practice meditation and other yogic ways,

who are ever careful about other beings, who protect all animals,

are those who are serious about spiritual practices.'

" Contemporary Hindu ritual is based on the Manusmruti. Manu

lashed out against all forms of sacrifice and meat-eating, " Krishna

added.

Nanditha Krishna's husband, Blue Cross of India chief

executive Chinny Krishna, invited Animals In Islam author Basheer

Ahmad Masri to Chennai shortly before Al Masri's death in 1993, " to

make a case among Muslims not to sacrifice goats for the Eid, and to

give sweets instead of mutton to honor the occasion, " wrote Sharon

St. Joan of the Best Friends Network. The mission had little effect

on Eid slaughters, but then-Chennai mayor Abul Hassan was persuaded,

and later endorsed the prototype for the Indian national Animal Birth

Control program, ending the killing of street dogs.

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org