Assam's bloody 'fun' draws
thousands By Ranjita Biswas
GUWAHATI, India - It's the time of the
year when the people of Hajo, a small town 30
kilometers from Guwahati, capital of the eastern
Indian state Assam, are eager to witness the
famous bulbul fight. The Red vented Bulbul is a
familiar bird on the Indian subcontinent.
Assamese people celebrate Magh Bihu, the
traditional harvest festival in mid-January, with
feasts and merriment. A bulbul fight has become a
part of the "festivities". At Nagaon, also in
Assam state, it is buffalo fights that draw
crowds.
The local temple committee in Hajo
organizes the fights between birds. Thousands
gather to watch.
The fight ritual has
faced continued criticism from animal-rights
activists. "We've tried to
stop this cruel practice for a few years now but
people think we are overreacting," Sangeeta
Goswami, chairperson of People For Animals (PFA),
a non-governmental association in Assam told IPS.
The games, she says "cannot but be called
pitiless".
Buffalo fights are organized
through the festivities in places like Ahatguri,
Jamunamukh and Morigaon in the rural areas of
Nagaon district, about 90 kilometers from
Guwahati. The PFA has campaigned unsuccessfully
against this practice. Animals are known to be
killed sometimes in these fights, and bleeding and
injuries are common. "We tried to engage lawyers
to file a case but nobody was willing to take on
the job," Goswami said.
She said local
people who enjoy this spectacle believe that
unless the buffaloes fight "the animals will go
mad". Many farmers believe that once the buffaloes
are rid of the pent-up rage, they become tame and
ready for the ploughing season.
Birds
marked out for fighting are trapped from around
the end of September, local people say. They are
kept in bamboo cages and are fed herbs mixed with
wild banana and intoxicating drugs. They are then
trained by the owners to fight one another, said a
resident who declined to be named. The trainers
are divided into rival clans, the Bharali-tola and
Sonari-tola.
The enticement for the owner
is "hero" status and a hefty cash prize that has
been increasing each year, local people said.
A local farmer who declined to be named
said he does not like the practice but is afraid
to protest because he could be ostracized for
going against a religiously condoned game. "People
say it was started during king Rudra Singha's
time. Apparently, he was impressed by the sight of
two bulbuls fighting while he was visiting the
Hayagriba temple on a pilgrimage. But even then,
why should we continue this today when people are
more conscious?"
Rudra Singha is regarded
as the greatest of the Ahom kings. The powerful
Ahoms, originally from the Shan province of upper
Burma (now Myanmar), ruled Assam for 600 years
from 1228. This is considered a golden period in
the Brahmaputra valley. Animal fights during
festivities was a popular form of entertainment
over this period.
The Rang-Ghar sports
complex was built in the kingdom's capital,
Sivasagar, in upper Assam, where royals and nobles
watched buffalo, kite, cock, bulbul and other
fights. Today, buffalo and bulbul fights are
illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Act, 1960.
The organizers at Hajo say that
once the fight is over, the birds are set free,
but activists are skeptical. "How do you know how
these birds fare after this traumatic experience,
or if they are accepted back by their flock?"
Goswami said.
Goswami alleges that
government officials are reluctant to intervene to
end this centuries-old tradition as such action
would go against the "sentiment" of the people.
Goswami said that unless local people
cooperate and there is more effort to create
awareness, such practices will not end.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
