In the erstwhile princely state of Aundh, home of the Pant Pratinidhi dynasty, tucked away 50 km inside the Western Maharashtra town of Satara, a moral tussle rages over an elephant who was born sometime as India was securing her Independence from the British Raj.
Since 2015, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been alleging that ‘Gajraj’ the elephant has been subjected to systematic abuse after being shackled for decades, with no regular veterinary care.
The residents of Aundh aver the ground reality is otherwise, and allege that PETA’s ‘concern’ for Gajraj is a case of overzealous activism aggravated by misinformed journalism.
A recent report in the UK tabloid The Sun (April 10) claimed that Gajraj “is going mad after decades of torture” and that he had exploited for begging by his mahout handlers. It went on to say that the animal was “held in captivity for 50 years is dying in agony and has had its tusks chopped off,” commenting on Gajraj’s psychological anguish caused by “social isolation” and “continuous abuse in captivity.”
For the residents of Aundh, cutting across caste and religious barriers, the accusations of abuse tantamount to slander as Gajraj is regarded as a local deity and a member of the family with whom many villagers have played with since they were little children.
“The first person who so much as tries to lay a hand on my elephant should beware. I might die, but will never let anyone take my Gajraj away from me,” warns a visibly agitated Dawood mahout, speaking to The Hindu .
In his sixty-fifth year, Dawood, nearly as old as Gajraj, proudly cites the award given to him Ganapati Temple Trust in Sangli for his caretaking of the elephant – a humble testament to his love of the ‘Wise Animal’.
As Gajraj’s lifelong caretakers, Dawood and his brother Rahimatullah, is perturbed and visibly hurt that people with little or no regular contact with either the elephant or Aundh should airily accuse them of ‘cruel neglect’.
“Why don’t any of the PETA activists visit rather than simmering with righteous indignations and drawing wrong conclusions from some photos? Why don’t journalists take the trouble to find out whether Gajraj has indeed been fettered for decades, like they claim,” says Sachin Pawar, a local journalist and resident of Aundh.
Describing Gajraj’s routine, Dawood says he bathes the animal punctually at six in the morning, after which he rides him for about four km. to his haunting ground — a vast, sprawling farmland of over 100 acres where the elephant contentedly feeds on sugarcane, hay, straw among other crops.
The estate belongs to Gayatri Devi, the reigning royalty of Aundh. Gajraj was gifted during her marriage to Bhagwant Rao in 1972, where the animal essayed a vital role in the celebrations. Gajraj is a star attraction during the annual festivities at the famous Yamai Devi Temple, sited on a hilltop in Aundh.
The PETA’s allegations (and recommendations) stem from a visit and subsequent report on the elephant’s conditions as observed by two doctors from the ‘Animal Rahat’ organization in November 2014.
In it, the doctors draw attention to Gajraj’s “emaciated condition” while remarking that the animal’s nails and footpad are “grossly overgrown, necrotic and overgrown”.
Stating that the health of his feet was serious, the report (accessed by The Hindu) notes Gajraj’s large festering wounds on his hips, shoulders, ankles which were not being treated and which subsequently were not draining properly. The doctors accordingly recommended that Gajraj’s pressure wounds be lanced properly and cleaned daily, while his nails be trimmed to prevent the onset of osteomyelitis (infection of the bone).
At the time of the visit, the doctors found Gajraj chained and said that its feet had been left untreated for three years.
The report further observes that the mahout (Dawood) has no plan for rectifying the problem.
Since then, in a series of admonitory letters to Gayatri Devi Ingrid Newkirk, president, PETA, had alleged that the result of long-term chaining prevented the elephant from shifting his enormous weight and exercising properly.
“Gajraj is old now…and has been in shackles for decades,” reads a letter of February 23, 2015, accessed by The Hindu.
In the letter, Ms. Newkirk further urges Ms. Gayatri Devi to direct without delay the construction of a corral in which Gajraj can live out his last years.
The estimate of the corral construction amounted to more than Rs. 34 lakh. Following this, the Yamai Devi Temple trust members had written to PETA saying they were already spending a large amount for Gajraj’s maintenance and requested PETA to support them with some funds, following which they would provide sufficient space for the construction of the corral.
In another stern communication from Ms. Newkirk to Gayatri Devi on February 19 last year, the former took particular objection to the latter’s reference to the idea of the corral as “dead investment” and “a waste of money.”
“I have heard that Gajraj was gifted to you by your late father during your marriage and can only be baffled that his health and welfare seems not to be of any importance to you.
Despite the Rahat team’s repeated requests, Ms. Newkirk alleged that the mahouts had failed to cover the chain, eating into Gajraj’s leg, with soft protective materials.
“What is the need for an American ‘corral’ when Gajraj roams freely all over Aundh in an estate especially devoted for his food requirement,” says Deepak Kadam, a resident.
The mahout and other residents contend that the photographs, allegedly showing Gajraj ‘cruelly chained’ were clicked when the restive elephant had to be restrained during the mating season – a time when the when even mahouts find it a challenge to control him.
“He is chained only for the duration when we require rest or during the mating season or ‘masti’ when he has to be calmed with oil. Else, he has always been a free animal since he was born. We played with him as children,” says Sachin Shinde, a primary school teacher.
Wahid mahout, Dawood’s nephew, terms the allegations of the elephant being used for begging as downright ‘false’. He naively says the elephant’s tusks were trimmed only after a period of seven years to prevent them from getting crossed and avoid harm to the animal.
All the same, despite the villager’s affection and the mahouts’ devotion, the animal’s wounds were treated with rudimentary medicines without thought to specialized care, averred forest authorities.
However, they refuted allegations of ‘systematic abuse’ as presented by PETA.
“It is ludicrous to say that wanton abuse was heaped on the elephant. No one loves an elephant more than a mahout, who cares for it as he would take nurture his own child. But, ignorance, rather than any harmful intent, may possibly have contributed to lack of treatment,” observes Anil Anjankar, deputy conservator of forests, Satara forest division.
What aggravated the brouhaha over Gajraj was an incident during Pali village procession in Satara, where a woman was killed after an elephant allegedly ran berserk during the regionally popular Khandoba festival. Following this, PETA and Wildlife SOS activists stepped in to rehabilitate the elephant.
“The elephant, Ramprasad, became monetarily agitated after something went in his eye. He did not run amok. However, the PETA and Wildlife SOS activists kicked up a big rumpus and made sure Ramprasad was rehabilitated. It pained me to see how he was manhandled while being ‘rescued’…but our voices seldom get heard or reported,” said Javed mahout, who delivered them to the activists.
PETA has strongly recommended that Gajraj be rehabilitated to an elephant rescue centre in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).
However, the mahouts and the residents of Aundh, in one voice say that if Gajraj is removed from his friendly and familiar environs, he will surely die of loneliness.
In one communication (Dec. 2015) to Gayatri Devi, Ms. Newkirk says: “When I was a child, we didn’t know then that possession of an elephant was wrong…But times have changed.”
However, as Dawood fondles Gajraj in the fields of Aundh against a setting sun, it would appear for them, as for the residents of Aundh, time has stood still.
