Breaking animal’s leg no civilised way to protest
There is no justification for the sickening attack by a bunch of people including allegedly BJP legislator Ganesh Joshi on a 13-year-old police horse, Shaktimaan, who has lost a leg in the process. That Joshi (or any other person in that crowd) did not directly hit the animal but instead beat the ground in front of it with a stick, makes little difference. It was, from all available evidence, their action that caused the defenceless being grievous injury. The act has been rightly condemned by leaders from across the political spectrum including from within the BJP Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, who has a long track record of working on animal welfare issues, was in fact one of the first politicians to express her disappointment and anger. Hopefully, more leaders from the party will come forth and oppose the act. After all, such issues are hardly political per se; they are commonsensical and go right to the basics of our human values.
As Joshi himself acknowledged on national television, he had grabbed the stick from the hand of a policeman (which, in itself, is a crime) and used it to hit the ground. This, obviously, scared the horse, who then moved backwards, and hit the railing behind it, causing its hind legs to fracture. Note here that, even amidst all the chaos and confusion, the horse did not attack Joshi instead, the animal, quite possibly petrified at that time but still following its training, just sought to move away from the troublemaker. Joshi, meanwhile, has gone from TV studio to TV studio seemingly defending the indefensible until, of course, he was arrested on Friday and booked under Section 429 (Mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc, of any value or any animal of the value of `50). In what is clearly his desperate attempt to gain a modicum of public support, the legislator offered to cut off his own leg if he is found to have hit the animal! Apart from the fact that this is unnecessary melodrama, Joshi's severed limb will not fix Shaktimaan's broken leg and merely distracts from the main problem. Another issue that has been brought up in this context is whether those who eat animals have the moral authority to talk about animal rights. This is yet another facile argument the reverse equivalent of which will be that those who don't eat animals are, therefore, well within their rights to abuse animals.
Perhaps, the only silver lining in this macabre incident is the tremendous outpouring of support that has emerged from the public. It is heartening to see the entire nation come together and demand justice for the horse. If nothing else, this kind of public attention has ensured that Shaktimaan gets the best treatment possible. Though his leg had to be amputed, an expert veterinarian team has got him an artificial one and Shaktimaan is now able to stand, although it is still too early to say if the horse will return to service with the mounted police. Now, if only the media circus around him could be contained, Shaktimaan, like any other living being recovering from a serious injury, could use some rest. Meanwhile, the law must take its course for Joshi and anyone else who may have been involved in this incident.