Gods in Shackles by Sangita Iyer

Author:Sangita Iyer [Sangita Iyer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hay House
Published: 2021-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The Sorry Saga of Sundar

In an earlier chapter of this book, I had mentioned the crowdfunding campaign that I had launched to raise money for my film production. At that time, a Facebook friend, Sujata, posted news of my campaign on a page dedicated to exposing the sad plight of Sundar, a temple elephant, in a place called Kolhapur, not too far from Mumbai. This is how I had initially learnt about Sundar’s miserable life.

This magnificent bull elephant had been taken from his family when he was eight years old, tortured into submission, and sold to a politician in a small village in Kolhapur district. This politician had ‘donated’ this sentient being to a religious institution called Jyotiba Temple. For six tormented years, the poor elephant was chained beneath the scorching sun on the temple’s hard granite floor, forced to ‘bless the devotees’ by placing his trunk on their head for a donation to the establishment. Sundar was the poster child for all the suffering temple elephants of India.

After receiving numerous complaints from devotees, the world-renowned animal welfare organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), intervened. I managed to link up with PETA’s co-ordinator in India, and he set up an interview with their veterinarian in Mumbai, who was knowledgeable on the issues at hand. He explained that PETA had launched an investigation into this elephant and its keepers. Using an undercover camera, they had captured Sundar’s abhorrent treatment—his handlers beating him mercilessly as the poor elephant cried in agony. His right ear had been ripped with the vicious bull hook. Some skin beneath his eye had also been torn by the same weapon, nearly blinding him.

The video I had seen about Sundar had gone viral on social media. Sundar’s plight made angry waves around the world, invoking popular celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney to speak out. He wrote a letter to the prime minister of India saying, ‘I have seen photographs of young Sundar, the elephant kept alone in a shed at Jyotiba Temple and put in chains with spikes. I appeal to you to do what is right here and get Sundar post-haste to rehabilitation in the forest. Years of his life have been ruined by keeping him and abusing him in this way and enough is enough. I most respectfully call on you to use your authority to get Sundar out. The whole world is watching.’

PETA asked the state forest authorities to confiscate the animal. Their repeated requests were ignored and Sundar continued to suffer. Animal activists launched a passionate global campaign demanding Sundar’s release. But nothing happened. Subsequently, PETA launched a case at the High Court of Bombay, which issued orders to release Sundar in a sanctuary. For over a year, the bureaucracy ignored the court orders and dragged its feet. Meanwhile, the politician who had donated Sundar to the temple used his influence to fight PETA every step of the way. Sundar was already enslaved in chains and now, he was also wrapped in red tape.

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