The Dog Conspiracy

The blood bath given by the prowling dogs has created a scare never witnessed before. How is the menace going to end and who will save people from this newest kind of harassment? Last year when the prowling dogs had created a scare there were many offers for getting rid of the menace. One of these offers was made by somebody named as the “Pied Piper” of the dogs. He had reportedly offered to get rid of the menace against some fee. However, after sometime he disappeared from the scene. Recently, he is reported to have stated that there is a deep rooted conspiracy behind this menace which has made the life of citizen miserable. Especially the young children are facing the brunt of the canine attacks. People are mortally afraid to go out during night. According to him it is to be established whether all the dogs prowling on the streets are of Kashmiri origin only! This implies that he feels these are being brought from somewhere else and let loose on the hapless Kashmiris. It is a point worth looking into. The extreme proliferation of these dogs has occurred only in last few years. Another interesting episode was the pleading of the cases of dogs in the courts by a battery of lawyers heavily paid by some outside agencies concerned with the welfare of animals. Ironically, the humans being mercilessly attacked by these ferocious canines were being represented by a single lawyer! Very strangely the Bar Association expressed its inability to stand for humans as no one had preferred a complaint! As if they were barred from taking a suo moto notice of the matter in spite of being humans themselves. One hopes the dog protection act is not as draconian as the AFSPA? Even if the allegations levelled by the “Pied Pier” have some truth what about the attitude of the authorities supposed to protect the human life? They seem to be absolutely paralysed. In earlier times, the Municipal authorities used to be extra vigilant and would never allow the dogs to grow to such a menacing proportion. At present they are somehow not only tongue tied but are being physically held back supposedly under some unknown legislation. It is not known whether the legislation or the court direction has been made applicable to J & K? The civil society itself has become totally impotent. They only make a lot of noise without any productive action. Their intervention is limited to press statements, press conferences, and seminars as though the menace is not starkly visible to everyone. It is the primary duty of the state to protect the human life and not the reverse. Animals cannot be protected at the cost of the human life especially when these threaten the very existence of the human beings. In case of rodents, the government itself distributes anti-rodent poison to save the crops. One is surprised why this dog menace has not grown to such unmanageable proportions in Jammu or in some other states. Why only Kashmiris have to be sacrificed at the altar of dog lovers? Kashmiris have been facing harassments of different types for quite sometime. During the peak of militancy, they had to undergo humiliation and physical harassment. With the easing of violence and decline in militancy, this harassment has been considerably reduced. The uniform is not so much dreaded now. However, a new type of harassment has replaced the earlier ones. Packs of stray dogs, sometimes numbering a hundred or so, prowling all over. The time is not far off when these packs of ferocious dogs would start going inside homes to attack the humans. Self-defence is also a basic human right. Even in law if someone is attacked, he has every right to defend himself. Why not in the case of dogs? There is loud talk going on that the whole dog episode has a big conspiracy behind it. The sterilisation programme is supposed to cost a thousand crores but there is no surety for its success. Some people with a lot of clout in Srinagar and Delhi are supposed to be involved in it. In the meantime, there is a moot point even raised by a judge that these canines will not stop biting after sterilisation. By the time a portion of these dogs is sterilised, there will be many times more prowling on the roads. The other interesting angle is that the dog menace has grown to such proportions that it has made people forget everything. Even AFSPA is going into background. In fact, a well known columnist tweeted, “Forget about Delhi-Kashmir Accord”, tell us about the “Dog-Government Accord”! Soon, there may be a refrain, for God’s sake, forget Azadi, save us from these menacing dogs, Kashmiri or otherwise! (Comments at ashrafmjk@gmail.com)