We must be the change we want to see,” says Monica Pandian, an 18-year-old, second-year plant biology student at Women’s Christian College, Chennai. Pandian echoes the same thoughts that the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi once expressed. Pandian’s love for animals drove her to become a member of PETA Dishoom Street Team Chennai, which works tirelessly to fight for animal rights all over the world.
Pandian’s love for animals and nature developed as a child when the sight of an animal being abused would disturb her. It was the cruelty against animals that propelled her to change her attitude towards life. She became a vegan and realised she had to make a difference.
Ever since, she has been actively involved in the various campaigns and adoption drives organised by PETA. “We have to respect animal rights. We can’t rule them,” says Pandian. Her belief strengthened when she attended yoga classes and learnt about Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.
Pandian is also a part of her college’s enviro club which is actively involved in various environmental and ecological conservation activities. She has been a part of awareness rallies and beach clean-up activities.
In her free time, Pandian writes on issues she strongly feels for — nature and animal rights. She actively promotes veganism via Facebook. She also tries to juggle study and her activism by attending weekend meetings of the various PETA activities. Her strong inclination towards nature and animal rights activism has inspired Pandian to pursue MSc in environmental science in future.
— prerna.c@newindianexpress.com