NEW DELHI: Animal rights activist and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Thursday said no one has evaluated how development is lowering the quality of life.
“Development is making things better, not worse. In that sense, development is not happening,” Gandhi said at an interaction with women journalists at the IWPC.
“What we call development is actually lowering the quality of life. No one has evaluated the damages or benefits. We are not even realising this now,” said the nine-term Lok Sabha MP.
When asked why the government is carrying out mega projects like the Great Nicobar project that threatens to destroy the region's rainforests and indigenous communities, she said, “I don’t know why all this is happening.”
She further said that India is exporting decorative fish, which is destroying the country’s coral reefs.
“We are exporting decorative fish that are kept in aquariums. These fish are found in the coral reefs. To get these fish, we use cyanide; the fish don’t die, they come up. But the coral reef dies. It takes one million years for the coral reef to form. When coral reefs are destroyed, fish populations will decline. If fish are not there, what will happen to the fishermen?"
“We have to evaluate what is more important. Once a few scientists have made a decision, should politicians be allowed to meddle with it?” she asked.
Gandhi recently courted controversy when it was reported that millions of peacocks are killed in India to supply feathers for the Mayur Pichchi used by Digambar Jain monks.
Her remarks drew strong protests from the Jain community, which denied the allegations, stating that the whisks are made exclusively from feathers naturally shed by birds, which aligns with their core philosophy of Ahimsa (non-violence).
“We have to change such rituals, especially those used for religious purposes. Give peacocks a chance to live. As many as 20,000-25,000 peacocks have been killed,” she said.
She also credited Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari for agreeing to her request to write behind public transport, especially auto-rickshaws, “Be Kind to Animals.”
She said this move would make a big difference in changing people's mindset towards animals.
She drew parallels with the successful campaign she launched during her tenure as Women and Child Development minister, when all public transport carried the message “Beti Bachao, Beti Padao.”
On stray dogs attacking people, she said, “Stop relocating dogs. Sterilise them." She also slammed RWAs that deny permission to those who want to keep pets with them at their homes.
