I have just returned from the Char Dham Yatra, which took me to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and several smaller caves and temples in a land known as Dev Bhoomi. Kedarnath had to be postponed due to the weather.
Yamunotri, 3,235 metres above sea level, is the most difficult of the four dhams since one has to climb the hill for about 7 km and walk back. The path is muddy, wet and slippery. Wind storms are frequent and it may rain at any moment, reaching temperatures of 0°C. In winter, all the dhams go below 0°C and are frozen. There are four ways of reaching Yamunotri. The young and hardy can climb the hill. Those who can afford it take a palki or doli, which costs between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 each. It is carried by four young, strong Nepalese men who can even run up and down the hill. The third form of travelling is on a kandi. This involves a man carrying a huge basket strapped to his forehead. The yatri sits on the basket and the man climbs the hill with it on his back. Needless to say, it is cruel and subhuman. The fourth way of travelling is by mule, donkey or pony.
This is the most tragic, since the animals are underfed, overworked, sick and limping. They are beaten black and blue, whipped on their faces and kicked in the genitals to make them move fast. They have to go up and down the hill at least three or four times a day, although they are supposed to be limited to one trip. Coming down is very difficult as the ground is slippery and one false step can send them tumbling down the hill. I saw an obese woman sitting on a small mule. She fell down along with the animal. Her family members helped her up with care. Sadly, the pony was whipped to get up and carry her again, never mind that he was limping all the way up the hill.
The mules and ponies on the Char Dham are worked to death, drugged with narcotics to make them carry more load, and flogged with whips and heavy rods. The lucky ones die. The unlucky ones live to carry many more loads up and down till they drop dead out of sheer fatigue and starvation. Through corruption, the owners beat the rule that stipulates only one trip per equine. There are no resting or watering places, nor veterinary checks along the way. The animals slip, fall and hurt themselves when they go downhill due to the frequent rains and slippery terrain. I don’t think the Prevention of Cruelty Act is either known or enforced in Uttarakhand. I saw a horse that could barely move; it would jump one step with its two forelegs, followed by the two hind legs. A huge man sat on its back. This year, around 100 animals died in the first three weeks of the yatra according to one news report, and 600 according to another. Actually, nobody knows, not even the government, as I discovered. There is no arrangement for cremating the carcasses of the animals, which are either dumped in the Mandakini river or left to rot unseen, causing any number of health hazards.
According to the officials, there are 8,500 working horses and mules, but only 2,300 are registered—a serious mismatch. Local people claim there are nearly 20,000. Apart from overwork, injuries and acute abdominal issues, the horses and mules are forced to drink icy water from the streams, as there are no arrangements for drinking water. In the higher Himalayan regions, hot water is generally given to the horses, but not on the Char Dham route due to lack of facilities. To reach Kedarnath, the animals have to walk for 16 km. There is a daily footfall of about 5,000–6,000 horses/mules/donkeys every day, with no facilities for food or water, although there were once arrangements for hot water that are now closed.
According to Brooke, Action for Working Horses and Donkeys, there are 50,000 equines in India that work in exploitative conditions: industries such as brick kilns, coal mines and tourism. Even the dhobi overloads his donkey till it falls flat one day. How often do we see tiny donkeys piled with heaps of firewood or bricks or pulling an overloaded cart? Very often, race horses, a pampered breed, are sold off for park and beach rides. After a healthy diet in the stable, they now sustain on limited fodder to survive.
Human history has been shaped by the working horse for thousands of years. Once domesticated, the hard-working mules and horses become an important part of industrial production in several industries, including tourism, agriculture, transportation and even construction—the tiny ponies and mules carry heavy loads of bricks and wood. The livelihoods of millions of people are still sustained by working horses all over the world.
In India, horses, donkeys and mules continue to be the engines that power the rural economy. They help the farmer, facilitate transportation and work long hours in difficult conditions. Many owners do not have access to or cannot afford proper veterinary care. This takes a terrible toll on the lives and welfare of the animals.
To return to the Char Dham, the Uttarakhand government is minting money on its pilgrimage sites. It should be ashamed of its inability to provide fodder and water and for allowing such cruel treatment. Why can it not pave the roads and provide wheelchairs? In Gangotri, there are wheelchairs for those who cannot walk. This is kind on the handlers too, unlike the kandis that are probably breaking backs. Based on a recent PIL, the Uttarakhand HC has issued a notice to the state government. However, there is already a PCA Act and if the government was serious, it would not have allowed matters to come to this level. India has sufficient laws, but their implementation is abysmal.
The Animal Welfare Board of India was shifted to Haryana from Chennai. We had hoped that issues of animal cruelty in north India would be taken up, but that is yet to happen. There was no veterinarian or Animal Welfare Officer to be seen anywhere on the way. Finally, a pilgrimage, which is a wonderful occasion to visit the land of the Gods, becomes an indictment on the poor condition of the overworked equines. When you look up, you see the beautiful and imposing Himalayas reaching the heavens. But when you look down, you see cruelty and tragedy.
Nanditha Krishna
Historian, environmentalist and writer based in Chennai
(nankrishna18@gmail.com)