One episode of Boston Legal, a sitcom on the lives of Attorneys or Lawyers, on Star World, is still in my mind. In the said episode, a minor girl of some immigrant family in US, goes to Court with the help of some NGO, appealing the Court to stop her parents from marrying her before attaining majority. The Court was tried to convince that the case is that of a Child marriage.  In their defence the girl's parents tell the court that what they are doing is nothing but their culture, where girls are married before reaching the adulthood. To the disappointment of the girl's counsels, the Court orders in favour of the parents, saying that it's a right of every culture to preserve its traditions.

The said episode comes to my mind, everytime I think about the ban on Animal Sacrifice in Temples. I'm not justifying what was shown on Boston Legal in the name of tradition, I'm not justifying animal sacrifice in Indian temples. I'm simply putting things into perspective.

Isn't it Uttarakhand People's Right To preserve and Practice their Own culture?

If one looks at Uttarakhand and its people, one finds that we are simple people. We have our own temples, traditions, food and culture. We may be worshipping small round stones in our village temples and soliciting God to fulfil our wishes in simple way; but that's what we are.

We are basically tribals with simple food and diverse but simple culture. Animal Sacrifice, may look insensitive to outsiders, but that's what we are. As people, who for not very long in the past, used to live our lives through sustenance agriculture on small land holdings and livestock; we have merged our way of worship, way of life , simple & complex aspirations with animal sacrifice to our deities. And however insensitive it may look to higher cultures, this insensitivity is merely how one looks at it.

In the recently held festival at Naina Devi, Police stopped animal sacrifice in the temple. They were simply abiding by the law; but thousands of Uttarakhand people were not allowed to worship their way. A day or two ago, similar protests against animal sacrifice stalled the proceedings at another revered shrine.

I ask, who these people in protest are? When majority of people in Uttarakhand simply see animal sacrifice as a continuance and practice of Uttarakhand's culture. In addition, it will not be wrong to see that in Uttarakhand animal sacrifice is part of major nostalgia for a sizable section of the population.

It's All About Sensitivity

The ban of animal sacrifice is a clear case of some so called self declared superior culture. imposing its wishes on everyone. Actually it's all about the degree of sensitivity. And sensitivity differs from person to person. Hence, it's important that simple and distinct cultures like the ones which reside in Uttarakhand are protected. And one way to do that is listen to their perspective; and don't brush aside their customs and traditions as insensitive. 

Let I give you a few examples.

In the recently concluded Nanda Raj Jat Yatra 2014, five or six four horned male goats accompanied the Goddess. Most of these male goats were 5-6 months old. Just like humans, these animals too covered most of the Yatra route on foot. On the conclusion of the Yatra, these animals were abandoned in some forest area situated at the higher reaches of Himalayas. The humans returned back. Since these animals were a domesticated species , not used to wild , they started to follow the returning humans, but they were shooed away to go back. A sensitive person may also see this as insensitive -- First humans made such domesticated young animals to walk kilometres, then we left them at a place with very low oxygen and predators, to parish on their own. Such a sensitive person will argue that showing one's back to a animal not used to fend for itself, is also cruelty. 

The right way of dealing with animal killing is to take care of one's own barometer of sensitiveness. If you are sensitive enough not to see animal killing. You can decide not to indulge in that. 

If you are only averse to seeing animal slaughter, but are Ok with consuming it; then you must stick to this level of sensitivity. 

If you are so sensitive that you link animal slaughter to animal consumed as food; then you can stick to vegetarianism. 

If you see humans consuming milk as insensitivity towards calf; then you can become Vegan (those who don't eat even dairy products).

If you're alright with the Hell like living conditions of Human widows in Varanasi, simply seeing it as their destiny or by a simple prayer that may God give them a decent life ; then you can do so as well.

If one doesn't get rattled by killing of Girl child in womb; then he/she can do that.

But one so called superior culture or religion crushing small simple cultures by banning their traditions, by calling them insensitive and inhuman, is not good.

Animal Sacrifice in temples is linked to Uttarakhand culture and tradition. We have not fully came out of our pastoral traditions. There is a section of people even inside Uttarkhand or hailing from Uttarakhand , who don't want to sacrifice animals. But majority of Uttarkhand people see it as part of their culture and tradition.

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