Thiruvananthapuram: The killing of the pregnant wild elephant has turned every nook and corner and transformed into a communal controversy attracting debate from people all over the country. The incident took place in the Palakkad district of Kerala but was falsely speculated to have occurred in Mallapuram which was further fueled by the former Union Minister of Environment Maneka Gandhi. She remarked that Mallapuram was the hub of crimes against animals and hindu-muslim disputes often occur in the highly muslim populated area of the state.
“Mallapuram is know for its intense criminal activity specially with regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it. I can only suggest that you call/email and ask for action,” said the former minister in a tweet.
https://twitter.com/Manekagandhibjp/status/1268071345327202305
Her comments have been widely criticized for changing the tragic death of a pregnant elephant into a communal riot.
The 15-year-old wild elephant died last month after allegedly consuming a pineapple which was filled with firecrackers. The post mortem revealed that she was pregnant with a two month old foetus. She had entered a water stream to soothe the growing pain and died there.
The investigation showed that her upper and lower jaw, tongue and teeth were blown away. Experts said that the elephant had eaten a pineapple filled with fire crackers.
When this incident came to light, reports of a similar situations having taken place in Kollam district last month also surfaced and a probe has also been initiated for the same.
Mrs. Gandhi had advocated that the incident took place in Mallapuram, a location which has around 70% Muslim residents, as a means to communalise the issue while it actually occurred in Palakkad district.
The same agenda was carried forward by the present Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, who also referred the incident to be taking place at Malappurram.
Soon after these remarks, the with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and numerous Indian Union Muslim League leaders raised their voices and slammed Gandhi and the forest official’s comments for trying to twist a non-communal issue into a communal one.
The latest to join the protests was State CPI-M secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who told the media on Friday that the incident was a very sad one and a probe is going on.
“But, it was totally unacceptable for Gandhi and the present Union Minister to point out that this happened in Malappurram district. This is the agenda of the RSS to communalise the issue and target Malappurram for ulterior motives,” said Balakrishnan.
One of the state’s top elephant experts P.S.Esa, a member of various institutions including the Asian Elephant Specialist Group, IUCN/SSC reported to IANS that incidents like these have happened around five times in his official four decade long career pertaining to elephants.
“There are two possibilities, one of which is the age old issue of man-animal conflict and this happens in areas where farming activities take place near the forests. Wild elephants do attack farms and take away products which they like and naturally the farmers react. At some places solar electric fences are erected. Another possibility is there are times when poaching takes place, but though one cannot rule that out, generally Kerala does not have many such cases,” said Esa.
Esa pointed out that Kerala has taken major steps and efforts in protecting both wild and captive elephants.
Kerala is the home for about 5700 to 6000 wild elephants, while there are close to 500 captive elephants here, according to statistics and studies.
“Reports are there that every year about two per cent of wild elephants die and a post mortem is done to see if the cause of death is due to contagious diseases. Compared to other states in the country , the Kerala forest department is truly professional and its officers are also passionate about their work,” said Esa.
Another expert, elephant veterinarian Jacob Cheeran, said mostly such incidents would go down as part of the man-animal conflict.
“In my career I have seen there are two types of conflicts, one when elephants attack the farmers and the other when elephants attack illicit distillers. I have seen this in the forests of North Bengal and this happens in Kerala also. For elephants, illicit liquor wash is a favourite item and when it gets the smell it comes to the place where this is being brewed, chases away the distillers and gets drunk on it,” said Cheeran.
Reacting to the Palakkad incident, State Forests Minister K.Raju said that the first arrest has been made.
“A very good joint probe is going on and it will not end with the arrest of one person, as there are others also involved. All those responsible would be taken to task,” said Raju.
Meanwhile the lone Keralite BJP leader in the Union Cabinet, State Minister for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan debated for his colleagues and said the issue is not about Palakkad and Mallapuram.
“The real issue is cruelty to the elephant. And people who say it’s a communal issue, is because they are only used to see things like that,” said Muraleedharan.
The Kerala government has said they will ensure the facts come to light in this regard as politicians are going all out to bring a communal angle to the rather depressing incident and also as it is inviting the notice of the country for all the wrong reasons.
