For our fellow animals, writes Raveena Tandon Thadani

So... writing a column can put one under tremendous pressure, as I’ve begun to realise. There are days I just float through life in a numbed, thoughtless, peaceful Zen-like state, lying in bed, watching shows back-to-back... staring blankly at the telly, I do nothing and rest of the time is devoted to the kids. Days like these, I don’t even try to collect my scattered thoughts to start writing. I don’t watch the news, get on to social media, I don’t want to know who’s killing who, or what hunger games the politicians are playing now. 

The same old headlines, of real soap operas of the rich-and-famous — the runaway tycoon, a murder-plotting media baron, attention-seeking leftist ‘anti-national’ students and some wannabe small-time politician ‘activist’ fighting for ‘women’s rights’ by pushing herself into temples. I am all for equality, but this woman wants entry into some inner sanctums where neither men nor women are allowed. There’s even a blockade to prevent devotees from getting too close to the idols. Shouldn’t those fighting or helping rape and acid victims, working in our rural areas to uplift women in forms of education  and awareness for their rights be given more primetime and attention? But no, you’ll see these loudmouths making ridiculous statements making more headlines with nothing really to contribute to society or women but just hidden political agendas getting airtime.

Just more attention seekers joining the ranks of rabble-rousers to add to the chaos. When nothing substantial happens, it is better to blank out these headlines and unimportant outrage on social media. It’s time to devote time to family, pets and gardening... things that actually matter. Pouring positive energies into doing things that actually make a difference!

So, this week I was actively involved with a fundraising event for an NGO called IDA (In Defence of Animals). I’ve been their ambassador for two years now creating awareness about their work. They have been doing great work for stray dogs — through sterilisation, treatment and rehabilitation. They also take rescue calls for animals in distress. My children Rasha and Ranbirvardhan were made cub ambassadors through an initiative called the Compassionate Kids Club. The idea is to catch kids young, spread the message through projects and presentations in schools — instil in them compassion, kindness and a sense of responsibility to protect the weak. They could be humans or the fairer sex or defenceless animals. 

Kindness and compassion needs to be instilled towards a fellow human or fellow animal. I say fellow animal as I believe that animals are our co-inhabitants on this planet and have equal rights on every bit of this land and forests as us. As my daughter Rasha said in her speech, “We all are God’s creatures, mostly animals, who mind their own business till the time we humans disrupt their natural lives”, bringing about amused chuckles in her audience and highlighting the irony of the situation.

Our forests are disappearing faster than one can imagine. Our very own ‘green lung’, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park — the only national Park in the world with a city surrounding it, is being encroached upon, and not just the illegal ones.

As an animal rights advocate and a Mumbaikar, the state forest department’s decision to lift the reserve status of 58 hectares of Mumbai’s forest land for the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor project, saddens me. 

Clearing precious green space for freight trains will disturb/displace the animals who inhabit these natural areas. Since much of the forest area within has already been destroyed, that stretch of land, is all that the animals have left. If vast sections of that are also destroyed, the animals who live there will essentially be left with nowhere to go and nothing to eat.

Further destruction of what’s left of their homes will only make this awful situation worse. 

I leave you something to think about — the ending to Rasha’s speech, a quote by the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated’.