Animal sacrifice unlikely at Kullu Dussehra

SHIMLA: While Kullu Devi Devta Kardar Sangh was debating whether the admission of special leave petition (SLP) by Supreme Court makes the high court judgment on animal sacrifice null and void, chances are bleak that animal sacrifice would take place on Thursday to mark the conclusion of weeklong Kullu Dusshera. Surprisingly, while Kullu deities have taken the issue to Supreme Court, some deities in other parts of the state have already given up the age-old tradition of animal sacrifice.

Admitting the SLP challenging the ban filed by Kullu royal Maheshwar Singh, who is also the chief custodian of Lord Raghunath, it did not give any immediate relief to allow animal sacrifice on the concluding day of Dussehra festival. "The Supreme Court has admitted our petition. We are now taking legal opinion whether with admission of our appeal, the high court order has been set aside," said Dot Ram Thakur, president, Kullu Devi Devta Kardar Sangh.

While representatives of some deities in Kullu want to continue with the age-old tradition, there are instances where other deities have already given up the practice. At Nag Nawna temple of Nanser in Giripar area of Sirmaur district, the deity has refused to accept animal sacrifice following the high court order. After the ban, members of temple management committee had sought the opinion of deity through the oracle and the deity while refusing to accept animal sacrifice assured people that it would not annoy him.

This was not the first time when a deity had refused to accept animal sacrifice. Around 50 years back, deity Bijeshwar of Khajret village in Solan district had reportedly stopped the practice of animal sacrifice and started accepting "halwa" instead as offering. "Though animal sacrifice was stopped, we have not faced any wrath of deity," said Om Dutt Sharma, a local resident.

Sources said that around 25 years back, animal sacrifice was stopped at Manseshwar temple in Theog tehsil of Shimla district and villagers claimed that stopping the practice did not bring any bad omen to the area. On Sunday, goddess Hadimba of Seraj, through the oracle, directed to stop the practice of animal sacrifice.

Sonali Purewal of Kasauli-based People for Animals NGO, on whose petition the HC had banned animal sacrifice, said that animals were sacrificed out of fear. She said there are many examples where practice of animal sacrifice has been stopped for the last many years. She said that in the modern age, such practices cannot be justified. Already at many temples, instead of animal sacrifice, devotees are offering halwa and coconut and deities are accepting them, she said.

During the course of hearing on animal sacrifice case before the high court, many people, who were earlier associated with animal sacrifice, had given affidavits demanding a ban, describing the practice as cruel.

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