Between love and fear: India’s stray dog dilemma

The immediate fallout showed just how divisive the issue has become. At a public grievance meeting last week, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta narrowly escaped harm when a man suddenly charged at her, waving papers and shouting. Security personnel caught him in time. The attacker was identified as Rajesh Bhai Khimji from Rajkot, described by his mother as an animal lover who was enraged by the court’s earlier decision to remove strays. The motive is still being ascertained. But the fact that someone could travel hundreds of kilometres and attempt to attack a state’s chief minister underlines the polarization surrounding the issue of stray dogs.

Yet this rage, both on the streets and online, ignores a stark reality: thousands of Indians die every year from dog bites. Ten thousand people are bitten daily, a staggering world record. Earlier, the court had directed that strays in Delhi and NCR be removed within 6–8 weeks, a herculean task for civic bodies with limited resources and even less enthusiasm.

A day before Gupta’s attack, NDMC officials had lodged complaints after protestors vandalized vehicles being used to pick up strays. How can those who oppose cruelty to animals turn violent against fellow humans who are following orders?

I have no dislike for any species. At home, we had a dog named ‘Nilu’, who lived with us for 13 years and was treated like a member of the family, like a brother. Even in my childhood, the neighbourhood strays were honorary guard dogs. They were fed, were the responsibility of the entire community, and they never attacked people.

But cities have now become concrete jungles, neighbourhood ties have weakened, and migration has redefined community life. Human-animal relations have changed too. Earlier, no one imagined a pack of strays mauling an adult to death. Today, social media is full of gut-wrenching videos of such attacks.

From capital Delhi to the smallest of hamlets—dogs, monkeys, bulls and cows roam with what appears like a license to kill. Sub-inspector Richa’s story in Ghaziabad shows the depth of the crisis: her two-wheeler suddenly skid when a stray dog ran across her path. She was grievously injured and passed away later that night.

The numbers are indeed sobering. Those opposed to measures against strays are ignoring a stark reality, where thousands of humans are dying every year due to dog bites.

A report released before the covid pandemic showed dog bites in India touched an alarming 7.6 million annually in 2018, but slumped to 1.7 million during the lockdown. The number surged again to 3.7 million last year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 18,000-20,000 people die of rabies annually in India. India does not have an established local procedure or data to record this.

The stray dog issue and the lack of standard procedures have become a national calamity, one that demands urgent action.

And yet, a powerful lobby resists. The stray dog issue has cut across old political divides.

Political circles were abuzz when members of the estranged Gandhi family, who have been at odds for decades, spoke in unison in their defence of strays.

After Sanjay Gandhi’s death in 1980, his widow Maneka Gandhi famously clashed with her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi and even formed her own party in defiance. Since then, Rajiv and Sanjay’s families have rarely agreed on anything.

Yet, the new generation has now closed ranks on this one issue. Their intentions may be benevolent, but the other reality is just as stark: thousands of hapless citizens continue to die from dog bites every year, while governments remain paralysed between powerful lobbies and the ground realities.

Animals need space to live by their natural instincts. But humans too deserve the right to live without the fear of avoidable violence.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.