A Country Without Its Dogs
The Supreme Court’s recent order to remove stray dogs from Delhi NCR is being sold in the language of “humane” intervention. Humane? If this is what it means to be humane then it’s as far from humanity as we can get. Three guardians, one family. The Rottweiler is mine, the other two are ‘strays’. We marked them with Collar so the municipality doesn’t take them away. They deserve streets to walk, homes to guard and lives of dignity. Dogs are not the problem it is our apathy. For me, and for the place I come from (Nainital, Uttarakhand) the dogs are not nuisances. They are companions. They are guardians. They are woven into our lives in ways most city dwellers have long forgotten. You will find a dog in nearly every household, whether it belongs to a wealthy orchard owner or a daily wage worker. When I go for my early morning walks with my own dog, the street dogs in my area accompany me. They make me feel safer. They’ve always been there dropping my sister and me and later my brother ...
