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It is often overlooked that laws are driven by the values of the law makers. When these values turn against a particular community, such as the African-Americans in the Jim Crow South, zealous do-gooders often use the protection of the “law” to brutalize those communities. In India, the Animal Rights Act is such a cover, used by animal rights NGOs and forest department officials to prosecute the Madaris, an iconic community that has worked with animals through the millennia.
Fight for Survival won the second prize from amongst 85 films at the South-Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival “Jeevika”, organised by the Centre for Civil Society, in New Delhi from 20-28 January 2006.
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In the film, Fight for Survival (20 mins), director Dakxin Bajrange shows us the results of this persecution. In Gujarat in 2003, the Animal Help Foundation and the forest department literally took the fight to the Madaris. Under the guise of protecting animals, Madaris were beaten by hired thugs, dragged out from their bastis, and locked up in dog-cages. Their snakes were taken away, depriving them of their only source of livelihood. But in the ruling values paradigm, officials and the urban NGO have greater credibility than the Madaris who are seen anyway as representative of an ignorant India, an India that ‘India Shining’ seeks to leave behind.
Bajrange spoke to the NGOs who decry that “India is known as a country of elephants and snake-charmers” and forest department officials to get their side for the film. The officials brush off the complaints of torture and beatings declaring that “to bring any change, some pain is necessary.” Despite its focus on particular episodes of persecution, Fight for Survival is a rich record of the lives of the Madaris. The Madaris emerge not just as “snake-charmers”, but a living, thriving, dynamic community.
Being a member of a stigmatised tribe himself, Bajrange brings to the film a sense of the real, lived experience of being on the wrong side of the law. In highlighting the situation of the Madaris, he speaks out for voiceless communities everywhere.
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Cite this article
India Together (2006) ‘⊕’, India Together, 27 April 2006. https://indiatogether.org/madaris-society/
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Radhika Sharma · 14 June 2006
I believe there are two ways of getting out of any situation; the one that makes the situation better and the one that makes it worse. The way that Animal Help Foundation and Forest Department are trying to solve this issue (and I say this with all due respect to the cause), is an example of the latter way. India is indeed the land of snake charmers and elephants. And there are ways to make sure it stays that way, without the consequent harm to the animals. What if, for example, we were to introduce a system of licensing these madaris. Only the license holder madaris would be allowed to perform at predesignated places. These people could be subjected to regular inspections/surprise audits of the animals and the conditions they are kept in. Better still, these guys could be provided some basic training on how to look after their animals. This calls for more intervention and commitment from the government. The non-licence holder madaris, if trying to run a illegal show, can be then taken to task. A cultural tradition should be provided more support to sustain and flourish, not eliminated.
sandeep kumar · 8 September 2006
respected sir, I think the possible answer to this problem is to engage these snake charmers in conservation of snakes by promoting venum cooperative which has helped the Irula tribe in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. This will not only help the snake charmers but will also help in snake conservation as well as snake bitten people. yours faithfully, sandeep kumar, jharkhand 827006