Stamped Impressions
Hunting the hapless
Reeta Sharma

DID you read what Sharmila Tagore said after her husband Nawab Pataudi was finally released on bail in a poaching case? If not, here I quote her: "Thank God he’s out on bail. We went through so much agony and unending stress. The past few days were full of trauma and suffering."

 Sharmila tactfully avoided commenting on the role of her husband in killing a black buck. Dear Sharmila, you have talked of your trauma, suffering, agony and stress. But have you ever paused to think that when the likes of your husband, armed with guns, chase animals, what kind of "trauma", "agony", "suffering" and "stress" the hapless beings must be going through? While you can utter these words and try to seek sympathy from the public, the animals don’t even have that chance.

 Sharmila and advocates of Pataudi have tried to cash in on Pataudi being old and unwell. It’s strange that human beings take such pleas in the court. Did Pataudi or Sharmila ever consider that the animals which were being hunted and killed could also be old, sick or pregnant? If the hunters couldn’t show any compassion towards them then why do they seek such kindness and consideration for themselves when faced with the law of the land? Why do feudal lords like Nawab Pataudi and Salman Khan continue to seek thrill in the killing of animals?

 How strange, that Pataudi didn’t take a lesson when Saif was faced with charges along with Salman Khan in a poaching case in 1998. It is not the first time that Pataudi has got into trouble over hunting. In 1997, he managed a permit for hunting in the protected wetlands of Hokersar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir even though it was a banned sport there. Both Sharmila and Pataudi were guests of the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Sharmila had accompanied her husband on the hunt, and they had killed more than 100 waterfowl. Pataudi had used a gun with a curved butt — particularly designed for people who are blind in one eye.

  The fact that Nawab Pataudi’s ancestral palace is full of animal skins and heads indicates that he and his ancestors have been indulging in this game for pleasure. And the same heritage has been passed on to Saif. It may be mentioned here that poaching and hunting has been banned under the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972. 

While the whole world has come to realise that we have to respect the co-existence of animals on this universe, South Africa still continues to disregard this move. It has made hunting legal but it comes at an exorbitant price. You have to pay anything between $20,000 and $1million, to take part in the sport.