In Mizoram and Nagaland dog meat is as regular as chicken and mutton, but activists want it outlawed
Four pmÀ there is an extra buzz in Dimapurs usually bustling main market. Its Wednesday, the day when traders in Nagalands biggest city take their wares out on the streets. Colourfully attired women sit beside sacks resplendent with chilli powder, mechinga leaves and other condiments. A nearby stall is crowded with wicker baskets. Another corner is lush with okra, squash and a variety of leafy vegetables. Business at the beauty parlour is brisk and utensils scratch in a furious symphony as the corn salad seller tries to mix ingredients in right proportions. At another corner, worms wriggle about on a blanket. Cuts of dog meat peek out from small plastic tubs at another stall.
Dog meat is a favourite among almost every tribe in Nagaland. I have been selling it for more than 15 years, said Nengning owner of this stall.Caisii who came to buy dog meat joined the conversation. I am a regular at this shop, he said. Once every week, my family gathers around the dinner table to eat dog meat seasoned with raja mirchi (a chilli variety grown in Indias northeast).
Nengnings is not the only dog meat shop in the market. There are more than 20 of us here, she said and added that a kg of dog meat sells for Rs 180. She and her fellow dog meat sellers make about Rs 1,500 a week.
Business is even better for Nengnings compatriots in neighbouring Mizoram. Dog meat sells for Rs 200 a kg. Smoked meat is a little more expensive. It costs Rs 220, said Paiswa whose uisa dawa dog meat shopis sandwiched between a clothes store and a shop selling electronics goods. We make around Rs 2,000 a week, Paiswa said.
The states chapter of the animal rights group People for Animals reckons that there are more than 20 uisa dawa s in Aizawla real cause for concern for its activists. Sangita Goswami who heads the organizations Assam chapter said, In January 2008, the ruling Mizoram National Front (mnf) promised us dog meat shops would be banned. But the party went back on its word, she said. According to Goswami, people in Mizoram and Nagaland consume dog meat under the foolish belief that it increases sexual potency.
Meat for the macho
Davo Mao from Kohima disagreed. Dog meat curry is relished for its punchy taste, he said. He, however, said, We believe that dog meat is more nutritious.
Malika Sharma, a dietician at the gnrc hospital in Guwahati, Assam, said this local belief is not totally unfounded. Dog meat has a warm character. It can supplement the marrow and help blood circulation, she said. Birinchi Kumar Medhi, who heads Guwahati Universitys anthropology department, finds a cultural reason for the culinary preference. Most tribes in Mizoram and Nagaland are of the Mongoloid stock. Dog meat has more iron content than other meat. This could be one reason people of Mongoloid stock prefer it, said Mineshwar Hazarika, associate professor at the College of Veterinary Science, Assam.
Pranita Devi, a surgeon with Assams veterinary department, said such claims are unsubstantiated. There has been no study on the benefits of dog meat, she said.
A racket
Animal rights activists do not hold any brief for such arguments. Goswami contended, Dogs are not consumed anywhere in the country except Mizoram and Nagaland. Those killing dogs should be prosecuted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. " Pankaj Pratim Dutta, advocate at the Guwahati High Court, argued that the animal rights activists are unnecessarily targeting the dog meat business. "According to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, killing any animal without using the proper methods is a punishable offence. But many butchers don"t follow procedures while slaughtering goats. Why don"t the animal rights activists raise their voice against them?" he asked (see boxÀ The correct procedure).
How much is that doggie in the windowÀ Rs 180 to Rs 220 per kg
PHOTOÀ PEOPLE FOR ANIMALS
Activists say it"s not just the slaughtering methods that are in question. They point to a smuggling racket. According to Goswami, about 150-200 dogs are smuggled every week into Nagaland and Mizoram from Meghalaya and Assam. "This is illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act," she said. She recollected that in 2007, activists of her organization rescued about 40 dogs from smugglers at Lailapur on the Assam-Meghalaya border. People for Animals" activists also rescued 80 animals in Assam"s Nagaon district the same year. Phaguna Sangma, one of the smugglers caught on that occasion, confessedÀ "We pay Rs 50 each to local youngsters to catch dogs. Each dog sells for Rs 1,000." A young dog smuggler from Nagaon admitted, "we do catch dogs to earn a quick buck but never realized that it"s a punishable offence."
Vanlalruati Hmar who represents the Mizoram chapter of People for Animals argued laws are not stringent enough. She pointed out that Sangma who was caught smuggling dogs in Nagaon was fined Rs 50 and set free.
"The veterinary department has only one official to look into cases of cruelty against animals. He is burdened with other responsibilities and has little time," said Goswami. Her organization conducted a survey in 2008. "The number of strays in Assam decreased from over 23,000 in 2002 to less than 14,000 in 2007," she said. This is due to smuggling of dogs to Nagaland and Mizoram, Goswami added.
Dog meat lover Caisii does not understand the fuss. "It"s just another food item for us. Don"t people in other parts of the country consume mutton and poultry?" he asked".
FAAKHER E CHAAMB
This message has been edited by cg_125 on Jul 14, 2009 12:29 PM This message has been edited by cg_125 on Jul 14, 2009 12:28 PM
We Hindus worship dog to guard our house from destruction, Pallavi Sharma, a housewife in Kathmandu said. However, Dogs have always been associated with the Hindu mythology and culture. Even in the epic Mahabharat, dogs accompanied Dharmaraj Yudhisthir and his four other brothers during their journey to heaven
so what ?, what's wrong with that ? .. is that any difference eating dog meat or beef or lamb ? in fact Cow is much more useful animal than dog or cat and Pig is more intelligent than dog
I never try dog meat and perhaps I will never ... and I have 2 pet dogs ... I would respect other culture of eating dog meat, I have no problem at all
Some tribes in Indonesia also eat dog meat (Batak, etc), also in east asian countries, and others
In UK, NZ, Australia, US and some other western countries .... it is taboo eating dog meat, but they can not "force" others to follow theirs .. same case for PORK, which is taboo (or forbidden) for muslim, but we eat pork almost everyday
Re: Dog meat for sale in Nagaland, N.E India:::Dogs for dinner
July 15 2009, 4:09 AM
ONLY IN INDIA
lol
EAT DOGS
MARRY DOGS
EAT RATS
MARRY RATS
DRINK COW PISS
WORSHIP COWS
EAT HAIRY SIKHS
LOL, only in Pakistan..
MARRY SISTER.
Enough said.
==================================
Tu dhoop hain jham se bikhar
Tu hai nadee o bekhabar
Beh chal kahin ud chal kahin
Dil khush jahan teri toh manzil hai wahin.
Re: Dog meat for sale in Nagaland, N.E India:::Dogs for dinner
July 15 2009, 10:41 AM
@PHUCKISTANI MORONS- Nagas are the most mongoloid of the mongoloid races found in India.
They are a martial race whose daily diet consists of meat. They were former head-hunters, used to eat humans before Christianity civilised them. They are not hindus by a long margin and they are not your vegetable eating curry munching dhoti wearing hindus.
Learn a thing or two about India before making yourself look silly.
Re: Dog meat for sale in Nagaland, N.E India:::Dogs for dinner
July 15 2009, 7:07 PM
@PHUCKISTANI MORONS- Nagas are the most mongoloid of the mongoloid races found in India.
They are a martial race whose daily diet consists of meat. They were former head-hunters, used to eat humans before Christianity civilised them. They are not hindus by a long margin and they are not your vegetable eating curry munching dhoti wearing hindus.
Learn a thing or two about India before making yourself look silly.
==============
RUNDIANS THERE ARE ALSO MANY USES OF DOGS FOR HINDUS BESUDES EATING IT WILL
BE USEFUL FOR WORSHIP IT WILL TAKE YOU TOT HEAVEN
______________________________________________
We Hindus worship dog to guard our house from destruction, Pallavi Sharma, a housewife in Kathmandu said. However, Dogs have always been associated with the Hindu mythology and culture. Even in the epic Mahabharat, dogs accompanied Dharmaraj Yudhisthir and his four other brothers during their journey to heaven
______________________________________
^^^
SO INSTEAD OF EAITNG IT WORSHIP DOGS LIKE FELLOW HINDUS
Re: Dog meat for sale in Nagaland, N.E India:::Dogs for dinner
July 15 2009, 11:19 PM
no wonder u bent over for us Pathans AND LET US F***K YOU FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS
One Thousand years of Turko-Pathan supremacy in Hindustan
The spread of Islam in the tribal belt dates back to the rise of the Turkish dynasty in Ghazni from about 960 AD. Mahmud of Ghazni conquered and incorporated areas of the subcontinent up to Lahore. Ghorid Sultan Muizzuddin Muhammad, with his headquarters in Ghor, subdued the north part of the subcontinent and was the founder of Muslim supremacy in Delhi in 1206. The fall of the Ghorids was followed by successive incursions of various forces from Central Asia. The most notable of these were those of conquerors Genghis Khan in 1221 and of Timur in 1398.
The tribesmen formed the spearhead of the Muslim penetration and conquest of India, first as soldiers of fortune and later as powerful kings, even as sultans and emperors.[citation needed] The Turks were a small band of chosen favourites; the soldiers, and later the rulers, were Ghaljis or Pathans.[citation needed] Apart from the Turks, i.e. Ghaznavids (1001-1186), Ghorids (1186-1290), and Tughlaqs (1321-1451), three Pathan dynasties, i.e., Khaljis (1290-1321), Lodis (1451-1526) and Suris (1539-55), had sat on the throne of Delhi. But their authority did not extend over the tribal belt. Babur, the conqueror of India and founder of the Mughal dynasty, wrote of the empire of Lodis that its writ did not run effectively west of the Indus, and it had no control over the Afghan or Pathan homelands from which its rulers had originally come.[citation needed]
The Pathan dynasties who ruled in India attracted many frontiersmen to their banners."[citation needed] The firman (royal edict) of Bahlol Lodhi (1451-1489), the ruler of Delhi, encouraging frontier tribes of the northwest to take service in Delhi stated:
Hindustan can best be held by somebody who rules over a nation with tribes. Let every Afghan tribesman bring his relatives leading a life of indigence, let them come and take up estates in Hind, relieving themselves from straitened circumstances, and supporting the State against powerful enemies.[citation needed]
The declining flow of Pathan warriors from the tribal belt may be one of the important causes of their downfall.[citation needed] The lack of support became obvious after the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1555.
Re: Dog meat for sale in Nagaland, N.E India:::Dogs for dinner
July 16 2009, 12:30 AM
The winneeeeeeeeeeer is CG125.... all his picture based on reality....rest all impression garbage......congrats CG...like always you are winner again....