Maharashtra: No reviving practice of live worship of snakes, say animal rights activists

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Forest Minister Ganesh Naik has assured that he would raise the issue of permitting live snake worship during Nag Panchami with the Centre. The issue seems to have snowballed as environmentalists are up in arms against the government.

Naik told the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly that a meeting has been scheduled with Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav where he would also take up the issue. “I will see how we can get permission to restart the practice as per the rules. The government will find a way to ensure that the reptiles are not harmed and the religious tradition continues,” he said.

BJP legislator Satyajit Deshmukh moved a calling attention motion to raise the issue of serpent worship and said Jallikattu, a traditional and ancient bull-taming sport practised in Tamil Nadu, was restarted by the Supreme Court. “The use of elephants for ceremonial and religious purposes has also been allowed," Deshmukh said and pointed out Nag Panchami festival in Battis Shirala is a religious tradition with historical significance. The festival has found a place in school textbooks as well, he said.

Opposing the move, noted herpetologist Mrugank Prabhu said there was no need to revive the practice that harms cobras, the species protected under schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The practice has been on the wane following the Bombay High Court ruling against the practice and directive to the state government to educate the tribal community on avoiding catching of snakes and finding harmless ways of following their rituals, Prabhu said.

NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar pointed out that the government must realise the fact that snakes do not sip milk. Yet, hordes of snake charmers used to remove the fangs and venom glands, make the cobras starve for a few days and then force them to lick milk being offered by devotees.

This was a very cruel practice which hurt the snakes for which milk is akin to poison, Kumar observed.

There is a need to educate the people at large not to be cruel to snakes whom they worship with so much devotion, NatConnect said.

During the Nagpanchmi and Mahashivratri days the Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals used to rescue hundreds of snakes which were in absolutely miserable condition, environmentalist Jyoti Nadkarni, who worked with the organisation, recalled.

The snakes used to be victims of pneumonia due to the unnatural milk feeding and dehydration due to starvation. “The ban in 2006 was a blessing in disguise for the poor creatures, " Nadkarni said and appealed to the Centre not to entertain the demand for revival of the curse for cobras.

The activists called upon the government to focus on uplifting the tribals from their miseries such as poverty and improving their basic amenities such as drinking water, medical treatment and education. The worship of the Nag Devta idols is a much better practice than harming the revered cobras, they said.