[Goanet-News] When the State (and the law) decide the fate of a minority sport (Antonio do Rosario Fernandes)
WHEN THE STATE DECIDES THE FATE OF A MINORITY SPORT An analysis of the high court ban on bull fights in Goa Antonio do Rosario Fernandes +91 88 88 624464 Acting on a writ petition (No. 347 of 1996), the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising of Justice R K Batta and Justice R M S Khandeparkar, in a judgement dated 20 December 1996, banned the sport of bull fights popularly known as dhirio in Goa, as a contravention of section 11(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which is also in force in the state of Goa. Let's look at the merits of the case, and then ponder on the likely detrimental effects to society due to the imposition of the ban on bull fights, and suggest a course of action based on reason. The writ petition seeking the ban on bull fights was filed by Norma Alvares and People for Animals. The petitioners' advocate was M.S. Sonak. The respondents in the case were the State of Goa; the Director, Department of Animal Husbandry; and the Inspector General of Police. The respondents were represented by the Advocate General, V B Nadkarni, with G U Bhobe assisting him. The intervenors in the case were Simon Caiado and the All Goa Bull and Buffalo Owners' Association. The intervenors were represented by Anacleto Viegas. The arguments of the petitioners' counsel, Mr Sonak, all of which were found to be weighty by the honourable judges, were as follows: (i) That cruelty is inflicted to the animals in the course of the sport of bull fights and occasionally a bull can get gored and he can be calmed down only by putting to sleep. Also occasionally a spectator can be gored to death. In fact the immediate cause for the writ petition was the fact that notwithstanding the killing of a spectator, Xavier Rodrigues, during a bull fight organized at Ambaji-Fatorda, near Margao on 17 September 1996, a further bull fight was scheduled to take place on 2 October 1996. That eight months earlier an unnamed spectator was also gored to death during a bull fight at Guirim. (ii) That the conduct of bull fights is in contravention of section 11(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, for short called the Act, and therefore is illegal and that the respondents are aiding and abetting the illegalities. (iii) That bull fights are associated with social evils of illegal betting, relating to the fortunes and fate of individual bulls, and that bull fights have become popular because of the betting that goes with them. (iv) That bull fights are a recent introduction in Goa and though initially, no money or gambling was associated with them, in recent times, due to the patronage of politicians, the frequency of bull fights has increased enormously and they have become a completely commercial business in which spectators are charged Rs 35 as entrance fee and the crowd at a bull fight can range anywhere from 500 to 5000, depending on the bulls which are engaged for fighting, the commercialization being at the cost of cruelty to the animals and occasionally to human beings. (v) That the State cannot be a silent spectator to the cruelty to animals and choose to be indifferent to the barbaric treatment given to animals for sheer pleasure of human beings and cannot shirk the responsibility to take action under the Act and under the Criminal Procedure Code, and that toleration by the authorities of the violation of the Act will encourage lawlessness and social evils. In hindsight it may be observed that the respondents and the intervenors both relied solely on a single line of defence, which proved their undoing. Their defence was that cruelty to animals cannot be presumed merely because a bull fight is arranged. Cruelty may occur only in the course of a bull fight depending on the circumstances in each case of bull fights and there is no presumption that there will be cruelty to animals in the course of each and every bull fight. Being so, it is not possible to prohibit bull fights under the provisions of the Act. As rightly pointed out by the petitioners' counsel, neither the respondents nor the intervenors attempted to counter the arguments put forth by the petitioners, viz cruelty to animals and human beings, betting etc. In the course of his arguments, the Advocate General, V B Nadkarni mentioned to the effect that any cruelty inflicted to the animals in the course of their being butchered for food for human beings, is exempted from the Act. A moot question is, how does this cruelty to animals, which is e
[Goanet-News] Bookaroo ... in Goa this weekend (where the authors meet children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=55&v=Z4ug4gmmanw http://www.bookaroo.in/year/2015-01/goa/schedule/1449273600&&&/ http://www.bookaroo.in/bookaroo-in-the-city/2015-01/goa/ Dead as a Dodo Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The workshop Age Group: 10-12 Time: 11:00 Speaker/s: Venita Coelho Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by Hachette India Synopsis: You thought that Dodos were dead? Come and save the only living Dodo in the whole world. Join the Animal Intelligence Agency on their mission to Save the Animals from Mauritius to the Arctic and back. Creative Bugs Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Palms Age Group: 14-16 Time: 11:00 Speaker/s: The Mustard Seed Art Company Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by the Mustard Seed Company Synopsis: Unleash your creative juices as you practice both body and voice techniques in this drama workshop leading to a short theatre performance.(Limited to 50) How to Create Your Own Hero Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: Studio Age Group: 8-10 Time: 11:00 Speaker/s: Deborah Abela Sponsor/Supporter: Assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts Synopsis: Deborah Abela is short and not very brave but that didn’t stop her jumping off a roof as a kid, sleeping next to alligators and only just escaping from an avalanche. Join her as she shares the secret of creating her own heroes. The Poetry Walk Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Stage Age Group: 10-12 Time: 11:00 Speaker/s: Bookworm Trust Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by Bookworm Trust Synopsis: Join Bookworm for a walk through the wilderness of Goan poetry, where you can discover the joy of frogs, rhymes, rainfall, rhythm, and the land at its most magical Quilt-A-Thon Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: Quilt-A-Thon Age Group: Time: 11 am, 12:30 and 15:30 Speaker/s: Bookworm Trust Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by Bookworm Trust Synopsis: Come stitch, come glue, come weave to create a colourful quilt of stories. Let's ROCKET fly a haiku! Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Auditorium Age Group: 14-16 Time: 12:30 Speaker/s: Kala Ramesh Sponsor/Supporter: Synopsis: The haiku becomes a paper rocket which you will unwrap to understand the magic of a nine word poem! Come and join in the fun! Discover haiku!(Limited to 50) Kiwi Indian- Crazy Cultures! Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Stage Age Group: 6-8 Time: 12:30 Speaker/s: Vasanti Unka Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by the New Zealand High Commission & the New Zealand Book Council Synopsis: Vasanti loves words although sometimes as a New Zealand-Indian they are confusing. Come and listen to her crazy story which inspired The Boring Book, winner of the NZ children's book awards! Sila Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Workshop Age Group: 12-14 Time: 12:30 Speaker/s: Lana Hansen Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by the Danish Art Foundation Synopsis: Melting ice-sheets, a raven-boy, a polar bear, a whale, an eagle, a reindeer, a bully, hunters, a seemingly impossible quest - all the ingredients for a thrilling fantasy. Dream or Reality? Phugadi Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: Doodle Wall Age Group: 8-10 Time: 12:30 Speaker/s: Shashi Shetye Sponsor/Supporter: Synopsis: From Doodles to Dances - Phugadi style! (In Konkani) When the Camel Walks into the Pages Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Palms Age Group: 4-6 Time: 12:30 Speaker/s: Angela Ferrao Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by Goa 1556 Synopsis: Do you love large, colourful drawings? Come along, and encounter a camel-driven story. Kani Kani Kotwa Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: Studio Age Group: 10-12 Time: 12:30 Speaker/s: Damodar Mauzo Sponsor/Supporter: Synopsis: Who wouldn’t like to see Mhatarecho Por, son of the poor old woman, blessed with a rich man’s beautiful daughter? Can this happen only in our folk tales – and cinemas? (In Konkani)(Limited to 50) Monsterlicious Masti with Bookasura Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Auditorium Age Group: 8-10 Time: 14:00 Speaker/s: Arundhati Venkatesh Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by Duckbill Synopsis: Join Bala as he uses the power of stories, books and imagination, to battle Bookasura, the bumbling blundering book-eating monster! Celebrate Bala’s victory with bookalicious activities and monsterlicious mazaa! The Magic in Nine Words! Haiku! Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Workshop Age Group: 12-14 Time: 14:00 Speaker/s: Kala Ramesh Sponsor/Supporter: Synopsis: Here's the most condensed poetry in the world! Come discover haiku through your five senses! (Limited to 100) Catch a Butterfly Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: Doodle Wall Age Group: 4-6 Time: 14:00 Speaker/s: Satomi Ichikawa Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by the French Book Office Synopsis: Let your imagination go wild. Draw the most beautiful insects you have ever seen. Stories to Scare Date: 05 Dec 2015 Location: The Palms Age Group: 10-12 Time: 14:00 Speaker/s: Cheryl Rao Sponsor/Supporter: Supported by Mango Books Synopsis: How do you host a ghost? Be ready to be chilled and thrilled in equal measure.(Limited to 50) By the Power of the BG
[Goanet-News] On the tip of a billion tongues: Goa (Roanna Gonsalves)
Goa today is a thrum of literary and artistic activity, drawing on its roots as the birth mother of Indian print and publishing culture. http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2015/12/eot_20151215_1105.mp3 Contact Roanna Gonsalves roan...@gmail.com Also: Kolkata: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/indian-writers:-kolkata/6961362 Delhi: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/indian-writers-dehli/6961356 Mumbai: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/indian-writers:-mumbai/6957334 -- _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ Frederick Noronha http://about.me/noronhafrederick http://goa1556.in _/ P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twitter @fn Fcbk:fredericknoronha _/ Hear Goa,1556 shared audio content at https://archive.org/details/goa1556 _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
