If you are an animal lover then it might be best you avoided India altogether because some of the things you might see on the Indian roads will break your heart. I want to point out to some of the atrocities inflicted on the ox. If you are travelling to the rural areas of India, you are bound to encounter the ox cart (called bullock-cart in India) used mainly for agricultural purposes. It’s not just the farmers who use these animals; it’s used extensively in urban areas too mainly for transportation.
The ox is much sought and prized animal in India to do the things exactly as seen in the photos. In the cities, it is used for transportation, while in the rural area it is used to plough the land not to mention that it is a source of cattle dung for fuel.
The reasons for the survival of the ox cart in India is due to the fact that many farmers in India are poor and it does not require hard-to-get petroleum based high-priced fuels and the lack of decent roads in many areas of rural India. I remember my grandfathers’ village in Monger district of Bihar state it still does not have paved roads. You need an SUV (we call it jeep in India) to get there or one of these bullock carts.
These oxen have to go through a lot. Take a look at this photo, where the load is lighter, the ox may look a little skinny but seems to be fine but unfortunately in the second photo, it really breaks the heart.
The trouble is that the life of an Indian labourer is sadly not much different to an animal either. If the sweltering heat, or the congested streets, narrow lanes, wandering cows, crowded bazaars, cycle rickshaws or Indian traffic does not slap you in the face than scenes like these will certainly hit you hard almost like a full smack in the face. Try to stumble into any back alley or street in any Indian town and you’ll soon stumble into an India of grinding hard work. The old man seen in the picture pulling below seems to be struggling.
The brutality inflicted on these animals causes disease especially cancer of the neck that significantly reduces their life span then they end up in the slaughter houses.
Just as the horse wagons in America were eliminated in the USA, don’t you just wish that these carts too were eliminated from India?
It’s not a pretty site. This abuse of bullocks is in direct violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. But no one cares in this country. There are no human rights to speak off let alone animal rights. The only thing some people care about is protecting the cow and preventing people from eating beef.
I wonder how many of these animals are often deprived of food and water too?