Pariah in Name Only
Rohan Rajesh
One of the more interesting results of the pandemic is that adoptions and purchases of dogs and other pets have soared, at least in the United States. I, myself, am one of those lucky individuals blessed to own a “pandemic puppy.” While searching for the appropriate breed, I became curious about the situation for dogs in India. Whenever I visited India, I would see stray dogs in every street and alleyway. I almost stepped on one in the middle of the night outside my grandparents’ home. In this article, I will explore how dogs have historically been valued in India, and what the future for Indian dogs looks like today.
First, it should be noted that, as with everything in India, the value of dogs varies by community. Although not as prominently featured as other animals, in Hinduism, the dog is the mount for the deity Bhairava, a manifestation of the supreme deity Shiva. The final scene of the ancient Indian epic - the Mahabharata - narrates the deaths of the five Pandavas (one of two major clans in the epic) in the Himalayas. The eldest Pandava - the almost sinless Yudhishthira - is the last one remaining and followed loyally by a dog. The dog turns out to be the Hindu god of death, Yama, who briefly takes Yudhishthira to the underworld (where his loved ones are temporarily residing) before bringing him to heaven. In Nepal and the neighboring Indian state of Sikkim, the dog is celebrated in the annual Kukur Tihar (“Dog Festival”) as the manifestation of Yama. In Zoroastrianism (a minority religion whose followers came from Iran to western India following the Islamic conquest of Persia), dogs are sacred animals.
Of the many dog breeds indigenous to India, the oldest is the so-called Indian pariah dog. They were likely the first dog breed encountered by humans when they came to the subcontinent 60,000 years ago, and their remains have been found in the ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization. Today, they are found in every clime and thrive in India’s streets. The English word “pariah” actually comes from a Tamil word meaning “drummer” because the drummer caste was traditionally associated with the lower rungs of the caste system. Since Indian pariah dogs usually scavenge on the outskirts of human settlements, the term was applied to them. In Indian languages, these dogs are generally referred to as “native dogs.” However, traditionally, the pariah dog’s trainable nature has made them great guard dogs. They are loyal, protective, sturdy, and low maintenance as well. But during British rule in India, foreign dog breeds were prized over indigenous breeds, which contributed to their association with an outcast status.
In recent years, the human-dog conflict in India has risen significantly. The collapse of vulture populations has meant more carrion has been available, leading to an explosion in the stray dog population in Indian cities. Currently, there are around 35 million free-roaming dogs in India. Unfortunately, this has also meant more violent encounters between humans and dogs. India currently has 20,000 cases of rabies annually, and children are frequent victims of dog attacks. In the city of Bengaluru (India’s IT hub) alone, there are 25,000 dog bites per year. These attacks have occasionally led to brutal retaliation by humans. Feral dogs have also become a threat to endangered wildlife.
Despite these sobering statistics, there is a burgeoning movement in India to adopt stray dogs, including pariah dogs (since most stray dogs are indigenous, the kinder term is “Indie” dogs), and it has gained the support of prominent Bollywood celebrities. Many in the West have also begun adopting Indie dogs. The Indian government is now interested in sourcing talent from the indigenous population since Western breeds are more expensive and are not as used to India’s environment. Police departments in various Indian states have been inducting pariah dogs into their forces. In 2018, the Indian military adopted indigenous Mudhol hounds from the southern Indian state of Karnataka. In his monthly radio address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated the adoption and use of indigenous dogs as a part of his Atmanirbhar Bharat (“Self-Sufficient India”) Campaign, which has reduced stigmas surrounding these dogs and increased their adoption rate. Appreciation for Indie dogs was best exemplified when some of them became showstoppers at a dog show in Chennai. Indeed, it seems that Indians’ views of their dogs are going back to their 4,000-year-old roots when a wise person wrote:
“श्वभ्यः॒ श्वप॑तिभ्यश्च वो॒ नमः॑”
Homage to you: the dog and the protector of dogs!
-Yajurveda 4.5.4.2