Complaint against Diljit Dosanjh for glorifying dog fights
Animal welfare activists have complained against Punjabi singers Diljit Dosanjh and Kamal Grewal for allegedly glorifying dog fights. Diljit's song "Jatt Fire Karda" includes a line "Rakhe fight nu vi Pitbull chaar ni" (Have kept four pitbulls for fighting). A complaint has been filed with the Animal Welfare Board of India, who have written to the Punjab Police.
Popular Punjabi singers Diljit Dosanjh and Kamal Grewal may find themselves in trouble for 'glorifying dog fights' in their latest album videos and songs.Animal rights activists have set up a page on Facebook called 'Exposing Animal Fights in India', whereby they have uploaded more than 100 secretly-captured videos of the 'canine blood sport.'This sport is hugely popular in parts of Punjab and Haryana such as Bhatinda, Ludhiana, Hisar, Fatehabad, Gurgaon and held clandestinely in several farmhouses in Delhi. Breeds such as pittbulls, bull dogs, Indian mastiffs and other pedigree dogs are especially bred and trained to be ferocious to the point of being lethal and kill other dogs in wrestling-kind of rings.Alongside, the dog lovers have also uploaded a song each of Diljit Dosanjh called 'Pitbull' and Kamal Grewal's 'Sarkari Ban' where both seem to be promoting the illegal activity.While Dosanjh, who is himself seen handling pitbulls in the video, says, "Rakhe fight nu vi Pitbull chaar ni" (Have kept four pitbulls for fighting), Grewal in his song called 'Sarkari Ban' says, "Petbull'an da chalaya yaaran ne hai daur ni" (Friends have begun the trend of pitbull fighting)." He is also seen making two unruly dogs fight with mouth guards on.Grewal also seems to praise sports like bull racing and pigeon fights (kabutarbaazi), which also comes under the Gambling Act other than Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act and IPC Section 429 for killing and maiming animals.COMPLAINTS FILEDAbhinav Srihan of NGO Fauna Police says, "We strongly condemn this. It is wrong to project dog fights as something macho, valiant or courageous. Punjab has historically been known for healthy human sports like kushti and kabaddi. The Sikh Regiment in Indian Army has won maximum awards for their true heroism, and our Gurus have also taught compassion for all.""It is sad that things have come to a point where we make dogs fight and set this as an example for the youth," he added.Few dog lovers have already forwarded complaints to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) regarding singers Dosanjh, Grewal and some more small-time singers also. The complainants say that some singers are not just promoting animal cruelty, but drugs consumption and use of illegal firearms through their explicit videos, as well.The AWBI has taken cognizance of these complaints and written letters to Punjab Police for action. Strangely, singer Kamal Grewal responded to one of these FB posts saying, "How can a song, which is itself named 'Sarkari Ban' be banned by the authorities." Diljit Dosanjh, on the other hand, did not respond to the criticism on FB despite being tagged.Earlier, Union minister for women and child welfare Maneka Gandhi had said that she was aware of this cruel sport. "Dogs are starved for days. Their tails and ears are cut off. They are made violent for such fights, and when one dog loses, it is shot dead by the owner. It is a very sad state of affairs," she had told the media.