Catching Strays

Dogs become the latest target of India's mob mentality/Politics

- PUJA SEN

The recent controversy around street dogs provides a clear example of what happens when a target is identified in India today. Public discourse, conducted through television channels and social media, follows a predictable template: broad essentialist claims are made about an entire demographic, and sensational narratives are immediately put to work, which, in turn, embolden the worst instincts in our society. When logic turns perverse that quickly, you are never too far from extreme solutions. Safety is presented as a zero-sum game, demanding the complete subjugation of the alleged threat.

On 11 August, the Supreme Court passed an extraordinary order on the stray dogs of the National Capital Region, instructing that they be removed from the streets, en masse, and dumped into shelters, never to be released. These shelters did not exist at the time, and still do not. There was no land earmarked for them, either, and governments do not have the personnel to execute this cruel and unscientific mission. The two-judge bench refused to allow anyone other than the union government to intervene. The highest court in the land choosing not to even engage with other stakeholders—even explicitly stating, “For the time being, forget the rules”—was a significant low in a season of lows for constitutional authorities.