It’s no easy feat to brave Delhi’s current smog and severe Air Quality Index (AQI) yet students of Delhi University are gearing up to step out to speak for their love -- stray dogs. Masked up, for the voiceless, several students gathered at the Faculty of Arts in North Campus, on Wednesday, to protest against the Supreme Court’s recent order calling for the removal of stray dogs from public places including college campuses.
From Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) to Miranda House, the four-legged companions have long been a part of campus life — offering friendship, comfort, and emotional support — of students. The talk of their relocation, therefore, has stirred strong emotions with students of the varsity demanding that the decision be rolled back. Recalling stories of raising these strays since birth, several students urged for empathy and long-term solution instead of a blanket removal/relocation of the community dogs.
‘We’ve raised them since they were puppies’
Miranda House‘s permanent seniors are Berry, Choco Chip, Vanilla, Tara, and Jojo! The students feed them, look after them, and even ensure that their vaccinations are up to date. “To now imagine that all these doggos would be taken away from the college is a thought that is scaring us,” says Pankhudi Gautam, a fourth-year year student of BA (Hons) Political Science. She is part of the college’s Aavya Animal Welfare Drive, and feels, “Having raised these as puppies, I just can’t imagine how they will survive anywhere else when this is the only home they have ever known... These are our support system on campus and several students can vouch how they help deal with stress during exams, day-do-day, life and more, to help the students maintain their mental health with an unspoken companionship.”
Pollution can’t deter the fight for campus buddies
{{/usCountry}}Miranda House‘s permanent seniors are Berry, Choco Chip, Vanilla, Tara, and Jojo! The students feed them, look after them, and even ensure that their vaccinations are up to date. “To now imagine that all these doggos would be taken away from the college is a thought that is scaring us,” says Pankhudi Gautam, a fourth-year year student of BA (Hons) Political Science. She is part of the college’s Aavya Animal Welfare Drive, and feels, “Having raised these as puppies, I just can’t imagine how they will survive anywhere else when this is the only home they have ever known... These are our support system on campus and several students can vouch how they help deal with stress during exams, day-do-day, life and more, to help the students maintain their mental health with an unspoken companionship.”
Pollution can’t deter the fight for campus buddies
{{/usCountry}}This is the second time since SC’s order on removal of strays that young guns have gathered with posters to protest. “I’ve been coughing for days now and have now developed sinus due to the high pollution level, but even then there’s no way I’m stopping for this is just a small cost to pay for the many lives who matter to us. Our community dogs on campus can’t speak up for themselves, so we have to,” says Geetika Ratra, a second-year student of BA (Hons) Economics at Hansraj College.
‘Not against SC, but our doggos aren’t aawara’
Holding posters with slogans such as ‘Aawara nahi humara hai yeh’, the students feel that the reason behind the Supreme Court’s order could be genuine but they need more clarity. “This decision came without any consultation or consideration of student voices,” says Kritika Sharma, a final-year student at Law Faculty, adding, “We are not against SC’s rules, but if there haven’t been severe incidents of dog bites on campus, then is such a strong statement required? It would’ve thus meant a lot if we were at least included in the conversation before the decision was announced. All the dogs on campus are part of our lives, and any decision about them affect us directly.”
‘Must come up with solutions’
“There are so many ways to handle this issue responsibly — vaccination drives, sterilisation, creating safe zones on campus,” said a protesting student, urging the authorities to focus on finding solutions rather than passing decisions that go against the very spirit of coexistence because “Taking them away isn’t a solution; it’s just avoiding the problem,” added Japneet Kaur, a final-year student of MA Philosophy, explaining, “It’s not that these dogs just loiter around the campus because they are raised by thousands of DU students.
There is a system in place with vets around the campus helping us provide the dogs with timely vaccinations, treatments, deworming etc free of cost. But instead of dismissing our sentiments, the authorities must come up with solutions. What’s required of them is to build proper shelters and ABC centres that have reforms and laws around animal cruelty. We are open to helping out the authorities but this can only happen with a solution-oriented approach. For this, we are going to conduct more protests in the coming days, until our concerns are heard and our campus dogs are left untouched.”
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