Leopard terror is more dreadful that canine terror. Leopards are nowadays on the prowl in many districts and are frequently being spotted in apple orchards or in the meadows and residential areas alike.. The two horrible incidents recently occurred in two districts ( Budgam & Ganderbal) that have caused panic among thepeople and also made us realize that the children are too prone to the attacks by such wild beasts. All wild animals which live in natural habitats have beastlybehavior that is quite different from those animals which we rear as pets. Human and wild life conflict is not a new concept in the field of wild life conservation and management but it has a long history back that makes us quite understand the factors responsible that drive these wild beasts to the residential areas. Humans have greedily nature for the utilization of natural resources particularly forests; which nature has endowed us with without charging us even a single penny for itbut we don’t value such valuable gifts. Instead we utilize them rampantly.We have destroyed the natural habitats of these creatures to fulfill our demands which ultimately force these wild animals to change their habitats to come down into the villages looking for food and shelter. The forest areas are now declining very fast in Jammu and Kashmir due to two main crucial factors like as; cutting down of trees and constructing houses in the eco- sensitive areas. Such wild conflicts will continue to occur in the residential areas till humans do not understand the causes and consequences of this confrontation. Human loss is a big loss when such uneven calamities fall, it shatters one and all. We get astounded on knowing how come these animals take shelter inside abandoned residential areas; however this has already been going for a while because these animals have lost their permanent natural habitats owing to the direct human interventions and forest smugglersthat ultimately have caused the ecological imbalance and wild conflicts therewith. In J &K, the wildlife department is notcreating any such new technical innovations besides machinery to trap all these wild animals easily inside residential areas without putting much effort. It often happens that the department concerned does not usually heed on getting informed about the movement of such animalsuntil something bad happens. I openly assert that the wildlife department is not showing much concern pertaining to rising incidents due to these wild animals. Lace your shoes tightly and hold them firmly on the ground against this wild fight and capture wanderingbeasts before they could take any one’s life.
Wild conflicts will continue to occur in the residential areas till humans do not understand the causes and consequences of this confrontation. Human loss is a big loss when such uneven calamities fall, it shatters one and all.
The recent incident occurred in the valley of Budgam. A 4yr old girl Ada Yasir Mir fell prey to a leopard who was from Budgam Ompora village while playing in the compound. Theleopard took her in the forest area but it was only three days after of a search operation that she was found dead. This week only, an incident took place incident in zazuna village of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal when a 3yr old girl Mahiya Shabirwas mauled to death by a leopard. The incident instantly surfaced via social news service that a girl was taken away by a leopard while she was accompanied by her grandmother. Both were in a car which was parked at one side of the orchard. It was said that her parents were irrigating the apple orchard; meanwhile a scream suddenly pitched so high likea cloud burst occurred. They ran hurriedly towards the car in which they did not find their daughter inside. Soon after, parents started wailing and people came out of their houses to search out the minor. It was after hours of searching that the girl was recovered in critical conditions from the dense forests and taken to sumbal hospital. Before reaching the hospital she breathed her last; Inna lillahi wa inallah –e- rajioon. Her sudden death shocked the whole village. May Alalh give sabre jameel to her family and relatives to bear this irreparable loss. These things may continue to happen until and unless we try to comprehend the underlying facts of this confrontation. I leave it open to those who want to debate on this issue for the common good of all.
Some of the characteristics of the Leopard are:-
1. It pounces on humans without giving any much time to escape.
2. It frowns terrifyingly while attacking humans.
3. It never scares of the crowd as other animals do.
4. It attacks in seconds and escapes in microseconds.
5. It has flexible jaws with long pointed two canine teeth in upper and lower jaws that helps kill a prey immediately and take away the injured body.
6. It runs 58kms/hr.
7. It is deadlier than other carnivores.
8. Children are prone to this wild beast as it takes away them easily.
9. It hides in bushes and sits on the trees for watching out the movement of prey.
10. Its paws are strongly powerful that helps in holding the prey.
Necessary precautionsto save yourself and your children:
1. Don’t go alone in the garden for cutting grass and other chores.
2. Never stay in the garden for longer hours.
3. Don’t stay long hours at nearby hilly areas that are susceptible to wild beasts.
4. Don’t allow your children to play outside till late evening.
5. Never forget to Close your gate& windows before going to sleep
6. Keep vigil at night atleast forone hour for the movement ofleopards in your village.
(The Author is a freelancer. Views are his own)
Sedition Law! What CJI Said
Syed Wajid ul Zafar
Freedom of speech and expression is a basic Human Right which has been recognised by almost all the countries around the world . India being the signatory of so many Human Rights Treaties has also incorporated this right under Article 19(1) (a) of Indian constitution. In India this right is available to all the citizens irrespective of Religion, gender, caste, creed, age. However, this right is not absolute and is subject to certain reasonable restrictions. If we look towards the remarks recently raised by chief Justice of India regarding sedition Law in India one can understand the importance of freedom of speech and expression. Sedition simply means any act or speech that leads to insurrection against the government. According to Section 124A, Indian Penal Code, 1860, sedition is a cognizable offence and it means an act by any individual whoever, by words or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India and such offense is punishable maximally by imprisonment for life and fine. It is interesting to note this law was passed by Britishers during colonial Era and main object of this law was to suppress the expression and liberty of the Indians. After Independence of India many people start criticizing this law and many people are still supporting this law. Those who support this law are of the opinion that this Law Protects the Integrity of the State and there is no wrong in Law. sedition Law was also challenged in Supreme Court of India in the case of kedarnath Singh v State of BiharAIR 1962 SC 955, however Supreme Court inupheld the validity of sedition law.
Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana’s remarks in the open Court sends a strong message that the Supreme Court of India is prima facie convinced that sedition law is being misused by the authorities to trample upon citizens’ basic fundamental right of free speech. This matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court of India and the final verdict has not been given yet. Rule of Law must prevail.
However, it is important to mention that in every democratic setup Judiciary Plays the role of Watchdog, and Supreme Court of India in past has performed its job in a very positive way by pronouncing landmark judgments in many cases like Keshavananda Bharti case, Puttaswamy Case, A.K. Gopalan case, Navtej Singh Johar case and many more. Recently a petition was filed in Supreme Court of India by Major General(retired) S G Vombatkare challenging the constitutional validity of Sedition law on the ground that it has negative effect on freedom of speech which is guaranteed by the Constitution of India. while hearing this petition Chief Justice of India raised a question to Attorney General of India K K Venugopal and said “ It’s a colonial law. It was meant to suppress the freedom movement. The same law was used by the British to silence Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadar Tilak etc. Still, is it necessary after 75 years of independence?”He also added that “The enormous power of this section can be compared to a carpenter being given a saw to make an item, but uses it to cut the entire forest instead of a tree. That’s the effect of this provision,” Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana’s remarks in the open Court sends a strong message that the Supreme Court of India is prima facie convinced that sedition law is being misused by the authorities to trample upon citizens’ basic fundamental right of free speech.This matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court of India and the final verdict has not been given yet. Rule of Law must prevail.
(The author is a lecturer at Sopore Law College. Views are exclusively his own)