#WMGOpinion: It's High Time To Stop Mistreating Horses In Baraats

A wedding is a celebration, something to be happy about. A celebration, which in usual terms implies happiness. So while everyone around is happy and making merry, there is one dark side of Indian weddings which is often ignored- not that people don't care enough, but ignorant because it is tradition, and one that has been happening for decades now, and I feel, definitely needs to change- yep, I am talking about wedding animals roped in for the groom or the baraat.

Image via JSK Photography

It's an age old tradition- the groom is perched on the horse while everyone in the baraat, typically from the groom's side dances around him as the horse is made to trot- at the pace of the baraat. This has even evolved into engaging elephants or camels for the groom's baraat or entry, for those who want to feel as royal as kings. How many of us have ever paid so much attention to the state of the horses while we dance around them as a part of the procession, I know I'm guilty of this. But have you ever wondered how the horses or even the elephants for the baraat are so tame and easy to handle? Men and the customary children sitting with them who have never rode or even sat on a horse in their lives go through their baraat ceremony comfortably- with only the ascent and the descent from the horse or the elephant being the main concern for everyone. 

But when I looked into it, I was shocked to my core. Wedding animals are so 'cooperative' because they are tortured to be tame. From blind horses to elephants who are beaten and 'shocked' to be submissive, the plight of a wedding animal in India is something to definitely be aware of. If you think that the horses just have an hour or two's work and walk the little distance of the baraat, you couldn't have been more mistaken. The horses travel almost 30-40 kms on an average just to be at the venue. The loud music, band bajaa and fireworks during the baraat might be too much for the horse to handle, but it's held so tightly by the handler, that it can't even raise it's head up in protest. What gives the handler the control of the horse is an iron chain that's usually fitted into its mouth, grating the horse's teeth and making its gums bleed. The poor animal is kept in control and docile because of sheer fear and pain, imagine.

And it doesn't end there. These poor animals do multiple weddings a night, going through the sheer misery again and again, multiple times a night on repeat most of the year, especially during the 'wedding season'.  And then after the day is over, travel back kilometres to where it was brought from, to go through the misery the next day again. 

And you know what kind of horses are 'handpicked' for this kind of job? Partially blind or deaf (or being forced to become so), horses who can barely walk in the first place. And what ends up happening to most of these horses is death from exhaustion- only to be replaced by another mare when their time is over to undergo the same trauma on repeat.

The situation is the same for elephants and camels as well, who in some cases are forced to walk hundreds and thousands of kilometres because the demand for a 'royal groom baraat' has come from another state. In many cases, the wedding animals are denied food, water to break their spirit and make them docile and easy to handle. 

There are so many wedding customs and traditions that have been dropped and have evolved for the better, and maybe it's time there is a change here too. It can really start with our generation- a lot of grooms and families are choosing better alternatives to make their baraat entry with! A vintage car with more horsepower than a horse is definitely a step in the right direction. We even had a groom who entered on his own Batmobile! There are also so many other fun new age alternatives like a bike, ATVs, entering with the bride or even a rickshaw or an auto! Looking for more bright ideas? Here are the craziest groom entries that are bound to make an impact!