Agence France Presse
NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 11, 2003: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (“National Volunteer Corps”) have called for an end to the “barbaric practice” of animal sacrifice in India. The RSS pointed out in its newspaper “Organiser” that God did not need animal sacrifices to “bestow grace” on His devotees. “There is a great need to cleanse Hinduism. And the time is now,” said the newspaper. The Organiser praised Jayalalitha, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, for ordering an end to animal sacrifice after police allegedly stood by at a Hindu temple in Tiruchirapalli district as 500 buffaloes were slaughtered. A deputy superintendent of police was suspended over the incident. A ban on animal sacrifice is already in force in most Indian states but police often turn a blind eye when animals are slaughtered at rural temples following local traditions. Last year, Nepal’s King Gyanendra infuriated animal rights activists when he offered buffalo, sheep, goat and ducks to be slaughtered at a temple dedicated to the Goddess Kamakhya during a visit to the northeastern Indian state of Assam.