- Undeniably, the Indian fixation with everything and anything overseas needs no further reiteration since most of us would proudly wish to flaunt the same with an air of superiority. As you are aware, it started with the penchant for finding greener pastures vis-à-vis education, job opportunities, employment, and, of course, better living standards on the back of high wages. It did not stop there, since the cultural bond so deeply ingrained within us could never be eradicated completely despite spending decades overseas. Nonetheless, the urge to showcase material possessions, though superior on many parameters, hasn’t dimmed one bit even after so many decades. And this fixation extends to animal species like dogs and other exotic varieties out there as well.
PC: News18
- There was a time not so long ago when Indians calling abroad homes were looked at as somebody from a different world altogether. As you know, India, as a country, has progressed exponentially, offering innumerable opportunities here, and expatriates are no longer looked at with enormous envy and astonishment. Returning to the subject matter, note that even indie dog breeds have suffered considerable belittling, both colonial and postcolonial. Thankfully, India is finally doing better on this front as well. Give a dog a bad name, and you know what happens. And it has very much happened to our indigenous breeds. Before colonial rule, Indian dog breeds were valued at home. Their speed, strength, and loyalty also meant that they were sought after abroad.
PC: Free Press Journal
- For the uninitiated, ancient Greek, Roman, and Chinese records indicate they were recognized as distinct and superior. But British rule saw a deep reversal of such ideas. As their kennel culture and their standards of breeding and purity took root, Indian breeds came to be seen as inferior, mongrels, street dogs, even pariah dogs. A counter-reversal is being attempted at the institutional level, and this is very much the right thing to do. BSF, for example, is now deploying 150 Rampurs and Mudhol Hounds across the country, from the Thar desert to Tawang. Indie breeds, it is now beginning to be seen, are better adapted to Indian conditions. This shift wouldn’t have taken so long if our colonial heritage hadn’t been topped up with long, postcolonial inertia.
PC: YouTube
- During decades of a closed economy, the imported-is-good and local-is-bad binary stultified. And this socialist overhand continued even afterward. Pugs, Shihtzus, and Rottweilers have carried status like designer bags and cars. Police and military systems did not really pursue independence from imported breeding and training manuals either. With the atmanirbhar lens, we can see that what we have, what we have always had, is not of poor quality. But to go from understanding to implementation won’t happen overnight. Rebuilding a sundered relationship will take time, dedication, and systemic will. And this time, let’s be smarter and not be sniffy about what we have. A 5000-year-old civilization has plenty to offer, including dogs.
