At 4.30 pm on JM road, slogans echoed, “Their body, not ours”, “Their milk, not ours”, “Animals feel pain, just like us”, “Animals feel hunger, just like us”, and so on. Supporters of the Vegan India movement had gathered at the site to demand animal liberation ahead of elections.
Last year, their first protest happened at Jantar Mantar–Delhi, then in Mysore this February, and then in Chandigarh. Pune is the fourth city where they are raising their concerns and have plans to reach out to more people.
Amjor Chandra, 33, from Bangalore, one of the organisers of Vegan India Movement said, “Animals are individuals, not livestock. There is no moral difference between killing a dog and a goat.”
Their two demands are personhood status for animals and ban on industries such as meat, milk, egg, etc which exploit animals. “Our only demand from the public is that they stop consuming things that are a product of animal exploitation, be it for food, clothing or entertainment,” said Chandra.
Chandra has been a part of this activism for the last eight years. He said, “I read an article titled, ‘Milk is not good for our bones”. I started reading and researching about the dairy industry after that and since then I have become a part of this movement”.
The group also distributed pamphlets to passersby with QR codes and links to videos about the dairy industry. They also included statements such as, “Did you know that the demand we create for milk products kills more than 3.5 crore unproductive buffaloes and cows, including 1.4 crore male calves every year in India. That’s how India has been one of the largest exporters of beef in the world since 2012.”
