Did you know women from this community in India breastfeed baby deer?
The Bishnoi women have been doing this for years.
Don't be surprised. It happens only in India! Photo Courtesy: Instagram When award-winning and popular chef Vikas Khanna posted a picture of a woman breastfeeding a baby deer on Instagram, a lot of people were left impressed. He captioned the image as: "The greatest form of humanity is compassion--a Bishnoi woman told me as she had breastfed and saved many orphaned and injured baby deer in her life in the deserts of Rajasthan, India." For a lot of people it was news. Something that they probably heard for the first time. However, this is not a trend that has hit the market. It's a tradition that the women of the Bishnoi community have been following for years.
Who Are Bishnois?
The Bishnoi community is a religious sect that mainly lives in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. They are followers of Guru Jambeshwar, who gave his disciples a set of 29 principles/commandments. One of the beliefs was to protect and preserve all kinds of flora and fauna. Hence, women from this community breastfeed orphan deer and treat them like their own. Found in various states of India like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan-Bishnoi believe that causing harm to animals is equal to causing harm to yourself. Also, they follow a pure vegetarian diet because they believe animals are sacred. Interestingly, a sub-sect of Hindi religion, this community does not cremate dead bodies. Instead, they bury them because burning requires wood, which means depletion of forests. Burial on the other hand is seen as a way of enriching the soil.
Why Do Bishnoi Women Feed Deer?
Since the community is so protective of the animals in the area, they often graze in fields surrounding their habitat. According to a report published in the Deccan Chronicle, The community is against poaching. In 2013, Rajesh Bedi published a book named Rajasthan: Under the Desert Sky in which he featured Kiran Bishnoi breastfeeding a three-month-old fawn. Accroding to the book, Kiran has fended the dogs that killed fawn's mother and rescued her. She named fawn as Aarti and breastfeeds her along with her own baby daughter. She did this till the animal was young enough to be released into nature.
Hi Friends[Hindi] Women of Bishnoi Community Feed their Milk to the Babies of Deer |ThanksAkhilesh Kosta https://t.co/NiLRE9DHic
— Vellaapanti (@Vellaapanti) June 19, 2017
What The People From The Community Have To Say
"These baby deers are my life and they're like my own children. I feed them milk and food and ensure they're given proper care and attention in the house like all my family members. They are not orphans when they have us around, they have new mothers like me who offer them a mother's feed for a healthy life," says 45-year-old Mangi Devi Bishnoi in an interview to the Daily Mail.
"We do not see them as just animals. They are very much like a family member. We take care of everything they may need to live a healthy life. We keep them protected in our house so that dangerous animals like wild dogs do not harm them. If they're injured we keep them safe in our house and treat them like our children. My parents have never differentiated between a baby deer and me, " says 24-year-old Ram Jeevan Bishnoi.
"We are one family and it is in our religion to protect them. We have followed this way of living for over 550 years with a lot of love and affection. We are very protective of our animals, especially the babies. We are helping them. Feeding them is what they need. We are very proud of what we do," added Ram Jeevan Bishnoi," he continues.
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Needless to say, Twitterati are quite impressed with Khanna's revelations and took to the social media site to leave some encouraging words.
"Bishnoi women are lovely and they never hurt anyone," wrote one user.
Bishnoi women are lovely and they never hurt anyone https://t.co/NlJLxdCF8a via @franckvogel pic.twitter.com/0OUUFOLnW2
— Bhagwant Bishnoi (@AmbBishnoi) March 1, 2017
"Bishnoi women have always been ahead of time as seen in the Chipko movement too where they were the mainstay. More power to them," commented another.
Bishnoi women have always been ahead of time as seen in the Chipko movement too where they were the mainstay. More power to them.
— Dr. Deepali (@Doctor_Deepali) November 23, 2017
Well, so hats off to the women from this community, who nourish and treat animals as their own.
लगातार ऑडनारी खबरों की सप्लाई के लिए फेसबुक पर लाइक करे
