Vegan Actor and Singer Zahrah S Khan and PETA India Offer a Mechanical Elephant for a Safe Muharram

Hyderabad – Will the annual Bibi-ka-Alam Muharram procession in Hyderabad’s old city feature a mechanical elephant this June, instead of a live elephant, usually rented from the neighbouring states? That’s the hope of vegan actor and singer Zahrah S. Khan, who has teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) to offer the gift of a life-size mechanical elephant to the Telangana State Waqf Board.

The recent death of a 33-year-old woman at Dubare Elephant camp in Karnataka, who was crushed under an elephant in front of her husband and child, is a stark reminder of the danger of any proximity to captive elephants. In a letter sent to the board, Zahrah explained that captive elephants are chained and beaten by handlers to force them to perform, and that they become distressed in loud human environments. Humans are put at risk when upset elephants rampage in crowds. A copy of Zahrah’s letter is available here.

Mechanical elephants can do what real elephants do, without the suffering. They can shake their heads, move their ears and eyes, swish their tails, lift their trunks, and even spray water. Equipped with a mounted seat, they can carry people, too, while operating on a stable wheeled platform.

Khan notes in her letter that mechanical elephants have already been embraced by numerous Hindu temples, a Jain temple, and starting to be used in weddings too. “The Quran and Hadith emphasize mercy and kindness towards living beings,” Khan writes. “By using a mechanical elephant instead of an elephant suffering in captivity, the Telangana State Waqf Board could set a compassionate example and become the first in the country to use the mechanical marvel at Islamic events.”

Repeated tragedies have shown the terrible cost of forcing elephants into such stressful situations. In 2004, an elephant named Gajalakshmi ran amok during a Muharram procession, endangering the lives of all attendees. In 2017, elephant Madhuri from Kolhapur who killed the chief priest of a Jain temple was rented for the procession. Just last year, a visually impaired elephant named Rupavathi was forced into the Muharram procession despite suffering from painful arthritis, putting many in danger.

Last year, in the lead-up to Eid al-Adha, Khan joined PETA India and the nonprofit Serve Needy Volunteer Organisation, to donate nutritious and flavourful vegan soya biryani to 1,000 people in need in Hyderabad.

PETA India ignited the movement to replace the use of live elephants by religious institutions in India. Now, more than 30 mechanical elephants are used in temples across the country, and PETA India has donated 26 to recognise temples’ decisions to never own or hire live elephants.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, an elephant is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow PETA India on X, Facebook, or Instagram