The life and death of Lakshmi Kumari, an elephant as old as the Indian Constitution
For most of her life of 70 years, she was entitled to a promise of compassion. But it was never delivered.
Representative image.
|
Sivaram V/ Reuters
Towards the end of 2020, a world desperate for feel-good stories celebrated the deliverance of “the world’s loneliest elephant” from three decades of captivity in Pakistan. Born in Sri Lanka in 1985 Kaavan was gifted to Pakistan as a young, frightened and lonely calf. His sole companion, another elephant from Bangladesh, died in 2012.
After years of campaigning and court cases, Kaavan was freed by a judgement from the Islamabad High Court, which notably built on the principle laid down by the Indian Supreme Court that animals also have an equal constitutional claim to a right to a dignified life. After boarding a Russian plane that stopped to refuel in Delhi, he finally reached a sanctuary in Cambodia where the singer Cher, who spearheaded the Kaavan campaign, serenaded him with the famous Cinderella song “