Cockfighting (Seval Sandai in Tamil, Kodi Pandem in Telugu) in India primarily takes place in January, coinciding with Makara Sankranti. The practice is widespread in coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, including Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts, despite being illegal in India. [1] [2]
Fights between birds such as junglefowls and roosters are said to have been arranged in ancient India as a mode of entertainment. [3] It is recorded that the outcome of the Battle of Palnadu (1178–1182) was decided by a rooster fight, following which cockfighting gained foothold in Andhra Pradesh. [4]
In the present day, cockfighting takes place in Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India such as Telangana, Karnataka, and Odisha. [3]
Roosters are specially bred for cockfights, with knives and blades tied to their legs. The fight typically results in the death of one of the birds. [5] Roosters are trained for fights year-round and are worth as much as ₹ 50,000 (US$630). Events which can last as long as three days are organized during Sankranti, with each event drawing thousands of people. [1] In a 2019 investigation, The Washington Post called the practice the "Super Bowl of cockfighting". [6]
Cockfighting is an ancient spectator sport. There is evidence that cockfighting was a pastime in the Indus Valley civilization. [7] The Encyclopædia Britannica (2008) holds: [8]
The sport was popular in ancient times in India, China, Persia, and other Eastern countries and was introduced into Ancient Greece in the time of Themistocles (c. 524–460 BC). For a long time the Romans affected to despise this "Greek diversion", but they ended up adopting it so enthusiastically that the agricultural writer Columella (1st century AD) complained that its devotees often spent their whole patrimony in betting at the side of the pit.
Based on his analysis of a Mohenjo-daro seal, Iravatham Mahadevan speculates that the city's ancient name could have been Kukkutarma ("the city [-rma] of the cockerel [kukkuta]"). [9] [10] However, according to a recent study, [11] "it is not known whether these birds made much contribution to the modern domestic fowl. Chickens from the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley (2500–2100 BC) may have been the main source of diffusion throughout the world." "Within the Indus Valley, indications are that chickens were used for sport and not for food" (Zeuner 1963) [12] and that by 1000 BC they had assumed "religious significance". [12]
Kukkuta Satra (transl. Cock Astrology) is a shastra dealing with cockfighting. [13] There is no information about the author or when the book is written. [13]
Kukkuta Sastra recognises 50 types of cocks suitable for cockfighting. It prescribes the diet for the cocks raised for cockfighting, including but not limited to almond, cashew, pistachio, and meat. Kukkuta Sastra is diligently followed when cocks are raised for cockfighting in India. [14] [15]
Cockfighting has been illegal in India since the enactment of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in 1960. Subsequent judgements by the Supreme Court of India in 2015, [16] and the Hyderabad High Court in 2016, upheld the ban. [17] In January 2018, the Supreme Court allowed the sport to be held in a traditional way, without the use of knives and blades and without gambling or betting. [18]
Despite the ban, [2] cockfighting is still popular in Andhra Pradesh, with an estimated amount over ₹900 crore (US$110 million) being wagered in the state during a three-day period in 2019. [19] More than 200,000 roosters have been used in cockfights in the state. [19]
Andhra Pradesh is a state in the southern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state with an area of 162,970 km2 (62,920 sq mi) and the tenth-most populous state with 49,577,103 inhabitants. It has shared borders with Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the Bay of Bengal. It has the second-longest coastline in India at about 974 km (605 mi). After existence as Andhra State and unified Andhra Pradesh, the state took its present form on 2 June 2014, when the new state of Telangana was formed through bifurcation. Amaravati is the capital of the state, with the largest city being Visakhapatnam. Water sharing disputes and asset division with Telangana are not yet resolved. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India used by the majority of people, is the first official language.
The chicken is a domesticated species that arose from the red junglefowl, originally from Southeast Asia. They have also partially hybridized with other wild species of junglefowl. Rooster and cock are terms for adult male birds, and a younger male may be called a cockerel. A male that has been castrated is a capon. An adult female bird is called a hen, and a sexually immature female is called a pullet. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food or as pets. Traditionally, they were also bred for cockfighting, which is still practiced in some places. Chickens domesticated for meat are broilers, and for eggs, they are layers.
Telugu is a Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is one of the six languages designated as a classical language by the Government of India. It is the 14th most spoken native language in the world. Modern Standard Telugu is based on the dialect of erstwhile Krishna, Guntur, East and West Godavari districts of Coastal Andhra.
Cockfighting is a blood sport involving roosters ("cocks"), held in a ring called a cockpit. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term "cock of the game" used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting in The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. But it was during Magellan's voyage of discovery of the Philippines in 1521 when modern cockfighting was first witnessed and documented for Westerners by the Italian Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, in the Kingdom of Taytay.
The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao (N.T.R.) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu speakers. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the main opposition party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Makar(a) Sankranti, also referred to as Uttarayana, Makar, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (dhanu) to Capricorn (makara). Since the sun has made this transition which vaguely coincides with moving from south to north, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, and is observed to mark a new beginning. Many native multi-day festivals are organised on this occasion all over India.
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Telangana is a landlocked state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India as per 2011 census. On 2 June 2014, the area was separated from the northwestern part of Andhra Pradesh as the newly formed state of Telangana, with Hyderabad as its capital.
Telugu Brahmins are Telugu-speaking Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India. Telugu Brahmins are further divided into sections like Vaidiki, Niyogi, Deshastha, Dravida and Golkonda Vyapari.
The recorded history of Andhra Pradesh, one of the 28 states of 21st-century India, begins in the Vedic period. It is mentioned in Sanskrit epics such as the Aitareya Brahmana. Its sixth-century BCE incarnation Assaka lay between the Godavari and Krishna Rivers, one of sixteen mahajanapadas. The Satavahanas succeeded them, built Amaravati, and reached a zenith under Gautamiputra Satakarni.
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