Rajasthan: Silent Tears of ‘Toiling’ Elephants in Amer Fort

Jaipur: The harsh Jaipur summer has just begun. The capital city of Rajasthan, which is a tourist hot spot, is experiencing a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius in March. During peak summer, the temperature climbs up to 48 to 50 degrees Celsius.

The splendor in the city’s Amer Fort, is added by elephant rides, which are a key attraction for tourists, especially foreigners. The decorated and painted pachyderms sometimes carry over 400 kg weight on their backs and cover the uphill trek to the fort for a few kilometers. Strangely, the Animal Welfare Board of India, the nodal organisation, has allowed carriage of not more than 200 kg of weight, including the mahout and the howdah (the sitting area on an elephant’s back, that too on a plain terrain. Uphill treks by elephants are said to be banned in India as far as animal welfare rules are concerned.

Elephants Golapi or Rongmala are cash cows for their owners. They have to complete three to four round trips per day to Amer Fort, which can go up to seven if the owner is lucky, on a single day.

There are about 76 elephants at present, all of whom are in the hands of private owners, offering rides, mostly to foreigners, even during peak summer in Jaipur, said local sources.

The former Vasundhara Raje government built an elephant colony nearby (hathigaon) where about 80 elephants now live with their mahout that are used for offering uphill rides up to 12 ‘o’ clock in the afternoon.

The tusks of most of the pachyderms have been done away with. This is illegal as per AWBI rules are concerned. Roughly about 40 to 50 kg of ivory has made it to the trafficking market, said some local sources.

Deepak Singh Rathore, a tour guide in Amer Fort, gave a true picture of the elephants in Amer Fort. He said these elephants are forced to carry about 400-500 kg on an uphill ride. There are vets available round the clock to look after these elephants. Most of these animals are over 50 to 60 years old, we are told.  There are allegations they are being inferior millets instead of sugarcane, and are forced to make three-four round trips a day, to cater to foreign tourists.

Many elephants are reportedly treated “very badly” when they do not follow the mahout’s order. Many of them refuse to go uphill, and there have also been instances when these elephants have been made to enter local ponds carrying tourists to save them against Rajasthan’s sweltering heat. We are told that many of the older elephants suffer from blindness (partial), tuberculosis and seven foot and mouth disease after “working in an unhealthy atmosphere.”

NewsClick spoke with Abdul Aziz, president of Hathi Malik Vikas Samity. He said he and his brothers owned nine elephants, all of which were being used for giving rides in Amer Fort. He strongly protested against any attempt to stop or curb the number of elephant rides at Amer Fort, saying it would creater a livelihood problem.

Aziz has nine brothers and a total number of 100 people depend on these nine elephants for livelihood. He said he had reared the elephants for ride purposes. According to him, a total of 20,000 people economically depend on elephants at Amer Fort.

“These elephants are like our children. From our childhood, we know of no other no alternative way of living.  We feed them chapatis and sugarcane. All of them have robust health. We also undetake regular veterinary checkups,” he added.

Though Aziz and other elephant owners tried to paint a rosy picture of Amer’s elephants, the condition is not so rosy.

“In a nutshell, this practice (uphill rides carrying huge weight) harms the animals’ health, particularly in summers when the temperature may rise above 50 degrees Celsus. The large animal’s behaviour may turn unpredictable and could also lead to accidents harming humans,” noted environmentalist Bittu Sehgal, editor of wildlife magazine, Sanctuary Asia, told NewsClick. 

Film actor Deepti Bhatnagar, who anchors a travel show ‘Musafir hun Yaron’, while talking to NewsClick, condemned the treatment of elephants in the Amer Fort. She cited the age-old practice of treating the pachyderms as gods.

“My voice, if it reaches even one ear and ends these illegal tours, I will consider myself successful,” she said.

NewsClick also spoke with the “first female mahout of India”, Parvati Barua, who said she had given an elaborate report about the condition of elephants at Amer Fort to the Rajasthan. The report is now biting the dust, she said.

NewsClick tried to speak with Shikha Gupta, chief wildlife warden of Rajasthan, and also sent a written questionnaire, which remains unanswered.

Animesh Bose, an environmentalist and patron of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, said in the case of captive elephants in India, the Central Zoo Authority guidelines are being flouted day in and out. Everyone is turning a blind eye to the guidelines, he said, adding that it was a case of humans not showing any humane behaviour and instead showing animalistic traits.

Interestingly, the 48 ownership certificates issued by the Rajasthan Forest Department refer to the “present market value” of elephants, even though assigning a commercial value to them is prohibited by law, making these certificates invalid.  

Sources said the tusks of 47 elephants were found to have been cut, and the custodians couldn’t produce any documents to prove that the Forest Department had granted them permission to do so, leading the inspectors to conclude that these tusks likely entered the illegal wildlife trade.

The estimated weight of the ivory from these tusks is approximately 23.5 to 47 kilogrammes, amounting to a significant potential contribution toward crime. Through a recent order in the matter of Wild Life Warden vs Komarrikkal Elias, the Supreme Court had observed that elephant tusks were the property of the government citing a declaration to that effect under Section 39(1) of the Wildlife Protection Act.

An elephant rehabilitation camp run by Wildlife SOS.

During a health screening in 2018, the AWBI had found that out of 102 elephants, 19 captive ones were observed to be blind, either unilaterally (right or left eye) or bilaterally (both eyes), rendering them unfit for any work. The safety of these elephants and people around them are at high risk if they are used for any purpose, including joy rides.

Out of 91 elephants screened for tuberculosis or TB, a disease which is transferable to humans by elephants, 10 elephants were found to be positive. Blood or serum samples could not be collected from 12 elephants, as the animals were not cooperating. These remaining 11 elephants (one dead) had to be subject to TB screening before deciding whether they qualify for registering under the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules (PARR), 2001, said media reports.

The report also found that 100% elephants from Hathi Gaon suffered from various foot problems, including overgrown toenails with cracks, deformation, discoloration, overgrown cuticles around nails and in the interdigital space, dry and cracking and thin, uneven and bruised footpads, etc.

NewsClick also spoke with Suvidha Bhatnagar, Director, Communications, of Wildlife SOS, an organisation engaged in wildlife rehabilitation. She said her organisation began its work with its Dancing Bear Project, which successfully resolved the brutal practice of poaching sloth bears for entertainment.

While mitigating this issue, Wildlife SOS also turned its attention to the rising elephant crisis, Bhatnagar said, adding that to combat the cruelty faced by Asian elephants, including poaching, wherein the elephants are exploited for commercial use in begging, circuses, temples and unethical tourism, the organisation had launched numerous petitions and campaigns, achieving significant on-ground impact. “We are also willing to set up rehab camps for ‘working pachyderms’ if the government so feels,” she added.

Bhatnagar said Wildlife SOS had rescued and treated over 50 elephants so far. The Elephant Conservation and Care Centre and the Elephant Hospital Campus in Mathura, along with the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Haryana, provide lifelong care to rescued elephants, particularly geriatric individuals who have endured years of abuse and now receive expert veterinary treatment and compassionate care.

Among the campaigns spearheaded by Wildlife SOS are:

The Circus Elephant Campaign that led to the rescue of elephants.

The Begging Elephant Campaign, which targeted private owners forcing elephants to beg on scorching urban streets. One of the most notable rescues under this initiative was Raju, also known as "The Crying Elephant".

The Refuse to Ride Campaign, which raises awareness about the exploitation of elephants in tourism. Through petitions, media campaigns and advertisements, Wildlife SOS educates tourists, particularly foreign visitors, about the ethical implications of elephant rides, urging them to decline participation.

The Protect Elephants from Speeding Trains Campaign, launched in response to the tragic 2023 incident where a baby elephant named Bani was struck by a speeding train. 

Bhatnagar said Wildlife SOS had launched a crucial initiative to rescue and rehabilitate all of India’s begging elephants within the next five years, with the goal of eradicating this cruel practice by 2030.

“In India, approximately 300 elephants are held in captivity for begging, subjected to extreme cruelty, starvation and brutal subjugation methods such as phajaan. Many of these elephants are illegally kept, forced to endure harsh conditions and suffer from untreated injuries,” she added.

About Mahouts 

One reason for the falling health of elephants is that private owners have been struggling to provide them adequate nutrition and care. As a result, many elephants have been surrendered or rescued with the assistance of the Forest Department.

Wildlife SOS claimed that it ensured “the best possible outcome” by transitioning traditional mahouts into compassionate caregivers, offering them an opportunity to care for elephants out of love rather than financial gain.

“This shift in approach fosters a positive change, reinforcing ethical treatment. Caregivers are provided employment, enabling them to look after the elephants while also assisting veterinarians during treatment. The deep bond that develops between the elephants and their caregivers is truly heartwarming to witness.” Bhatnagar added.

(This story has been facilitated by US-based Journalism Centre on global trafficking.)