Cockfighting in India#Kukkuta Sastra

File:Battle of Palnadu sculpture in Telugu Museum.jpg]]

Fights between birds such as junglefowls and roosters are said to have been arranged in ancient India as a mode of entertainment.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Bird Fights|url=http://www.bwcindia.org/Web/Awareness/LearnAbout/BirdFights.html|access-date=2020-08-24|website=Beauty Without Cruelty – India}} 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.{{Cite news|last=Bhattacharjee|first=Sumit|date=2020-01-12|title=A favourite pastime|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/a-favourite-pastime/article30546348.ece|access-date=2020-08-25|issn=0971-751X}}

In the present day, cockfighting takes place in Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India such as Telangana, Karnataka, and Odisha.

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.{{Cite news|last=Bommakanti|first=Ujwal|date=15 January 2020|title=Cockfights continue across Andhra Pradesh despite court ban {{!}} Vijayawada News – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/cockfight-arenas-spring-up-lakhs-trade-hands-as-organisers-flout-ban/articleshow/73257193.cms|access-date=2020-08-22|website=The Times of India|language=en}} Roosters are trained for fights year-round and are worth as much as {{INRConvert|50000|lk=r}}. Events which can last as long as three days are organized during Sankranti, with each event drawing thousands of people. In a 2019 investigation, The Washington Post called the practice the "Super Bowl of cockfighting".{{Cite web|date=2020-01-22|title=Man killed by chicken at illegal cockfight|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-man-killed-rooster-cockfight-razor-blades-andhra-pradesh-a9296531.html|access-date=2020-08-22|website=The Independent|language=en}}

Cockfighting is an ancient spectator sport. There is evidence that cockfighting was a pastime in the Indus Valley civilization.Sherman, David M. (2002). Tending Animals in the Global Village. Blackwell Publishing. 46. {{ISBN|0-683-18051-7}}. The Encyclopædia Britannica (2008) holds:Cockfighting. Encyclopædia Britannica 2008

{{Blockquote|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]").Iravatham Mahadevan. [http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/00151/Dr_Iravatham_Mahade_151204a.pdf "'Address' Signs of the Indus Script" (PDF)]. Presented at the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010. 23–27 June 2010. The Hindu.[https://books.google.com/books?id=VMSF7m2CFTEC&pg=PA11] Poultry Breeding and Genetics By R. D. Crawford – Elsevier Health Sciences, 1990, page 10 However, according to a recent study,{{Cite journal|last1=Al-Nasser|first1=A.|last2=Al-Khalaifa|first2=H.|last3=Al-Saffar|first3=A.|last4=Khalil|first4=F.|last5=Albahouh|first5=M.|last6=Ragheb|first6=G.|last7=Al-Haddad|first7=A.|last8=Mashaly|first8=M.|year=2007|title=Overview of chicken taxonomy and domestication|journal=World's Poultry Science Journal|volume=63|issue=2|pages=285|doi=10.1017/S004393390700147X|s2cid=86734013}} "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){{cite book|author=R. D. Crawford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMSF7m2CFTEC&pg=PA11|title=Poultry Breeding and Genetics|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=1990|isbn=9780444885579|page=11|access-date=2014-05-10}} and that by 1000 BC they had assumed "religious significance".

Kukkuta Satra ({{Translation|Cock Science}}) is a shastra dealing with cockfighting. There is no information about the author or when the book is written.{{Cite news|title=కోడిపందేల చరిత్ర తెలిసి ఉండొచ్చు.. మరి కోడి చరిత్ర తెలుసా?|language=te|work=BBC News తెలుగు|url=https://www.bbc.com/telugu/india-42652250|access-date=2020-08-19}}

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.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=కాలుదువ్వుతున్న పందెంకోళ్లు... {{!}} ఖమ్మం {{!}} www.NavaTelangana.com|url=http://m.navatelangana.com/article/khammam/193083|access-date=2020-08-19|website=Nava Telangana|language=te}}{{Cite web|last1=K|first1=Srinivas|date=2011-01-12|title=కోట్ల రూపాయల కోడి పందేలు|url=http://www.suryaa.com/features/article-1-12718|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140113135722/http://www.suryaa.com/features/article-1-12718|archive-date=2014-01-13|access-date=2014-01-13|website=Suryaa}}

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,{{Cite web|author=Esha Mitra|title=Man dies after rooster attack on way to cockfight|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/22/india/rooster-cockfight-death-intl-hnk-scli/index.html|access-date=2020-08-22|website=CNN|date=23 January 2020 }}{{cite news |last1=Daniel |first1=Christopher |title=ไก่ชน |url=https://www.xn--12cs7apa5d7cc4dzgpbzc7c.com/ |access-date=12 August 2023}} and the Hyderabad High Court in 2016, upheld the ban.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=12 January 2017|title=Despite Ban, Roosters and Punters Ready for the Cockfights|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/despite-ban-roosters-and-punters-ready-for-the-cockfights-1334749.html|access-date=2020-08-22|website=News18}} 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.{{Cite web|date=2018-01-13|title=SC allows conduct of cockfights in 'traditional manner' in coastal Andhra|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-allows-conduct-of-cockfights-in-traditional-manner-in-coastal-andhra/story-Iqy4q3u2WIlismJeP0OFSP.html|access-date=2020-08-22|website=The Hindustan Times|language=en}}

Despite the ban, cockfighting is still popular in Andhra Pradesh, with an estimated amount over {{INRConvert|900|c|lk=c}} being wagered in the state during a three-day period in 2019. More than 200,000 roosters have been used in cockfights in the state.{{Cite news|title=cockfights: Cockfights have turned into a multi-crore biz in coastal Andhra Pradesh – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/cockfights-have-turned-into-a-multi-crore-biz-in-coastal-andhra-pradesh/articleshow/67599224.cms|access-date=2020-08-22|website=The Times of India}}

• In 2010, in West Midnapore of the state of West Bengal, a man was killed by his rooster, which pierced his neck with a blade attached to its leg.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=14 December 2010|title=Master dies in rooster revolt|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/master-dies-in-rooster-revolt/cid/458403|access-date=2020-08-24|website=The Telegraph India}}
• In 2019, in Pragadavaram, Andhra Pradesh, a spectator succumbed to the injuries inflicted by a rooster. It reportedly sunk the blade tied to its leg into his abdomen during a cockfight.
• In 2021, in Telangana state, the owner of a rooster fitted with a blade was killed after it impaled him in the groin as he attempted to recapture it after an escape attempt.{{Cite news|date=2021-02-27|title=Indian man killed by his own rooster during cockfight|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56224144|access-date=2021-02-27}}

• The 2001 Malayalam film Kannaki directed by Jayaraj is a reimagining of the play Antony and Cleopatra told in the background of cockfighting tournaments in Kerala.
• The plot of the 2011 Tamil language- film Aadukalam directed by Vetrimaran is centred around cockfights.{{cite news|title='Aadukalam':Fascinating shades of grey|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/lsquoAadukalamrsquo-Fascinating-shades-of-grey/article15531664.ece|work=The Hindu|date=22 January 2011}}

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{{Commons category-inline|Cockfighting in India}}

Category:Culture of Andhra Pradesh

Category:Cockfighting