AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Americans are familiar with culture wars around public health. India has its culture wars too, including one in Mumbai over feeding birds - specifically, pigeons. Omkar Khandekar has this report from the Indian port city.
OMKAR KHANDEKAR, BYLINE: For nearly 40 years, Mumbai residents Premlata Soni (ph) and her husband start their day feeding pigeons who gather by a heavily polluted, bright green pond near their home. Sometimes it's a few fistfuls of corn and millet grain. Sometimes it's an entire bag.
(SOUNDBITE OF GRAIN POURING ON THE GROUND)
KHANDEKAR: Soni says even through pandemic lockdowns, they would sneak out to feed the birds. She sees it as her religious duty.
PREMLATA SONI: (Speaking non-English language).
KHANDEKAR: She says God wants her to do it. God may want it, but Mumbai's authorities do not. For years, they have tried to battle what they see as the scourge of pigeons, a bird that has done very well in a city of skyscrapers by nesting in apartment ducts and near air conditioning units. So in July...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking Marathi).
KHANDEKAR: ...The city banned pigeon-feeding in public spaces. Authorities covered feeding spots with blue tarpaulin sheets. Then they put up posters warning of respiratory illnesses from pigeon feathers and poop. That did not stop Soni.
SONI: (Non-English language spoken).
KHANDEKAR: She says, "The birds will have nowhere to go if no one feeds them."
Vikram Khan (ph) guards the pond. He says he sees dozens like her defy the ban every day, but he doesn't interfere because the last time he did...
VIKRAM KHAN: (Non-English language spoken).
KHANDEKAR: ...He got punched in the face.
(SOUNDBITE OF WINGS FLUTTERING)
KHANDEKAR: Feelings run high about pigeons in multifaith Mumbai, in part because for some communities, feeding them is a religious duty. Especially for the Jain community, which abhors harming any living creature. Local politician Puran Doshi is one of them.
PURAN DOSHI: I'm a Jain, and let me give a little bit background.
KHANDEKAR: Doshi says, according to Jain scriptures, one of their gods gave his life to protect a pigeon from a falcon. Jain started feeding pigeons to honor that sacrifice. And decades ago, Mumbai's authorities helped out too by marking out pigeon-feeding spaces called kabutarkhanas.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORNS HONKING)
KHANDEKAR: After the ban was announced in July, hundreds of Jains protested outside one popular kabutarkhana and tore up the barriers. That ticked off another group of Mumbai residents - the majority Maharashtrians, some of whom have long resented the power and influence that Jains have enjoyed in the city. Jains are perceived as dominant in the diamond trade and the financial district. One Maharashtrian group accused them of trying to impose their cultural values. Days later, they staged their own protest against pigeons and Jains.
(CROSSTALK)
KHANDEKAR: The pigeon culture war despairs ornithologist Mohammed Dilawar. He says the real problem is there are just too many pigeons, and that's because people are feeding them.
MOHAMMED DILAWAR: This is called as a human-induced population. It's not a natural population.
KHANDEKAR: And this human-induced population, he says, is also a public health concern. Vaishali Chodnekar's husband died a few years ago after he was diagnosed with irreversible lung damage. She says the doctor said it was likely because of the pigeons nesting in their terraced apartment.
VAISHALI CHODNEKAR: So he said ki (ph) pigeons have some problems in their droppings. Like, they have some microorganisms which cause irreversible lung damage.
KHANDEKAR: Today Vaishali runs a foundation to help others with lung diseases. She says of the 250 people they had helped get a lung transplant so far, more than three-fourths had unhealthy exposure to pigeon feces.
CHODNEKAR: In India, any issue comes up, politicians and religion has to happen. But the main concern and focus should be on the health of the people.
KHANDEKAR: But the tensions over pigeons are not always about just religion or health. Pinku Kumar Goswami (ph) came from a small village to find his fortunes in Mumbai. He now spends his nights collecting plastic and glass bottles to sell to recyclers. It's a lonely job, but he has found some who keep him company - dogs, cats and pigeons.
PINKU KUMAR GOSWAMI: (Non-English language spoken).
KHANDEKAR: He says, "If you feed them, pigeons recognize you. They will even come and sit on your shoulder."
GOSWAMI: (Non-English language spoken).
KHANDEKAR: "In a big city," he says, "it's a way to feel at home."
Omkar Khandekar, NPR News, Mumbai.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANDREW GIALANELLA'S "TRY AGAIN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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