Dr. Sulekh Chand Jain
During the Desert Storm War (in the early 1990s), when US forces invaded Kuwait to drive out invader Sadaam Hussein of Iraq, the Iraqi army retreated and set many buildings in Kuwait on fire. By that time, most of the Kuwaitis had already fled, leaving many of their horses tied in their stables. Some of the stables there were on fire too. At that moment, one television reporter from Boston, while filming this retreat and the inferno all around, saw the plight of the horses in the stables. There was no one to save the lives of these poor creatures. Immediately, with a feeling of compassion, he threw away his camera, removed his clothes and jumped into the fire. At the risk of his own personal safety he was able to save the lives of many horses. I wonder, how many Jains would do this, or would they just run away saying, “Oh, that is their karmas and let them deal with it. Why should I interfere?” I call this cowardice. Compassion, karuna, and removing the suffering of others are the essential and primary duties of any human being.
For many years, I lived in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. In the downtown, there are quite a few horse drawn buggies for the enjoyment of the tourists. Considering the humane aspect and to avoid cruelty to the animals—horses in this case—the city council there passed an ordinance that when the outside air temperature exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celcius), to avoid dehydration and heat exhaustion, the horses will not be used. What a fine example for Jains to follow and to replicate in many Indian and other cities.
