Hindu ceremonies and animal sacrifice
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A Himalayan tradition
Animal sacrifice is an age-old tradition in the annual religious ceremonies of Hindus in many Himalayan regions in Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, through the Kingdom (later Republic) of Nepal, all the way to the plains ofAssam.
During the 1900s, due to ‘Sanskritisation,’ some Hindu communities in these regions began to view animal sacrifice as a primitive tradition not compatible with the vegetarian ethos of Hindu ceremonies in the plains.
In some places animal sacrifice was banned by modern, 20th century maharajas, in some by socal reformers and in some by judicial courts.
Himachal Pradesh
Anand Bodh, In HP, coconuts preferred over stir, Jan 22 2017 : The Times of India
After the HP court's ban on animal sacrifice at all places of religious worship on September 1, 2014, Himachal's famed “assembly of gods“ was held, wherein “deities“ were said to have refused to accept the court ban on animal sacrifice. However, the court prevailed and peaceful implementation of the order was ensured.
Barring a few isolated instances, animal sacrifices were replaced by offering coconuts in temples.
In stark contrast to the Jallikattu uprising in Tamil Nadu [in 2017], people of Himachal Pradesh complied with the court order banning animal sacrifice in places of religious worship despite having reservations on the issue.There were no large-scale agitations as those who opposed the move took legal recourse instead.
“In Himachal too, people are not ready to part with the age-old tradition of sacrificing animals to their deities, but they fear holding protest demonstrations like in Tamil Nadu . We thus took the legal route to address our issue,“ said Dot Ram Thakur, president of Kullu Devi Devta Kardar Sangh.
Thakur along with Kullu royal Maheshwar Singh, moved the court against the order.
