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To The Editor
Camel in Eid shopping list!
Sir. The front-page news with photograph (Prothom Alo. 1 I March 2000) and the DS editorial "Why Camel" (12 March 2000) have attracted my attention. Camel import. In large numbers from India, for Qur-ban! bazaar Is the subject of these two Items.
For a developing nation, importing any item deemed necessary Is not bad. Even, the rich KSA imports sheep from Australia during HaJ season to keep local price level stable. Are we doing the same for the necessity and/or market stability?
Camel and dumba are the species that can survive in desert scanty water and food condition. Desert people breed camel, as best suited there, for
riding, as beast of burden, and as source of life supporting materials (rug, tent, blanket, milk, meat and its stomach reserve water as last resort). In dry-hol-climatic cities, camel is used to pull cart as well. Whereas, camel milk and meat are not popular items even in desert cities. During my stay in Sindh and Thar Desert. I found chieftains prefer dumbas as their prized possession for Qurbani. Hurs and other tribesmen slaughter dumbas to honour a respected guest on arrival, whereas, a camel is never used for that purpose. There, for ready availability and economy (one for seven people), common people sacrifice camels.
In rich desert countries, for many reasons, sheep and cattle arc preferred to camel during Qurbani. Camel stinks obnoxiously. Trace of that often persists in meat and milk and for
this reason many does not allow camel meat in their dining table. Camel meat Is not even as soft as others. When roasted it hardly becomes tender. Slaughtering process of camel Is a harrowing sight too. This meek looking animal is made to sit and then slaughtered by shoving a dagger in the throat.
Oue has to have some experience to slaughter a camel. In religious background of Hz Abraham/Ibrahim (sm.)’s historic sacrifice. reference of dumba/sheep exists, but not of a camel. Only in our religious tenets, mention of camel as one of the sacrificial animals exist. So. there is hardly any extra religious benefit in sacrificing a camel. Hence, Import of this animal is ludicrous and mindless acts of those who processed the Import. Need of this animal, in large number in Eid, or for market stability Is thus ques-
tionable and agahist public interest. Any camel surplus-to-Eid-needs' can hardly be absorbed here for other purposes due to climate. Where with the same price, one could buy best-suited traditional animal.
In the exporting country, camel is abundant, as It breeds unattended in desert, its consumption and use are also limited But some quarters here, used our religious sentiment to market camel here at an unusual price. Good sense should have prevailed upon them not to act enthusiastically to market others' surplus product by arousing false sentiments. Islamic Foundation should have come forward to educate our mass, on this aspect, correctly and objectively.
A R Choudhury Uttara. Dhaka