Jains pose as Muslims in Delhi, buy 124 goats to deter sacrifice on Bakrid

Members of the Jain community disguised themselves as Muslims and visited markets of old Delhi a day before the festival of Bakrid to buy dozens of goats to 'save' them

In an unusual incident, the Jain community in Delhi came together to raise Rs 1.5 million, which they used to buy 124 goats to prevent their sacrifice on the occasion of Bakrid - a prominent Muslim festival.

According to a report by The Print, the brain behind this plan is a 30-year-old chartered accountant, Vivek Jain, who has stored the ‘saved’ goats in a temple in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk.

Bakrid (Eid al-Adha) was observed on June 17.

How did the idea come to be?

A person associated with the incident, Chirag Jain told The Print that their guru Sanjeev was bothered by the potential slaughtering of goats due to the festival and “wanted to do something.”

Soon after, a team of 25 people was formed on June 15 and a WhatsApp message was circulated within the community.

A day later, the team visited different markets of old Delhi including Jama Masjid and Meena Bazar, posing as Muslim community members. 

“We were not afraid, but we didn’t want the buyers to play with our emotions,” Vivek said, noting that they would have had to pay higher prices if the sellers had known they were non-Muslims.”

He added that they planned on ‘rescuing’ as many goats as possible and bought all the goats for an average price of Rs 10,000 after a tough bargaining plea.

The ‘saved’ goats were then brought to the Naya Jain Mandir in Dharampur area.

Debate around animal sacrifice

Bakrid, is a significant Muslim holiday that traditionally involves the sacrifice of goats. However, some individuals, particularly vegetarians, often raise concerns about animal rights and criticise the practice. US animal rights organisation Peta India also urged Muslims to consider alternative, vegan options for the festival, instead of animal slaughter.

“Animal sacrifice is bad for everyone: It normalises killing and desensitises children to violence against animals,” the organisation said in a blog shared amid the festival.