Maneka Gandhi Writes to Sri Lanka to Save a Captive Elephant

Bandula, the Sri Lankan jumbo caught a lucky break – sharing his name with the petitioner who is trying to free him.

Bandula the ageing elephant stands with his feet chained in a small enclosure.

(Photo sourced through special arrangement)

Union Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi has written to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena with a plea: Release the 70-year-old elephant, Bandula, who has been in chains at the government-run Dehiwala zoo since he was three years old. In the letter dated 14 September, Gandhi states that many have reached out to her about Bandula’s plight, adding:

“We have, in India, banned elephants in zoos because they showed so much stress at being chained for so long. Many went mad. Recently we have released 6 elephants in a Safari park. All of them were old, and each one has turned into a youngster with delight and joy at their newfound freedom. Please could you take the same decision for all 7 elephants in the zoo. They are under extreme stress. Elephants have the same sensitivities as humans.”

Maneka Gandhi in a letter to Sri Lankan President Sirisena

The missive from Gandhi, who is known to be an animal welfare activist and animal lover, comes after a popular campaign in Sri Lanka to free the elephant Bandula and six other elephants in the zoo. The change.org petition has garnered close to 11,000 signatures, with the petitioners planning to take the cause straight to President Sirisena.

Sri Lanka is known for its beautiful island living and profusion of elephants, and while Bandula isn't the only elephant to be kept in prison-like conditions, he has now become a symbol for the liberation of elephants from captivity in the country.

Why Bandula?

He spends his days with chains around his feet.(Photo sourced through special arrangement)

While India has banned keeping elephants in captivity because of the extreme stress it causes them, Sri Lanka has not yet turned that corner.

The petitioner, Bandula Jayasekara, a media personality and ex-diplomat, hopes to change that. He shares his name with the elephant who is known in Sri Lanka as the majestic tusker living in the Dehiwala zoo. But why did he choose this elephant, now?

“When I was a kid, people would make fun of me for having the same name as the elephant, so there was that connection. Recently, a friend of mine went to the zoo and sent me a photo of Bandula, still there and chained up after so many years, and I felt we had to do something now... We are already so late.”

Bandula Jayasekara, TV show host

When asked why is the Sri Lankan government still keeping the elephants in the zoo chained up, Jayasekara says, “Times have changed... Zoos used to keep all elephants this way, but people have moved on, society has moved on, these animals feel distress like us, they need vast areas in which to roam. Animal behaviour experts have seen the way they shake their heads in captivity, these are all signs of chronic stress.”

Gandhi's letter to President Sirisena will be of great help in getting the elephants freed, Jayasekara says.