Maneka Gandhi Removed from Indian Animal Testing Panel
Earlier this year I wrote about an upsurge in Hindu nationalism in India that, among other things, was helping drive an animal rights agenda in government. Spearheading that was Maneka Gandhi, who was chairperson of India’s Central Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals and using her position to block scientific research.
This week, however, Gandhi was removed from her position as chair of this committee. The position was temporarily handed over to V.K. Duggal, Special Secretary in the Union Environment and Forests Ministry, until a permanent replacement can be named.
Gandhi had been removed from the Union Cabinet in July 2002 after she came up on the losing end of a debate over animal research with then-Union Health Minister C.P. Thakur.
Thanks to Gandhi’s role in impeding animal research, a number of important initiatives, including production of vaccines, have fallen behind schedule.
The official reason for Gandhi’s removal from the committee was that a Member of Parliament could not hold this sort of committee post, but it was also clear that the government wanted to install someone less extremist in her views. Union Environment Minister T.R. Baalu told The Hindu that the government would be looking for a chairperson who would better balance animal welfare concerns with the need for animal research.
Source:
Maneka removed from panel monitoring tests on animals. P. Sunderarajan, The Hindu, December 24, 2002.
Maneka Gandhi divested of post of Chairperson of Committee. OutlookIndia.Com, December 23, 2002.
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