What people have been doing to the street dogs of Dhaka these past few days cannot be called human behaviour. Not at all. Humans have been given the role of guardians of animals and birds, because humans have judgement. To mistreat any creature is therefore to deny the responsibility that Allah Himself has placed on human shoulders, and to deny a responsibility given by Allah is to disobey Allah, which is a grave sin. Muslims believe everything in creation, animals and birds included, exists for Allah's pleasure. Muslims also believe people must do what pleases Allah. As in Christianity and Judaism, in Islam too it is a sin to kill an animal or cause it suffering without real necessity. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), beloved of Muslims, taught kindness to animals and birds.

How do dogs really behave with humans? Human history has walked alongside the dog. Since primitive times the dog has been humanity's best friend: sometimes a playmate, sometimes a guard, sometimes leading the blind to their destination. The dog is humanity's most faithful friend. Tests have shown that dogs can watch human behaviour and respond to it. They can read what a person wants from body language and the eyes, which is why guide dogs understand where their blind owners want to go and take them there.

Since ancient times people have believed that one must understand the meaning of a dog's bark, because it warns of danger ahead. I have seen that Nepalis believe dogs guide the soul to the next world. When I went to Nepal for work, I rented a house from Rajan Shrestha, a Newar Brahmin. On one side of a huge lawn was my duplex, on the other Rajan's palace. There were many dogs in the house, and I assumed the gentleman must simply enjoy keeping dogs. When the Durga Puja festival begins in Bangladesh and Kolkata, Nepal celebrates Tihar. That was when I realised how revered and respected dogs are in Nepali belief. I have heard the same belief holds firm in many parts of India.

Tihar lasts five days, and one of them is set aside for worshipping dogs. Rajan told me the dog is the messenger of Yama, the god of death. Before Rajan's father died, the household dogs Lily and Fucchi cried all night. Why? Because they sensed Yama was coming. And after his father's death, it was a dog that showed his father's soul the way to heaven. Beyond honouring the master's beliefs, it is the pet dog that guards the house.

I remember that the house had no grilles on the windows and no railing around the balcony. In Bangladesh we are used to living caged like this, and I felt very uneasy. Somehow the lack of grilles did not make me feel safe. I asked Rajan to please have grilles fitted.

Rajan listened in great surprise to why I wanted grilles. Then, with a broad smile and doubled confidence, he said that as long as Lily and Fucchi were there, no thief or robber could ever get inside. I should live without worry. Then Rajan asked me in turn: grilles turn a house into a cage, didn't that look ugly to me? Did I say anything in reply? I don't remember.

Dogs are not barred from entering heaven. So Rajan wants Lily and Fucchi to go to heaven and visit his father's soul. That is why dog worship is held; Nepalis call it Kukur Tihar. On that day, mantras are chanted while a vermilion tika is placed on the dog's forehead and a marigold garland put around its neck. On Kukur Tihar I used to watch Lily and Fucchi, decked out with tika and garland, playing with my daughters. Whether they enjoyed being dressed up or enjoyed the children's company, I still cannot tell.

People believe dogs get advance news of death. They are also said to sense whether a person is good or bad. I have seen dogs stand and growl at someone, and it seemed the dog did not like that person. People are like this too; even small children do not show the same liking for everyone. Sensing likes and dislikes this way is truly a mystery.

Those who shout "drive the dogs out" when street dogs come at them need their own humanity examined. I am sure the thief-expert driver "sir" of the Directorate General of Health Services would get no welcome from dogs. Yet, without even looking into it, we know that everyone else gave this thief the respect of an established member of society. Why do so-called passers-by lack the will to make a fuss about thieves and those who pamper thieves? Child rapists, child killers, looters of the country's money, murderers, forgers, thieves and swindlers stay in the country, and they need not be driven out. It is the dogs that must go.

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed a dog's saliva could cure illness. Temple dogs, whose saliva people in trouble collected, were known as cynotherapists. Dogs can smell. But can they sniff out whether cancer has taken hold in someone's body? Many people think they can. And not only cancer: dogs are said to detect high blood sugar and various other illnesses early by smell. Fine, but does it make sense to be so eager about dog saliva? Science says it does, to some extent: chemical analysis has found some antibacterial components in it. That may be so. But believing this saliva can cure disease is going too far.

There are now some 400 breeds of dog in the world, all with one ancestor: the wolf. Researchers believe dogs became domestic animals 12,000 years ago, helped by their ability to bark. The dog is the only animal that can drive off an unknown intruder at night by barking, and chase prey by barking.

Dogs are useful, yet they get little respect. A dog can be beaten. So when a person wants to point out that someone is lowly, calling him a dog brings satisfaction. If one person thinks of another as a rightless "thing to be beaten", thinking of him as a "dog" is the perfect way, isn't it?

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.