What is it about this elephant that two Indian states are duelling over her in court?
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00:00This is Joy Mala, the elephant over whom two Indian states went to court.
00:04Both Tamil Nadu and Assam wanted her.
00:15The Assam government had given Joy Mala to Tamil Nadu for six months on lease.
00:20It is an old tradition for temples in South India to house elephants for performing sacred duties
00:24like carrying idols on their backs during festivities.
00:28Joy Mala was staying at the Andal temple in Srivilliputhur, Chennai.
00:31This temple came under the Tamil Nadu government's Hindu Religious and
00:35Charitable Endowments Department.
00:36The courtroom battle began in September 2022 when People for Ethical Treatment of Animals
00:41alleged that Joy Mala's mahouts were ill-treating her.
00:44The Animal Rights Organization alleged that Joy Mala was beaten.
00:48They said that Joy Mala was tied to a concrete floor which caused painful infection in her feet
00:53and accused a mahout of using pliers to pinch her into submission.
00:57After videos of her alleged torture went viral,
01:00celebrities such as actor Madhuri Dixit and former Beatles singer and songwriter
01:04Paul McCartney requested for the elephant to be moved to a rescue shelter.
01:09Since the videos are triggering, we are refraining from showing them here.
01:12But Tamil Nadu's Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department said
01:16that Joy Mala was doing well and the videos of her torture were fake.
01:19But this is not the first time that news of Joy Mala's abuse has made the rounds.
01:23In February 2021, Forest Department officials arrested a mahout and his assistant for beating
01:29Joy Mala with canes at a rejuvenation camp in Coimbatore.
01:33She was then sent to the Andal Temple.
01:35Now, after videos of her alleged torture went viral in 2022,
01:39on 14th September, the Assam government filed a PIL at the Gauhati High Court
01:44requesting the elephant's return home.
01:51But the Tamil Nadu government told the Madras High Court that it had no intention of sending her back.
01:55So, on 16th September, the Gauhati High Court told Tamil Nadu to let a team from Assam
02:00inspect Joy Mala's condition.
02:02Then, a team of officials from the northeastern state travelled to the southern state
02:06to carry out the inspection.
02:08Their report would be presented to the Gauhati High Court on 28th September 2022.
02:13And until the matter is settled in court, Joy Mala stays at the temple in Tamil Nadu.