Whoever told Salman Khan about Jodhpur’s graceful chinkara and black buck obviously forgot to tell him about their formidable protectors, the Bishnois. Known for their commitment to conserving wildlife, in Jodhpur they inhabit about 24 villages in the Gudha Bishnoian area. The sect was founded by Guru Jambheshwar, who laid down 29 principles to be followed by the community. He banned the killing of animals and the felling of trees.Apparently, he had told his followers that the black buck would be his manifestation after death. That belief has ensured almost total protection to the black buck and chinkara in the region. And that’s why the animals have flourished in this region without the protection of being in a sanctuary or a national park, grazing amicably in fields with no fear of the farmer’s wrath. A 2002 census had put the number of black buck and chinkara at 4,500 in the region.It was here — Bagro ki Dhani near Kankani, about 25 km from Jodhpur — that Salman Khan and other stars of the Sooraj Barjatya film, Hum Saath Saath Hain, chose as their hunting ground, overriding both law and popular sentiment. What they hadn’t bargained for was that the local people would catch up with them before the law did.It was the Bishnois who stopped Salman Khan’s moonlight drives and ensured that the only drives he takes in Jodhpur are straight to the courtroom. In their testimonies the two Bishnois, Poonam Chand and Chauga Ram, stated that they saw Khan shooting two black buck on the night of October 1, 1998. They say they chased him for a while but lost track of him. Chauga Ram’s wife, Phumboo Devi, had a role to play, too. “We were sleeping outside our house when I saw some light and then heard some gun shots at about one at night. I woke up my husband.” And no, she was not gunning for Khan because he was a celebrity. It was only later that she had learnt that the man involved was somebody called Salman Khan, who acts in Hindi films. “I don’t think I’ve seen any movie of his,” she had said.Two other Bishnois — Shera Ram and Mangi Lal — too claimed to have seen Khan and company speeding away.It was while investigating the black buck case that the then assistant conservator of forest and wildlife warden, Lalit Bora, discovered that Khan had gone hunting even earlier, killing chinkaras at Bhawad and Ghoda farms. The verdict is out on the Bhawad case, but the Ghoda farms case and the black buck case — where the Bishnois were witnesses — are yet to be settled.While in the chinkara cases, Harish Dulani, the star witness and driver who claimed to have been in the backseat while Khan shot the animals, went missing; in the black buck case the Bishnois have been turning up for their hearings regularly. In fact, the whole community has been monitoring it closely, as they will today — when the black buck case comes up in the Jodhpur court again.
