These large temples remind people to feed the monkeys who in turn bite the hand that feeds them. It has been reported that there are over 30,000 monkeys living in India’s capital, Delhi. Almost 90 percent of these monkeys carry diseases like tuberculosis, and many of them are commonly roaming around many of the open air markets in Delhi. Monkeys are some of the most intelligent animals on earth, and they use that to their advantage, as many reports of monkeys threatening to attack people who do not hand over their groceries. In one of the more violent cases, the deputy mayor fell off of a balcony and died while fighting off monkeys. In earlier times people captured these monkeys and sent them to companies who needed them for product experimentation. This practice was recently deemed illegal, and many of the people who still try to capture the monkeys are chased away and beaten by the Hindu public. The monkeys have recently discovered how to operate the automatic doors at Delhi’s flagship hospital, and are often seen inside stealing food, playing with expensive and dangerous equipment, and terrorizing patients and hospital workers alike. Many monkeys can be found in the city hall and many wire fences have been put up in order to protect some of India’s most powerful men from monkeys.
The fences aren’t the only actions being taken against the monkeys. The government had deployed men to walk much larger and more aggressive monkeys around the city in order to scare away the smaller permanent residents who would return as soon as the man and his monkey left. This practice was soon deemed illegal by animal rights activists, so instead full grown men were paid to dress up in monkey suits and to make loud noises and monkey calls to scare and intimidate the monkeys. These solutions are only temporary, and they only scare away the monkeys for about 30 minutes. This problem continues to terrorize all of India, as the Hindu people continue to supply these monkeys with food.
Hanuman, the inspiration behind practice of feeding monkeys continues to become more and more popular around India, and as more people begin to participate in the tradition, the problem only can get worse. These monkeys are continuing to injure people and their property. They have been reported as destroying government files, and they have taken residence in buildings all across of the cities in India. Who knew that a kid who chased the sun could cause such a problem?
The Hindu people have started a problem that has resulted in many people being mauled or killed by the monkeys who have taken residence in the cities where they are being fed. The Hindu people started the problem, and there have been many firsthand accounts of people being abused by these monkeys, and the government has tried many different tactics in order to solve the problem, so far to no avail.
Hanuman is the main reason that the monkeys are being brought into the urban areas, and he is currently growing quickly as one of the most popular Gods to worship in the Hindu faith. According to a Christopher Fuller “Hanuman has become more popular all over India in the last twenty or thirty years, and since the 1980s, very tall statues of him have been erected in many places” (Fuller 272). More and more people are taking part in the tradition of feeding monkeys as Hanuman becomes more and more popular. 100 plus feet tall statues can be found all over Delhi and in many other large cities in India.