Gangtok/Namchi, January 4, 2026:

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s historic call of “Do or Die” as a symbol of non-violent resistance, citizens in Gangtok and Namchi joined a nationwide peaceful mobilisation on Saturday. Demanding, that governments abandon fear-driven dog-control measures and adopt scientific, lawful, and humane policies to protect public health.

The coordinated protest takes place all over the country, during different hours of January 04; amid growing alarm among public-health experts, veterinarians, and scientists over proposals that favour mass removal, relocation, or confinement of community dogs approaches. Widely criticised as unscientific, illegal under existing animal-welfare laws, and counter-productive to rabies control.

Over 2,000 citizens, including doctors, scientists, veterinarians, journalists, and public figures, have signed an open letter warning against mega-shelter models. They imply it poses serious public-health risks, cause ecological disruption, and impose heavy financial burdens on civic bodies. Especially without evidence of improved public safety.

In Sikkim’s fragile hill towns, experts caution that large-scale confinement would strain municipal resources while undermining the only method proven to reduce rabies: Animal Birth Control with Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ABC–ARV / CNVR).

Law Exists, Implementation Does Not

Specialists stress that ABC–ARV is mandated by Indian law and globally recognised as the most effective strategy for managing free-roaming dog populations. Yet in the country, the programme has never been implemented at the scale or consistency required.

“The crisis is not caused by science failing, but by governance failing to implement science,” Neelam Subba, India 4 Animal, Animal Rights, said during the rally.

She shares that the professionals warn that removing vaccinated dogs creates population gaps, leading to rapid influx of unvaccinated animals increasing, and not reducing rabies risk.

Peace Rallies in Gangtok and Namchi

As part of the nationwide ‘Do or Die’ peace gathering, a few citizens assembled at MG Marg, Gangtok, and Central Park, Namchi, from 1:00 pm on January 4, calling for transparency, data-driven planning, and accountability from urban local bodies.

“This protest is not against public safety,” they say. “It is a call to protect it through science, compassion, and lawful governance”, they shared.

While maintaining that the relocation and confinement are not solutions. What Sikkim needs is a strong, transparent ABC programme with anti-rabies vaccination. “This planet belongs to all of us, and theirs too,” Subba says.