Indian Medical Association Urges Centre to Save Lives by Prohibiting Glass-Coated Cotton String and All Forms of Manja Following PETA India Appeal

For Immediate Release:

17 February 2023

Contact: 

Farhat Ul Ain; [email protected] 

Hiraj Laljani; [email protected] 

New Delhi – Following an appeal from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has written to the union minister for environment, forest and climate change, Bhupender Yadav, addressing the dangers posed by cotton kite strings reinforced with glass powder or metal in addition to the notorious nylon “Chinese” manja. Acknowledging the growing threat to public health from the manja menace, the doctors’ association prescribes the nationwide prohibition of all sharp kite-flying threads. Manja kills thousands of birds and many people every year.

States and union territories like Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Tripura have issued similar directions prohibiting all forms of manja, including cotton threads coated with strengthening or abrasive materials such as glass or metal alloys, and allowing only plain cotton thread for kite-flying. The IMA letter also cites the injuries and loss of life that manja is responsible for, affirming that there’s no place for such dangerous threads in India. 

“We are grateful to the Indian Medical Association for addressing the dangers posed by cotton kite strings reinforced with glass powder and metal in addition to nylon ‘Chinese’ manja. Humans, including children, and other animals stand no chance against such deadly weapons,” says PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain. “Most people would choose to use only plain cotton kite strings if they knew that doing so would spare humans and birds serious injuries and even death.” 

Manja, in all its forms, puts humans, other animals, and the environment at risk. Razor-sharp strings made of nylon or cotton threads laced with glass powder and metal have a disastrous impact on public health. People have lost their lives to the lethal strings, often after it slashes their throats while they’re walking, riding on motorcycles or scooters, or travelling in cars with their heads sticking out of the window. In January 2023, over 10 people died from manja in Gujarat, and 1,281 accidents were reported in the state between January 14 and 15. An 11-year-old boy in Jalandhar also recently sustained burn injuries to nearly 90% of his body after his metal-coated kite string touched an overhead high-tension wire. In another incident, a man wearing a balaclava, a helmet with a visor, and hand gloves was still unable to escape injury from manja when thread coated with powdered glass flew across his visor. When such deadly strings are used, it’s only a matter of when the next injury or death will occur. 

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. 

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