India Celebrates 10 Years of Victories for Animals

Joined by some fabulous Bollywood besties, PETA India celebrated its 10th birthday last week with a gala, at which vegan delights abounded and awesome melodies sounded. The event, which was sponsored by Nahar Group with associate sponsorship by Hello Basmati Rice, was hosted by superstars and longtime PETA supporters John Abraham, Hema Malini, Anoushka Shankar, Raveena Tandon Thadani, and photo ace Atul Kasbekar. The epic event featured performances by top santoor player Rahul Sharma, Ash Chandler and IshQ Bector . Special messages from rock star Bryan Adams and actor Pamela Anderon – who were unable to attend the event – were aired.

The party was attended by the who’s who of tinsel town: Celina Jaitly, Amisha Patel, Rahul Dev, R. Madhavan, Anju Mahendru, Gulshan Grover, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, Priya Amiri, Leena Mogre , Jatin Kampani, Shibani Kashyap and Shahid Kapur – who was presented with this year’s “Asia’s Sexiest Vegetarian” award.

It is thanks largely to our friends and supporters like yourself that PETA India has been able to accomplish so much for animals over the past 10 years. Animals have been freed from laboratory cages, elephants have been liberated from chains, and thousands of people have discovered that the most powerful thing they can do to save animals is to leave them off their plates.

The following are just a few of the achievements that PETA India celebrated:

• After PETA exposed cruel conditions at the National Institute of Virology, 39 animals were taken from the laboratory to a rehabilitation centre.

• A PETA campaign led to a ban on the entry of elephants into the city of Mumbai. Since then, 15 other states have passed similar regulations preventing elephants from entering cities.

• A petition drive, backed by many Bollywood stars, resulted in an order prohibiting the use of bullocks to pull heavy oil tankers in Mumbai.

• PETA has rescued 67 lions, tigers, and other animals from five circuses.

Guests were treated to a delectable vegan menu created by Simran Kodesia, along with a team of chefs from the Trident Hotel. What’s more, every attendee also received a gift bag full of vegan goodies, including vegan chocolates by Fantasie; vegan cosmetics by Omved, Oriflame, Surya Brasil, The Nature’s Co., and Onyx; Amar Medicos clove gel toothpaste; and soya milk pouches by Staeta. The ladies also received gorgeous faux-leather handbags by Cherry Berry.

See the photos from the star-studded event here!