It is 50 years since the founding of BWC–India. A movement that began in the UK—of exposing the cruelty animals were subjected to for completely unnecessary and frivolous purposes such as producing articles of vanity—was brought to India and has seen 50 years of activity in various forms, on various fronts, and with admittedly varying degrees of success, but always with the original goal of reducing cruelty that animals suffer at the hands of humans.

BWC’s efforts have been at two levels: i) where maximum change can be brought about quickly, by  mandate—at the level of legislation, and ii) where change is slow, but more permanent—at the level of the individual’s mind, where awareness of the wrongs that are happening to animals has to be sown into a people’s minds, seep into their consciousness, and create in them a resolution for change. To do the latter, BWC recognized the need for going beyond making people aware of the places where we are doing wrong by the animals, and pointing out in addition the ways we could be doing right by them, in other words, pointing them to the alternatives that are cruelty-free.

This calendar commemorates these 50 years of BWC’s activism by pointing out 12 (out of many) achievements during the journey which we feel aptly depict our efforts, whatever may have been the longevity of the achievements. These have made us feel that we have somewhere made a difference to our animal brethren on this planet and not been silent bystanders or cynical onlookers to the brazen and wanton maltreatment of Nature’s defenseless and innocent creation by its largest predator—Man.