Animal rights activist Claude Lila Parulekar (81), daughter of eminent editor and founder of the Marathi daily ‘Sakal’, Nanasaheb Parulekar, passed away here on Tuesday.
Ms. Parulekar, a spinster and a former director of ‘Sakal’, was confined to a wheelchair since 2007 after she was struck by a series of paralytic strokes. Her condition was further debilitated by secondary Parkinsonism, said friends, and she had been bedridden since 2010.
Her sensitivity and passion for the welfare of animals, and tireless advocacy of the law to care for their well-being, made her one of the best-known figures in animal rights activism.
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The sole child of Nanusaheb Parulekar and Frenchwoman Shanta Genevieve Pommeret, the later years of Claude Lila Parulekar’s life was marred by a long and complicated legal wrangle and a bitter dispute with Prataprao Pawar, brother of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, to wrest control of the newspaper founded by her father.
“Her most significant contribution was that she mentored several animal welfare activists and taught them how to use the law for animal welfare,” said city-based activist, Manoj Oswal, who heads the ‘People for Animals’ (PFA) outfit dedicated to animal welfare.
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He said it was after her mother Genevieve passed away that Lila Parulekar devoted herself fully to the welfare of animals in the mid-1980s. “She would be seen going around in her car, picking injured animals on the street,” Mr. Oswal recalled.
Her 3.3 acre bungalow where she lived at 4A Queen’s Garden, near Pune Railway Station, had a full-fledged veterinary hospital and was a veritable paradise for wounded strays.
At one time, nearly 500 dogs, which Ms. Parulekar had rescued, freely roamed her estate. She also rescued and cared for 40 large animals including cows and horses and several birds, including injured kites and pigeons. Since 1975, Ms. Parulekar and her mother were embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with the management of Sakal Papers over control of the paper’s shares. This continued in 1985, when businessman Pratap Pawar, brother of Sharad Pawar, took charge and has only intensified ever since. Pratap Pawar’s son, Abhijit Pawar, is the group’s current managing director.
Petitions filed by Mr. Oswal and another animal rights activist, Pronoti Vyas, in 2011 and 2012 respectively, had expressed grave concerns about Lila Parulekar’s welfare and healthcare.
More disturbingly, the petitions had alleged an attempt by certain parties to usurp the prime properties held by her across Pune and Satara districts. It had noted that apart from the 12.2 per cent shares in ‘Sakal Papers’, Ms. Parulekar owned six acres in Mahabaleshwar, a one-acre plot on Pune’s Baner Road, a property in France and a hefty sum in the bank.
‘Victim of a conspiracy’ The view was seconded by animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, who in 2011, expressed concern and stated that Ms. Parulekar had become the “victim of a conspiracy to swindle her of her multi-crore assets.” In December, the Bombay High Court approved an intervention plea filed by Ms. Gandhi that sought to take care of the animals at Ms. Parulekar’s shelter. “We have maintained that there were people out to grab Lila’s money, property and shares in Sakal newspaper,” Mr. Oswal said.
On January 17, 2014, the Bombay HC issued an order, paving the way for the setting up of a three-member registered trust, which was empowered to take steps for Ms. Parulekar’s welfare and the maintenance of the animal shelter.