On March 20, World Sparrow Day, the Dawoodi Bohra community has launched a nationwide 'Save Our Sparrows' campaign to raise awareness about the declining sparrow population.
To boost the initiative, Dawoodi Bohra volunteers distributed around 50,000 bird feeders to households, schools, parks and community centres across the country.
In 2011, too, the Burhani Foundation set by Dawoodi Bohras set a world record by distributing 52,000 bird feeders in its efforts towards sparrow conservation.
The feeders are essential food sources for sparrows, which have been vanishing due to urbanisation and environmental degradation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in 2017 supported the 'Save Our Sparrows' initiative and in November 2024 spoke about the importance of saving sparrows.
'In childhood we had watch sparrows on our roofs, they play an important role in maintaining biodiversity. But nowadays, we can barely spot a sparrow in cities, due to increased urbanisation. There are many children of today's generation who have seen sparrows only in pictures or videos,' Modi said in his Mann Ki Baat programme in November 2024.
'Ramzan is a time of reflection, compassion and generosity,' a Dawoodi Bohra spokesperson said. "In this holy month, we come together as a community to extend our kindness not only to one another but also to the small creatures that share our world."
"Through this collective initiative, we aim to nourish our sparrows and safeguard their habitats, reminding ourselves that every act of care contributed to the harmony our ecosystem."
According to the Press Information Bureau (external link), 'Several factors contributed to the decline in sparrows, known by various names such as goraiya in Hindi, kuruvi in Tamil and chirya in Urdu.
'The use of unleaded petrol has led to toxic compounds that harm the insects that sparrows depend on for food. Urbanisation has also taken away their natural nesting spaces. Modern buildings lack the spaces sparrows need for nesting, reducing places to raise their young.'
'Sparrows are not just any birds, they are indicators of our ecosystem's health,' said Taha Bawahir, a teacher at the MSB Educational Institute in Godhra. 'Their decline is a warning sign that we must act quickly to preserve our biodiversity.'
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