As part of the Magh Bihu celebrations, traditional buffalo fights, known locally as “Moh juj,” were staged in some parts of the Morigaon district in central Assam, despite a Supreme Court ban on animal duels.According to reports in the local media, locals took part in the celebrations, which were held at Baidyabori and Ahatguri. District officials declined to comment, stating that the case is pending.Owners of around forty pairs of buffaloes took them to Baidyabori, where some fights reportedly lasted more than twenty minutes. At Ahatguri, thirty-three buffalo couples fought in fight, attracting large crowds of spectators to see the traditional event that took place in conjunction with the harvest celebration.
The Assam government published a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in 2023 that permits buffalo and bulbul bird fights at Magh Bihu. However, the Gauhati High Court declared the SOP unlawful in December 2024, citing a 2014 Supreme Court decision that forbade such acts.Bulbul bird fights are often held in the Hayagriva Madhav temple in Hajo in Kamrup district, while buffalo conflicts have traditionally taken place in Morigaon, Sivasagar, and other Upper Assam districts, the most famous of which is Ahatguri.
Meanwhile, the state government changed the existing law to allow for traditional buffalo fights. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Assam Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was unanimously adopted by the Assam Legislative Assembly in November, attempts to remove traditional buffalo clashes from the definition of animal cruelty, much like Tamil Nadu’s Jallikattu exemption.