The indoctrination process of a captive elephant is extremely brutal. The animal is caged, or tightly restrained for weeks while people beat it and force it to obey commands – a process known as ‘phajaan’ or the breaking of the spirit. The objective is to destroy any wild spirit within the elephant, to drive fear into it to the extent that it is too terrified to ever retaliate. In order to make it possible for anyone to ride the elephant, it has to be broken.
