In which decade did the Wildlife Protection Act change in India, resulting in the decline of snake charmers?

In 1972, India first passed the Wildlife Protection Act aimed at preventing the export of snakeskins, introducing a 7-year prison term for owning or selling snakes. Then in the decade of the 1990s, the Act was also applied to snake charmers. As a result, the individuals who practiced charming snakes were forced to move their performances to less-travelled areas including small villages outside major cities.

In 2003, hundreds of snake charmers struck back at the government, gathering at the temple of Charkhi Dadri, a city in the state of Haryana, India about 90 km (56 miles) from Delhi. Today, the Indian government allows a limited number of snake charmers to perform at specified tourist sites.

Snake charming as it exists yet today probably originated in India. Hinduism has long held serpents to be sacred, believed to be related to the ‘Nagas’, divine, semi-divine deities, sometimes portrayed as half-human and half-serpent. Many Hindu gods are pictured under the protection of the cobra.

The performance of a snake charmer includes an individual sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of closed pots or baskets. Once the lids are removed, the snake charmer begins playing a flute-like instrument made from a gourd, known as a ‘been’ or ‘pungi’. As if drawn by the tune, a snake, usually a cobra eventually emerges from the container and will extend its hood. The practice appears to hypnotize a snake since they lack the outer ear and can’t hear music.