Tamil Nadu State government promulgated an ordinance with Governor C Vidyasagar Rao's approval to circumvent the 2014 ban on Jallikattu. "The bulls which have been locked up, will come so that the Jallikattu warriors can embrace them," said Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. Thousands of protestors have been camping out at Chennai's landmark Marina Beach for the last five days protesting against the ban and raising their fingers at "outsider" global animal rights PETA. They are unhappy with the ordinance, and believe it is a mere half-measure.
"It doesn't guarantee that the sport won't be banned again," said M Gurumurthy, a 48 year old chartered accountant who feels passionately for the age old bull taming tradition of the state. Another protestor, Ganesh R, an IT worker who has been at the seafront protest site all week, said, "If they pass a bill and make sure no foreign NGO will ever dictate to us what is and isn't our culture, then I will be happy." Demonstrations that began against the banning of a state sport, has in a bizarre way lost its motive, turning more into a nationalist move where half-informed Tamilians have begun to believe it was PETA that ruined their yearly Pongal celebrations.
Along with their demand to allow Jallikattu, protesters now seek a ban on PETA, the animal rights group that had actively campaigned for restrictions against the sport. They are also calling for amendments in the prevention of cruelty to animals act, especially in light of the Supreme Court's pending decision on Jallikattu. Protester Shanthi Moorthy said, "The bull must be removed from the list of performing animals. Our protest will continue until that happens."
What is Jallikattu?
Derived from two Tamil words 'Jalli' and 'Kattu', meaning gold or silver coins, and tied, Jallikattu is a bull taming event typicall practiced all through Tamil Nadu on Mattu Pongal day- the third day of the four-day Pongal festival. The sport requires coins to be tied to bull's horns. The bull that wins is used to service numerous cows preserving the native breed. It is revered as an ancient sport believed to have been practised some 2500 years ago. However, the consequences, injuries and deaths caused because of the sport has made it controversial.
Why the protests?
The Environment Ministry amended its earlier notification last year, initially issued by the UPA government in 2011, declaring the sport be carried on irrespective of the ban imposed by the Supreme Court. This was seen as a direct rebuke with the Supreme Court's order and was challenged by several organisations such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). As a result, a stay order was issued by the court. It was around this time that the organisation became actively involved in the issue. PETA investigators conducted a research and found that the bulls were being disoriented deliberately. Their tails were allegedly bitten, twisted, they were stabbed, punched, and dragged on the ground. PETA even found support from several celebrities, all playing a major role in the banning of the sport.
Tamilians, especially the youth- students and professionals, have vehemently protested against the ban. They consider bull taming as symbolic to ancient tradition that has been celebrated since ages. There are several references of the sport in Dravidian Literature. The ongoing protests note that the ban insults their cultural identity. They claim that their fight is for Tamil pride and what their culture represents. They reject the allegation that the sport is cruel to the bulls, and demand PETA be banished from the state. Protesters say the law on cruelty to animals must be amended to include Jallikattu bulls on a list of trained animals used in the military or for educational and scientific purposes.
For and Against
Dhivya Balachandar, 28, has been aggressively participating in the mass protest going in the state. "Jallikattu is just the spark, we are fighting to reclaim our rights as Tamilians," he strongly said to a newspaper source. A part of the demonstrations since the beginning, he said he coordinates volunteering efforts during the day, and stays at Marina Beach in the evenings. "I grew up seeing these traditions in Melur, my village in Madurai. My father used to take part in Jallikattu. The bulls are considered a part of the family, we used to call them by their name. If a bull died, that day would be a black day for the entire village. They ask why we are hurting the bulls, but that is not how it is. We celebrate jallikattu for one day, and for the remaining 364 days we are taking care of the bulls," he said.
"It is part of our culture," he continued. "But PETA, which is a foreign agency, has collected some rare occurrences, showcased it as jallikattu and got a ban on it. The Supreme Court did not give the other party a chance to explain. For the past three years after the judgement, we believed that our government would do something. But nothing positive came out of it."
"This year, we asked that just 10 bulls be released through the 'vaadivaasal' for jallikattu in Alanganallur, which is famous for the sport. But they did not allow even that. That's when we began protesting at Alanganallur. It was a silent protest. No politicians are involved in this agitation. One of them tried to join us in Chennai but we did not allow him. We are proud that we are united without the involvement of politicians," Dhivya said. "We are very clear about our agenda. It’s not about banning PETA. Our main aim is to get the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act amended so that the ban on using bulls for traditional and cultural practices can be removed. This is a completely peaceful protest."
"If they want to ban (cruelty to animals), why don’t they ban leather exports? But they won’t do that. Whether it’s the Cauvery issue or the proposal to build a dam in Kerala, it is the Tamil people who have to bear the brunt. When soldiers die on the border in Kashmir, they talk about Indian soldiers. But when fishermen are killed by Sri Lanka, they are Tamilian fishermen. We feel Tamilians are being unfairly treated. Jallikattu is just the spark, we are fighting for every issue where we need to reclaim our rights."
Meanwhile, social activist Shunmuga Anandam, 28, feels the rallying point for "Tamil Pride" comes from a deeper "sense of grievance nursed over the last few years." He said, "Whenever there has been a disagreement between the Central and state governments, people would take to social media to say Tamilians are suppressed by the Centre. This created a feeling among youngsters that 'outsiders', whether from Delhi or abroad, are trying to deride their culture. This is a common thread you will find throughout Tamil Nadu, even if you travel to rural areas."
"Most of the people standing on Marina Beach and shouting slogans today are unaware of the facts of jallikattu. They have termed it an issue of Tamil pride after seeing WhatsApp forwards. I believe our youth is being misled and are fighting for the wrong cause. They think there is a ploy to import foreign breeds, to destroy native ones — these are the imaginative theories propagated through social media that are fuelling the protest," he said. "The people protesting do not like to talk about the caste discrimination in jallikattu. If you go deeper into the villages beyond the three main areas where it is held, you will see it for yourself. If Dalits catch the bull of the higher caste during an open competition, they will assault or even kill the Dalit. They also fail to see that the ban came about because of the legal failure of the state government (to ensure there was no cruelty to the animals during the sport)."
Shunmuga added, "Instead, they are blaming PETA, though the first petitioner is a government body, the Animal Welfare Board. When I questioned some of the people involved in organising the protests on Facebook, they blocked me. One of them is the rappersinger duo called Hiphop Tamizha who made a music video supporting jallikattu, which blamed foreign agencies and a conspiracy against the sport. That video went viral and youngsters began believing what was said in it."
Laying out facts, he said, "In Tamil Nadu, according to one estimate, 5,000 bulls are being reared for jallikattu. But these are not used for any other purpose such as working in the fields. They are trained only for the sport. At the same time, you have 24.5 lakh of native breed bulls in the state according to the livestock survey of 2012. So the theory that jallikattu bulls are important for supporting native breeds does not hold water. But people continue to spin this yarn."
