On May 7, 2014, the Supreme Court of India banned the traditional bull-taming sport conducted in Tamil Nadu -- Jallikattu -- after a 10-year-long battle by animal activists and animal welfare organisations like Federation of India Animal Protection Agencies (FIAPO) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The Supreme Court ruled that flouting of the ban will attract penalties and upheld the ban on January 14, 2016 when the Government of India passed an order reversing the ban imposed. There was massive outrage across Tamil Nadu in 2016, but this year, the outrage has turned into nothing less than a revolt, something the Supreme Court, State and Central governments, and organisations like PETA didn't foresee.
Before getting into why there is a revolution, mostly peaceful yet powerful, brewing in Tamil Nadu, let us understand what Jallikattu is and what it means to the people of Tamil Nadu.
WHAT IS JALLIKATTU?
Jallikattu, in the simplest of terms, is a sport conducted as part of Mattu Pongal, the third day of the four-day-long harvest festival Pongal. The Tamil word 'mattu' means bull, and the third day of Pongal is dedicated to cattle, a key partner in the process of farming. Bulls get more importance over cows for bulls help farmers to plough their field, pull their cart loaded with goods, and inseminate cows, in turn resulting in production of milk, offspring and preserving indigenous species.
HISTORY OF JALLIKATTU
Jallikattu is believed to be a tradition practiced since at least last 2,500 years. Cave paintings, as old as 2,500 years, that depicts a man trying to tame a bull, have been found by archeologists. Jallikattu in the present form is believed to have played first between 400 to 100 BC.
A seal, dated between 2,500 - 1,800 BC, discovered at Mohenjodaro that shows bull-taming, is another reference to Jallikattu. There are references of people enjoying witnessing and participating in Jallikattu in Silappatikaaram, one of the five great epics of Tamil literature, and two other ancient literary works like Kalithogai and Malaipadukadaam.
S Annamalai, in an op-ed for The Hindu quotes four lines from a poem in anthology Kalithogai that capture the essence and key ingredients of Jallikattu. These are dust in the air, able physique of tamers, ferocious bulls stooping to conquer and agitated mood of spectators.
IMPORTANCE OF JALLIKATTU AND WHY TAMILS ARE SENTIMENTAL ABOUT IT
Jallikattu is key to the farmers. It is a chance for them to flaunt their personal strength, the strength of their bulls, love for their cattle and how well they have looked after them and a chance to find out the most potent bull to breed with their cows.
Jallikattu is not a leisure sport for Tamilis, but a tradition that establishes the identity of hard-working, self-sufficient, powerful Tamil. Jallikattu also symbolises a cordial man-animal relationship, reads the op-ed. "For the owner, the bull was a member of the family. Native breeds used in bullfights ensured biodiversity and acted as geographical indicators," B Thirumalai of Madurai told The Hindu.
The effects of the jallikattu protests in Tamil Nadu have now spilled over to Delhi as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital on Thursday seeking an ordinance allowing the traditional bull-taming report. As a response to the chief minister’s request, PM Modi said the matter was sub-judice. The prime minister also appreciated the cultural significance of Jallikattu.
During the UPA rule in 2011, the environment ministry had added bulls to its 1991 notification banning the training and exhibition of bears, monkeys, tigers, panthers and dogs. The notification was challenged in the Supreme Court and was upheld in 2014. Protesters across Tamil Nadu have been demanding lifting of the ban imposed on Jallikattu by the apex court.
Why did the Supreme Court ban Jallikattu?
The 2011 notification by the then Environment Ministry was challenged in the Supreme Court and was upheld in 2014. The court said “bulls cannot be allowed as performing animals, either for Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races in the state of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere in the country.” The SC order also identified “the five freedoms” of animals, including freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition, freedom from fear and distress, freedom from physical and thermal discomfort, freedom from pain, injury and disease, and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour. It asked Parliament to “elevate rights of animals to that of constitutional rights, as done by many of the countries around the world, so as to protect their dignity and honour”.
I am not sure how many of you witnessed the Jallikattu event and replying to this thread. What I worry most is the peoples safety of the people watching those events. I am not against Jallikattu as long as the game played safe without hurting the animal and the human.
#TN PEOPLE NEED JALLIKATTU___#I SUPPORT JALLIKATTU
Thank you!
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