The Trouble With India’s Bull-Taming Ban

In wake of ongoing protests against ban imposed on bull-taming sport jallikattu, AIADMK general secretary Sasikala Natarajan said that Centre should promulgate ordinance revoking the ban adding that “we will adopt all legal measures to ban PETA”.

Sivakarthikeyan also tweeted his support for jallikattu as early as January 9 and said that he is among the crores of Tamil people who wish to rescue jallikattu, which is their culture and tradition.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Seshadri Chari said, “It is odd that even now Tamil Nadu is not a part of the litigation before the Supreme Court that banned jallikattu in May 2014”.

He assured the crowds of students and youths stationed at the beach that his government will take all the steps necessary to hold the traditional sport, but the appeal fell on deaf ears. He said the Prime Minister had high regard for the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu and had promised full support to the state. Dating back to thousands of centuries, its reference can be found in ancient Dravidian literature more than 2000 years old. Agriculture in Tamil Nadu is getting mechanised and farmers can not afford to keep bulls simply as pets. As far as the Supreme Court is concerned, it must stick to its remit of narrowly interpreting the law. Peta and other animal welfare organisations which are in the forefront of the pro-ban activists have alleged that the bulls are subjected to cruelty for human entertainment.

Chennai: All shootings were cancelled and there was no post-production works today in Tamil cinema as members of various film associations came together to protest against jallikattu ban. “PETA India does not make law, we can only respect law, and so targeting PETA India can have no bearing whatsoever on the central government laws, which have been prohibiting cruel spectacles like jallikattu, bull races and bullfights for years”, it said.

“The Supreme court said that you can not have cruelty to animals and the way Jallikattu is performed, it appeared there would be cruelty”. PETA India, which is being targeted by the protesters, said it would serve no objective.

The protests on the ban have also transcended the physical boundary of Tamil Nadu and is being observed in other countries where there is a huge presence of the Tamil community.

The permission was for just one hour and for 250 people to protest. The ban on Jallikattu, say activists, will complete the rout.

Modi said he appreciated the cultural significance of jallikattu but could not go against India’s top court, which has refused to budge on the matter despite the anger the ban has provoked.