'Jallikattu not a festival but a commercial event'

Sriram Balasubramanian

Trashing Tamil Nadu's bull-taming festival, Dr S Chinny Krishna, vice chairman Animal Welfare Board of India, say that Jallikattu is not just unjust to the bulls but is also illegal the way it is carried out. He spoke to Sriram Balasubramanian.

What are your thoughts on the Jallikattu festival in southern India?
It is not a 'festival'. A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centres on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community according to a commonly accepted definition.

Jallikattu is today a purely commercial event at which bulls are tortured. Only money, liquor and gambling play an important part in the event. As a proud Tamilian, I am ashamed that this takes place on the holy land on which our most revered sage, Tiruvalluvar, strode talking about kindness to animals.

Why do you think it has been practiced for such a long time?  
Sati and child marriage have been practiced for an even longer time.

Do you think the Supreme Court ruling has been followed by the people?  You are fully aware that it has not been followed by the administration or the people. You are aware that gross cruelty took place even last year and the Indian Express even published a close-up photograph of a participant rubbing chilli powder into the eyes of a bull. You are also aware of the number of deaths of participants and spectators, not to mention injuries to the terrified animals.

Is it good enough to provide mere guidelines?
This should be good enough if people and the administration are law abiding. However, in India where we have some of the best legislation in the world, enforcement is so lax or non-existent that the usual procedure seems to be to go back to the courts to get a direction to see that the law is enforced.

Is a step like banning this festival too radical in nature?
Of course not. We must learn to have zero tolerance for injustice in any form and Jallikattu comes not only as injustice to the bulls but is also illegal the way it is carried out. However, even if it were legally allowed, one cannot condone cruelty to animals, especially in the name of sport or religion.

Have you looked at the Spanish model where the Spanish still have bullfighting since it is a part of their cultural fabric?
Whether Spain uses bullfighting or not is irrelevant. We have a culture that is older than Spain's and my culture does not include cruelty. However, since you have mentioned it, may I tell you that the last bullfight in Catolonia in the heart of bullfighting territory was on January 3, since Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting.

 

How do you plan to monitor this year's Jallikattu?
We are doing our best to ensure that the government of India notification on July 11, 2011, prohibiting the use of bulls as performing animals is enforced and that Jallikattu does not take place.

All district collectors have been repeatedly reminded about the notification and all have been made aware that the use of bulls as performing animals is banned. In the hearings before the Supreme Court, the Attorney General of India, Gopal Subramanium, and a battery of lawyers representing the state of Tamil Nadu in the case filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India accepted that these are indeed performing animals and, consequently, the Jallikattu bulls were got registered by the AWBI for last year's Jallikattu.

The AWBI cannot register them this year in view of the ministry's notification. Not even one of the approximately 1,000 bulls registered last year by us have fulfilled the terms and conditions under which registration was given. Documents as required after registration were not submitted as called for.

What are some of the steps that you intend to take to avert or reduce the impact on the animal during the festival time?  
We intend to stop it completely.

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-jallikattu-not-a-festival-but-a-commercial-event/20120116.htm 

Jallikattu organisers leave for Delhi

TRICHY: Karu Ambalatharasu, founder-president of the Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Forum, on Wednesday left for New Delhi to mobilise support against the "unlawful notification" issued against the traditional sport event. Before leaving, he told TOI the forum was all set to conduct the annual event as "the essence of it was ingrained in Tamil culture, and there were some vested interests that were trying to exterminate this culture from the State once and for all." Karu said he and his supporters were scheduled to meet Jayanthi Natarajan, minister of state for environment, and also all Tamil MPs to mobilise support for jallikattu.

Meanwhile, despite the July 11 Central notification banning the "game" while a final verdict is awaited from the Supreme Court in the TN government vs Animal Welfare Board of India case, the villagers in Pudukottai, Trichy, Thanjavur areas are busy training their animals for jallikattu. The State organiser of Jallikattu, Ondiraj, who is accompanying Ambalatharasu, said the game was once played throughout the year, and then restricted to three months during the harvest festival, before finally becoming a one or two days' event.

In Trichy district alone, it is now celebrated only in four villages such as Koothaipar, Karunkulam, Navalpattu, and Rettaimalai, he said. Taking exception to Hema Malini's stand against jallikattu, Ambalatharasu said the Central government should not have buckled under pressure of one woman. While Hema accused that the bull was tortured in the name of jallikattu, Ambalatharasu said, "We love the bull as if they are our own children, and what is more, we adore them like god. Moreover, this is the traditional festival where girls identified their suitors based upon the bravery exhibited at the arena, he added.

In fact, Hema Malini, MP, had written to Union Minister of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, to stop the cruel game of jallikattu that according to her violated the spirit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act No 27 of 2009 had permitted the game, and that was challenged in the apex court. However, the apex court had permitted the game while laying down strict norms for its conduct which included medical check-up for the animals, and a deposit of Rs 2 lakh for each event.