LEAD
Marina teems with Jallikattu protesters
STRAP
* Over one lakh people throng beach * 46 AIADMK MPs meet Rajnath Singh * TN CM asks protesters to withdraw agitation * Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan other actors extend support
PTI
CHENNAI
Pro-Jallikattu protests at Marina beach, the epicenter of the state-wide stir, reached its peak on the fourth day today, with nearly over a lakh people from all walks of life assembling there, demanding lifting of the ban on the bull taming sport.
The entire area in and around Marina, including arterial Kamarajar Salai, was abuzz with hordes of men, women and children shouting slogans and taking out rallies seeking the nod for Jallikattu.
The scene was reminiscent of a relay race with youths in large numbers arriving in a continuous stream on motorcycles and cars via several adjoining roads and converging on the already heavily crowded Kamarajar Salai.
They then moved into the sands of the Marina where they shouted slogans demanding permission to hold the sport. Other groups arrived and did the same.
Students also took to some dangerous ways to attract attention, like walking along the track from the elevated Chintadripet MRTS railway station, on which local trains ply, holding aloft placards demanding Jallikattu.
Some swung briefly from the sides of the barrier walls of the elevated MRTS, which was visible from a distance, and from doorways of moving trains, holding placards and waving to the protesters moving on Swami Sivananda road below.
A group of students on this stretch tried to be more creative by stretching out their hands atop their heads to symbolise the bulls'' horns and enacting Jallikattu. Some students got themselves painted as bulls, while others performed folk dances.
A temple music performance with traditional instruments including drums by ''Shiva Kailaya Thiru Koottam,'' enthralled the youth who swayed to the beats for a two kilometre stretch.
Sivamohan of the suburban Vanagaram based association of temple musicians held aloft a flag of “Nandishwara (bull)” saying they supported Jallikattu which was an integral part of the life of Tamils and an intrinsic aspect of the cultural life of the people of the state.
Male employees of a State-run corporation distributed pamphlets with phrases of nationalist poet Bharathi like “Acham Thavir,” (Shun fright) “Routhiram Pazhagu (Practice Anger),” to motivate the agitating students.
The huge crowds at Kamarajar Salai saw traffic moving along at snail's pace and even on adjoining roads.
Protests were held all across the city and suburbs with local resident welfare associations, unions of auto rickshaws, taxis and traders too taking out rallies and holding agitations.
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Protests lesson for Hindutva forces: Owaisi
PTI
HYDERABAD
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi today said the protests over jallikattu were a “lesson” for the Hindutva forces.
Referring to the ongoing protests in Tamil Nadu against the ban on the bull-taming sport as a case in point, he said the Uniform Civil Code also could not be “imposed” in a diverse country like India.
“#Jallikattuprotest Lesson for Hindutva forces, Uniform Civil Code cannot be “imposed”this nation cannot have one CULTURE we celebrate all (sic),” Owaisi tweeted.
The Hyderabad MP has been opposed to putting in place a Uniform Civil Code and has said in the past that it would not help a diverse country like India.
“I have been consistently saying that a Uniform Civil Code is not good for the diversity and pluralism of this great nation of ours and diversity and pluralism are the ethos of this country. It is not going to help our country by having a Uniform Civil Code,” he had said last year.
“For example, can an agreement be arrived at on what should be the inheritance policy according to the Mitakshara and Dayabhaga schools? Can we take away the cultural rights which the Constitution has given to Nagaland and Mizoram?,” he had asked.
On Twitter, Owaisi wrote, “Jallikattu uprising indicates failure of political class in understanding the Tamil sentiment.” “People of Tamil Nadu by Uniting & coming together have forced the Modi & AIADMK govt to change law to overcome Supreme court judgment (sic),” he said in another tweet.
Tamil Nadu continued to be on the edge for the fifth day due to the ongoing protests by students, youths and other sections of the society demanding that the traditional bull-taming sport be immediately staged at Alanganallur, known as the epicentre of Jallikattu, and at other places.
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Banning Jallikattu was unfortunate: Rao
NEW DELHI: BJP General Secretary Muralidhar Rao said the order passed by the Supreme Court banning Jallikattu was “unfortunate to say the least”. In a statement, he said the deep emotional connect that people have with the sport as well as the scientific reasoning behind it were “overlooked”. He said Jallikattu never had violence at its core adding that the actual sport involves only hugging the hump of bull for 60 seconds and the participants make sure the animals are not harmed in any way. “It is only recently that certain miscreants have distorted the age-old sport for their vested interests. The goal should be to keep a check on such malpractices and not to bring about a blanket ban on the entire sport,” he said.
