Last week the Supreme Court dismissed a plea to allow bull-taming to take place during the harvest festival in Tamil Nadu and upheld a stay on the 2016 notification of the Centre which cleared the way for Jallikuttu. The order resulted in massive protests on Marina beach in Chennai with people from all walks of life lending support to the bull-taming sport. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam got the wheels of government rolling and an ordinance is on the way. If cleared by the various departments and signed by the President, the Governor of Tamil Nadu will promulgate it and clear the way for Jallikuttu to be held during the Pongal festival.
The development has pitted the State against animal rights activists who have feebly argued that the event amounts to cruelty to animals because it often results in injury to the bull. On the other hand, Jallikuttu can be traced back to ancient times (seals of the Indus valley civilisation depict it) when agriculture and animal husbandry were dominant professions. In Jallikuttu, a bull is let into the ring and players attempt to jump and hang on to its hump. If the bull is tamed it finds a domesticated role in agriculture. If it escapes the attempts it is selected for mating.
Jallikuttu is not just a sport for the entertainment of spectators. It is also a time tested method of selecting the best bulls for mating. The bulls for this sport receive special treatment and training and the winners are in demand by farmers for breeding. Cattle-breeders believe that if the sport is banned the diversity of cattle breeds will also vanish. About 100 years ago, India was home to 130 breeds. Presently, only 37 exist. Each breed of cattle evolves over millennia through a selection process, and under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a signatory state, livestock keepers are creators of breeds and custodians of animal genetic resources. The CBD also supports traditional practices to keep the breeding-chain intact.
The opposition to Jallikuttu has two angles. One angle is the disconnect between urban and rural communities and this is where animal rights activists fit in. They prefer to ignore tradition, the selection process and the principles enshrined in CBD. They simply miss the larger picture which explains the massive protest in Tamil Nadu. The fact that the law enshrines the will of animal rights activists gives them dominion over very large agrarian communities who’s take on the sport or tradition is completely and condescendingly ignored. This, in essence is dictatorship of a small group. The second angle is the dairy farming lobby which has traditionally supported western breeds and has no stake in protecting and preserving local ones.
Jallikuttu is a traditional sport that needs to be protected. If rules need to be framed for its conduct then so be it, but allowing a group of animal activists to dominate an entire state through clever manipulation of law undermines democracy.
