Thousands of people, mostly youth, staged demonstrations at Marina Beach in Chennai on Wednesday Jan 18,2017 as a fresh wave of protest against the ban on the bull-taming sport Jallikattu gathered momentum across the AIADMK-ruled southern state.
Expressing solidarity with the protesters, hundreds of others today joined in on social media platforms in signs of growing anger over the 2014 ban by the apex court which upheld concerns by animal rights activists that the sport amounted to cruelty to the bull.
The protests began on Tuesday Jan 17,2017 and the numbers have swelled over the past few days.
What initially started as an isolated protest by a group of youngsters has now grown into a massive show of strength in favour of the lifting of the ban imposed by the Supreme Court.
Linking Jallikattu to 'Tamil pride', the protestors asserted that no law should prevent them from performing a ritual that has been part of their culture for thousands of years.
The protesters have also demanded a ban on animal rights organisation Peopple For Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) which has lobbied hard to ensure that the sport is not allowed.
It all started with forwarding of a WhatsApp message and posts on social media, and before long, people from all walks of life, especially the youth started to converge at the Marina, starting 10 am on Tuesday.
The crowd swelled all through the night and by morning thousands of them gathered at the Marina Beach.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:
The protesters at Marina Beach say they want Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to speak to them and then put pressure on the centre to permit Jallikattu, banned by the Supreme Court, through an ordinance or executive order.
The protesters have also demanded a ban on animal rights organisation People for Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, which has lobbied hard to ensure that the sport is not allowed.
AIADMK chief Sasikala Natarajan this evening said the centre should issue an ordinance revoking the ban on Jallikattu. She also said that her party will adopt all legal measures to ban PETA.
The protests have so far been peaceful but there are worries about such a large gathering in the heart of Chennai. The police have tried to get the crowd to disperse, but to no avail.
Tamil Nadu ministers Jayakumar and Ma Foi Pandiarajan met the protesters and assured them that the government agrees with them and will approach the centre to seek an ordinance. The chief minister is seeking legal options, the government has said.
Popular actor Vijay visited Marina Beach to show solidarity with the protesters. Others like Sivakumar and Vishal have made statements in support of Jallikattu. "Law was not created to rob people off their tradition and rights but to protect it. Jallikattu is every Tamilian's identity. Those who are protesting against the ban on Jallikattu are united by the feeling that they are Tamilians but not out of compulsion or political pressure. I bow down to each and everyone of them," actor Vijay said in a video message.
Animal rights activists say Jallikattu subjects bulls to torture and pain "You basically see a bull having its tail bitten, being stabbed with sickles, agitated, stuff rubbed into its eyes with 20 people jumping on it," said advocate and animal rights activist, Rudra Krishna.
But the champions of Jallikattu say there is no cruelty to the animals. "Our people revere bulls, there is no cruelty," said Tamil Nadu's education minister Ma Foi Pandiarajan.
All political parties in the state say they support Jallikattu and accuse each other of not pushing enough to have the ban lifted. The ruling AIADMK has blamed the DMK for the ban, imposed when its partner the Congress led the Central government. The DMK has taunted the AIADMK for not ensuring that Jallikattu was allowed this year.
Jallikattu was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014 after animal rights activists moved court against it. The Supreme Court had last week rejected a plea urging it to pass early verdict on a petition on Jallikattu before Pongal, the harvest festival during which it is held, on Saturday last.
Note
Jallikattu faced its first hurdle in 2004 when PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and AWBI (Animal Welfare Board of India) came together against it.
On November 27, 2010, the Supreme Court allowed the sport to be played for a period of five months in a year under controlled conditions and in accordance with the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act passed in 2009.
Five years later it was completely banned by a judgment delivered by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court.
On May 7, 2014, a two-judge bench comprising of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose banned Jallikattu. The bench said, “International community should hang their head in shame, for not recognising their rights all these ages, a species which served the humanity from the time of Adam and Eve.” The court stressed on the fundamental duty of every citizen to show compassion to every living creature as a central theme of the verdict.
The Court further categorised bulls as not being performing animals, anatomically not designed for that, but are forced to perform, inflicting pain and suffering, in total violation of Sections 3 and Section 11(1) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act. PETA later on selected Justice Radhakrishnan for its Man of the Year Award.
After the two-judge bench verdict, this issue came up again in front of the apex court in June, 2016, when a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra issued an order warning the Tamil Nadu government from carrying on the bull taming sport. "Jallikattu cannot be merely allowed just because it was a century-old tradition. Whether it shall be continued will be decided legally," Justice Mishra said.
In November, 2016, a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman dismissed the review petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government to lift the ban imposed on Jallikattu in 2014. The bench remarked: "Animals may not have rights but humans cannot negate their obligation enshrined under the Constitution. We cannot import Roman Gladiator type sport here. One can use computer for indulging in bull fighting. Why tame bulls for it?"
A fresh appeal was filed by Tamil Nadu to allow Tamilians organize Jallikattu.
But the bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Banumathi on January 12, 2017, declined to issue an interim order to allow Jallikattu just before Pongal even as the final judgment was ready with the court. The bench had remarked, “Though the draft of the judgment is ready, it's not possible to pass the verdict before Saturday when it is to be held. We also want to say that it is unfair of the petitioner to ask the bench to pass an order."