Indian protesters seek to allow bull-taming rite
Print Edition
PROTESTS by thousands of people demanding the resumption of a traditional Indian bull-taming festival have disrupted daily life across the southern state of Tamil Nadu, forcing its leader to urge intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Protesters want the federal government to reverse a Supreme Court ban on “jallikattu,” a hazardous rite in which youths and men wrestle rampaging bulls, and have made a request to Modi to permit it.
Thousands of small factories, shops and schools were closed across Tamil Nadu for a second day yesterday by widespread protests against the ban, with the largest crowd gathering on the Marina beach of the state capital, Chennai.
Children carried placards blaming the judiciary and animal rights groups for the ban on what they view as a sport forming a key part of the Pongal harvest festival, which some Hindus celebrate after the winter solstice.
“It is a primitive sport and we love it. No one has the right to stop a sporting activity,” said Kanimozhi Subramanian, 23, a university student spearheading youth protests.
The state’s chief minister, O. Panneerselvam, flew to the capital New Delhi to ask Modi to issue an ordinance allowing the festival this year. Hundreds of raging bulls are injured annually because participants twist their tails, beat them and even stab them with knives to control the animals.
“A cruel tradition cannot be part of Indian culture,” said Manilal Valliyate, the directory of veterinary affairs for the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
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