Why break great Tamil tradition?

Madurai: Villagers in and around Madurai district criticised the Supreme court for not taking their sentiments, tradition and religious aspirations into consideration while dismissing a review petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government to lift the ban on jallikattu.

Angry villagers expressed their protest saying the court has fallen prey to the designs of the elite to trample upon and destroy the rural culture. “What the court failed to understand is that from the pre-historic period, Tamil society has had a cordial relationship with animals,” said A. Boomiselvam, bull tamer turned Tamil professor from American College, Madurai.

“The judge’s refusal to understand the religious significance attached to bull taming sports only shows they lack knowledge on Tamil religious traditions,” said A.Sundarajan, president of Alanganallur Jallikattu Vizha (Festival) Committee.

“The bulls are our gods; they are an auspicious symbol of prosperity and valour. If you visit any house in our village, you will find a photograph of a bull hanging in the pooja room,” he said adding that everybody worships the bull’s picture before they take any important decision in the family.  

“It is our soul, it’s in our blood. Without Jallikattu we are living a soulless life,” youths said. “While people in other states like Andhra Pradesh had conducted jaillikattu violating the apex court order, we respected the order and patiently waited for two years, but they have cheated us,” they added.

Echoing the same view, the Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Peravai president P. Rajesekaran, who has been fighting a legal battle for the last 10 years, said, “It only shows the court lacks understanding of Tamil culture. It is high time political parties in Tamil Nadu joint together to put pressure on the Central government to make amendments in the Constitution for the conduct of jallikattu,” he said.

The court needs to understand every village would assign a jallikattu bull for the village temple and rear it with care and affection. “We have references in Sangam literature of the close association of a God (who is now referred to as Krishna) with a bull in Mullai region,” said Prof. Boomiselvam. Moreover, jaillikattu was conducted by people belonging to all religions in Tamil Nadu, he added.

Sundarajan said that it was because the bull was given sacred status it was worshipped as Nandi in all Siva temples and is found in the Ashoka emblem and on Indian coins.

“Many temples have also been erected for famous jalikattu bulls in this region,” said Ramesh, a bull-tamer. Cattle were the driving force behind the agricultural prosperity of the country.

“Only through rearing jallikattu bulls can we increase the cattle population and thereby produce milk and also supply manure to our land. Banning jallikattu will see the collapse of the rural economy, besides increasing violence from frustration in the youths,” farmers warn.