The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Ban the sport

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 20, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Ban the sport

Sir, — This year's Manjivirattu — a sport in which bulls with sharpened horns are let loose on a crowd with young men attempting to overpower them for the prize money tied to their horns — in Alanganallur, Madurai, was shown on a news channel. I was horrified to see chilli powder and snuff being rubbed in the eyes of the bulls to make them more enraged. How is it that the Government of Tamil Nadu remains indifferent to such cruelty to animals?

C.V.K. Moorthy,
Kolkata

* * *

Sir, — The deaths caused in jallikattu this year too bear testimony to the low importance we accord to human lives.

It has become a regular feature around this time of the year for onlookers and foolhardy `brave' young men to risk their lives in watching and participating in the sport.

While the Western countries sponsoring bullfights handle them with utmost precaution — well-protected stadiums, immediate medical care, insurance coverage for participants — we hardly bat an eyelid when the young men take the bull by the horns, literally.

It is time such dangerous activity conducted under the pretext of tradition was banned.

Kris Gopalasubramanian,
Chennai

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