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Welcome verdict

The Supreme Court has taken a bold decision in refusing to vacate the stay on the Madras High Court ruling allowing jallikattu (bull fight), a bull-taming sport conducted during the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu. It is barbaric to subject animals, as well as human beings, to cruelty in the name of tradition.

Not surprisingly, the verdict has attracted a barrage of opposition from jallikattu organisers, bull-owners, tamers and residents of Alanganallur in Madurai where the sport is held on a grand scale attracting many tourists. An awareness mechanism should be put in place to implement the order in letter and in spirit.

B.H. Shanmukhappa,

Davanagere

It is ironical that Tamil Nadu, which never tires of trumpeting its progressive values, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court for a modification of the order banning jallikattu. Traditional practices should be compatible with progressive values.

Just as untouchability and child labour are inhuman, games which inflict pain on animals to entertain human beings too are. The government should accept the verdict gracefully.

V.N. Mukundarajan,

Thiruvananthapuram

The Supreme Court has done a great service to animals by banning jallikattu. In the earlier days, jallikattu was similar to boxing or wrestling, a sport involving a one-to-one combat. Today, it has become an event in which several men chase a bull and tackle it at the same time. This is really barbaric. If the Tamil Nadu government wants to develop jallikattu as a sport, it should restore it to its original form.

V. Srinivasan,

Madurai

The modern-day jallikattu is a farce. It is a commercial venture in which the bulls are subjected to extreme torture. In the ancient, traditional and famous jallikattu, one youth would fight and tame a ferocious bull to exhibit his valour, unlike the present-day practice of a violent mob torturing a bull.

Those who oppose the Supreme Court verdict must agree to revert to the original form of the sport. The court can then allow it to be conducted in a safe arena.

Anjana Sudhan,

Chennai

Hats off to the Supreme Court! The argument that the sport is part of Tamil culture holds no water. We have to do away with practices that are not healthy. The ‘brave sport’ argument too is untenable. Where is bravery in 10 or more people harassing an animal? Those who have an appetite for risk should join the armed forces or the police so that they can use their dare-devilry for a good cause.

C. Chandramouli,

Chennai

The ban on jallikattu is in the interest of human beings and animals. It is a fact that every year, some young men are killed and many injured during bull fights. Since jallikattu is conducted in the villages, participants are poor villagers who don’t even know how to insure their lives.

P. Gershom Jebaraj,

Meignanapuram

What, I am sure, must have started as an innocent rural sport centuries ago with a couple of bulls and perhaps a dozen youth has, over the years, been converted into a torturous entertainment for huge crowds. An intoxicated bull with chilli powder rubbed in its eyes is let into a crowd and bullied by a score of over-zealous men who are bent on not only overpowering it but also subduing it to their will. This is a barbarous pastime not worthy of civilised society. Tradition did not sanction the act of torturing the bull.

R. Ramachandra Ayyar,

Chennai

The bull is tortured as a warm-up to jallikattu to make it more aggressive and charge more ferociously. Compared to bull fights in countries like Spain and Mexico, jallikattu is extremely disorganised. There are no safety measurers or barriers to protect the spectators from the charging animals. Every year, a few participants and bystanders are injured and killed. When the odds of fatal injuries and death are well known, why should people indulge in the cruel sport?

Bulls, friends of farmers, should certainly be treated well during Mattu Pongal. They should be well fed and even worshipped, not tortured. The argument that jallikattu forms part of tradition is not acceptable. Physical safety is above tradition.

K. Venkataraman,

Mumbai

All right-thinking persons will heave a sigh of relief at the verdict. What started as a show of valour has degenerated into a barbaric show. Slaughtering, I am sure, is less painful to the bull than the cruelty inflicted on it during jallikattu. Organisers and participants have not been able to ensure the prevention of cruelty to animals and injury to participants all these years. The most civilised solution is to ban the sport.

S. Ramalingam,

Vellore

True, from time immemorial jallikattu has been in vogue and the rural folk have been patronising it. But as we progress in life, we should change with the times. People should be educated on the benefits of switching over to other sports such as silambattam, running race, and boxing.

Pranav Srinivasan,

Thanjavur

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