FlippED is An ED Original style wherein two bloggers come together to share their opposing or orthogonal perspectives on an interesting subject.
After Chennai boiled over Jallikattu ban and protests ensued, the Tamil Nadu government passed an ordinance to allow Jallikattu under the garb of “preserving and promoting tradition.
But is it really JUSTIFIED?
Here read on, as our bloggers fight it out!
“Jallikattu is absolute CRUELTY to bulls and the decision of TN government is totally unjustified!” ~ Yogita Rathore
I’d like to go down a bit in the history of Jallikattu to make you understand my point. So, back in 2006, an aggrieved father filed a case against Jallikattu. The petitioner’s innocent son had fallen prey to a practise or “tradition” which costed him his life.
Since then, Jallikattu has remained in headlines and has been litigated over. Finally in 2014, the Supreme Court gave a detailed judgment after exhausting every other remedy that was available. And yes, this “exhaustion of remedies” did involve regulation of the obsolete practise of Jallikattu.
During the period 2008-2014, the constrains put by the Supreme Court “regulating” Jallikattu were flouted at all the events which were inspected by the Animal Welfare Board of India. The findings of reports showed horrific realities of this practice.
The reports echoed of how Jallikattu is inherently cruel to animals. And how it is a possible threat to human participants and any of the officials assigned to monitor such events. And how bulls are beaten, harassed and how alcohol is forced down their throats.
This is when SC intervened to come up with ban over the practice of Jallikattu. Because it was evident that “regulation” of the practice wasn’t achieving the purpose it was meant to.
Also, lets for a moment forget about the fact that how much cruel this “tradition” is to the bulls and how it’s against the PCA Act. What about the lives of humans involved? Fine, we don’t care about the cruelty to bulls but aren’t we risking the lives of innocent humans as well?
Point being, how can a practice once held to be so grievous to both the animals as well as human participants be reinstated?
Also, the protesters in Tamil Nadu went against the rule of law and the due process that is central any democracy and more so, against the judiciary. Midst this, I don’t think the ordinance can be justified on any grounds!
And lastly, even practices like Sati and Child Marriage were considered to be an inherent part of many cultures in India, so does it mean we should re-instate them as well?
“Do we really have nothing better (or worse) to ban?” ~ Sahib Singh
Now as the situation stands, I don’t support Jallikattu because it’s some super noble thing to do. But I do support it for other reasons.
So, hold our horses (or bulls) and see the situation from a very pragmatic perspective and hear the WHY. Considering the example of Stockholm syndrome, it’s only evident that if you stop a person from doing something, there’s almost a certainty that they will move hell and Earth to do that particular thing.
Now, connecting that to Jallikattu, the matter boils down to tradition. Or so the people of Tamil Nadu call it.
If you ban Jallikattu, which has been an integral part of the Tamil culture, be prepared for civil escalation which was evident in the January 2017 protests. Now, although the protests were peaceful, they still happened. And they could’ve been prevented.
Now hear me out with the rules of Jallikattu which has been labelled as some sort of animal abuse sport. Firstly, the prime rule in this event is NO ANIMAL KILLING. Next up, all you gotta do is grab the horns and attempt to TAME the bull. Not hurt it, put a damn pitchfork in it, not tie a rope around it but JUST TAME IT.
Now, the monetary and livestock angle comes into play and exposes the duopoly of the dairy sector. Bulls used in Jallikattu are stud bulls which are specifically bred for the same reason and are native to the Tamil Nadu region. Banning Jallikattu will put an indefinite end to their breeding, thus making an already endangered species, extinct.
Artificial breeding and milking techniques are sometimes preferred for the cows who are supposed to be a part of milk production business and these native breeds don’t yield as much milk as imported breeds, which are brought in by dairy giants. Hence, no artificial breeding programs for the native breeds means a cruel goodbye to them.
So with a no-nonsense mentality and by embracing the facts, look at the situation and see for yourself. Don’t led emotions cloud your judgement.
And hey, a word of advice, let some things survive without bans.
You’d also like to read: FlippED : Can An Extrovert And Introvert Maintain A Relationship? Our Bloggers Fight It Out!
