The unprecedented protest against the ban on jallikattu in 2017 across Tamil Nadu, referred to as the ‘jallikattu uprising’, did what years of the bull taming sport had failed to – capture the imagination of the people of the State, irrespective of where they lived.
Two years on, jallikattu has gone back to where it belonged – the dusty streets of the villages where the bull is anyway perceived as a symbol of pride of the Tamil male. The question now is, whether, thanks to the intervening events, the sport has become safer? And, whether the rules are being adhered to – to protect both man and beast?
Jallikattu used to be held mainly in south Tamil Nadu as part of temple festivals coinciding with Thai Pongal. In the last two years, the number of events and their spread have gone up. For example, jallikattu was held at more than 50 places in Pudukottai district last year and, this year, it is likely to be held in an equal number of places, if not more. At Viralimalai, it will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday. The organisers reportedly have ambitious plans to set a Guinness record by roping in 2,000 bulls and one lakh spectators. Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, who takes pride in racing some of his bulls, said that adjudicators from England would witness the event.
Problem of plenty
The spurt in the number of events has added to problems in managing the sport. In some places, there is a tendency to violate rules or conduct the event without permission. No permission was secured for a majority of the jallikattu events held at nearly 80 venues in Ariyalur district last year. This year, in a bizarre incident, a few bulls ran and jumped into a well, at the culmination of a jallikattu event, and there was the case of a man biting an animal’s tail as it entered the arena in Alanganallur.
Strict regulation of the sport is mainly driven by the fear that any violation will provide more fodder to animal rights groups to mount pressure for a ban.
One of the key changes introduced in 2017 was allowing bull tamers in batches of a hundred, at least in Madurai, which has brought down injuries considerably. “Earlier, all participants, usually more than 600, used to swarm the arena throughout the event. This resulted in overcrowding and increased the possibility of injuries to both tamers and bulls,” said K. Veera Raghava Rao, former Madurai Collector.
A senior doctor of Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, who has been part of medical teams deployed at jallikattu events for many years, said that critical and fatal injuries had certainly come down.“Particularly, incidents of bulls goring people have reduced,” he said.
The batch system has also helped in easy identification and eviction of tamers who violate rules by holding on to the horns or when more than one person attempts to control the bull at any given point. A tamer who manages to control at least three bulls in a round is allowed to remain in the arena. The tamer who controls the maximum number of bulls in the end is declared the winner. S. Prabhakaran, who was adjudged the best tamer of 2019 in Palamedu, said that the recognition and attractive prizes had enthused more youngsters to train in teams.
J. Sundarrajan, a member of the Alanganallur jallikattu organising committee, arguably the most popular venue for the sport, acknowledged that it had been streamlined in the past three years. “Revenue and police officials keenly monitor the events now. When one batch of tamers leaves the arena, a five-minute break is enforced to wet the coir in the arena so that the possibility of injuries is reduced,” he said.
Madurai district, over the last couple of years, has witnessed officials taking full control of the sport instead of the usually dominant organising committee in the respective villages. While two sets of microphones are given to control the event, one to the organising committee and the other to officials, instructions always flow from the officials.
Injuries abound
However, these changes do not mean that the sport has no problems. While the number of injuries inside the arena has come down, a large number of injuries in the past three years have happened around the collection point, where the bulls exit the arena. A majority of these injuries were sustained by spectators and those accompanying the bulls.
A case in point is Palamedu, where the sport happens on the bed of a stream and where the collection point is located roughly 300 metres away from the vaadivasal ( entry point), the farthest among the three major venues in Madurai.
With the collection point out of sight from the vaadivasal , regulation of movement of bulls and the crowd becomes difficult, resulting in bulls running amok and returning to the arena occasionally. Similar issues exist in places like Alanganallur and Avaniapuram.
In Alanganallur this year, at least five bulls fell into a shallow well near the collection point, but were fortunately rescued without major injuries. Locals, who watched the bulls thrashing around helplessly inthe water, said that the collection point was located only about 100 metres away. “It is common to spot bulls following each other. Since one of the bulls charged into the well, the others followed,” said S. Shanmurugan, a spectator. Bulls that leave the arena make their way through a 1.5-km-long winding pathway to the collection point. The barricaded arena is filled with people cheering on bulls and egging them to reach the collection point where tamers reunite with their animals.
Pointing to these problems, Nikunj Sharma, Associate Director of Policy, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) India, argued that the inherent nature of jallikattu would never allow it to become a sport that is free of cruelty to bulls or injuries to humans.
“Our investigations in 2017 and 2018 revealed that incidents like poking of bulls and biting their tails were still happening,” he said.
On the safety regulations brought in since 2017, he said that the sport was now organised in far more places in Tamil Nadu than before, making the enforcement of regulations difficult, particularly in little known places. “Our analysis based on media reports shows that at least 25 persons and 10 bulls were killed and more than 3,000 injured in the sport since 2017,” he said.
In the last few years, spectator interest has also improved considerably. N. Karthi of Chennai came to Alanganallur on Wednesday, the eve of jallikattu, hoping to secure a vantage point to see the tamers and bulls in action. This software engineer was seen interacting with local youth, filming videos and arguing with the police. He said that he had made it a point to witness the sport ever since protests erupted in January 2017.
“This location is the fountainhead of the jallikattu protest and is revered. The atmosphere last year was electric. This year there has been a dip in cheering near the vaadivasal , I wonder why,” he said.
Many like Karthi made their way to Madurai district hoping to see at least one jallikattu event. An Tourism Department official said this year too several people arrived from Italy and Sri Lanka. “Many people are inquisitive about the sport and want to watch it. Over the last couple of years, members of the Tamil diaspora from Sri Lanka and England have been coming in large numbers,” he said.
The rules
Amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, brought into effect the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu) Amendment Act.
The government reasoned that the amendment to the Central Act was an attempt to preserve the cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu and ensure the survival and well-being of native breeds of bulls.
Under the conduct rules framed by the State, the District Collector is charged with ensuring smooth conduct of the event. Any individual or group of organisers is suposed to conduct the event at the place notified by the government. The Collector is supposed to look into the particulars of organisers and bulls and ensure that they are registered. Following this, the Collector is supposed to inspect the venue.
In order to ensure that the event is held in accordance with rules, a committee comprising Revenue, Animal Husbandry, Police and Health departments is to be formed.
Bulls should be put through a check-up to ensure that no performance-enhancing drug is fed to them and they are free from diseases and intoxicants. Veterinarians are supposed to constantly keep a check on the bulls. Even if a small injury is deducted, the bull is not to be allowed to participate.
The event is to be held in an open ground, with adequate space for the bulls. At least 20 minutes of rest must be provided to the bulls before they go into the arena.
The arena should be of at least 50 sq. metres and participants cannot stand in front of the bulls when they enter the arena. Participants cannot hold the tails, horns or legs, thereby restricting movement of the bulls. If participants are found to violate the rules, they will be debarred.
Barricades must separate the viewing gallery from the arena and must be 15 metres away from the point where the bulls are released. The bull run area should be of a minimum of 100 metres in length so that the entire activity is completed in 60 to 120 seconds.
Only the bull owner or authorised personnel are allowed into the bull collection yard, where a veterinary and police team would be stationed. The size of viewing galleries should adhere to PWD norms. An ambulance and teams of doctors should be present in case of an emergency. The Collector should ensure that participants carry identity cards and the entire event is videographed.
(Inputs from S. Ganesan in Tiruchi, Pon. Vasanth B. A. and Sanjana Ganesh in Madurai)
