Sreevidhya Rajeev/ Chennai, Jan 10 (BPNS)
A kick start to another Jallikattu season commenced with the first event having taken place in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu on Jan 8th. The State minister for environment and climate change, Siva V Meyyanathan, and minister for law, S Regupathy inaugurated the Jallikattu event. 474 bulls were released into the field since morning and around 350 challengers were lined up to confront the bulls. Active participation of young and energetic youth was another attraction of the event.
Jallikattu is a traditional event practiced in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day, harvest festival of Tamil Nadu which occurs annually. It is also termed as Eru thazhuvuthal or Manju virattu. Jallikattu is believed to have commenced during the Tamil classical period (400–100 BC). It was common among the Ayar people who lived in the Mullai geographical division of ancient Tamil Nadu. Later this ancient sport event became an opportunity to show bravery, and prize money was introduced as an encouragement for participation. This event also has lots of risky elements which can badly affect both humans and animals. The popular Jallikattu venues in Tamil Nadu comprise Alanganallur, Avaniyapuram, Palamedu of Madurai district, Thammampatti of Salem district, Thiruvapur, Vendanpatti of Pudukkottai district, Siravayal, Kandupatti of Sivagangai district, Pallavarayanpatty of Theni district, Neikarapatti of Palani district.
The 2017 pro-jallikattu protests began in January, and large groups were gathered in different places across Tamil Nadu. The main reason for the protest was the Supreme Court‘s order to ban jallikattu. The sport was banned on the basis of lawsuit filed by the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which asserted that it violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA). A remarkable protest occurred on 8th January 2017, conducted at Marina beach. when several groups, organized it through social media. The protests did not happen under any political party or any leadership it was completely taken over by people. Which reveals the interest and active participation of young minds of Tamil Nadu. After several days of protests, on 23 January Jallikattu was finally legalized locally when the Government of Tamil Nadu passed a bill to amend the PCA Act.
Nowadays during the Pongal festival, Jallikkattu is considered a manly sporting event performed with great enthusiasm in different parts of Tamil Nadu. The winners are given two-wheelers, cash prizes, and other prizes.
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