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Jallikattu held in Tamil Nadu’s Alanganallur, 47 left injured
Friday saw thousands of onlookers thronging Alanganallur in Tamil Nadu, the centre of the state-wide Jallikattu protests in January, as the panchayat town finally held its first sanctioned bout since the new legislation was passed. 47 sportsmen were left injured, police said.
Friday saw thousands of onlookers thronging Alanganallur in Tamil Nadu, the centre of the state-wide Jallikattu protests in January, as the panchayat town finally held its first sanctioned bout since the new legislation was passed. 47 sportsmen were left injured, police said.
More than 950 bulls were released from the vadivaasal (entrance gate), and around 1,200 participants are competing in the bout, which is the first Jallikattu event in the town in over two years.
Alanganallur, along with other parts of Madurai district, is a historically important venue for the traditional bull-taming sport.
District Collector Veeraraghava Rao formally inaugurated the sport after administering oath to the sportsmen. A variety of prizes including a car, two-wheelers, cash and utensils were awarded to the winners.
As many as 47 sportsmen were injured in the sport while attempting to tame the bulls and had been admitted to the hospital. The DMK working president Stalin gave away prizes to some of the winners in the sport.
Jallikattu was banned in Tamil Nadu since 2014, after the Supreme Court ordered that the bull be added to the list of performing animals included in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
In January, students and youth movements in Tamil Nadu had conducted massive protests against the ban, forcing the government to address their demands to reinstate the sport.
Though the week-long mass protest in Chennai’s Marina beach attracted a great deal of attention, it was Alanganallur which saw sustained protests in support of the sport since late December. Indeed, the Marina protests were a response to 500 pro-Jallikattu supporters being arrested in the rural town.
The government subsequently passed an ordinance which amended the PCA Act, allowing Jallikattu to be held in the state.
The protests against the ban were hailed as being a genuine people’s movement, and were largely peaceful save for clashes between Chennai police and protesters on January 24.
Despite the pro-Jallikattu movement was fiercely apolitical -- to the point where politicians like Seeman of the Naam Tamizhar Katchi were chased away and not allowed to speak -- Friday’s events are being presided over by DMK working president MK Stalin.
Thirty seven people were injured on February 5, with 9 of those hospitalised, after a Jallikattu event was held at Avaniyapuram.
(With PTI inputs)
