Tamil Nadu passes Jallikattu Bill as protests turn violent

Chennai/New Delhi: Jallikattu supporters fought pitched battles with the police and resorted to widespread violence in Chennai and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu on Monday, but began heading home in the evening as the state Assembly unanimously passed a proposed law to circumvent a 2014 Supreme Court ban on the controversial bull-taming sport.

The Assembly hurriedly approved an amendment Bill to allow Jallikattu without any hindrance even as weeklong protests in support of the ancient sport turned violent with agitators burning a police station, hundreds of police and private vehicles, and throwing stones at cops, who fired teargas shells and wielded lathis.

To become law the new Bill must be signed by the state governor and the President. The top court has reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Centre’s notification allowing the sport.

At least 130 people, including 100 cops, were injured in Chennai alone. Authorities said 35 cops suffered serious injuries.

Violence started after the police began clearing protest sites, including Chennai’s iconic Marina beach. After the early-morning crackdown, Marina beach and areas around it in Triplicane, Teynampet and Sellur in Madurai and Gandhipuram in Coimbatore witnessed pitched battles between the protesters and the police.

Protesters who thronged Marina beach for six days calling for the practice to be fully re-legalised and action against animal rights group PETA began leaving after the Bill was passed. “All hurdles to Jallikattu have been removed. All legal and constitutional procedures were followed,” said Tamil Nadu chief minister Panneerselvam.

Protests in Madurai, famous for its Alanganallur bull-taming event, Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore and other places were also withdrawn late in the evening.

The Tamil Nadu government informed the Centre that crowds at Marina beach had started dispersing slowly after the Bill was passed. However, the Tamil Nadu police will keep overnight vigil, and situation in the state is expected to improve from Tuesday.

Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi also had a telephonic conversation with the state police chief. Sources said that the Centre was closely monitoring the situation in Tamil Nadu, and was ready to offer all assistance to restore normalcy in the state.

The Supreme Court banned Jallikattu in 2014 on animal cruelty grounds. The government brought an Ordinance — for which the Centre gave its quick approval — on Saturday to temporarily circumvent the SC ban and quell raging protests. Several villages and towns in Tamil Nadu held Jallikattu events the next day. The state government moved to replace the Ordinance with a law on Monday.

Animal rights activists say the spectacle causes unnecessary stress to bulls, while many in Tamil Nadu, including some celebrities, are against the ban as they see Jallikattu as an important part of their cultural heritage. On Sunday, two people died after being gored during one contest in the state.

The Bill to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 was unanimously adopted by the House after members of all parties spoke welcoming the legislative initiative. Opposition leader M.K. Stalin was among those who spoke welcoming the Bill.

The Bill defines Jallikattu as an event conducted to follow tradition and culture from January to May. Considering the vital role of Jallikattu in preserving and promoting tradition and culture and ensuring the survival and continuance of native breeds of bulls, the “government of Tamil Nadu has decided to exempt Jallikattu from the provisions of the PCA Act”, the Bill said.

Earlier in the day, actor Rajinikanth said miscreants were trying to hijack the protests and defame those behind the Jallikattu movement. Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also appealed to the people to end the row over Jallikattu with a celebration after the Bill was passed. Actor Kamal Haasan also came out in support of the protesters, saying that “aggressive police action on students’ passive resistance will not bear good results”.

Several schools chose to shut early in view of the sudden turn of events, while city buses went off roads as a preventive measure. The police suspected that some protesters belonged to ultra-Left organisations like CPI-ML and Revolutionary Youth Front of India, but agitators said students and youth who had given the protest call were not involved in violence.