Why not the government of Tamil Nadu choose the trodden path of promulgating an ordinance to conduct jallikattu? Of course, the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act, 2009, was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2014 on the ground that the event of jallikattu would violate a couple of provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The Supreme Court observed in its judgment: “When we look at the rights of animals from the national and international perspective, what emerges is that every species has an inherent right to live and shall be protected by law, subject to the exception provided out of necessity. Animal has also honour and dignity which cannot be arbitrarily deprived of and its rights and privacy have to be respected and protected from unlawful attacks.”
The expressions used in the Tamil Nadu Act 2009 like “performance enhancement drugs” made the Supreme Court think that the bulls were trained to perform and made to suffer during jallikattu. One should not forget that the very domestication of bulls would violate its “honour and dignity”, if any. Actually, jallikattu gives back the bulls its inherent nature to run freely and fight with all their might.
Bulls do not perform in jallikattu. They actually live as bulls for a day. At least a day’s festivity is a must even for animals - so thought the ancient Tamils in their wisdom. January 8 notification of the Central government allowing jallikattu in Tamil Nadu was stayed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its final order. Stay of this notification by the Supreme Court cannot stand in the way of the state of Tamil Nadu promulgating an ordinance.
It is time that the Government of Tamil Nadu declared to the whole world that the bulls are not performing animals like monkeys and they get back their original nature during jallikattu. Let the state act in consonance with the Constitution swiftly. (The writer is a practising lawyer in Madras high court)
