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Jallikattu Ban: Cruelty to Animals or Traditional Practice?

Should the ban on Jallikattu remain or should the centuries old practice be allowed?

Updated
India
3 min read
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As the Centre mulls over lifting last year’s Supreme Court ban on Jallikattu, we take a look at the issue.

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Should the ban on Jallikattu remain or should the centuries old practice be allowed?
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What’s the Issue?

Jallikattu or bull fighting/bull running is a sport with a long history and is traditionally performed as part of the Pongal celebrations in Tamil Nadu. Although its supporters argue that the bull is not harmed in the sport, animal rights activists have long believed that the practice is cruel to animals and should be banned.

Faced with a tussle between tradition and animal rights, last May, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and PC Mishra ruled in favour of animal rights and banned jallikattu and bullock-cart racing. In a long judgment, the Justices ruled that “unnecessary pain and suffering on an animal is prohibited”, and held that “the event is meant not for the well-being of the animal but for the pleasure and enjoyment of human beings” and that the animals, “being dumb and helpless, […] suffer in silence”.

Unsurprisingly, the Supreme Court decision was controversial. People accused the Court of being insensitive to local customs and argued that the Court had overstated the issue of animal suffering.

The Jallikattu chapter was reopened this month when the Centre announced that it was considering steps to lift the ban. This announcement assumes special significance after the Draft National Wildlife Policy published earlier this year, which mentions amending wildlife legislation in light of “religious and cultural practices”.

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Should the ban on Jallikattu remain or should the centuries old practice be allowed?
Representational image. (Photo: iStock)
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Animal Welfare in India

Animal welfare has a long history in India. In the 3rd century BCE, Emperor Ashoka asked his subjects to avoid killing and unnecessarily harming animals. Ashoka practised what he preached – he gave up hunting for sport, set up veterinary hospitals and encouraged his subjects to follow a vegetarian diet. Nor is Ashoka an exception – all major world religions preach compassion towards animals.

Today, Article 51A(g) of our Constitution states that it is the duty of all Indian citizens to have “compassion for all living creatures”. In addition, India has enacted the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 to acknowledge that animals have rights and should be protected from unnecessary pain and suffering.

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Should the ban on Jallikattu remain or should the centuries old practice be allowed?
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Conclusion

Today, there is increasing concern about animal welfare. The law too, has responded to these changes. For example, India became the first “cruelty-free cosmetics zone” in South Asia in 2014 by banning cosmetics tests on animals as well as the import of such animal-tested cosmetics.

As human beings we have a responsibility and also a wonderful ability to embrace change in creative ways. For example, in a nod to both tradition and modernity, Arunachal Pradesh’s Nyishi tribals now use fibreglass in place of beaks from the endangered hornbill in their headgear.

All of us have a stake in the debate on the extent to which traditional practices should be privileged in the tussle between custom and animal rights. When the debate turns to centuries old practices versus modern cultural and moral standards, there are no easy answers. But the question does need to be asked – should animal rights be held hostage to tradition?

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Tamil Nadu   Jallikattu 

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