What stars say about jallikattu

As Pongal nears, the call to bring back jallikattu has been getting stronger by the day. On Sunday, the city witnessed a march by pro-jallikattu activists that was attended by thousands. More and more celebrities in Tamil Nadu are asking for the Supreme Court ban against the sport to be lifted, and many youngsters are taking to the social media and the streets to protest the ban.On Monday, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to consider passing an ordinance to ensure that jallikattu is held across the state this Pongal. We speak to a cross-section of people on this jallikattu debate���
Ban biryani, too
Let me try to correct a misnomer that has come to stay with this issue... It���s not jallikattu; As it is traditionally known, thousands of years ago, it���s called aeru thazhuvudhal, which means ���embracing the bull������ which itself clearly indicates what the sport is all about. It���s not to be mistaken with matadors. (If animal activists are upset) They must then ban biryani. I think it is a part of our culture. Mr (Jagadish Chandra) Bose came with the discovery that plants have life. They react to your emotions, they do have pain, they discern pain. So, what are we going to do? Stop people from cutting lime? I have played the game. I���m one of the very few actors to have actually embraced a bull. It���s not a question of who wins; it���s how long you stay with the bull on the floor. I���m a Tamilian and I love the sport. It says so much about us. And it doesn���t kill a bull. If you cut the bull or hurt it, it���s like disbarring yourself from the game. More people die of motor vehicle accidents than would ever happen on a bull fight arena.
��� Kamal Haasan, actor and director (in an interview to a news channel)

Introduce a few regulations, but do not abolish the sport
Our bull numbers have come down from 200 to just 30. Several of our bulls are getting extinct. Introduce a few regulations, but do not abolish the sport. We need to protect our native breed and the animals are part of our identity and culture. I hope the Supreme Court doesn���t ban this sport.
��� Suriya, actor (in an interview to a news channel)

This is our festival, our culture and our sport
Jallikattu is the cultural symbol of our state and it is our pride, too. It is utterly disgraceful when some groups and individuals manage to misguide and misinform the authorities of the governance and judiciary on this art that is considered as a cultural symbol of our state. Jallikattu is not the only game that portrays the bravery of Tamil people; it also protects our Indian cattle breeds too. Imposing a law against the popular sentiments of a particular state can never be a binding factor. We abide by the regulations of this country as a citizen of this country, but never at the cost of our cultural identity. I am awaiting to see the raging bulls and the courageous men together in the arena promoting the sport of valour this Pongal itself. After all, this is our festival, our culture and our sport.
��� Simbu, Actor (in a press statement)

The fight to bring back jallikattu has become a people���s movement
I got into the jallikattu debate in 2015 after coming across people protesting the ban on jallikattu on the Marina beach. It was a small bunch then ��� hardly 20 or 30. But, on Sunday, on the same Marina beach, over 20,000 people took part in the protest march. This is proof that we have managed to create awareness around this topic. When I started talking about the issue and released Takkaru Takkaru, my short film-cum-music video on jallikattu, people asked how useful those were going to be. But this march shows that the fight has become a people���s movement now. In fact, when the organisers approached me to inaugurate it, I politely refused saying that it is time we stop banking on celebrities and face value alone to raise awareness for this as youngsters are coming out and doing it themselves. I���m raising a bull, Marudhu, and we both are waiting to enter the jallikattu arena once the court gives a positive verdict.
��� Hip Hop Adhi, composer, singer and actor

Our bull is equivalent to the lion
Music and singing were used as a tool during our Independence struggle. This time, we are resorting to music as a form to get jallikattu back. The lyrics evoke our state���s emotions. We have also spoken about how this is our pride and why they shouldn���t ban it. The reason why GV Prakash and I called it, Kombu Vecha Singam Da, is to tell the Supreme Court that our bull is equivalent to the lion. The revenue generated from this song will go to the farmers.
��� Arunraja Kamaraj, lyricist, singer and actor
I do not buy the argument that jallikattu can be conducted in a humane manner
There are some traditions, cultural practices we may have followed all our lives but that doesn���t mean we should continue to do so. We need to question these practices. There was a time when hunting was perfectly legal; it is no longer so. Times change; the psyche of the people change. I love and support animals. Animals are tortured in the name of culture. I do not buy the argument that jallikattu can be conducted in a humane manner. From whatever I have seen and experienced, this is simply not possible. I am sure we can do better things with our time instead of getting into risk mode and putting animals and human beings in a position of danger. Any practice that hurts anyone needs to be reviewed.
��� Sonu Sood, actor

We filed petition in SC along with documented evidences
PETA along with the Animal Welfare Board of India first filed the petition in the Supreme Court (SC) in 2013. Along with the petition, we submitted photo and video evidences of how cruelly these bulls were treated during jallikattu. The evidences were collected from several jallikattu venues across Tamil Nadu over a few years. What we witnessed in every place was sheer cruelty towards bulls ��� biting them on their tails, poking them with sharp objects, making them drink something which looked like alcohol, etc. After we filed the petition, the SC also received veterinary reports saying that bulls are anatomically not designed to run and can only manage to do tasks like ploughing, carrying a certain amount of goods, etc. Therefore SC did a thorough study on it before it came out with a ban on jallikattu. All I have to say is that animals cannot be ill-treated in the name of culture and traditions.
��� Nikunj Sharma, PETA spokesperson
From ���Wants v/s Don���t want��� we have progressed to ���When and how���
We had done a Beep Show at the time of Takkaru Takkaru���s release trolling PETA. The Biodiversity Conservation Council of India has been fighting for holding jallikattu all these years and it is time we found a permanent solution to the problem. And the discourse has definitely changed course today ��� from ���Wants v/s Don���t want��� we have progressed to ���When and how���. Since many others had done videos explaining what jallikattu is and the misinformation that has been spread around it by people with vested interests, we decided to tell what we need to do from now to achieve our goal through our video. To make this fight for jallikattu feel more immediate on social media, we started the tag, #WeDoJallikattu, and that has caught on in a big way.
��� RJ Vignesh, writer and actor at Smile Settai
The issue of animal cruelty is brought up by MNCs
Many people consider jallikattu only as a bull-taming game. But for the farmers from the remote villages of Tamil Nadu, it is more like a swayamvar for cattle ��� they find the strongest ones and use them for breeding. It is important to maintain native breeds to sustain the agriculture sector that is run by local farmers. I must say that the issue of animal cruelty is brought up by MNCs. They are instigating these animal welfare organisations to work towards banning jallikattu, so that they can also penetrate into the agriculture sector of India. I have done an extensive study on jallikattu for almost a year and a half before I made a documentary and released it a few days ago. Now, a friend of mine has started a page on social media called People For Jallikattu. We���re inviting our friends from different parts of the country to extend their support for the online campaign.
��� Divya S Iyer, pro-jallikattu activist