Article on Bull Races in Tamil Nadu

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*Of animals and animal behaviour*

Friday January 19 2007 16:56 IST

 

*Nanditha Krishna*

 

 

 

 

 

In his article Right over Rights, G. Babu Jayakumar (New Sunday Express,

January 14) has made some fantastic statements about jallikattu, identifying

it with Tamil culture and history, and raising all sorts of issues. It is

worth examining them.

 

What is " Tamil culture and history " ? According to the Oxford dictionary,

culture is either " the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual

achievement regarded collectively " or " intellectual development " or " the

customs, civilisation, and achievements of a particular time or people " .

Culture is defined by the state of human development and not language or

religion: Stone Age culture, Bronze Age culture and so on. Jallikattu

belongs to a Paleolithic period when man fought animals with bare hands as

he tried to domesticate them. There is nothing intellectual or cultural

about fighting bulls. Then, there is the taint of history. True, jallikattu

is mentioned in Sangam literature and has probably been practiced for a long

time. But neither history nor culture is static. The former records past

events, the latter defines the age. If we want to go back to the past, then

let us throw off our cholis, practice caste and polygamy, stop using

electricity and other modcons.

 

He calls it the culture of the subalterns. Jallikattu bulls are owned by

rich landlords who let the animals lose on the poor subalterns, while they

bet on the result. Their sons do not join in. Then, how many educated

subalterns take part? None. It is the poor and disposable subalterns who,

well-primed with liquor, take on the bulls in the hope of earning some

money. If you care for the oppressed, then this is a form of exploitation.

Prevention is better than cure, and prevention of jallikattu is better than

provision of ambulances for the injured. Subalterns need education and jobs,

not jallikattu which merely keeps them backward. His final coup about the

female preference to " choose their husbands based on their valour proven at

the annual jallikattu " is out of novels and films. How many women do you

know who were married this way? The novels and films also describe how the

animals are force-fed liquor. Why is that not mentioned?

 

He wants a proper monitoring mechanism to medically examine the bulls to

prevent their imbibing alcohol. Is he aware of the number of laws and rules

governing the transportation of animals for slaughter, the way they should

be fed, slaughtered and so on? Not a single law is followed in our corrupt

country. Dowry and child marriage are banned, yet both continue with

impunity. Bos indicus is a natural vegetarian. Television pictures showed

the bulls force fed with eggs, even though they resisted. Feeding it

non-vegetarian food is extremely damaging to its digestive system, unlike

that of the dog which is a certified omnivore. I have between ten and

fifteen " pure Indian " dogs at any one time, brought up on vegetarian food,

and each has lived to between fifteen and twenty years, a ripe old age for a

dog in spite of the lack of air conditioned kennels and meat for their

canine teeth.

 

Do animal lovers object to dog (and other pet) shows, to the methods

employed by trainers of pedigree (and police) dogs and to the milk of cows?

Yes we do object to all these and more, and if Mr. Jayakumar would read the

number of articles that appear on the subject or had attended the recent

Asia for Animals Conference at Chennai, he would have learned about the

cruelties involved in training dogs and other animals for entertainment, he

would have eaten delicious vegan food and learned about other cruelties that

are perpetrated on animals. Every religion speaks of compassion to both man

and animal and Thiruvalluvar, the symbol of Tamil " culture " , repeatedly

extols compassion to all creatures and condemns cruelties towards animals.

Religion is a barometer of culture, but vested interests misuse it,

threatening villagers with dire consequences if they give up old practices.

Once upon a time, it was believed that human sacrifice was essential and

could alone prevent " divine wrath " . When Shaivas and Jainas in ancient

Tamilagam held public religious debates, the losing Jainas were impaled

alive. Can these cruelties be justified in the name of religion or culture?

 

Man must evolve from one stage to a higher one. Once upon a time, Brahmins

were the greatest sacrificers of animals. Faced by opposition from the

Upanishadic rishis, Buddha and Mahavira, they gave up sacrifice and became

vegetarians. Once upon a time, our ancestors hunted animals and survived on

raw meat. Then they developed technologies for growing food. Human evolution

has been a development of the mind. Should we condemn the Buddha because he

was an elitist prince who preached ahimsa and stopped animal sacrifice? If

some cultural practices are cruel, they must be stopped. Cruelty is cruel -

neither elitist nor popular.

 

The racing driver and cricketer have the right to choose their profession.

The bull cannot choose where he will live, whether he wants to eat meat or

drink alcohol, whether he wants chilli powder and chemicals rubbed on his

anus and genitals, whether he wants to fight or not, or whether he wants to

live or be slaughtered for somebody's enjoyment of a beef steak. Man has a

choice and should exercise it to prevent harming another. It is arguments

like those for bullfighting that justified the mass killing of Jews in

Germany and other genocides.

 

Mr Jayakumar will be unhappy to know that the famous Barcelona bullring in

Spain is about to close down, and that the people of Catalonia (the main

centre of bullfighting) have voted to end the cruel " sport " . What will the

Spanish king do - resign from the EU? Tamilians are educated and

sophisticated, and barbarism and cruelty sit ill on their shoulders. After

all, it was Thiruvalluvar, in 200 B.C., who said " Diverse are the teachings

of the religions of the world, but in all will be found that compassion is

that which gives men spiritual deliverance. Hold on to it. "