It is that time of the year again: the paddy has just been harvested, the stems of sugar cane have been freshly cut, fresh milk and rice boil in pots and the bulls somehow know it’s their time. Pongal, and inevitably, Jallikattu are here.
For as long as memory stretches, and even beyond, a certain region of Tamil Nadu has been the host to the bull taming sport of Jallikattu. It is believed to be at least 2,000 years old, and integral to the celebration of Pongal in the south and central districts of Tamil Nadu, a veritable Jallikattu belt. Once played merely as a way to show off strength, and unimaginably so, a test of virility of the male youth in the belt, it soon evolved into a competitive sport with high stakes, and, more recently, controversy.
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This Jallikattu season, Thachankurichi in Pudukottai district set the ball rolling on January 8. Though the nearby Tiruchi district has so far received 21 applications seeking permission to conduct Jallikattu, Collector M. Pradeep Kumar says new locations for the event will not be permitted.
But traditionally, it is in Madurai district where the action is since three major Jallikattu events have been lined up at Avaniapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur on three successive days starting Sunday. Periya Suriyur and Avarangadu in Tiruchi will host their own events on January 16 and 17, respectively.
Legal tussle
But the Jallikattu that is being conducted today is a hard-fought victory for bull tamers and owners. Following the ban on Jallikattu between 2014 and 2016, the State witnessed unprecedented protests in January 2017. The public, particularly the youth, poured onto the streets across the State in support of the traditional sport and demanded that the ban be lifted.
Consequently, the then Tamil Nadu government promulgated an Ordinance in 2017 to bring a State Amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The Centre cleared it. Subsequently, The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 was passed on the grounds that the bull-taming sport is a cultural heritage of the State and is protected under Article 29 (1) of the Constitution. Soon after, the Rules to implement the Act were also passed. In December 2022, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reserved for judgment a batch of petitions seeking to strike down this law, questioning its constitutional validity.
It has been made mandatory for veterinarians to check the bulls’ various parameters, including height, breed, age and colour, before they are allowed to participate in Jallikattu. | Photo Credit: R. ASHOK
As per the Rules, a committee on Jallikattu, comprising officials from the Revenue, Animal Husbandry, Police and Health Departments, should oversee and monitor the conduct of the sport. The participants are permitted only to embrace the bulls by the hump and run along with the bull for 15 m or for 30 seconds or sustain three jumps of the bull. They shall not hold on to the tail or horns using their hands or restrict the movement of the bulls by holding on to their legs.
Intensifying safety measures
Under the gaze of organisations raising their voice against the relevant issue of animal cruelty in the competition, each district administration has more to do, not only to ensure that the bulls are not tortured, as was the practice among a few in the past, but also to ensure that no human life is lost, and that every attempt is made to save the lives of those gored/trampled by the bulls. In Tiruchi, for instance, the number of bulls to be released at each event is to be capped at 700, and the events will have to wrap up by 2 p.m.
A total of 9,699 bulls and 5,399 eager tamers have registered to participate in the Jallikattu events in Madurai. The State has to play a delicate balancing act, given the local fervour for the sport and the rules that they must follow. In Madurai, both the animals and tamers have been selected through a computer-based lot system to restrict the number of bulls even while giving equal opportunities to bull owners from various districts.
With a view to restricting the number of bulls in each event in Madurai district, an online registration system will allow bull owners to choose only one of the three venues – Avaniapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur.
There are also stringent measures in place for the selection of both bulls and tamers. Veterinarians have to check the bulls on various parameters, including height, breed, age and colour. Only native bulls aged more than three years and without any injury or infection are certified to take part in Jallikattu, says S. Nataraja Kumar, Joint Director of Animal Husbandry. Eligibility criteria for bulls to participate include a minimum height of 120 cm, normal gait, horns that are not sharp and regular vaccination. “Even bulls considered medically-fit will be checked again before they are allowed into the arena,” he adds.
Veterinary teams will be present at all vantage points in the venues. “Besides, for the first time, the bulls coming out of the arena after the run will be checked at the collection area for injuries. Injuries, if any, will be treated at once,” Mr. Nataraja Kumar says.
Similarly, a physical fitness certificate is mandatory for bull tamers. For the first time, an ‘Advanced Life Support’ ambulance and X-ray unit will be stationed at Avaniapuram. The Madurai district administration has installed CCTV cameras at the venues. Collector S. Aneesh Sekhar says the bulls will be given fodder and water in a sheltered place.
Clear instructions on adhering to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), including the installation of double barricades from the vadivasal to the bull run area have been issued. A double-vaccination certificate for COVID-19 along with a RT-PCR negative report is a must for participating tamers and spectators.
According to S. Raja, an event organiser for the Periya Suriyur event, “Trailer lorries will be parked on either side of the barricaded bull run area. This way, spectators can watch the event from atop the trailers since the cost of putting up galleries is high.”
New arrangements
The Madurai District Police has set up metal barricades in some venues so that the barriers do not come crashing down under the pressure of a surging crowd. There is a new arrangement to streamline the movement of bulls from the assembly points to the vadivasal in Palamedu and Alanganallur, where over 1,000 bulls are expected to participate.
This comes in the wake of bulls attacking each other at the bull holding area at Palamedu last year. This year, the barricade entry system will ensure there is a kilometre-long queue through which the registered bulls will be let in. “This will prevent unauthorised entry of unregistered bulls and also avoid out-of-turn entry of bulls of local or influential people,” Madurai Superintendent of Police R. Shiva Prasad says.
After the revenue and police officials scan the QR codes on the printed passes and verify the entry, the bulls will be let into the barricaded queue system as per the numerical order of the serial number of the passes (tokens) issued by the district administration. “The four-feet wide pathway will allow only one bull at a time. The long queue system will hold up to 300 to 400 bulls in the barricaded area,” Mr. Shiva Prasad says. The police have also introduced separate entry and exit areas in the playing arena for bull tamers. Medical teams for tamers and bulls, along with ambulances, will be on stand-by. A team of 10 volunteers from the Indian Red Cross Society will be present to provide first aid to injured people, says A. Rajkumar, its Madurai Coordinator.
Foreign tourists can watch the Jallikattu from a vantage point in a separate gallery at Alanganallur. This time, it is a group of visitors from Germany and France, says District Tourism Officer S.M. Sribalamurugan. Organisers of Jallikattu say a slew of prizes are up for grabs for the winning tamers and bull owners – cars, motorcycles, bicycles, LED TV sets and refrigerators.
(With inputs from R. Rajaram in Tiruchi, B. Tilak Chandar, R. Jayashree and S. Abraham Mills in Madurai.)
