Chennai: From now on, there is no legal hurdle for 'Jallikattu' in Tamil Nadu and to the relief of the vast majority of the people, who throng to witness the spectacle held in the nook and corner of the state. No wonder, the Supreme Court verdict has come as a vindication of the traditional sport being integral to Tamil culture. Without any exception, every political party has welcomed it, but it is the BJP, which has tried to appropriate this victory as its own, forgetting that the January 2017 Marina protest was primarily directed against it.
Though the initial bungling of the Congress in 2011 resulted in the Supreme Court banning the sport, the saffron party can't be absolved of its share of remaining silent till the Marina protests forced it to fall in line. Also, the protests, which continued throughout the day and night attracted large crowds from far and near turning the seafront into a nucleus of a revolution. Also, it was a convergence of disparate outfits and groups primarily opposed to the BJP in the backdrop of the introduction of GST and Demonetisation.
Chief Minister MK Stalin's reaction was on predictable lines. “Jallikattu is the identity of the valour of Tamils and their culture. And the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court upholding the conduct of the sport has to be engraved in gold. It is a massive victory for the legal battle waged by the Tamil Nadu government. We are constructing a huge stadium at Alanganallur to hold the sport. The coming Pongal, the cultural festival of the Tamils, let us celebrate the victory,” he said in a tweet.
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Now, the saffron party is trying to capitalise on the court verdict in its eagerness to occupy the cultural space and dethrone the DMK from where it is well entrenched and turn it saffron. In a lengthy Twitter post, BJP state president K Annamalai credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his persistent effort to lift the ban on the 'Cultural sport' of the state was lifted in its entirety while blaming the Congress as the original sinner, harbouring hatred towards Tamil culture. “If there was anyone who stood for 'Jallikattu' from the beginning to now, it was our Hon Pm Thiru @narendramodi avl,” he claimed.
Interestingly, the political climate in the state then was fluid with O Panneerselvam at the helm as Chief Minister in the aftermath of Jayalalithaa's demise in December 2016. And, the protest which commenced with a hundred youths on January 8, turned into a massive one by the next day. The AIADMK government, having the support of the BJP, was clueless and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked that the state bring in legislation suitably amending the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, to give exemption to 'Jallikattu'. And an ordinance was also brought with the President's concurrence. However, the continuing protest on the seafront was brutally brought to an end by the police.
Conspicuously, both Stalin and Annamalai as well as TNCC president KS Alagiri have refrained from any mention of the Marina protests. While the DMK was not allowed space in the protests, the BJP faced the heat with some even holding a mock funeral of Modi. “This is a clear instance of how the BJP senses an opportunity to present itself as a guardian of Tamil culture by making use of the pro-Jallikattu sentiment turning it into part of Hindu beliefs, culture, and tradition. It had been forced to facilitate a state-specific amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, a Central Act, which has now been upheld. While blaming the Congress, it should not be forgotten that the saffron had remained silent on this since 2014 after coming to power,” says senior journalist K Venkataramanan.
Only VCK leader D Ravikumar had a word of caution that the government should take steps so that the holding of the sport should be free of casteist discrimination since it remains a feudal remnant with the dominant castes keeping it as their exclusive preserve in many places. As the adage goes, success has many fathers, but the unsung heroes are the protesters of Marina's revolution. The saving grace was a film titled 'Marina Puratchi' that had been made on this so that posterity does not remain oblivious.
