prasad1
Active member
'We need all the people who support Jallikattu to empathise with a poor, frightened, animal. Like racism and casteism, this is speciesism; discrimination based on species.'
'Human beings consider themselves superior and they consider it their right to exploit non-human beings, the animals.'
Niranjan Shanmuganathan may be a Tamil and his grandfather might have played Jallikattu years ago, but that was not a deterrent in him speaking out against Jallikattu, played mostly in Madurai and southern Tamil Nadu.
On seeing the way chickens were transported upside down on cycles and lambs dragged into butcher shops, Niranjan, left, below, became a vegetarian and a full fledged animal activist 12 years ago.
Niranjan -- who works in HR at an IT company and is actively involved in protecting animals -- tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com why people should not look at Jallikattu as a sport, and why it is extremely cruel to bulls.
The villagers who participate in Jallikattu and those who support it say that it is not entertainment, but a part of Tamil culture. Do you agree?
I am a Tamilian, and I also understand that Jallikattu is a part of our culture. There are so many things that were part of our culture, which we had to abolish, like Sati, child marriage, etc.
At that time, there was a lot of hue and cry saying those were part of our culture, but we had to change in the course of time.
It cannot be denied that there is cruelty in Jallikattu. A lot of NGOs have investigated this thoroughly and documented it. Even during the period of regulation, we saw a lot of cruelty.
Have you seen how the villagers treat these bulls?
I have assisted people who have gone to investigate Jallikattu and have seen how people train the bulls for the event. But I have not seen the bulls during the performance.
The argument put forth by the villagers is that the bulls are treated as part of the family. It is true that they are loved and fed very well, but the training itself is very cruel. They are hung on a pole and a group of people tease the bull to make it ferocious, that is bullying the bull.
They try to make the bull so ferocious by bullying that it becomes so ferocious that it attacks men. Just because they love the bull and give food, it does not give them the right to abuse it.
There is a huge crowd of people at Jallikattu and everyone wants to win the prize and you see a kind of mob violence there. The owner of the bull would never want to lose and he would do whatever he can to win.
In the chaos and the noise of the crowd, the lone bull gets so scared.
We need all the people who support Jallikattu to empathise with a poor, frightened, animal. Like racism and casteism, this is speciesism; discrimination based on species.
Human beings consider themselves superior and they consider it their right to exploit non-human beings, the animals.
I am from Tirunelveli and my grandfather used to play Jallikattu and he had shown me the scar on his hip.
http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/there-is-cruelty-in-jallikettu/20160120.htm
'Human beings consider themselves superior and they consider it their right to exploit non-human beings, the animals.'
Niranjan Shanmuganathan may be a Tamil and his grandfather might have played Jallikattu years ago, but that was not a deterrent in him speaking out against Jallikattu, played mostly in Madurai and southern Tamil Nadu.
On seeing the way chickens were transported upside down on cycles and lambs dragged into butcher shops, Niranjan, left, below, became a vegetarian and a full fledged animal activist 12 years ago.
Niranjan -- who works in HR at an IT company and is actively involved in protecting animals -- tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com why people should not look at Jallikattu as a sport, and why it is extremely cruel to bulls.
The villagers who participate in Jallikattu and those who support it say that it is not entertainment, but a part of Tamil culture. Do you agree?
I am a Tamilian, and I also understand that Jallikattu is a part of our culture. There are so many things that were part of our culture, which we had to abolish, like Sati, child marriage, etc.
At that time, there was a lot of hue and cry saying those were part of our culture, but we had to change in the course of time.
It cannot be denied that there is cruelty in Jallikattu. A lot of NGOs have investigated this thoroughly and documented it. Even during the period of regulation, we saw a lot of cruelty.
Have you seen how the villagers treat these bulls?
I have assisted people who have gone to investigate Jallikattu and have seen how people train the bulls for the event. But I have not seen the bulls during the performance.
The argument put forth by the villagers is that the bulls are treated as part of the family. It is true that they are loved and fed very well, but the training itself is very cruel. They are hung on a pole and a group of people tease the bull to make it ferocious, that is bullying the bull.
They try to make the bull so ferocious by bullying that it becomes so ferocious that it attacks men. Just because they love the bull and give food, it does not give them the right to abuse it.
There is a huge crowd of people at Jallikattu and everyone wants to win the prize and you see a kind of mob violence there. The owner of the bull would never want to lose and he would do whatever he can to win.
In the chaos and the noise of the crowd, the lone bull gets so scared.
We need all the people who support Jallikattu to empathise with a poor, frightened, animal. Like racism and casteism, this is speciesism; discrimination based on species.
Human beings consider themselves superior and they consider it their right to exploit non-human beings, the animals.
I am from Tirunelveli and my grandfather used to play Jallikattu and he had shown me the scar on his hip.
http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/there-is-cruelty-in-jallikettu/20160120.htm
