Jallikattu has become part of contemporary life

What exactly is the angst surrounding the phenomenon of jallikattu?

That’s what senior journalist and political analyst N Sathiya Moorthy seeks to decode in his new book, Jallikattu: the new symbol of Tamil angst.

Currently a Senior Fellow and Director of the Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, Sathiya Moorthy has delved deep into the phenomenon, which created a stir nationwide during the protests on Marina Beach that was a landmark incident in the state. The books hopes to give the discerning reader a different perspective.

 “The topic selected itself. Jallikattu protests were unlike anything the nation has seen — no leaders, no organisation, no personal targets.

The protests after the December rape case in New Delhi were not managed but the larger issue concerned the safety and security of every woman,” says the author. He adds that the jallikattu events this year will be as normal as they used to be.

“However, possibly in more venues —urban venues at that — with more media attention; also at the national level, and critics too going around with magnifying glasses. We will not see the likes of a mass jallikattu protest ever again - but from Vadivasal it has gone to Neduvasal and Kadiramangalam.

That is saying a lot,” he adds. Sathiya Moorthy also explains that the book doesn’t directly link the practise with politics. “But it definitely points to the continual embarrassment caused by the state’s political parties adding to the people’s ballooning angst and hurt otherwise directed against the Centre and other national institutions,” he points out.

What does he hope the book will do for the readers? “It is a learning experience for every stakeholder in our ever-continuing nation-building exercise, when the early sentiments of the freedom movement era are becoming a part of fading memory, both individual and institutional,” he says. Does he believe personally, that jallikattu should be continued down the years? The author says, “After the protests, it is back with greater force than ever before.

Now it is more than Tamil pride and culture, which it anyway is. It is part of the contemporary Tamil being.”