Mud-smeared men agitate for jallikattu

The protestors demanded the state and Union government to give permission for the conduct of jallikattu in Madurai. “To show the relation of the sport with the land, bulls and humans of in this state, we applied mud all over. Our only demand is getting permission for the conduct of jallikattu this year, as the sport has not been held in the past two years,” said one of the members of the VOC Peravai. 

Submitting a petition to the district administration here, they claimed that jallikattu is not just a sport but a cultural trait that has been inherited by the people of Tamil Nadu for many centuries. They alleged foreign conspiracy behind the ban on the sport. 

“PETA and other similar groups are trying to ban jallikat tu to destroy the local breed. They are trying to send the local bulls to slaughter houses for bringing in foreign breeds,” the Peravai members claimed.  They asked the state and Centre to understand the conspiracy behind the ban on jallikattu and take steps to enable the conduct of the sport during this Pongal.