CHENNAI: When a handful of protesters first sat at the Marina promenade demanding revocation of the ban against jallikattu, few would have foreseen what the demonstration would grow into in a span of a few hours. Rigorous social media campaigns that were credited with the unprecedented turnout at the Marina could also have led to the gory turn of events on Monday, it is felt.
A photo of a young girl lying unconscious on the railway track was doing the rounds on Facebook on Wednesday with a message that the girl, who had been raising slogans at the Marina against two political leaders, was brutally murdered.
The truth was that the 20-year-old who was indeed on her way to the Marina had died after falling from the train she was travelling in, between Avadi, where she lived, and Annanur.
Anyone who had visited the beach during the protests would know that if one were to be murdered for raising slogans against some leaders, the scene would have turned into a bloodbath.
Several messages that did the rounds on Whatsapp and Facebook went on to incite hatred towards the establishment and individuals, adding fuel to the fire. Messages of the ordinance being a ‘temporary law’ were also widely circulated, swaying the discourse in a different direction, when in fact, it held the same status of a permanent law.
Shiva K, an engineer, who was part of the protests, said, “Much of what I know about an ordinance stems from social media messages since I was hearing about it for the first time. I believed that it was a desperate attempt by the government to appease the crowd.”
After the bill was passed unanimously in the Assembly, mediators like former Madras High Court Judge D Hariparanthaman put rumours to rest, explaining to protestors the lawmaking process through an ordinance.
The social media also served as a platform to recklessly troll celebrities who expressed or allegedly expressed support for PETA, an animal rights organisation, that backed the ban on jallikattu. After a popular musician distanced himself from the protests, his messages of having been threatened by the police and accepting bribes from organisations supporting the ban also began doing the rounds.
Menaka Gandhi’s PFA (People for Animals) also came under fire after it was accused of challenging Tamil Nadu’s ordinance. The organisation later denied the reports. “Along with PETA, we were led to believe that the PFA and even the Animal Welfare Board of India were against jallikattu and so many were campaigning for banning them too,” said Gowri Shankar, a PhD student.
There were also messages that said that prohibitory orders and even President’s rule would be declared, throughout the protests. What many thought would go down in history as one of the largest ‘organised’ protests in the State went south after several incidents of violence broke out on Monday.