KOCHI: The ripples of the jallikattu protest are dramatically changing Tamil Nadu’s cultural landscape, and a wave of civil discontent seems to be sweeping down the neighbouring states, including Kerala and Karnataka.
With an ordinance promulgated to lift the ban on jallikattu (bull-taming sport) in Tamil Nadu, the demand for lifting the ban on kambala buffalo race is gaining momentum in coastal Karnataka, with people increasingly taking to the streets, while in Kerala, despite a ban, ‘kaalapoottu,’ the traditional bull race, continues to be staged in certain parts of Malabar.
And the call for organising similar events, including Kakkoor Kalavayal in which competitors race their bullocks through muddy paddy fields, is gaining momentum.
The captive elephant owners and festival organisers in Kerala who were facing a series of allegations and cases in connection with the conduct of elephant parades have reasons to cheer. If the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, is amended to facilitate jallikattu with the support of the Centre, it would open a floodgate of litigations dealing with the rights of the animal world, ranging from bulls, elephants, horses, stray dogs and roosters to even exotic birds in Kerala.
Inviting the attention of the public and authorities to the cultural issue of Kerala, actor Kamal Haasan had recently tried to draw parallels between bulls and elephants saying if caparisoned elephants are allowed in Kerala, jallikkattu should be permitted in Tamil Nadu.
M N Jayachandran, a member of the Kerala State Animal Welfare Board and co-opted member of the regional sub-committee, AWBI, says if the ordinance is ratified and bulls are excluded from the purview of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, it would open up a Pandora’s box and the rituals involving animals which were banned by civilised society could rear its ugly head in the cultural landscape of Kerala.
Just like jallikkattu, cock fights are also banned under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, but it was being held in the eastern parts of Palakkad till recently. And the advocates of those rituals can garner public support saying these sports are part of their tradition.
Even the sacrifice of cock which was stopped at the Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple could be brought back as it was performed as part of the decades-old tradition and customs, he says. In the May 7, 2014, verdict, the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, according to the view of the Bench, overshadowed or overrode the so-called tradition and culture. When it comes to Kerala, the bull race is not lethal like that in Tamil Nadu. But the torture of elephants is a more serious issue.
The AWBI has even recommended to the Centre to include elephants under the purview of PCA Act like in a notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in the past, expanding the scope of an earlier order that prohibits the exhibition and training of lions, tigers, bears, leopards and monkeys as performing animals to include bulls.
A senior Forest Department officer says thou the h elephant is an endangered species and has been included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 - animals included in Schedule I need a high-level of protection -, the PCA Act is silent on the use of elephants.
V K Venkitachalam, secretary of Heritage Animal Task Force, says not only elephant parades, the elephant race being organised by major temples is a violation of captive elephant maintenance rules. Though a slew of restrictions have been imposed on the conduct of the parade of elephants and elephant race, all the restrictions will be thrown to the wind during the time of the events as these rituals cannot be conducted adhering to the provisions of the Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, he says.
Meanwhile, V Sasikumar, general secretary of Kerala Elephant Owners Federation, says the association has wholeheartedly welcomed the decision of Tamil Nadu as the spirit of the people and tradition of a society have to be honoured. A senior office-bearer of Thrissur Pooram says festivals and elephant processions are integral parts of the life of the people and any attempt to place curbs or ban will be challenged openly as these centuries-old traditions are closely connected with the religion and belief of people.