22 MAY,2023.
Judging jallikattu(PG 6)(GS 2)
22 MAY,2023.
•Verdict upholds cultural sentiment, but animal rights, human safety matter too
•A rural sport seen by courts for years as one inflicting cruelty on animals has now received judicial imprimatur.
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• An upsurge in popular support for jallikattu led to legislative changes in early 2017, exempting it from the rigours of the law against animal cruelty.
•Six years after the amendments ended a Courtordered ban, the Supreme Court has upheld the changes made by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, as well as the cultural sentiment behind jallikattu, a traditional sport in which men try to control raging bulls.
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•There has been an endless conflict between activists and proponents of the game, which culminated in a 2014 Court judgment banning the sport.
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•The activists argue that any sport involving a physical contest between man and bull violates animal rights, while the other camp contends that none should stop something that is part of the State’s tradition and culture.
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• The State government responded to the ban by amending the central Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in its application to the State, and obtained the President’s assent.
• A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has now settled the issue, ruling in favour of jallikattu as a cultural event