CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is making all efforts to resume jallikattu, the bull taming sport banned by the Supreme Court, animal husbandry minister P Balakrishna Reddy said in the state assembly on Friday.
"Jallikattu is a 5000-year-old tradition and a history associated with the socio cultural ethos of rural Tamil Nadu. The sport reflects bravery and is an integral part of social, cultural and religious sentiments of Tamils," Reddy said.
Jallikattu has been under judicial scrutiny since 2006, the minister said. After it was banned by the SC on May 5, 2014, the government of Tamil Nadu had filed a review petition, which is still pending.
Reddy noted that chief minister J Jayalalithaa twice wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 to de-notify bulls from the list of performing animals. While this led to an environment ministry notification on January 7, 2016 which permitted the conduct of sport, the SC issued an interim stay on the notification on January 12. The chief minister had the same day addressed the Prime Minister to promulgate an ordinance immediately to enable the conduct of jallikattu, he said.
