If Jallikattu is tradition, so is child marriage, says SC

NEW DELHI: The Modi government on Tuesday strongly defended the traditional sport of bullfighting, Jallikattu, in Tamil Nadu, insisting that it was non-violent, didn't involve unnecessary cruelty to animals and was an intrinsic part of 'right to religion'.

The stand led the court to ask if the government was willing to also condone child marriage.

An affidavit filed in the court by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change tried to justify Jallikattu as a centuries-old custom, which led Justice Dipak Misra to ask: "There were 8,000-odd child marriages in 1899. Should we continue with it?"

The two-member bench of Justices Misra and RF Nariman, however, said it would examine the matter at a greater length in August, allowing all sides with stakes in the matter to place their views before it.

In its affidavit, the ministry said as long as an animal was not treated with extreme cruelty, the sport was fine. "… an animal is not a human being, and what may be cruelty to a human, cannot be always regarded as cruelty to animals," the affidavit said.

The ministry claimed that Jallikattu was not merely an act of amusement but was an event of great historic, cultural, religious and traditional value and involved "seizing the hump of the bull in a non-violent manner".

It insisted that the sport was an integral part of religious beliefs and sentiments of several village communities and the right to freedom of religion, which was a fundamental right, cannot be taken away by the provisions of a statute such as Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The ministry said organising the sport was part of its efforts to maintain bio-diversity. "… certain indigenous species of bull fit for the purpose of such event are used (in Jallikattu). Thus, organising such events will only further encourage breeding of such indigenous breed…."

The ministry urged the court to vacate its earlier stay on the sport on the ground that no cruelty would be meted out to it under new rules.