Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam planning to hold Jallikattu in Chennai – Times Now

The actor-turned-politician said he will seek approval from the state government to organise Jallikattu in Chennai in partnership with Jallikattu Peravai. Jallikattu is a rural event and it is not held in Chennai city.

Asked about the rationale for conducting the event in the city, Haasan said although some people might have forgotten the protest that took place in Chennai’s Marina Beach in the name of Jallikattu, he hasn’t. “We cannot hold Jallikattu in Marina due to legal issues, but we wish to conduct it in another spot in the city,” he added.

Based on a petition by the animal rights group PETA and the Animal Welfare Board of India, Supreme Court banned the event in 2014. Later the Ministry of Environment and Forests permitted the continuation of the event, but the SC stayed the order, upholding the ban which led to protests all over Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, the state government amended the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act allowing the conduct of the event.

This amendment was also challenged in the apex court and a Constitution bench reserved its judgement in the case 0n 8 December 2022.

The Jallikattu is generally held during the Pongal celebrations. A trained bull will be released into a crowd and multiple participants will attempt to grab the large hump on the bull’s back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Jallikattu players hold the hump for as long as possible to bring the bull to a stop. They have to remove flags on the bull’s horns.