The order has dropped a wet blanket on the hopes of the dhirio aficionados of Goa just when they had seen that tiny ray of hope. On January 7 the Centre issued a notification lifting the ban on holding the sport in Tamil Nadu, despite the Supreme Court having banned it in 2014 for being inherently cruel. That notification had increased the prospects of a revival of bullfights in Goa.
Just days ago, after the Centre’s notification permitting Jallikattu, the House Committee on bullfights that is looking into the possibility of resurrecting the sport in Goa within the legal framework, had sounded positive on a restart of dhirio. The chairman of the House Committee, St Andre MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh, had told Herald that a meeting of the committee would be held to discuss and debate the issue and that the committee was monitoring developments in other states while assessing and studying how to legalize dhirio.
Less than a week later the committee will have to re-look at the possibility of bullfights starting in the near future as those hopes now stand dashed. The Supreme Court, less than a week after the Centre’s notification, banned the Tamil Nadu sport on January 12. Though the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government argued that Jallikattu is intrinsic to the culture and tradition of the State and cannot be prohibited, the Supreme Court looked at the angle of animal rights. Tamil Nadu even argued that banning Jallikattu would dent Tamil culture and with the festival of Pongal about to take place, preparations for the sport had already been made. The very next day, on January 13, the Supreme Court even heard an emergency intervention plea from people affected by the sudden ban but refused to lift the ban.
The Tamil Nadu government is still fighting to hold Jallikattu in the coming days. It has now sought an immediate ordinance from the Union government permitting the bull taming sport claiming that people’s sentiments are involved.
But, the Supreme Court’s decision does not come as a surprise. Animal rights today play an important role and people’s sentiments may have to give way to the rights of animals too. Jallikattu has been known to lead to mutilated ears, broken tailbones and bulls being force-fed liquor. The Goan dhirio may not lead to major injuries in most cases, but there have been instances in the past, when the sport was very popular, of bulls that have been gored being put to sleep.
Dhirio’s have a huge fan following in Goa and even the government has been making attempts to legalise the sport. The Chief Minister has earlier stated he would do everything possible to legalise the sport. But, in the light of what has transpired in the last few days, getting the bulls back into the fighting ring is going to be no easy task. What the government in Goa will have to keep in mind, when and if it decides to legalise dhirio, is that the Supreme Court’s ban in Jallikattu came after the Animal Welfare Board that works under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests challenged the notification that had been cleared by the ministry. It was a government appointed board that went to the court to strike off a government notification.
In short, if there are people who want a revival of dhirio, there will also be those who will challenge the sport if it is legalized. The day therefore, when dhirios are announced in advance and held in the open is not anywhere near.
