First and foremost I don't buy this argument that Jalikattu is the only way to save native breeds. As has been widely mentioned the total native breed count has come down from 150 to 37. Jalikattu has been banned for only 2 years now and we didn't lose 113 breeds in 2 years for sure. The main reason is people moving away from low end farming job(MREGA is also a reason when people get paid for doing almost nothing) which causes shortage of people to help in farming which forces the farmers to move on to tractors and other mechanised farm equipments. Hence the farmers didn't have any use for the bulls and that is the reason why they are becoming extinct and not because of ban on Jalikattu. As mentioned in my earlier post, I strongly feel that the reasoning being given is same as justifying female foeticide.
Secondly the most quoted A1 vs A2 milk hypothesis. As mentioned it is just an hypothesis and not proven. There is no scientific research which has proved this, so let us stop spreading falsehood.
The protest that has been going on for over a week was very peaceful which was really surprising to see, as with such large crowd things can easily get ugly (as it started happening since this morning). Police and the administration also played the patient game till this morning. There were many good stories - of women not being harassed, people cleaning garbage from the protest sites, helping police in traffic regulation, etc. There were many women and children who joined the protest without any worries. All these are huge positives of how to run a peaceful protest.
I am not for or against Jalikattu. However, if it is held I would expect it to be held with strict guidelines in ensuring the bulls are not hurt.
There are statements being made that maadu muduthu naanga vangikarom. Try telling this to the family members of the two people who were killed yesterday.
Coming to the topic of this post
1) There were no leader for this protest and no one to guide them. It was fanned by social media where any meme or post is construed as truth
2) When there are no leaders there is no one to guide them and hence they don't know what they were really protesting for and when to end the protest.
3) Asking for ban on PETA, American products are stretching the protest beyond the realm of what it all started for
4) There were more peer pressure on people to be part of the protest. Many wanted to tell the world that they were also part of this.
5) I was disappointed to see posters of LTTE Prabhakaran being shown on live television.
6) Tamil Electronic media also didn't come out with glowing colors. There were many rumors that were spread without verification (like this morning when there was a news that Maneka Gandhi had filed a case against Jalikattu). The sad part is that most of the news channels in TN have backing of some political party or other and or they have their political motives. That being the case the coverage or the lack of it was driven by what their owners wanted to do.
7) In the age of social media, everything flies. People don't validate anything and just keep passing on whatever they get. I saw many pictures since this morning of people being dragged and beaten including by police of other states (their badges were a clear give away). I used to wonder why in Kashmir the mobile data and internet are often cut off by the government, it helps in stopping all these kind of spreading falsehood.
8) The protesters didn't even understand what an ordinance is. Just because the term being widely used to mean ordinance in tamil ("Avasara sattam") gives a meaning that it is temporary and quick fix doesn't mean that's what it is. There was no one to guide them on what an ordinance is. I heard people complaining that it is applicable only for 6 months - this is after the CM assured that he will table the law in the assembly this week itself. With a majority in the assembly and with such huge public support - every party in the assembly would have blindly supported the law.
9) Given that scenario when the CM personally went to inaugurate the Jalikattu event he was sent back by the people and protesters of Alanganallur.
10) When the government has done so much in terms of taking the central government into confidence, getting the ordinance passed and assuring that the law replacing the ordinance will be tabled in the assembly immediately after it convenes this week - not sure what more the protesters were expecting. Even the so called leaders called for the protest to be ended yesterday not sure what kept them going on with the protest.
11) It is very easy for such a large gathering to turn violent as has happened this morning in terms of burning vehicles outside two police stations.
12) This protest has run its course and should have ended when the ordinance was passed on Saturday. What happened to the CM yesterday would have been the last straw for the government.
13) The police and the administration have done their part in terms of ensuring no violence happened in the last 7 days and also passing the law and post that they will definitely act to clear the protesters from the protest sites.
14) Some elements among the protesters (or some goons who were not part of the protesters) will obviously react back with violence.
In Conclusion
I personally feel that this protest is so misguided that the reasoning itself is all wrong. Jalikattu is not going to save the distressed farmers (the poor farmers committing suicide are not the ones who rear bulls), it is not going to save the breeds from extinction, it is not going to give you healthy milk. I am still surprised how so many educated people have been blindly fooled to believe all this will happen just by conducting Jalikattu. If the protest was to just uphold the age old culture, then it is a different thing.
I would have been happy if the protesters had made just one request to government - provide funds and means to ensure the native breeds don't become extinct. That would have been a more meaningful thing to ask for than conducting Jalikattu, banning Peta, amending PCA and what not.
Secondly the most quoted A1 vs A2 milk hypothesis. As mentioned it is just an hypothesis and not proven. There is no scientific research which has proved this, so let us stop spreading falsehood.
The protest that has been going on for over a week was very peaceful which was really surprising to see, as with such large crowd things can easily get ugly (as it started happening since this morning). Police and the administration also played the patient game till this morning. There were many good stories - of women not being harassed, people cleaning garbage from the protest sites, helping police in traffic regulation, etc. There were many women and children who joined the protest without any worries. All these are huge positives of how to run a peaceful protest.
I am not for or against Jalikattu. However, if it is held I would expect it to be held with strict guidelines in ensuring the bulls are not hurt.
There are statements being made that maadu muduthu naanga vangikarom. Try telling this to the family members of the two people who were killed yesterday.
Coming to the topic of this post
1) There were no leader for this protest and no one to guide them. It was fanned by social media where any meme or post is construed as truth
2) When there are no leaders there is no one to guide them and hence they don't know what they were really protesting for and when to end the protest.
3) Asking for ban on PETA, American products are stretching the protest beyond the realm of what it all started for
4) There were more peer pressure on people to be part of the protest. Many wanted to tell the world that they were also part of this.
5) I was disappointed to see posters of LTTE Prabhakaran being shown on live television.
6) Tamil Electronic media also didn't come out with glowing colors. There were many rumors that were spread without verification (like this morning when there was a news that Maneka Gandhi had filed a case against Jalikattu). The sad part is that most of the news channels in TN have backing of some political party or other and or they have their political motives. That being the case the coverage or the lack of it was driven by what their owners wanted to do.
7) In the age of social media, everything flies. People don't validate anything and just keep passing on whatever they get. I saw many pictures since this morning of people being dragged and beaten including by police of other states (their badges were a clear give away). I used to wonder why in Kashmir the mobile data and internet are often cut off by the government, it helps in stopping all these kind of spreading falsehood.
8) The protesters didn't even understand what an ordinance is. Just because the term being widely used to mean ordinance in tamil ("Avasara sattam") gives a meaning that it is temporary and quick fix doesn't mean that's what it is. There was no one to guide them on what an ordinance is. I heard people complaining that it is applicable only for 6 months - this is after the CM assured that he will table the law in the assembly this week itself. With a majority in the assembly and with such huge public support - every party in the assembly would have blindly supported the law.
9) Given that scenario when the CM personally went to inaugurate the Jalikattu event he was sent back by the people and protesters of Alanganallur.
10) When the government has done so much in terms of taking the central government into confidence, getting the ordinance passed and assuring that the law replacing the ordinance will be tabled in the assembly immediately after it convenes this week - not sure what more the protesters were expecting. Even the so called leaders called for the protest to be ended yesterday not sure what kept them going on with the protest.
11) It is very easy for such a large gathering to turn violent as has happened this morning in terms of burning vehicles outside two police stations.
12) This protest has run its course and should have ended when the ordinance was passed on Saturday. What happened to the CM yesterday would have been the last straw for the government.
13) The police and the administration have done their part in terms of ensuring no violence happened in the last 7 days and also passing the law and post that they will definitely act to clear the protesters from the protest sites.
14) Some elements among the protesters (or some goons who were not part of the protesters) will obviously react back with violence.
In Conclusion
I personally feel that this protest is so misguided that the reasoning itself is all wrong. Jalikattu is not going to save the distressed farmers (the poor farmers committing suicide are not the ones who rear bulls), it is not going to save the breeds from extinction, it is not going to give you healthy milk. I am still surprised how so many educated people have been blindly fooled to believe all this will happen just by conducting Jalikattu. If the protest was to just uphold the age old culture, then it is a different thing.
I would have been happy if the protesters had made just one request to government - provide funds and means to ensure the native breeds don't become extinct. That would have been a more meaningful thing to ask for than conducting Jalikattu, banning Peta, amending PCA and what not.
