Whichever part of the country you are in, if you managed to look at your television screen or even browse the internet, you would not have missed seeing a discussion or a news report on Jallikattu. Thousands of people are out on the streets and gathering at Marina beach in Chennai to support the bull taming sport that takes place in the second week of January. Be it old or young, educated or uneducated, people from all walks of life are taking part in the protests.
In 2014, the Supreme Court banned Jallikattu while stating that the sport was cruel to bulls. The SCin its order identified “the five freedoms” of animals, which included freedom from fear and distress and freedom from pain, injury and disease.
But yet again, the issue is out in the open bringing people on the states. People are not breaking any rules yet they are making their point by just gathering on the streets in huge numbers. It is a leaderless protest yet is a mass movement.
However, this is not the first time that the people are out on the streets. In the recent past, several incidents have created a similar uprising. Here is to list out a few:
Nirbhaya protest: India Gate turned into a battleground after people marched and broke the wooden barricades battling tear gas shelling and lathicharges to seek justice for Nirbhaya. The protests were over the gang rape of that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka where a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern, Jyoti Singh, was beaten, gang raped, and tortured in a private bus. A fortnight after the brutal assault, she succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she was admitted for treatment.
OROP protest: Jantar Mantar had become synonymous to the protests by ex-servicemen for their demand of One Rank One Pension. Veterans had been pressing for a long-standing demand that all officers and jawans, no matter when they retire, should get the same pension. While campaigning for the general elections, the BJP had made OROP implementation a major election plank.
Burhan Wani death: Kashmir witnessed the longest ever curfew after Hijbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was shot dead by security personnel in Bumdoora village near Srinagar. There were protests across the state in which police posts and security personnel were attacked. Nearly 80 people were killed in the protests.
The release of the man, who cannot be named as he was a minor at the time of the offence, has caused widespread protests in Delhi.
Rohith Vemula’s death: Slogans were raised, protests were organised. Rohith’s mother along with several other Dalit groups led the crusade to seek justice for her son. Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula was found hanging in a hostel room in Hyderabad University on 17 January 2016. He, along with five other Dalit students, was suspended from the hostel facility on disciplinary grounds after a series of events that took place in August 2015. But Rohith’s death did what he in his life could not. Conversations about caste divide which were left on the backburner were brought to the forefront.
Kanhaiya arrest: Thousands of teachers, students and civil society members formed a two-kilometre-long human chain at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to protest againt Kanhaiya’s arrest. Thousands of teachers, students and civil society members formed a two-kilometre-long human chain at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to protest againt Kanhaiya’s arrest. The 28-year-old student leader was detained under sedition charges for allegedly shouting ani-national slogans at an event in the university. His arrest had led to debate about patriotism and freedom of expression.
