Yesterday at around 11 am, what started with just 50 members protesting for Jallikattu at the VOC grounds has transformed into a massive gathering. Within a few hours of it's start, messages inviting people to join the support along with sharing and re-sharing of their invite through WhatsApp has undeniably been the reason for the crowd to go multi-fold, in no time.
It was expected that the students would disperse by 10 pm from the VOC grounds but to the contrary the students stayed undisturbed and maintained their momentum through the night. Though, strangers to each other, the supporters showed their indubitable condemnation against PETA and the central/state governments towards banning Jallikattu.
The students paid no heed to the media, to the contrary they remained focused in gaining more momentum. Around 9 pm, a few volunteers managed to get some water packets and biscuits, which they distributed to the protestors. As there was an on-going exhibition at the VOC grounds, the ground was lit by colorful lights which added more fervour to the protest. 'PETA is trying to uproot our tradition sport, Jallikattu. After analyzing the series of events that has been taking place and the statements issued by PETA, it is every evident that their intent to ban Jallikattu is very cryptic.
They cannot just walk away by reinstating that they are protecting bulls from brutal cruelty. But why is that PETA is so much concerned about the bull cruelty alone (as they say) while they pay no heed to animal sports conducted in states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh? This makes evident that they are trying to play a huge mafia around our bulls.
Every time, the opposition political parties are the ones who fight for such reasons. And, this time we students have all joined together to show our compassion towards our tradition and moreover Tamil'. said, Faiaz an ardent supporter of Jallikattu from the VOC grounds.
At around 10 pm, the lights were put off at the grounds, but in no time the entire crowd lit the grounds with their mobile torch lights and illuminated the grounds. They roaring screams shouting slogans in support for Jallikattu and against PETA was mind-blowing. Awe-struck by the crowd and their roaring slogans, the passersby parked their vehicles and stop for a brief time and clicked pictures of the supporters. The night long protests went on and on. Today morning, more students from the neighboring places like Tiruppur and from other colleges of the city have also joined the protest.
Presently, students from all corners of the city are marching towards the VOC grounds. Definitely, the students are creating history in the city of Coimbatore.