Kaanum Pongal, the fourth and last day of the Pongal festival, is when people visit their relatives. Along the Tamil Nadu coastline, people flock to beaches to be amidst people. Chennai, it would seem, never returned from Marina Beach this Pongal. 

From a few thousands on Tuesday, the Marina wore a swollen look on Wednesday with more than 50,000 people marking their footprints on the sand. Students, teachers, software professionals, homemakers, film stars, just about anyone wearing his Tamilianism on his sleeve. Barring politicians, who were kept away. In fact, actor-turned-politician Khushbu of the Congress went to the Marina to express support in her capacity as a citizen of Tamil Nadu. The apolitical and leaderless nature of the peaceful protest gave it credibility. 

The spontaneity of the protest took the powers-that-be in Chennai by surprise. Social media was used largely to spread the word to get pro-Jallikattu Tamilians to flock to the Marina to protest against the decision to ban it. The turnout was also provoked by the police treatment meted out the previous day to protesters in Alanganallur in Madurai district, where the most grand Jallikattu event has traditionally taken place till 2014, the year the ban was imposed. 

“I am a Tamilian and I am proud of my culture. Jallikattu is part of my culture and I want it,” said Sriram, an engineering student. Several schools and colleges have declared they will be shut on Thursday. 

Former IAS officer MG Devasahayam says the ban on Jallikattu has been projected as an insult to the Tamil race and it is an emotion that has struck a chord. “A feeling of hurt, injustice has got into the psyche of the Tamilian. That is manifesting itself in the form of these huge crowds,” said Devasahayam. 

The Tamilian vs New Delhi battle is playing out in the amphitheatre of Jallikattu. At the Marina, there is uniformity of opinion that Tamil Nadu was wronged by animal rights activists who succeeded in projecting culture as cruelty and Jallikattu as a barbaric sport. While making villains out of PeTA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the Animal Welfare Board of India goes with the popular mood, it would be proper to examine the facts on the table. 

In the version that has been served, what is not mentioned is that there was indeed an attempt to conduct Jallikattu with reasonable restrictions. It was conducted by bringing it under the ambit of Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act 2009. 

“But in 2011, it was found that despite the Act, cruelty to the bulls continued unabated,” said NG Jayasimha, member of the Animal Welfare Board of India. “This included breaking the tail bone, putting chilly powder in its eyes and anus and non-competitors trying to jump on to the animal. It was finally the Supreme Court that in its wisdom, decided that it was not possible to regulate Jallikattu and has since then, refused to alter its order.”  

Tamil Nadu – the people and the political establishment – now wants the Centre to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and allow Jallikattu through an ordinance. Narendra Modi has not buckled under pressure because last January, a similar attempt made through an executive order by then Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to allow Jallikattu was stayed by the court. It is for Modi to take a call on whether he wants to have a direct confrontation with the judiciary by spiking their verdict with an ordinance. 

“We have to put pressure,” said social activist Chandra Mohan. “This is a show of strength by the people of Tamil Nadu. The court has to understand our emotions.” 

Another argument in favour of Jallikattu is that not allowing the sport puts indigenous bulls at the mercy of the abattoirs. “Farmers and conservationists should be allowed to appeal before the Supreme court again,” said Chinmayi Sripada, a playback singer who supports Jallikattu. 

But to see Singara Chennai using the Marina as its canvas of protest as just an Jallikattu agitation would be to completely misread and misinterpret it. In fact, Jallikattu is no more than a tipping point. It is just the last straw on an exasperated Tamilian’s back. 

“Legal issue of Jallikattu is a non-issue. Many youth here may not even be aware of the intricacies of the Jallikattu sport. The outpouring of anger and anguish is less about Jallikattu and more about hurt Tamil pride and Dravidian identity,” said Devasahayam. 

In the recent past, Tamil Nadu was particularly hurt at being made to feel like beggars by upper riparian state of Karnataka over the release of Cauvery water in September. Its assembly resolution that asked the Siddaramaiah government not to release water as per the Supreme Court order caused much heartburn and resentment in Tamil Nadu. Which is why there is anger at the manner in which the Tamilian is seemingly pushed around. Naturally the question being asked now is if Karnataka could defy the court order, why can’t the Panneerselvam regime turn a blind eye to the conduct of Jallikattu?

“The feeling in Tamil Nadu is that it lost over the Cauvery issue. Its rights were betrayed. The same sense of being let down is with Jallikattu and that has led to it becoming a flashpoint among youth,” said A Narayanan, social activist. 

Shalini Sounderrajan, a resident of Alanganallur says, “Eighty per cent of the people at the Marina would not have not seen Jallikattu. But they want it because it is a matter of Tamil right and identity.”

‘Occupy Marina’ is an attempt to make Chennai’s voice heard above Tamil Nadu’s political din, 2200 km away in New Delhi. But then legal judgments are not delivered on the basis of decibel levels on the streets. The Supreme Court verdict on a batch of petitions on Jallikattu is expected to be delivered any time. Given that it rejected Tamil Nadu’s request for a review of its 2014 ban order, a different verdict looks highly unlikely. Hopes are pinned on a Modi-fied way to tame the bull.