This actor is in support of Jallikattu.While court said no to Jallikattu in Tamilnadu and cock fights in AP, both the sports are going on in different forms. Now this popular actor Kamal Haasan is in support of the sport.
Kamal Haasan, says the difference between other combat sports and Jallikattu lies in the spirit of the ritual. “The players who run with the bull love the animals too. Just because you do not see animals playing traditional roles it doesn’t mean they are being tortured.
In Rajasthan, camels are used as beasts of burden, sometimes pulling at nearly a one-ton load. In some places in India, camels are slaughtered for meat.”
The actor goes on to question the connection between animal rights and vegetarianism. “Being vegetarian does not constitute ahimsa. Vegetarians eat plants. Jagdish Chandra Bose’s discovery and research has proven without doubt that plants sleep at night and come awake during day, like us.
They discern pain and fear like we do. Just because they don’t scream and squeal in a way we understand does not exclude them from pain or cruelty.”
And while we are on the subject of cruelty to animals, Haasan points out that lacto-consumption is also a form of violence to animal rights. “Milk is meant for calves. Stealing their quota and milking the cow everyday is also cruel. I don’t drink milk at all.”
In principle, the actor is against all bans. A few years ago, when the central government contemplated banning porn, he had argued: “Then we should destroy Khajuraho, ban the Bundi paintings, deface some of our temple sculptures, and while we are at it, we can ban the Kamasutra … and Aandal of Srivilliputhur. Then finally we can decide what to do with phallic worshipping and Bhagvati pooja.”he says.
