The Tamil Nadu government is itself responsible for the violence let loose by pro-Jallikattu protestors at Chennai. The government paved the way for the protestors to break the law. The matter was sub-judice and yet it promulgated an ordinance to enforce the ban on Jallikattu, a bull-taming sport. The law was ignored by the protestors. The government was authoritarian in enforcing the ordinance and the protestors thought it fit to take to violence. Their protest was against drought and rural distress but it specifically rallied against the ban on Jallikattu, a sport popular among peasants in the state. The Centre had amended the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.That led to the ban on Jallikattu. The higher judiciary turned a blind eye on Tamil cultural values. The state government could have impressed upon the protestors the importance of respecting the legal process. It could have announced initiatives to combat rural distress. A new interpretation could have been put on Jallikattu and Tamil culture. The government could have waited for the law to take its course instead of promulgating an ordinance which incited violence. In the event, the Tamil Nadu assembly at its special session unanimously passed an amendment bill to allow the conduct of bull taming sport.
The protestors who had no leader had created havoc in the streets of Chennai which forced the government to take a U-turn. The tragedy should make the judiciary think hard. The Supreme Court violated its own principle when it ruled against Jallikattu on the ground that it involved cruelty to animals. Maneka Gandhi was personally under threat at Chennai.