The real issue he says is lack of awareness about the sport .
With the Supreme Court staying the Centre’s notification on jallikattu, spiritual leader and guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Friday came out in support of the sport while advocating the proscription of slaughterhouses in the country.
In a Youtube video released on Friday, the Art of Living founder urged that the time-honoured tradition of jallikattu in Tamilnadu, which has been around for a millennium, should be allowed to continue while slaughterhouses should be banned in the country.
Sri Sri makes the argument that if jallikattu is banned on account of cruelty to animals, then by the same token, Mysore Dasara and Thrissur Pooram, which are so popular, might also have to be banned for causing harm to elephants.
The video begins with the guru saying that India is a land of diverse cultures and sports with jallikattu and bullock-cart race being two prominent sports of Tamilnadu.
He says that banning the sport of jallikattu would be a grave injustice to the tradition and culture of Tamilnadu as people would feel that their rights are being infringed.
He is also convinced that proper guidelines are in place to ensure that the bulls are handled properly without hurting them.
“In some strange way, the sport is protecting the indigenous breed of bull, the reason that it exists otherwise it would have become extinct long ago,” says Sri Sri.
The guru says that jallikattu is to Tamilnadu, what sumo wrestling is to Japan and avers that banning is not the solution.
