Give Reason and Fairness A Chance
With their protests over Jallikattu, Tamilians have demonstrated to the world that they are a bunch of people who:
- are not amenable to reason
- are happy being puppets of riffraff
- will not hesitate to character-assassinate people who stand on principles, lending their voice for the voiceless
- indulge in mischief and violence while claiming they are peace lovers
- hide behind film, TV and radio personalities on every campaign and protest. Even in this instance, while it was supposed to be students rallying for a cause, they allowed themselves to be hijacked by all kinds of elements from cinema to politics who were speaking on their behalf.
All through the protests, one message was loud and clear: “We will not give up until we have our way.”
Tiananmen Square protests
Pro-democracy Chinese students showed great courage through the Tiananmen Square protests in June 1989. The communist government used brute force to quell the demonstrations by mowing down protesters with tanks.
In contrast, the Tamil students protesting against the ban on Jallikattu were merely playing politics standing up for a cruel sport that only showcases Tamil cowardice.
- To some, jallikattu has become a platform to whet their political appetite.
- To some, including actors like Kamal Haasan and Arvind Swamy, it is an opportunity to win over the masses that can serve their personal interests.
- And many, the protesting students in Chennai not excluded, are mere pawns either in the hands of their “stepmother” (Chinnamma), who is looking to cement her claims to the chief ministerial throne of Tamil Nadu, or other political leaders.
Why was chief minister Panneerselvam prevented from inaugurating a Jallikattu event in Madurai a few days ago? So Sasikala can do it later in a show of political might?
To me, even in a democracy, might cannot be right. Might must stop at the ballot. Governance must be based on what is fair and right, without allowing populism to hold sway.
G Joslin Vethakumar
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