TN village proud of one who ‘died as warrior’

Rapoosal in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukottai district ought to have been in mourning. Instead, it is wallowing in pride after three people died in the village in a Jallikattu bout. The event was held on Sunday after unprecedented protests forced the government to rescind an earlier order banning the bull sport that has come to be equated with Tamil identity.

“Jallikattu is a sport of warriors,” asserted P Sengottiyan, 29, a farmer and the leader of the Jallikattu players of the village. “None of the villagers who died was from Rapoosal. Two of them drank liquor and tried to play; that is why they died. The one person who played the sport skillfully died as a warrior and we are proud of him,” he added.

Sunday’s Jallikattu was special. Tamil Nadu health minister Vijayabhaskar is from Rapoosal and “helped organise” the event. Once the bulls ran, the situation quickly got out of hand. Mohan from Latchampatti, Raju from Udukoor, and Karupaiyya from Kalathipatti were gored to death and at least 51 people were injured.

“There were 500 policemen, but they couldn’t control the crowd,” said farmer R Nehru, 52. “There were 165 bulls, but a huge crowd of people — maybe a lakh.” He said the Jallikattu bout was funded, organised, and promoted by the minister, not the village. “We will hold our village bout in celebration of the Jallikattu law in March.”

Vijayabhaskar could not be reached for comment. His office indicatedhewasbusyinPudukottai, arranging for aid to reach the families of the three victims.

For Rapoosal villagers, Jallikattu is their only festival and the danger of the sport does not mean it should be banned. A poster mourning the death of P Karupaiyya, one of the three men who died in Jallikattu events, in Kalathipatti village.