Simbu to stage a silent protest in support of 'Jallikattu'

Chennai: Tamil actor Simbu on Wednesday urged people of the state to unite and fight against the ban on 'Jallikattu', a popular and ancient bull-taming sport which was banned by Supreme Court last year. He said he will silently protest in support of its resumption.

In an emotional speech, reacting to the incident where police baton charged college students in Madurai who conducted rally seeking lifting of the ban of 'Jallikattu', Simbu told reporters: "Hats off to these college students for standing up for Jallikattu. Heart bleeds to hear about how they were treated by the police. I'm there for them."

"Those students didn't fight over any film. They fought for our culture and I can't tolerate them being beaten up," he said, adding it was shameful Tamilians don't support Jallikattu. "When foreigners speak about 'Jallikattu', I can understand because they don't know it's a tradition and is an integral part of our culture. But when my own Tamil brothers speak against Jallikattu, it's just not done. It's a shame," he said.

He requested everybody to join him in his protest. "I appeal to all my Tamil friends to unite and join me outside my house tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 p.m. for ten minutes to silently protest against the ban on Jallikattu. This is not politics and I'm not doing this at the behest of any political party," he said.