Thousands of students and young professionals gathered on Chennai’s Marina, demanding that the country’s highest court lift the ban on a bull-taming sport that, for most of them, defines Tamil culture and tradition.

For over a week, the State has been abuzz with protests against the Supreme Court’s refusal to revoke the ban on Jallikattu, which has found support from actor and politician alike, but no bigger champion than the youth.

And then there were those like 55-year-old Ponnurangam, who was seen distributing biscuits to protestors. “I was a regular participant of Jallikattu during my younger days and have been rearing bulls with my father. There have been times when I have got hurt. I consider this a man’s pride. Banning what has been a Tamil tradition is killing our culture.”

While actors including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have backed the holding of the sport, protesters have asked politicians to stay away.

Conducted mostly in the villages near Madurai, Jallikattu has always been a prime issue for politicians ever since it was first banned by the Madras High Court in 2006. Since then it has been conducted on and off, with court stays or government notifications, till the Supreme Court struck the final nail in 2014, banning it under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Last year, the Supreme Court stayed a January 2016 notification of the Union Environment Ministry that included bulls in the list of performing animals, provided provisions of the PCA Act were not flouted. A final verdict that will decide the fate of the sport is pending.

Meanwhile, protestors shouted slogans against the NGOs such as the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals for trying to suppress local tradition and threatening the breeding of local varieties of cattle.

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