The lost battle against jallikattu is symbolic of the difference between what is preached and practised (“Ancient sport, new age protests”, Feb.6). We have announced a war against environmental depletion, patriarchy and corruption but the ground reality only mirrors our ambivalence. In a diverse country such as India, every novel step is bound to trespass on the affinities of some or other section. People should have been more accepting to the fundamentals of cooperative federalism. Moreover the irony is that all this happened in one of the most developed States of our country. Education is not going to change anything unless a learning attitude is inculcated at an early stage. It would be equally irrational to expect a restraint on hunting and the animal trade. What was culturally determined at one point in history need not be justified for all time. Culture should be remoulded to incorporate modernity.
Shivam Dwivedi,
Lucknow
