Viswanathan Anand supports Jallikattu

Massive protests continued in TN in support of Jallikattu, the ancient and popular bull-taming sport

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand may mercilessly slay horses, elephants, bishops, pawns, queen and the opponent king in a game of chess but in reality he is an animal lover and a proud Tamilian who supports Jallikattu.

Massive protests continued on Thursday in Tamil Nadu in support of Jallikattu, the ancient and popular bull-taming sport.

At the Marina beach here, protesters sat through Wednesday night and on Thursday morning.

"My state rises again. In unison. In peace. Proud to be a #tamizhanda. Genext here are modern yet culturally rooted," Anand tweeted on Thursday.

"#jallikattu is a cultural symbol. Respect it. I'm all for animal rights but here that is not the point. tradition & livelihood are," Anand added.

Confirming to IANS that the tweets were by the chess champion himself, his wife Aruna said: "Anand is preparing for a tournament. But he wanted to register his views on the issue."

"We don't have any pets. But we love animals," she said.

--IANS

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