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Pakistani Traders: Ban the Spring Festival of Basant because it is Un-Islamic
Traders in Pakistan’s city of Lahore have demanded a ban on the Basant festival that heralds the arrival of the spring season, saying it is un-Islamic and a number of deaths are caused due to kite-flying on this occasion. The Urdu newspaper Roznama Express reported that the traders decided not to celebrate Basant as ‘‘it is an un-Islamic and bloody festival during which a number of lives are lost.’’
According to the report, a decision to boycott the Basant festival was taken during a meeting of Qaumi Tajir Ittehad Lahore (National Traders Association – Lahore), presided over by the head of the organization Irfan Iqbal Sheikh. Kites with metal or glass-coated strings are blamed for causing a number of deaths every year in Pakistan where kite flying has become a sport on Basant.
The Basant festival is celebrated on a big scale across the province of Punjab in Pakistan, and also in India. According to the report, the Lahore Electric Supply Company has also urged parents not to allow their children to use kites that are made of metal-coated strings because they can allow flow of electricity, causing deaths.
[In the image above, a group of Pakistani women enjoy kite flying in the city of Karachi.]
Source: Roznama Express, Pakistan, March 16, 2008; Roznama Express, Pakistan, February 4, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-18
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