New deaths dash hopes for a Basant festival comeback

Expectations for the resuscitation of Basant, a customary celebration commemorating the arrival of spring, have been further dashed by new deaths brought on by sharp glass-coated strings used to fly kites in several regions of Pakistan.

Social media users expressed their outrage on these sites in response to last week’s latest kite flying fatality, a 22-year-old boy whose neck was sliced open as he was riding a bike in Faisalabad, the kite flying capital.

The police had to initiate a crackdown against kite-fliers and dealers throughout the province after horrifying CCTV footage of the recent graduate laying in a bloody puddle in the middle of the road incited outrage across the country.

A small kid and an elderly man were also murdered by stray kite strings in Lahore and Faisalabad in March and February, respectively. In addition, over a dozen individuals, including children, have suffered serious injuries within the past month.

In Pakistan, similar catastrophes in previous decades have resulted in hundreds of deaths and numerous injuries.

Anadolu was informed by Punjab Police spokesperson Syed Mubasher Hussain that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed a crackdown on anyone engaged in the purchase, sale, and production of kites and strings.

Over the course of the previous month, he added, over 100,000 kites had been seized and over 3,000 persons had been detained throughout the province.

Ban to be enforced more strictly

The main event of Basant, a celebration of the arrival of spring that is customarily observed in the Punjab areas of Pakistan and India, is kite flying.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the previous head of the armed forces, elevated basant to a global phenomenon.

It was so well-liked that residents rented out their homes’ rooftops for kite-flying activities all month long, positioning Lahore as the nation’s cultural centre.

In Pakistan, it was originally outlawed in 2007 after hundreds of people—mostly children—died from it.

2018 saw a short lifting of the prohibition, but it was swiftly reinstated in response to many fatalities.

The jagged glass or metal-coated strings that are used to separate kites during kite fights are the main source of fatalities and injuries. More importantly, revelers purchase the “looted” kites at a discount. The more kites a person brings down, the more admiration they receive from their peers.

Children and young boys are driven to run for the wayward kites by the simultaneous attraction of money and acclaim, which can often result in a violent encounter.

In addition to deadly car crashes and stampedes during the run, there have been violent altercations between the lads as they defend their individual rights to kite landings.

Mian Abid, a writer specializing in crime and culture from Lahore, told Anadolu that “every time there is a debate about the revival of this centuries-old festival, there are deaths and injuries, which wash away the whole exercise.”

“In the given circumstances, mainly the public sentiments, there is no chance whatsoever for the revival of kite flying, at least in the near future.”

According to Abid, the inhabitants have been cheated out of a “simple but entertaining” pastime by “a small chunk of overwrought” revelers.

“A lot of kite flyers avoid the riskier aspects of their hobby, such as utilizing metal or other forbidden strings. However, they are bearing the cost of the minority’s ridiculousness,” he remarked.

“Instead of revival, I foresee further tightening of the noose around people who dare to fly kites.”

persistent issue

A policeman in a heavily populated Lahore neighborhood was standing in the mosque’s prayer hall when he issued a loudspeaker warning to parents to stop their children from flying kites.

Thousands of innocent lives have already been lost in this perilous game. He issued a warning, saying, “Anyone found flying kites will have their parents booked.”

However, kite flying hasn’t completely disappeared despite the prohibition and advisories.

Manufacturers are selling kites online to evade raids and arrests, and revelers fly them at night to stay hidden.

However, others like Zulfikar Ali, a former kite-flying event organizer, reject the notion of a Basant resurgence. “It is now finished. Nothing else has to be discussed,” he informed Anadolu.

“In this current atmosphere, there’s no point even talking about it,” Ali said.