In the name of Allah, the most
Beneficent and Merciful.
This week Lahore is in the grip of Basant fever. Almost every billboard has Basant related promotion on it. Motorcycles are being fitted with protective sticks. Doctors in government medical colleges, even those teaching basic sciences, are being told to come to duty on the weekend, rooftops are being rented for millions of Rupees etc. It got me thinking about a 2012 movie “The Hunger Games”. The movie portrayed a dystopian society where the Capitol maintains power by forcing children from oppressed districts to fight to the death as televised entertainment, turning survival into spectacle. I cannot help but see the parallels in our Basant. The rich will have lavish parties with their friends and families on their rooftops and yell bo-kata after every “payche”. The children of the poor will run after the kites after every bo-kata. While pursuing the kite they may fall in open gutter (which don’t exist in our city) hit a vehicle, fight with each other as to who caught it first. In all of this, just like in the movie, they have a high probability of getting injured or even death. While they are participating in this hunger game the other side will continue enjoying its rooftop parties, completely oblivious to what is happing down below.
I don’t have
any expectation from our secular parties to confront this so-called traditional
festival but I expected the religious parties and the ulema to forcefully speak
against it. But unfortunately, the response is not as strong as it should be.
Is it the first result of the Rs 25K that the government of Punjab plans to pay
to ulema? Or is there something else behind the scene? I don’t know but would
like to know.
5 comments:
This article rightly highlights how Basant becomes a dangerous spectacle where the privileged remain safe while the poor, especially children, bear the risks. It is also worth noting that this Basant has been organized at the request of a powerful personality. Those who know the inside story understand it, but not everything can be said openly. In such a situation, opposition naturally becomes ineffective. When many voices, including religious ones, are financially tied to the state, meaningful resistance is unlikely.
In a country where people are dying because of falling into manholes, this truly feels dystopian. Basant feels like a circus that will keep the masses entertained and keep them on their side.
"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt"
Sir, I truly respect your perspective the Hunger Games analogy is a very powerful way to highlight the social divide in our city.
However, I feel that this dynamic is created by societal inequality, not the festivals themselves. I have personally seen this same thing during Eid-ul-Adha, where the wealthy celebrate in comfort and lavish while poor children fight for meat or collect hides in dangerous conditions. If we use this disparity as a reason to ban events, we would have to ban almost every cultural and religious tradition we have.
I believe the solution is education and better governance rather than prohibition. Instead of removing the festival, we should focus on fixing infrastructure and educating both the rich and the poor on safety. Banning Basant doesn't fix the underlying poverty it just removes the few moments of joy and old Punjabi culture we have left. We should aim to make these events safe for everyone instead of losing them entirely.
I wonder why the elites n rulers of our country never copy something useful from the western countries. What big deal it is to arrange a marathon instead of Basant.
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