THOSE WACKY MUSLIMS!
Posted on 08/21/2009 1:42:51 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
Indian villagers have gone on the rampage after police tried to enforce a ban on an annual stone-pelting ritual that often leaves people dead or injured, a local official said.
Officers trying to uphold the ban in two villages in Madhya Pradesh were subjected to a hail of stones themselves on Friday and were forced to withdraw, Nikunj Srivastava, a district civil servant, told AFP.
The angry mob then got their way and the centuries-old ritual went ahead as usual, causing at least two serious injuries.
"As soon as the festival started and villagers from both sides came to know they would not be allowed to hurl stones at each other, they started pelting stones on the cops and their vehicles," Srivastava told AFP by telephone.
Two police officers were hurt and several police vehicles were damaged.
"Our motive was not to suppress people going to participate in the festival but to reform them and educate them," Srivastava said.
"We have succeeded in the sense that the use of liquor by the participants was almost negligible and they did not use slings to pelt stones or the injuries would have been on a larger scale."
The annual Gotmar festival involves teams from the villages of Saargaon and Pandhurhna competing to capture a tree placed in a riverbed running between the two settlements.
Crowds pelt the participants with rocks and pebbles as they try to reach the target.
The origin of the custom is unclear, but many locals in Madhya Pradesh believe it developed from a tale of two young lovers who lived on either side of the river and wanted to elope.
As they tried to escape, residents of the two villages started throwing stones at each other and killed the couple. The festival is held in their memory, according to the folklore.
In last year's clash, media reports said one person died and more than 400 were injured.
Attempts to replace the stones with rubber balls in 2001 and 2002 failed when villagers refused to use them.
Ramesh Baghel, a local eyewitness who spoke to AFP by telephone, said the police were forced to withdraw because of the anger provoked by the ban.
"The administrative officials including the police had to rush back as soon as the frenzied mob pelted stones at them, injuring at least half a dozen cops," he said.
"Who are they to interfere in our traditional rituals?"
If rocks are outlawed, only outlaws will have rocks.
Bye, Tess.
Wait, this is the country that has supplanted us as an industrial power?
But I would not feel so all alone...
THOSE WACKY MUSLIMS!
actually this doesn’t seem to be a muslim thing
Not all traditions deserve preservation; some are just plain stupid.
[BTW: Do you have a phobia about capitalizing the first word of a sentence?]
no. :)
i hope they recover in time to answer their phone at the IBM help-desk.
In other words, they had so much fun killing one another, they decided to make it an annual event. Kinda like a Civil War enactment, but using live ammo. I see some potential here.
Recommended music
“EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED” by Bob Dylan
“STONE SOUL PICNIC” BY 5TH Dimension
“I AM A ROCK” by Simon and Garfinkel
Recommended music
“EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED” by Bob Dylan
“STONE SOUL PICNIC” BY 5TH Dimension
“I AM A ROCK” by Simon and Garfinkel
Another modern, industrialized civilization speaks.
Is this similar to American football?
Would this be the very definition of irony?
Sounds like a muslim religious ceremony.
Oops, wrong choice.
This was all a game made up by their ancestors to line the riverbed with small stones.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.