ONCE upon a time, the skies of Punjab would be speckled with colour to mark the arrival of spring. For centuries, this seasonal shift would be celebrated with great fervour by people across the province as they participated in the festival of Basant, regardless of which religion, caste or class they belonged to. Families would gather with their friends and neighbours to fly kites as music blared from the rooftops. In later years, such festivities would be replicated in other parts of Pakistan as well. But then the authorities started taking note of a string of casualties, and the celebrations were abruptly cut short. Some people fell from rooftops; others would get slashed by the glass-coated strings of fighter kites; or be killed during aerial firing. Then there were the motorcyclists who would get entrapped in strings, leading to a higher number of accidents on the road. In 2007, the Punjab government placed a ban on Basant-related activities, effectively criminalising the festival. While the decision was ostensibly passed to curb the number of deaths and injuries, there are many who believe that the authorities caved in to pressure from the religious right, which loudly proclaimed the seasonal festivities ‘un-Islamic’. In 2018, there was anticipation that Basant would make a comeback after the Punjab government announced it would lift the ban, but the move was challenged in the Lahore High Court — with kite-flying being described as a ‘blood sport’.
To ban an entire festival rather than addressing the root cause of the problem can only be described as reactionary (at best) and foolish (at worst), especially at a time when the country is eager to promote its tourism potential to the world. Basant is not only an indigenous festival, but a ‘happy’ occasion that is both family- and community-oriented, but precautions must be in place. Even with the ban, there are reports of people being killed due to glass-covered strings used to bring down rival kites. Last year, a young motorcyclist died after his throat was slashed by one such string in Lahore. Earlier, another young man was killed similarly in Karachi. Instead of banning Basant, the government should criminalise the manufacture and sale of glass-coated strings used during competitive kite-flying, and instead, promote cotton threads without the addition of dangerous material. This will not only mitigate the risks of kite-flying, it will also save many lives — and perhaps one day the colours will return to the sky.
Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2020
