In Gujarat, they burn TV, the `epicentre of evil'

In Gujarat, they burn TV, the `epicentre of evil'
MUZAMIL JALEEL & MELVIN THOMAS

BHUJ/SURAT, FEBRUARY 11: In Teendarvaza, people took out their television sets and set them ablaze on the road to prevent recurrence of earth quakes. Around 24 sets had already been destroyed. Two moulvis of the area had asked the people to destroy their TV sets which are spreading obscenity and immorality in the society and thus attracting God's wrath.

Moulvi Imtiyaz and Mufti Rouf had addressed a prayer gathering in Khajori Vali masjid where they had asked the people to desist from ``all immoral activities if they wanted the quakes to stop.''

Altaf Mohammad Hussain Mansoori, a cloth merchant of Dalgadwad, who had attended the prayer meeting said that the muftis asked the people to ``immediately destroy these toys of Shaitan (devil)''. Mansoori had taken out his brand-new television set to the road and destroyed it immediately after he returned from the mosque. ``Everybody is scared after the devastation of January 26. The Almighty showed a glimpse of his wrath. We saw tall highrises and concrete buildings crumble like a house of cards,'' he said. ``Who wants it to recur? It is better to have no television and live.''

In Ahmedabad and Surat too, scores of Muslim families destroyed television sets on Saturday night. Maulana Syed Khalil Ahmed Randeri in Surat had blamed television programmes at a religious congregation held in the Rani Talav area. ``This (the earthquake) clearly indicates Allah's anger on humankind. Television is the epicentre of all evil,'' he had said.

Soon, people in the Chowk Bazar, Saudagarwad, Rander, and Patni Colony areas began to destroy television sets. Some threw them out on the street. Some smashed them with rods at street corners. Some put them on fire.

Gaffar Noormohammed Chandiwala, a resident of Saudagarhwad, had purchased a TV set only a few days ago. ``I went home and broke my TV set. My children used to watch Hindi movies and serials, and I think this was creating an evil impression in their minds. It was necessary to destroy the TV,'' he said.

Yunus Chakkiwala, president of the Surat Halai Memon Jamat and a resident of Chowk Bazaar, said he did not have a TV set but he motivated more than 10 people to destroy their TV sets.

The Maulana told The Indian Express that he did not provoke people into doing what they did. ``They have not acted on my instruction; they have only acted according to what Islam teaches. And this will happen across the country, and abroad,'' he said.

Scared and shaken, the traumatised people of the earthquake-hit areas are taking refuge in religion for solace. Temples and mosques have hardly seen so many visitors before but now the fear of recurrence of the quake had turned the population superstitious. First a wave of scare had gripped the entire area after an astrologer had made a forecast that another quake was to strike on February 3. And people abandoned even those houses, which had not even developed cracks in the earlier quake in fear. ``Everybody is scared. Nobody wants to take any chances. If the forecast proves right, what then?'' said Suresh Shah, a bank manager. ``I understand it is superstition. But if you don't even believe in it, the woman-folk of the family force you to do so,'' he said.

In fact, in the temporary shelters and tents pitched for the victims of the quake across Gujarat, the chanting of Bhajans and Kirtans and conduct of special prayers has become a regular feature. And in the Muslim areas, people keep on reading verses from the Quran loudly. ``It is the only way to recover from such a tragedy. We accept it as God's will. We believe that it had to happen and the only way to get out of this shock is to seek God's help only,'' said Nurmohmad Yousuf, a Muslim priest in Bhuj.

The Buchasanvasi Aksar Purshotam Swaminarayan Sanstha, which has sent around 500 sadhus and volunteers to Bhuj for relief work, also conducted a special Vishnu yagna. ``There were hundreds of those who lost their family members in the quake. Many of them had their relatives still buried beneath the rubble. This prayer was conducted so that they get some shanti,'' said Brami Munni Swami of the BAPS relief camp at the Swaminarayan temple in Bhuj.

The population of the Jains in Bhuj is around 6,000 and a majority of them have moved to pilgrim centres -- the Bohotar Jenaleya (72 Temples) near Mandvi. ``We have a roof on our head here. And the community leaders have made all the arrangements, from food to medical care,'' said Shantibhai Morabia, who lost his three relatives and house in the quake. ``And we also spend our time in prayers seeking forgiveness for our sins.''