Basant Festival

SAIMA KAUSAR

SAIMA KAUSAR • • • • •

Introduction History Basant in Lahore Govt. Rules & Implicatio Role of Media

INTRODUCTION • Basant or spring festival in Pakistan is most important non Islamic festival in Pakistan. • It is celebrated in beginning of the spring season. • Basant, is also called Jashan-e Baharan for arrival of Spring.

• It traces its background as a Hindu celebration • It is celebrated in – province of Punjab in Pakistan and – the State of Punjab and Haryana in India. – It is also a celebration day of Lahore in Pakistan – It has now spread throughout much of south Asia including Afghanistan.

CELEBRATIONS • people fly kites from rooftops • In the city of Lahore, the festival lasts three days. • In most other cities, there is only a one-day celebration.

CELEBRATIONS •

celebrants dress in bright yellow or green • Large feasts are organized

HISTORY • In India Basant is dedicated to their Goddess Sarasvati. • It is called Panchami in HINDI

• Hakeekat Rai Bakhmal Puri spoke words of disrespect for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his daughter Fatima,Radi-Allahu anha. • The court gave him capital punishment of death penalty • To Pay Tribute to Hakeekat Rai, Kalu Ram initiated the Basant 'mela' in Lahore.

BASANT IN LAHORE • There is no other place where Basant is celebrated with as much enthusiasm as ancient city of Lahore • It was for many years officially backed by the government and sponsored by multinational corporations

Govt. Rules • In 2005, Lahore High Court, Pakistan, contended that Basant was purely an event of Hindu community who observed it as part of their religious rituals.

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As a result, in 2005, kite flying has been banned in Pakistan. Violent protests have occurred outside the Pakistani Supreme Court house,

•The ban was lifted by the supreme court for 15 days in March. •It was again enforced late night on 10 March by the chief minister of Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi. •On January 4, 2006, the provincial government of Punjab lifted the ban for 24 hours so that kite flying can be enjoyed on the holiday.

IMPLICATIONS OF GOVT. RULES • Sometimes implemented very fairly as arresting people with bullets, riffles and explosive material.

• Sometimes only innocents came in the fire of false implication of these Govt. Rules

ROLE OF MEDIA ABRAR UL HAQ (Pop and Folk Singer) Sung a song sponsored by Coca Cola related to Basant

FAREEHA PERVEZ (Singer) Sung a popular song for basant “Dil hua Bo Kaata”

Singer Shahida Mini used to celebrate Basant in a big way but not this year. She said she was disturbed by the news of killing of innocent people due to kiteflying string

SAJEELA RABBANI Harmful effects Reaserch tools Problemstatement Variables Operationladefinition Hypothesis Questionare sampling -

DEATHS & INJURIES • The deaths are caused by special kite strings, carrying razor-like metal strips and abrasives designed to slice through an opponent's string, but it can cause severe injury & deaths to bystanders

NOISE POLLUTION & DAMAGES • Noise pollution is a harmful factor effecting society which is caused by basant • Firing and other explosive material and metallic string cause damages to Wapda and use of weapons creates noise pollution.

WASTAGE OF MONEY • Every year millions of dollars are spent on basant festival which if used in helping poor or in country’s welfare could be more productive

CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS VALUES Basant severely hurts our cultural and religious values – Dancing – Fooling – Late night parties

PRESSURE GROUPS • Certain pressure groups have strongly condemned basant festival • Many processions and protests are reported

RESEARCH TOOLS • • • • •

Problem statement Variables Hypotheses Questionnaire Sampling

PROBLEM STATEMENT “Does Basant negatively effects our society ”

VARIABLES • INDEPENDENT VARIABLE Basant Festival • DEPENDENT VARIABLE Harmful Effects On Society

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS BASANT “Basant is a Kite flying festival at the arrival of spring”

HARMFUL EFFECTS ON SOCIETY • • • • • •

No. of deaths Culture violation Forgetfulness of religious values Wastage of money Noise pollution Damage of Assets

HYPOTHESIS

“Celebration of basant has harmful effects on our society”

Questionnaire 1.Basant should be celeberated. Yes No Don’t know 2.Basant reflects our culture Yes No Don’t know 3. I celeberate basant every year Yes No Don’t know 4.Basant festival is wastage of money and time Yes No Don’t know 5.Govt. has proper rules and regulation to prevent basant hazards Yes No Don’t know 6.Govt. successfully implement its rules related to basant Yes No Don’t know 7.Media plays a catalystic role in basant celeberation Yes No Don’t know 8.Basant causes serious injuries and deaths Yes No Don’t know 9.Deaths occurred during basant is due to carelessness Yes No Don’t know 10.Basant is adverse to our culture Yes No Don’t know

11.Basant violates our religious values Yes No Don’t know 12.Basant is against our ethical and social standards Yes No Don’t know 13.Damage and wastage of Govt. assets is also caused by basant Yes No Don’t know 14.Basant is influenced by Hinduism Yes No Don’t know 15.Youth is major participant in basant Yes No Don’t know 16.Noise pollution is caused by basant Yes No Don’t know 17.Basant is equally celeberated all over Pakistan Yes No Don’t know 18.Lahore is the core area of basant celeberations Yes No Don’t know 19.Basant is a source of amusement and recreation Yes No Don’t know 20.Tourism increases in basant days Yes No Don’t know 21.Basant affects our society Yes No Don’t know

SAMPLING Random sampling was used There were: Males 12 Females 11

FAREEHA MUBEEN

StatisticalAnalysis Pros & ConsConclusion-

Statistical Analysis • • • • •

No. Of Respondents Total Responses Yes Responses No Responses Don’t Know

= 23 = 483 = 377 = 82 = 24

Responses To Concluding Question Yes Replies = 18 No Replies = 3 Don’t Know Replies = 2

Bar chart 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

YES NO DON’T KNOW

Standard Deviation

S.D =

S.D. = 0.86

SKEWNESS

PROS & CONS • Basant serves as a local business for many communities

• Basant is a big source of entertainment • Interaction among the society

• It causes severe injuries and deaths

• Noise Pollution

• Wastage of Money • Damage of Electricity Wires • Violation of cultural & religious values

CONCLUSION • Although celebrated as a very big festival for amusement • Its negative effects are more serious than its positive aspects.

CONCLUSION

• Basant negatively effects our society.