Muharram Concludes Amid Fatalities And Clashes; Tomb Replica, Called Tazia, Touches Electric Wire In Multiple Cities

Muslims worldwide mark the first month of the Islamic Lunar calendar as Muharram. This year, the month started on 19 July. 

On the tenth day of the month, called Ashura, death of grandson of Islam’s founder Prophet Mohammed Hussain Ibn Ali in the battle of Karbala in 680 AD is mourned by the community.

The mourning is expressed, particularly by Shias who consider Hussain’s father as the rightful successor of Mohammed, through large processions where participants indulge in self-flagellation with ropes or sharp knives and chest-beating.

They also carry a miniature replica of the tomb of Hussain. Processions now try to out-do each other in terms of grandness and height of the Tazia, which now touch 100 feet in some places. However, such tomb replicas often touch overhead electric wires, causing accidents, often fatal.

This year, multiple such accidents have been reported. 

In Jharkhand’s Bokaro district, four people died and at least seven others suffered burn injuries after a Tazia touched the a 11,000 volt electric line. The incident took place in Khetro village of Peterwar block on Saturday (29 July) morning.

Bokaro Deputy Commissioner told the media that the Tazia was made of iron and was about 15 feet in height. The deceased were identified as Asiz Raza, Inamul Rab, Sajid Ansari and Ghulam Hussain, all either in their teens or early twenties.

In Bihar, a similar incident occurred but thankfully without fatalities. In Banka, the Tazia came in contact with an electric wire, leaving a dozen injured. The incident took place in Abarkha village of Dhanuvsar panchayat that falls under Suiya police station.

In Rasulpura area of Dhoraji town in Rajkot district of Gujarat, two people died and more than two dozen people sustained burn injuries and electric shocks. Here, too, the Tazia touched an overhead 11,000 volt line. The Tazia was set due to rain.

The deceased were identified as Sajid Juma Sandhi and Juned Hanif Majothi. Others were hospitalised.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Ramour, the Tazia touched the electric wire and got damaged, but no injuries were reported. The participants reportedly put the Tazia on the ground and demanded the administration to remove the overhead wire, but were denied. After some hours, the processions resumed.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha district, two persons died after the music system travelling along with a Tazia touched a high-tension wire. They were identified as Shanu, 35, and Owais 13. More than 50 people were left injured.

Police said the procession violated the instructions to restrict the height of the Tazia and other structures to 12 feet. The Tazia was around 35 feet, police said.

Other than these incidents, there were cases where participants indulged in violence and stone-pelting. In capital city New Delhi, the Moharram crowd pelted stones at government buses and police vehicles, and it was captured on video by passersby.

Police said that around “10,000-15,000” people were carrying out the Tazia procession when a faction tried to enter the Surajmal stadium in deviation of the pre-decided route. When denied, they began pelting stones, leaving at least a dozen policemen injured and government vehicles damaged.

The incident took place in Nangloi area.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi city, The Shia and Sunni factions of Muslims clashed with each other during a procession. More than a dozen government vehicles were torched. The Shias and Sunnis differ in their opinion of succession of Islam’s Prophet, Mohammed.