It is not the first time that I’ve heard such news in the past few months. Reportedly, on Jan 19, 2009, a tribal council (jirga) near Quetta asked an accused man to walk on burning coal to prove his innocence.
The barbarism and insanity of this practice is depicted in the photograph to the right from the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). The picture is, in fact, of the punishment being carried out. The APP photograph does not have details, but it seems that it relates to this news item in The News (Jan. 20, 2009):
Decades-old practice of walking on burning coal is still alive to this modern age in Balochistan, as a forty-year-old man on Monday walked on burning coal over a property dispute with his brother in Mastung district.
The incident happened in Azizabad, located some 40 kilometres from the provincial capital, where one Nazim Ali walked on burning coal to prove his innocence. Nazim told newsmen afterwards that his brother, living in Quetta, had refused him the right in the property. While Nazim’s brother denied the allegation and claimed to have given Nazim his share. He contacted some tribesmen and at last Nazim Ali was [sic] agreed to walk on burning coal to prove his innocence. If there are burn marks on his feet, the man is considered guilty and a Jirga decides his fate, said a tribesman in Azizabad.
Reports said a 12 feet long, two feet wide and two feet deep trench was dug up, which was filled with dry wood. The wood was burnt for over two hours. As the time to take the test of innocence approached, a veteran walked close to the fire and recited verses from the holy Qura’an. One of the elders told the verses were recited to bring the fire ‘under control’ so that it would not harm the innocent and only burn the guilty. Hundreds of people, including friends and relatives of the accused, stood around the burning coal when the accused took a walk on burning coal. He was immediately taken to a bucket filled with the blood of a slaughtered goat and dipped his feet in it.
“If there were burn marks on his feet, the man is considered guilty and Jirga decides further course of action against him. If his feet remain safe, he will be declared innocent,” another tribesman Muhammad Saleem said.
The incident was witnessed by hundreds of people and widely reported in the media. The time to decide whether the accused was innocent or guilty will be decided on Tuesday at a news conference, an elder of the Jirga told The News.
The photographs are obviously disturbing, but even more disturbing is the fact that this could happen today. In my opinion, while mediation can be done by anyone, justice and physical punishments should only be given through Government appointed courts. I think this photo here is yet another form of vigilante style justice and it challenges the writ of the Government.
Photo to the left is after this guy completed his walk on burning coals (although it looks like the feet are dipped in water, not goat’s blood).
I find both of these photos, and more importantly the act that these photographs record, to be not just shocking but inhuman. As we have said at Pakistaniat many times before, obvious Jahalat and inhumanity can never be justified in the name of tradition or culture (here, here and here). No matter how old or deep the tradition might be!
Photo Credits: Mohsin Naseer of Associated Press of Pakistan. Clicking on photos above will take you to their parent website and larger image sizes.
The backlog of cases in Supreme Court on 31st December 2008 is 17754.
Supreme Court of Pakistan disposed of 1044 cases during the month of December 2008 whereas 1701 new cases were instituted.
Question: At this rate, how may years before the docket is current? Answer: Eternity. The roster grew in December!
This number is artificially suppressed by non-adjudication at lower courts which in turn may or may not result in appeals to the supreme court. And the number is majorly depressed, by not registering the FIR or accepting court filings on various technicalities.
When the medicine doctor is not available, the witch doctor takes over!
All of you who are mad at this story, what alternative do you offer to this man?
This is crazy!
But again this is Pakistan. Full of surprises. Last time they buried alive a few women in the same province. This is part of the same culture. Heritage I say.
@Indian Muslim
I’m afraid that isn’t strictly accurate (this answer is suspect due to my inability to read the rather stiff Urdu you’ve used; next time I’ll put up my answer in Gurkhali or Tamil).
First, fire-walking exists in the South of India as a religious practice. Admittedly, and happily, it doesn’t exist as a part of ‘trial by ordeal’. Just for the sake of curiousity, fire-walking is prevalent in Sri Lanka as well, also in Malaysia and Singapore, as part of the ritual followed by the Hindu diaspora (strangely, this is practised only in South India/Tamilians, and by descendants of Tamilians in the diaspora). There are NO records of injuries; apparently, a swift walk through, over a firm bed of coals and ashes, avoids any injury. Disclaimer: I haven’t tried to do this, and have no intention of trying it at any time in future either.
Second, trials by ordeal exist even today, although there are other mechanisms used, I am sad to report. These are: plucking objects out of boiling water or oil, holding hot objects, and the like. Usually to be found in tribal belts, more or less geographically contiguous to the ‘jadu-tona’ and Ojhagiri areas. Jharkhand, typically, sometimes heard of such in backwoods Bihar.
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Fire-walking
also
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/207892/f ire-walking
and one that I’ve seen myself, some three years ago, when I was working in Chennai still
http://www.india9.com/i9show/Fire-Walking-Festival -%96-Cuddalore-28629.htm
a pathetic, very sad little reference
http://www.medbc.com/annals/review/vol_17/num_3/te xt/vol17n3p124.asp
Muqaam-e-afsos hai. Magar ye qataii hairat-angez nahiiN.
barr-e-saGhiir ke mukhtalif ilaaqe aaj bhi daur-e-jaahiliyat meN haiN.
Kaash ki naujawaanan-e-Pakistan, is simt tavajjoh deN taaki aisii vaahiyaat rusuumaat ka mutlaq vujuud is khittay meN na rahe.
Hindustan mein aisa nazaara to nahiiN dekhaa jaata magar vastii riyaasatoN meN ‘jaadu-tone’ ke naam par khwaatiin ke saath intehaaii bihimaana suluuk aaj bhii hotaa hai.
No Zecchetti,there is nothing Islamic or Sufi about this. People like you just find any excuse to give Islam a bad name. Shame on you. This is just barbaric and has nothing to do with Islam. Ignorant jahils in every religion incorporate their stupidity in the name of religion but that does not mean the religion says so. People like you just use that to bring a bad name to Islam. You guys are equally jahil for doing so.
Or maybe it’s some crazy mystical sufi practice. Sufis are notorious for doing crazy stuff like this with the excuse of “finding Allah”.
Jahaliat indeed.
Unfortunate. The only way out is the education, social uplift and improvements in the quality of life.
Dear Owais Mughal,
I am glad you keep an eye on these important social issues. One thing that I had previously mentioned in my story published in Daily Times on January 7, 2009 while quoting a scholar seems to come true. He had predicated this practice was rapidly becoming urbanized. This is the first time we see such practice of charbali in Mastung which is a few kilometers away from the provincial capital, Quetta.
There is no justification for such acts. These practices need to be highlighted and condemned in the media so that people come to know about them.