Bengal Village Issues Fatwa Against Watching TV, Listening To Music And Playing Carrom, TMC Welcomes It

A minority dominated village in West Bengal's Murshidabad district has issued a fatwa against activities like watching television, listening to music and playing carrom. This fatwa has also been welcomed by the the local Trinamool leadership, New Indian Express has reported.

The village named Adwaita Nagar has a population of 12,000 and lies near the West Bengal-Jharkhand border.

The fatwa which has been imposed by the village's "social reform committee" imposes fines ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 7,000 for violations. The punishment also included making the violators do sit-ups while holding their ears. The committee has also announced a reward of up to Rs 1,000 for individuals who help it catch the violators.

Posters announcing these banned activities have been pasted in all the public places.

The committee secretary Azharul Sheikh has been quoted by the report as saying that, "We decided to impose a ban on a series of activities to stop the young generation from adopting methods which will lead to their moral and cultural degradation. We cannot allow them to listen to music and watch movies and serials which do not fit our religious culture".

The committee has also announced a ban on selling and consumption of liquor and use of lottery tickets.

Incidentally this fatwa has been welcomed by the chief of the Trinamool dominated local panchayat.

"Banning liquor is a good decision. Besides, I welcome the decision to ban carom and songs using mobile phones because the youths are getting addicted to it", panchayat pradhan Abdur Rauf has been quoted as saying.

Update: The West Bengal police earlier took to twitter to call out the reportage of this incident by a digital media outlet by terming it untrue