Effigies of terrorist Masood Azhar, PUBG game to be burnt in Mumbai on Holika Dahan
To mark the symbolic triumph of good over evil, Mumbaikars will burn the effigies of Pulwama terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar and PUBG game (Picture Courtesy: Pramod Sharma, AP& ANI)
Effigies of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and PUBG game are among those that will be burnt in Mumbai on Wednesday night on the occasion of ‘Holika Dahan’.
On the day before Holi, people burn wood to fend off the evil and welcome goodness by playing with colours the next day. The occasion marks the triumph of good over evil.
In keeping with the tradition, residents of Worli’s BDD chawl have erected an effigy of terrorist Masood Azhar. The residents, who have a knack for highlighting social issues, had burnt an effigy of PNB scam accused Nirav Modi last year.
The Masood-led terror outfit is responsible for a series of terror strikes in India, including the attack on Parliament in 2001 and a CRPF convoy in Pulwama last month.
Despite the national and international outrage over the recent attacks, the terrorist roams freely in Pakistan, thanks in part to China’s decision to block India’s move to designate him as a ‘global terrorist’.
Apart from Masood, twin brothers Amar and Ashish Vitthal have also built an effigy of the mobile game PUBG in Sion-Koliwada, which they plan to burn today.
The effigy, the brothers say, is to create awareness about the negative impact of PUBG on gamers.
“It (PUBG) must be banned. Parents tell us children play PUBG all day. They appreciate us for the concept,” Ashish told ANI.
The game, which enjoys massive popularity among Indians, has been criticised due to its ‘addictive’ nature, which experts say gives rise to violent behaviour.
“People are turning violent by playing PUBG, children are not focussing on studies. So we came up with this concept. Earlier we had created awareness about noise pollution, demonetisation etc. We will burn this effigy during Holika Dahan. We want to spread a social message,” Amar added.
Just last week, two youngsters, engrossed in playing online game PUBG on their mobiles, were knocked down by a train in Hingoli district in Maharashtra.
