The new penalties will also target kite makers and transporters, in addition to those who fly kites.
Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province has imposed a complete ban on kite flying before the centuries-old Basant festival – which marks the arrival of spring – over public safety concerns.
Legal amendments passed by the provincial assembly impose heavier fines and longer jail terms for violators that were in force previously, in a disappointment to revellers who fly kites as part of an age-old tradition to welcome spring – a celebration that stands for joy, colour and the beauty of nature.
Authorities have defended the latest measure, saying the use of metal and glass-coated strings has caused injuries and even deaths, making kite-flying a danger to public safety.
But critics say the ban is unjust and in disregard to a popular cultural festival celebrated by people of all faiths in the South Asian nation. Some experts suggested that authorities could have regulated the use of dangerous strings instead of an outright ban, which has affected the livelihoods of thousands of kite makers.
So, why did authorities take such tough measures and will they prevent people from flying kites?
What’s the new law that imposes a total ban on kite-flying in Punjab?
The Punjab assembly last month officially passed the Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying (Amendment) Act, 2024, which introduced enhanced prison terms and heavy fines for kite fliers, manufacturers, transporters and sellers.
The law represents an amendment to the Prohibition of Kite Flying Act, 2007 and has made kite-flying a non-bailable offence.
Under the previous law, individuals caught flying kites could face up to three years in prison or be fined up to 100,000 rupees ($360), or both. Now, they may face up to five years in prison or a two-million rupee ($7,200) fine, or both. If the fine is not paid, an additional year of imprisonment can be added.
Kite makers and transporters can face between five to seven years in prison or a fine of between 500,000 ($1,800) to five million rupees ($18,000), along with an additional two years of imprisonment upon failure to pay the fine. The previous law targeted making, sale and trade of kites, but not the transport of kites and dangerous kite strings.
The law prohibits the transport of “kites, metallic wire, nylon cord, any other thread coated with sharp maanjha [glass-coated string] or any other injurious material for the purpose of kite flying”.
The new law also includes specific penalties for minors. The first offence by a minor will result in a warning, and the second offence in a 50,000-rupee ($180) fine. A third offence would attract a 100,000-ruppe ($360) fine, while a fourth offence will lead to imprisonment under the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, according to a summary posted online by the Punjab police.
Previous laws allowed kite-flying after permission from authorities on certain occasions and attempted to regulate the manufacture, sale, and trading of kites with lesser penalties for violators.
Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, a legislator from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, said the stricter penalties, which will apply across the province, were needed to save the lives of innocent people.
The latest measures took effect before the Basant festival, celebrated on the fifth day of the lunar month of Magha. This year’s spring festival began on February 2, but kite-flying clubs have pledged to defy the ban.
Has Punjab issued curbs on kite flying before?
Yes. The government in Punjab province has issued a series of executive orders and bans to try to crack down on kite flying since the early 2000s, including an emergency law passed in 2001.
In 2005, the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the Punjab government to regulate the manufacture, trade or even flying of kites in response to an outcry over dozens of injuries and deaths caused every year by the glass, metal-coated or nylon strings.
Punjab’s provincial capital Lahore also imposed a kite-flying ban in 2005 to address what the top court said was a “menace”.
What other actions have authorities taken to discourage kite-flying?
Over the years, penal, judicial as well as legislative measures have failed to prevent the revelers from flying kites.
Authorities have also roped in religious leaders to drive home the point that kite flying is dangerous. Religious scholars in consultation with Lahore police have issued a fatwa, or Islamic edict, declaring kite flying un-Islamic.
One-wheeling on a motorbike and aerial firing, other common activities during the Basant celebrations, were also declared un-Islamic. The ruling was based on Quranic verses emphasising the preservation of human life and prohibiting acts that endanger it.
Police have cracked down on kite manufacturers, with Punjab police confiscating more than 100,000 kites in Lahore – a regional hub for kite-making – last year.
Authorities have also organised awareness campaigns on the risks of kite flying.
How dangerous is kite-flying in Punjab?
Kite-flying competitions, which involve participants trying to cut each other’s kites using glass or metal-coated string or nylon cords, take place in densely crowded neighbourhoods in cities across Pakistan.
Fierce competition has turned the centuries-old tradition into a deadly sport as some kite flyers have died falling from buildings, while sharp strings – also known as maanjha – coated with glass paste have caused deaths of bystanders or bikers.
Additionally, if the string is coated with metal, it can conduct electricity if it touches power lines, potentially causing electrocution, short-circuits or fires. This can take hours to restore in an already energy deficient country. In some areas, power grids are switched off to prevent short circuits, causing disruption in regular activities.
What has been the response to the ban?
Kite flying groups have been defiant, with the Rawalpindi Kite Flying Association saying it plans to celebrate Basant on February 13 and 14.
Sheikh Saleem, a former chief of Lahore’s kite flying federation, told BBC Urdu that instead of banning the activity completely, officials should be more proactive in taking action against manufacturers of glass coated kite strings.
However, Khalid Zafar, who heads a law firm based in Lahore, says enforcing this kind of regulation would require more resources, which the police force lacks and the government might not be willing to invest in.
Police have also struggled to crack down on kite manufacturers, some of whom flex political connections.
But some media organisations have backed the government decision. The Tribune newspaper called the measures “a bold but necessary measure that prioritises public safety over tradition”.
“While the Basant festival holds a cherished place in our cultural heritage, it is essential to recognise that safety must come first, especially when tragic incidents have marred the joy of this vibrant celebration in the past,” the paper said in its editorial on January 25.
“The passion and enthusiasm surrounding Basant are undeniably beautiful, but they cannot overshadow the responsibility we bear towards the safety of our fellow citizens… Critics of the ban argue that it infringes on cultural expression, but culture must evolve to reflect our values, including the paramount importance of human life.”
Mirza Iftikhar Baig, 85, a Lahore resident, is upset at the ban, saying “kite-flying was a sport for us.”
During the day, people would fly colourful kites that decorated the sky, and at night, white ones that fluttered like stars, Baig told Al Jazeera, reminiscing about the festivities.
“People would make special dishes like carrot pudding and get together,” said Baig, who was an avid kite flyer during his youth growing up in Lahore’s walled city.
But the 85-year-old Lahore resident said during his time, people only used safe, cotton string kites, unlike the metal or glass-coated strings that pose a danger to public safety today.
What has been the economic effect of the ban?
Some analysts point out the effect on kite manufacturers and the resulting loss of livelihoods of thousands of workers.
Recent data on the scale of the industry is scarce, but in 2004, Basant-related activities generated an estimated 220 million rupees ($790,000) in revenue in Lahore alone, and created business worth up to three billion rupees (some $7m) province-wide, benefitting workers and cottage industries.
The kite-making industry employs an estimated 1.5 million people across Pakistan.
Most workers in the industry are women, and the ban would not only render them jobless but also affect related industries like bamboo, thread, glue, and paper, say experts.
“Unfortunately, because most of the people associated with kite trade were poor or home-based workers, they were not able to raise their voice against anti-kite flying laws,” said Zafar.
What is Basant and where is it celebrated?
Punjab has historically been known for its centuries-old Basant festival, which celebrates the arrival of spring and agricultural produce. Basant means spring in the Hindi and Punjabi languages.
The Punjab region, which straddles India and Pakistan, is known for its fertile land and vibrant culture – and the soaring of colourful kites in the sky is a reflection of that.
Lahore and Kasur in Pakistan’s Punjab, and Amritsar across the border in India’s Punjab, have been some of the key cities where Basant has traditionally been celebrated for centuries.
Raza Ahmad Rumi, director at Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, says the curbs on kite-flying – which is the centrepiece of Basant festival – represent a cultural erasure.
The festival became not only a “cultural marker” in the city’s [Lahore’s] landscape, but it was also an inclusive event that brought together the rich and poor, as well as diverse communities and age groups, making it a continuation of Lahore’s “pluralistic culture”, he told Al Jazeera, referring to the city’s mixed demography (Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims) before the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.
“[The ban] by the government and then subsequently by the court has been a major rupture, I would say, in the shared cultural values between India and Pakistan, especially on both sides of the Punjab region,” he said.
