UP village bans youth from using mobiles
new delhi — An abysmally poor village Mandora, 15 kilometres away from Mathura in North India on Monday declared a ban on the use of cell phones.
The ban was declared and enforced by the village panchayat. The leaders of the panchayat, Mohammad Usman and Mohammad Ghaffar, have now gone underground as the police officials said the ban was illegal.
Usman is the current head of the Panchayat while Ghaffar is the former chief in the Muslim majority village. On Monday, after days of deliberations among the village elders, it was decided the only way to save the village youths from going astray was to ban the cell phone.
The panchayat was of the view that the youngsters, most of whom are under-educated and unemployed were getting addicted to the
Boys and girls have started running away from their homes. And that leads to honour killings and violence. The mobile phone is a bad influence. That’s why we recommended its ban.
Ghaffar, ex-village council chief
phone. “They spent their time watching porn and getting criminal ideas from the cell phone. How are they going to fare in the world?” asked an elder.
On Monday, the elders got together and in their collective wisdom, decided to do what they could to redeem the situation. They issued a sort of decree against the use of the cellphone.
The village panchayat is rather proactive. Once, in their earnest wish to do good, they had in 2014, boycotted parliamentary elections in protest against neglect. The village has no roads, or water supply. The boycott was complete and the protest made headlines. Three years on, the village is no better, though.
The new diktat by the panchayat on cell use is in keeping with the village’s history. One of the elders said: “This is for the good of the youth. They are not focusing on their studies. They don’t even play. All they do is to watch the phone and post messages. What will they do with their lives?”
Last week Ghaffar was quoted as saying: “The boys here see the culture of the youth in the big cities on their phone. We set much store by family and traditional values. Boys and girls have started running away from their homes. And that leads to honour killings and violence. The mobile phone is a bad influence. That’s why we recommended its ban.”
Another elder defended the ban by saying, “In our young days we used to work hard and earn for our families. Now no youngster wants to work.”
Mandora village used to be a farming community. But the new generation is not interested in agriculture. The crime rate is high, and no one ventures out after dusk falls.
Meanwhile, despite the good intentions of the village elders, the local police officials said no private body or even the panchayat has the right to issue diktats. “Banning the use of the cell phone is an infringement of individual right. This is a democratic country.”
The elders having gone underground, and the police prowling about, the youngsters in the village appear relieved. “There is no job here, and the teachers hardly come to school. What are we supposed to do? The cell phone at least shows to us how the world is living. In Mandora, we are kind of dying.”