Murga punishment

Murgha (also spelled murga) (Hindi: मुर्गा) (Urdu: مرغا); is a stress position used as a punishment in South Asia, (India, Pakistan) primarily in educational institutions,^[1] and by the police who use it as a punishment for petty crimes and eve teasing (sexual harassment), usually administered in public-view.^[2][3][4][5]

Murgha means Rooster (literally "male adult chicken") in Urdu and Hindi. This is a punishment in which the punished person takes the position of a "murgha".^[6] This is done by squatting, and then bringing the arms between the legs and firmly holding the ears. It can become very painful after a few minutes, and can also be used as a position for spanking, though it is rarely used.

Variants

There are many variants of the murgha punishment. Some of them are:

Standing murgha

In the standing murgha, the person is required to position the buttocks as high as possible. This is considered a severe punishment and can become very painful after about 10 minutes. When the punished person tries to bring down his buttocks, he is spanked by the administrator usually done by a ruler.

Sitting murgha

In sitting murgha, the person is allowed to rest on his arms, i.e the buttocks can be brought down. This is milder than the standing Murgha, and can be bearable for longer durations. This punishment is given when the administrator wants to punish a person for a longer time. After some time this leads to giddiness.

Murgha parade

In murgha parade, the person has to walk while in the standing or sitting murgha position. A longer distance can be covered in the standing murgha position, but it is extremely tiring for legs, hands and back. This punishment can be made harsher by making the person parade under the sun. If done properly, it will hurt the ears also, because of irregular movements.

Swaying Murga

In this kind of punishment, the person is asked to move his buttocks from the higher position (as in Standing Murga) to lower (as in Sitting Murga) and vice-versa every 5-6 seconds.This is a very severe form; the legs start trembling after about 40 sways and becomes unbearable after 70-75 sways. There is also another similar variant in which the punished continuously sways his buttocks from higher to lower position; this is extremely severe form - it's impossible to do more than 75 sways.

Heels touching murgha

In this the heels of the person should remain in contact. It can also be either sitting or standing. This is a very severe form of murgha.

References

1. ^ Khan, Muqaddam (22 January 2004). "Crippling minds". The Dawn. http://www.dawn.com/weekly/review/archive/040122/review3.htm. 
2. ^ "Pak police reins in eve-teasers with 'Murgha' punishment". Daily Excelsior. 10 October 2007. http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/07oct10/inter.htm#4. 
3. ^ "Pak police reins in eve-teasers with 'Murgha' punishment". Indopia. http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/28644/International/2/20/2. 
4. ^ "Public prosecution: Crime and instant punishment!". The Times of India. June 29, 2006. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690507.cms. 
5. ^ "Sensitive treatment needed in youth cases". Indian Express. 28 August 2002. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=27742. 
6. ^ "What is Murgha punishment?". Answers.yahoo.com. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006012000866. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 

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