Traditional Stone-Pelting Battle Leaves 77 People Injured in Just 7 Minutes
Every year, hundreds of people from India’s Uttarakhand state engage in Bagwal, a brutal stone-pelting battle that often leaves dozens with severe injuries that require medical attention. Bagwal literally means “fight with stones”, so it’s a pretty fitting name for a celebration that’s all about hurling big stones at the opposing side. Four clans gather […]
Gotmar Mela – India’s Centuries-Old Stone Pelting War
For over three hundred years, the residents of Pandhurna and Sawargaon, two Indian villages located on the banks of the river Jaam, have been engaging in a bizarre stone-pelting ritual called Gotmar Mela that leaves hundreds critically injured and even dead. The stone war of Gotmar Mela, as its sometimes referred to, takes place every […]