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Weird: There is Dargah in UP where poisonous scorpions don’t sting!

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Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

Amroha: The bitterly fought election campaign might have a sting but scorpions in a dargah here don’t not even when you pick them up.

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat’s dargah in western Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha is where long held beliefs in the power of miracles meet everyday rationality. And where the lines of what you know and what you see sometimes begin to blur.

Locals say the dargah (shrine) is the everyday miracle of poisonous scorpions that don’t sting.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

The town is still gripped with election fever even after the voting here on April 18, with people endlessly discussing the outcome. The main contenders here are BJP’s sitting MP Kanwar Singh Tanwar, BSP’s Danish Ali and the Congress’ Sachin Chaudhary.

However, in the midst of it all, locals don’t forget to tell visitors about the “must-see” shrine.

They swear by the “magical powers” of the Sufi saint who is believed to have said scorpions will not sting inside the premises of the place he lived in after arriving in Amroha in the 13th century.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

Since then, scorpions, no matter how poisonous, brought from any part of the world, have not stung anyone inside the premises of the dargah, according to popularly held belief.

What’s more, you can not only hold the scorpions in your hand, but also take them home with the “permission of the Sufi saint”.

“But there is a catch. You have to state when you will bring back the scorpion. Till that deadline, the scorpion will not sting you. But if that deadline exceeds even by a minute, the deadly creature will sting,” said Anis Ahmed, a ‘khadim’ ho serves at the dargah like generations of his family before him.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

Next to the Sufi saint’s grave, a man sits with a green box containing a deadly black scorpion.

As devotees and visitors take the scorpion in their hands tentatively, the man tells them not to worry as the “powers” of Sufi saint Shah Wilayat, popularly known as Dada Shah Wilayat, are at work.

The scorpion doesn’t sting as promised. And children, men, women and senior citizens get photographs clicked to capture the moment that seems straight out of the reality show “Fear Factor”.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

Many scorpions are found in and around the dargah. If someone takes the one in the green box home, it is immediately replaced.

 

OMG: Poisonous scorpions don’t harm devotees at this Dargha in UP!

 

Narrating the folklore around the dargah, Ahmed said when Shah Wilayat arrived here from Iraq in 1272 A.D there was another Sufi mystic in the village called Shah Nasruddin who asked him to go elsewhere as they were a number of mystics already staying here.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

Shah Nasruddin told Shah Wilayat the many scorpions and snakes in the area would not let him stay.

“Then Shah Wilayat replied, at my place they will not sting. Since then they don’t sting. It is a miracle. You can get a poisonous scorpion from outside, but when it will come here, it will not sting,” the dargah ‘khadim’ recounted.

Endorsing the belief, Mohammad Arshad, a lawyer who comes regularly to the dargah, said his family has been visiting the shrine for generations and the story is “100 per cent true”.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

“Generations of my family have been devotees here. People take the scorpion home and then return it before the deadline. We used to take it home with permission of the Sufi saint and return it before the deadline,” he told media person.

Abdul Qayyum, another devotee, said he has lived in the dargah for the last 30 years. Not once has a scorpion stung anybody in the premises. And nor has the deadly creature stung if a person has taken it home.

“People have always brought back the scorpion before deadline,” he said.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

Not all subscribe to the story. Though in a minority, there are sceptics in the area.

Hasan Askari, a businessman and keen observer of cultural developments around Amroha, said such folklores are carried by word of mouth through generations.

“It is claimed the scorpions don’t sting. Probably they (those at the dargah) may have been taking out the poison. Probably the saint knew how to handle scorpions so they don’t sting and the legend was built on that. But one thing is true, this has been a very widely held belief in Amroha since ages,” he said.

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

The stories don’t end here. The popular belief about Shah Nasruddin’s shrine a few kilometres away is that missing donkeys or horses will make their way there. The owner should come to that dargah and will find them there.

Hasan Mohammad Abidi, the caretaker of that dargah, said, “I’ve been here for the last six-seven years and I have seen myself that people have found their donkeys and horses here. Another miracle is that the horses and donkeys do not excrete while in the premises of the dargah.”

 

Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

 

A twist in the ‘tail’ even one that doesn’t have a sting.

 

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    Next to the Sufi saint's grave, a man sits with a green box containing a deadly black scorpion.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    "But there is a catch. You have to state when you will bring back the scorpion. Till that deadline, the scorpion will not sting you. But if that deadline exceeds even by a minute, the deadly creature will sting," said Anis Ahmed, a 'khadim' who serves at the dargah like generations of his family before him.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    What's more, you can not only hold the scorpions in your hand, but also take them home with the "permission of the Sufi saint".

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    Since then, scorpions, no matter how poisonous, brought from any part of the world, have not stung anyone inside the premises of the dargah, according to popularly held belief.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    They swear by the "magical powers" of the Sufi saint who is believed to have said scorpions will not sting inside the premises of the place he lived in after arriving in Amroha in the 13th century.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    However, in the midst of it all, locals don't forget to tell visitors about the "must-see" shrine.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    The town is still gripped with election fever even after the voting here on April 18, with people endlessly discussing the outcome. The main contenders here are BJP's sitting MP Kanwar Singh Tanwar, BSP's Danish Ali and the Congress' Sachin Chaudhary.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    Locals say the dargah (shrine) is the everyday miracle of poisonous scorpions that don't sting.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat's dargah in western Uttar Pradesh's Amroha is where long held beliefs in the power of miracles meet everyday rationality. And where the lines of what you know and what you see sometimes begin to blur.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

    The bitterly fought election campaign might have a sting but scorpions in a dargah here don't not even when you pick them up.

  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news
  • Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat, Scorpions, Shrine, Dargah, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh news, Regional news, Religion news, Spiritual news

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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