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Rats of Shah-Daulah/Shah-Daulah kay Chuhay are ordinary people like us but many of us must be thought that why their appearance symbolizes to rodents? Why they are called as “Chuhay”?
Rats of Shah-Daulah always have been a debatable topic, here are some of the famous urban myths which attached with them and we all heard once in a while. This is all starts from the myths related to the shrine of Shah-Daulah which is situated in Gujrat.
Myth.1
The native people of Gujrat believes that in late 16 century Shah-Daulah was a very wise master called as Allah’s friend (wali) at that time he had few students, one student of him had a small head, wide eyes. Shah-Daulah was considered as a holy man among many infertile women who came to their shrine and demand votive “Manat”. The votive which demanded by infertile women at the shrine of Shah-Daulah was…”Humain olad dai or apni nishanni atta kr”. After this infertile woman become fertile and their first baby was deformed having small head, from that day to yet people believes that Shah-Daulah gave those infertile women his “nishanni” in the form of deformed baby.
But this is just a part of urban myths, the babies that were deformed because of a serious disease called Microcephaly. It is a birth defect disease which may occur during pregnancy in the womb or can be occur after birth means in infancy. It is mostly occur by cousins marriages, by the defects present in mother or father or can be occur genetically. It contains abnormal development of brain which makes them mentally and physically disable. That’s why their head shape symbolized with rat head shape because of this disease they abusively called “Chuhay”
Myth.2
The native people of Gujrat also believe that these Microcephalic children/adults heads are not deformed by birth defect but they are artificially deformed by putting iron vessels or metal caps over their head to make them small.
Again this is just a myth according to the Dr. Akbar Malik (Pediatric Neurologist Specialist in Microcephaly in Lahore) you cannot do this to a small child they will die or they cannot survive at all. According to Syed Nasir Mahmmod Gillani (Nigraan-e-Mazar), he didn’t find a single evidence of putting metal caps on these children in Gujrat and also determined that if he finds a single person doing that he will take serious actions.
Myth.3
The people of Gujrat also believes that there is a room inside the shrine where those small headed children/adults are brought who are close to death they put in this room and then locked it after few days when they open that room there was nothing and those small headed people who brought there just vanished mysteriously.
Again this is just a myth according to the Care-taker of shrine Syed Nasir Mahmood Gillani he never witnesses such kind of incidents these are just assumptions spread by people.
Myth.4
People of Gujrat also believes that small-headed children only born when an infertile women demand votive on the Shah-Daulah shrine otherwise no small headed child will be born.
Again a myth and false assumptions Microcephaly occur all around the world is not only occurring in Gujrat, Pakistan. According to a recent survey of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2015-2017 in U.S total 5,399 cases of Microcephaly caused by mosquitoes (Zika virus) and in U.S territories total 36,986 cases of Zika virus reported. The important thing is that there is no Shah-Daulah shrine in United-States.
Unfortunately, these children don’t have opportunities to prove their selves or live a normal healthy life in especially in Gujrat. But in history, there was a person who not only lives his life on his own terms but fights its Microcephaly very skillfully.
Schlitzie, a sideshow performer/entertainer or known for his remarkable role in film “Freaks”
