Thousands of Muslim devotees travel to western India to participate in the annual 'Urs' festival which sees participants performing shocking acts of flagellation and self-harm.

Footage captured on March 7 shows devotees poking their eyeballs with swords and piercing their necks and tongues with metal sticks in front of onlookers in the streets of Ajmer city, Rajasthan.

The six-day-long festival marks the death anniversary of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti who founded the Sufi branch of Islam around 800 years ago. 

Contrary to devotees of other branches of Islam, Sufis devote themselves to particular saints.

'Urs' is a bizarre Sufi Muslim festival where pilgrims travel thousand miles to Ajmer in Rajasthan to be a part of it.
Famously known as 'Urs' festival of Ajmer, in this bizarre festival, sufi men are seen performing self-tortured acts as some are seen with pierced tongues and poking eyeballs with swords to mark the death anniversary of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti who founded this branch of Islam (Sufi) some 800 years ago.
In the video clip, the men are seen performing stunts as some are seen with pierced heads, tongues and jaws, some pilgrims can be seen poking their eyeballs out with the sword.
The religious procession is a six day long festival in Ajmer, Rajasthan of India.
The Sufis consider themselves to belong to a pure and original form of Islam.
The video was filmed on 7th of March 2019.