  A hypothesis is proposed that the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) may arise by
blueshifting the emission radiation of hydrogen and helium generated during the
last scattering epoch. The blueshift mechanism is provided by such a Lema\^itre
-- Tolman (L--T) model, in which the bang-time function $t_B(r)$ is not
everywhere constant. Blueshift arises on \textit{radial} rays that are emitted
over regions where $\dril{t_B} r \neq 0$. The paper presents an L--T model
adapted for this purpose and shows how it accounts for the observed properties
of the GRBs, some properties are accounted for only qualitatively.
