When We Caught a Braid Chopper!

My Facebook timeline these days remains full of videos, images and comments on braid chopping chaos. It has been over one month that this new issue has gripped social media here. The chapter started on September 04, 2017 and like a wild fire it spread all over the Kashmir valley within no time. Every now and then we see alleged braid choppers being held and beaten to pulp. But so far nothing concrete has come out who is behind this phenomenon. 

During one dark night my mind was grappling with this question and suddenly I heard a noise of footsteps in the lane outside. It was around 12 midnight and when I peeped out of the window, I saw a middle aged man attired in Pheran (Kashmiri gown). It was an unusual sight as we reside in the area where movement of traffic and people stops well before 10 in the evening. His appearance was shabby and he was looking curiously around his surroundings. As my mind was already engrossed in the braid chopping mystery, it didn’t take time for me to conclude that he could be the one. Without wasting any time, I shouted at him, “Tohe kya chuw yepaeer karaan? (What are you doing here?)”.  Before he could utter anything, one of my neighbours who had already got on to the terrace of his house screamed, Braid chopper! Braid chopper! Within a fraction of minutes, entire neighbourhood was out on the road. They caught hold of old man and started enquiring about his presence in our territory. He was terrified and shivering with fear. Everyone was hurling questions and more impatient ones started even hitting him before he could utter anything. After all we Kashmiris have all at some point faced our interrogators and thats how we were treated and thats how we know a confession can be extracted. He was punched, kicked, smashed, smacked, thumped, knocked, slammed and even abused. The ruthless and merciless beating caused him grievous injuries. He was bleeding profusely and broke down with tears trickling down his face. His clothes were searched but to our utter surprise there were only few pieces of cigarettes and no tool, blade or scissors. 

My all attempts to protect him from beating and listen to his version failed completely as he was badly overpowered by the charged group. In the meantime, police vehicles arrived and they asked to hand him over to them. The people declined to hand him over to police and started chanting slogans suspecting him as an Army’s man. They pelted stones on police vehicles but police burst tear smoke shells and took him forcibly in their vehicle. After that everyone started making bizarre stories surrounding the incident as is common in Kashmir.   

The next day, respectable and trustworthy elders of our area went to the police station to enquire about the fate of the alleged braid chopper. They were shocked to know that the person whom we had beaten to pulp was a mentally retarded patient of our nearby locality. He was now admitted in a hospital. His family members were present there with the medical documents which confirmed that he is a known case of PTSD. They were crying bitterly along with the victim. Doctors attending on him claimed that he will take time to recuperate from the injuries.

This is one instance where we have in our desperation beaten an innocent person. Since the police here with all might at their disposal and all the required tools at hand failed to dispense justice and locate even a single culprit people, frustrated with their failure started taking law into their own hands. 

Earlier an unruly mob roughed up foreign tourists who had lost their way while in Shallabugh area of Ganderbal, a group of 3 non-local tourists and guests of a local scribe were severely beaten and thrashed by locals as they mistook them as braid choppers. In another incident, two men were inhumanely hammered in Wakoora area of same district when they were collecting donations for a Yateem (orphan) trust.    

In one of the disheartening incident, a 70-year old person was stoned to death in Anantnag on the suspicion of being a braid chopper. At some places rag pickers, Bihari labourers, transgender, lovers and drug addicts were also badly beaten just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Attack on the modesty of women is unbearable and same cannot be allowed to happen in our society. Braid chopping is an ugly scene which has made inroads in Kashmir after it previously occurred in different parts of India. So it has to be looked from the broader perspectives rather than through the contours of the prevailing conflict in Kashmir.  

After braid choppers hit Delhi in July, the police commissioned experts from the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences to study the phenomenon. The same institute had researched complaints about a monkey-like creature attacking people in the national capital in 2001 and concluded that the entire episode was a case of mass hysteria. It means when a fear or threat real or imagined spreads to a large number of people through rumours or narratives so much so that many of them start reporting similar symptoms. Only time will tell us what is the exact cause and intent of this braid chopping scenario till then we should avoid believing in conspiracy theories.  

We should not pay heed to rumours as there are many mischief and rumour mongers who always play pranks for their amusement and fun. Social media is helping these pranksters.  It creates fear psychosis which badly impacts the behaviour of human souls which in turn makes him or her the victim of mass hysteria. There may be genuine incidents of braid chopping but we should not blame it on any group or party without having any evidence. We should not use the violent ways to protest against what is still a mystery. A 5-year old boy Sibti Hyder of Gongoo village was injured at Pahoo, Pulwama when he was hit by a stone on his head. What was his fault? Was he involved in braid chopping? Why are we becoming the nation of vigilantes? 

Last year rumour mongers got almost whole Kashmir populace on the streets on the rumour that polio drops caused deaths. Moreover, we should never forget the killing of Asrar Dar of Maisuma in 2009 who was killed by his friends. That was a case of love tangle and then his killers themselves had been part of protests for three days in Maisuma area. It was only after the investigation done by police which had revealed that the friends who were protesting against his death were his real killers. Furthermore, in the same year one of the relatives of JKLF chairperson Muhammad Yasin Malik who was an auto rickshaw driver was strangulated to death by the robbers. At that time too, the blame was put on police for his death. Later on, investigations carried out in his death unraveled the motive as the persons who had robbed him in his auto had strangulated him to death. 

So we should ponder that giving unnecessary attention to rumour mongers is severely damaging our business and day to day life. There are so many business hawkers who are fearful to go to any region these days fearing they might be suspected as braid choppers. Even relatives and friends don’t visit to their respective relatives or friends. Few days ago a youth was beaten ruthlessly in Kakapora area in Pulwama when he was visiting his aunt on his motorcycle. Where are we heading? The world will laugh at us if they will come to know about our ridiculous acts. The media fraternity needs to play an important role. They should not circulate anything without verifying the authenticity of incident. Moreover, we should not believe in rumours like holy scripts as there are many elements who are propagating rumours to serve their own motives.  Let’s all confront this menace without targeting the innocent beings and most importantly we should prevent the spread of rumours which has badly impacted the life in Kashmir. 

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