By Zahid Rafiq
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - Educational institutions in the disputed Kashmir region were closed for a second consecutive day Friday as authorities feared student protests over “braid-chopping” assaults on women that have sown fear and panic over the past month.
As the Indian-backed government imposed restrictions to thwart possible resistance-led protests, the assaults took on a larger dimension in the dispute over the region.
According to police, at least 100 incidents of braid chopping have been reported from throughout the region in the last month. Despite a large reward offer, no arrests have been made so far.
Most of the victims say that they were attacked in their houses by masked assailants who cut their hair, with some saying they were first sprayed with chemicals and made unconscious.
Amid the fear and paranoia spurred by the assaults, hundreds of vigilante groups have sprung up wielding axes, iron rods, and sticks. The vigilantism has so far resulted in the killing of one 70-year-old civilian in southern Kashmir when his neighbor, mistaking him for a braid-chopper, hit his head with a rock.
Other assaults of suspected braid-choppers have been reported, including a group of backpackers who had to be rescued from a mob.
“I don’t go out of my home after 7.30 anymore,” Asif Nazir, a computer professional, told Anadolu Agency.
“I haven’t been so afraid in a long time to walk around in the evenings as I have been over this past month.”
-Indian forces accused
While many people have accused Indian intelligence agencies, army, and police over the attacks, the Indian forces deny all responsibility.
The “braid-chopping” incidents seem to have first started in northern India with over 1,500 cases reported from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and also no culprits arrested.
Some Indian mental health specialists blamed the reported attacks on mass hysteria, which -- while true or not -- Kashmir might also be subject to, as its decades-long conflict has likely left many with traumatic stress disorders.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.
Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan. More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.