You have heard many cruel tales of the British Raj. The British rule may have ended, but there are still many rules and laws in India and Pakistan that are followed. So far you have seen only humans and animals being imprisoned, but today we are going to tell you something that will shock you.
Have you ever heard arrest of any tree, that too for the last 121 years? Probably will not be heard, but due to a law, a banyan tree has been kept in chains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Yes, it is bound by chains in the candle of the province and there is a plaque on it which says ‘I am under arrest’.
This tree is located in the Landhi Kott Army of Pakistan. Behind its arrest there is a very interesting story. According to the Pakistani newspaper, this story dates back to 1898 when the drunken British officer James Square was walking in the Landy Kottak Army Cantonment. At the same time, he realized that the banyan tree in front is coming towards him. He was terribly nervous and ordered the soldiers present there to arrest the tree. The soldiers also obey the order, the tree do not run away, so they tied them to chains. Even after 121 years, these tree is still tied to those chains.
Tree is arrested with too heavy chains which are hanging around the tree. Not only this, a plaque is also hanged on the tree, which is said to be from the tree, ‘I am arrested.’ To date, chains have not been removed so that the cruelty of the British rule can be shown.
Local people says that this captive tree brings one of the black laws of the brutality of the British Raj Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) Draconian Frontier Crime Regulation law. This law was applied to counter the Pashtun protest during the British rule. Under this, then the British government had the right to penalize the person in the Pashtun tribe for committing a crime by a person or family.
The most surprising thing is that this FCR law is still applicable in the federally administered tribal region of North-West Pakistan. This law denies the right to appeal to the people there, the right to legal representation and the right to provide the necessary evidence. According to the law, residents can be arrested even without confirmation or correct information of crime. Under this, the federal government also has the right to seize the accused’s personal property. FCR is considered to be a violation of basic human rights.
In 2008, the Pakistan’s Yousuf Raza Gilani had expressed the desire to abrogate the FCR, but no further issues were raised. However, in 2011, some improvements were made in the FCR Act, such as compensation for false cases, immunity for women, children and adults was added. Along with this provision of bail was made.
For the sake of the people of Pakistan, this tree has been built in chains and has become a Tourist Destination. People come to see this tree cluttered in chains from distant places and also take photos with it.
