While arresting people for the crimes they commit is a common scenario to witness, a shocking revelation about a tree sitting shackled in chains has come to the fore. The Banyan tree located in Landi Kotal army cantonment has been held captive for years and displays a board with text that reads, “I am under arrest.”
It was 125 years ago when a drunk British officer, James Squid, performed one of the most bizarre arrests in the town located in Peshawar, Pakistan. The reason, you may ask? Well, in an inebriated state, he imagined that the tree was lurching behind him which made him arrest the tree. Since then, it has remained captive with the help of chains.
As reported by Dawn News, “In 1898 an intoxicated British officer ordered the mess sergeant to arrest the tree as he thought that it was moving towards him. Since then, the tree has remained in chains.”
The controversial part of the Chained Tree of Peshawar led it to become an important landmark. If this wasn’t enough, the tree draws much-needed tourism to the area. Well, it is also believed that this act by the British officer had a darker meaning. A resident of the army cantonment, Amran Shinwar, while speaking to the Tribune India, noted that it was a way of threatening the tribal people. “Through this act, the British basically implied to the tribesmen that if they dared act against the Raj, they too would be punished in a similar fashion,” he said.
Reportedly, the Banyan tree was a symbol for the Frontier Crimes Regulations, a draconian colonial law made by the Britishers back in 1901. This law was introduced to counter the Pashtun opposition to the British Raj. Under this law, the British government was allowed to punish locals who defied the rules or in any way, attempted to go against colonial rule. Currently, the tree is the centre of many tourists who visit the town to look at the chained tree.
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