Video of clashes in Kashmir that starts with sounds of gunfire goes live on the social networking site Facebook. The video starts with the voice of a narrator saying, “Aap ye dekh sakte hain goliyan kaise chal rahi hai. Civilians apni jaan bacha rahe hain… Ek bhaai ko goli lagi hai (You can see bullets are being fired. Civilians are running for their lives…one brother has been hit).”
The murder of four alleged militants in Kashmir’s Kulgam district brought protest in the area on Sunday. Videos of these clashes marked by firing of bullets and tear gas shells were broadcasted on Facebook in real time.
In another video, youth were seen washing away blood from the street. The narrator clarifies in the clip that it was the blood of civilians. “Ye hum India ko kehna chahte hai ki kaisa zulm kar rahe hain Kashmiri bhaaio ke saath…Meherbani karke is video ko share kariye (We want to tell India about the kinds of atrocities we are being subjected to…Please share this video).”
Another video shows a man screaming that he is hit by a bullet while others rush to help him. The videos believed to be uploaded on Sunday afternoon when the events were actually happening. However, they appear to be uploaded on multiple profiles that may give a tough time in tracing the uploader.
As per the Kashmiri social media observers, this is the first instance of a proliferation of videos from a protest. They also said that this is one of the first extreme clashes in the last eight months after the killing of Burhan Wani.
“Going ‘Live’ on social media – with video and commentary – has become a trend among youngsters. So, perhaps, protesters might have thought why not capture the clashes. In this way, if collected, a lot of never-seen-before kind of visuals could emerge of clashes that take place in the Valley,” said a senior journalist as per a report in HT.
