Hunters from MP offer ‘solution’ for stone pelting

It seems a bit absurd, but a tribal group from Madhya Pradesh’s remote Jhabua district have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to let them confront Kashmiri stone-pelters with gofan (slingshots).

The tribals have said the armed forces are “helpless” before the mass of stone pelters in Kashmir.

“We will give a befitting reply to them – stone for stone – and send them packing” said Bhanu Bhuria, one of the youths using the Gofan, confidently. They also want the army to raise a “Gofan battalion” according to a report that appeared in the ‘Hindustan Times’.

The Gofan is made of a piece of rope where the loose ends are held in one hand and at the center a square or rectangular piece of cloth, rubber or skin is attached on which a stone is put.

After rotating the rope and which helps it to gain velocity the one end of the rope is released and the stones travel through the air at great velocity. The weapon is usually used for hunting and defense and also used by the stone pelters in Palestine.

It helps the stone to travel three times the velocity compared to a person throwing a stone and reaches to a longer distance.

The offers to Delhi have come at a time when it has been trying a series of weapons to manage restive Srinagar streets. The use of pellet guns has already send hundreds blinded creating a serious crisis to the governance system.

“We are patriotic. Our blood boils when we see our enemies hurting our soldiers,” the newspaper Hindustan Times quoted Naval Singh from Dotad village saying.

Pertinently, slingshots are already part of the CRPF’s weaponry in Kashmir.

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