The Battle of Baghpat: Harinder, the 'Einstein chacha' of the chaat fight, finally speaks up

Now that the entire nation has been subjected to chaat war scenes from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, it's time to take stock of the situation, but slightly seriously. On Monday, in the heat of unsettled emotions, the incident was subjected to a lot of black humour by memes. Netizens had a good time being entertained in the middle of a working Monday. But there's definitely much more to street fights than entertainment.

While the video suggested otherwise, the man in the middle of the chaat fight seems to have a reason behind his madness. Harinder is especially identifiable in the video because of his peculiar hair and the fact that he was taking on his opponents even while lying on the floor.

As per the interviews given by him later to news agencies, he seemed not just soft-spoken but one that could be reasoned with. Harinder says, "We have a chaat shop as well. They have had a shop for a month or two now. They've been telling our customers that we sell stale food stuff, we prepare ingredients the night before. Which is not true."

Harinder further alleges that those behind the other chaat shop have done this at least four to five times. Harinder says he's been running his chaat shop for over forty to fifty years now. "Their chaat doesn't sell so that's why they resorted to such means to beat competition."

A little recap

In Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district, the competition over chaat customers peaked to such an extent that violence ensued on the streets. Vendors from both the shops could be seen fist-fighting and attacking each other with lathis making it a free for all. Eight people were arrested later.

Among other things, the incident pointed to stressful economic times, especially for small vendors. With the onset of Covid, people's confidence in street food is also at all-time low, which makes the customers rare enough to be fought for.

The incident has sparked curiosity

Some termed him an 'Einstein chacha' while others compared the fight to Netflix crime dramas. Many compared his actions with his words and said how the former is much louder than the latter, terming him a 'true warrior.'