Delhi incident of May 28 : Bestial act, deafening silence
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 05 , 2014 -
Wordsmiths we are but at times like this words escape us.
How does one come up with a term that aptly describes a dastardly act committed by some demented minds ?
What happened to a young couple from Manipur at Delhi on May 28 night while they were returning home after dinner was not just a case of a bunch of goons letting the beastly side of their personalities come to the fore but is a reflection of a mentality, for which we are at a loss of words to describe.
What is as sickening as the incident itself, if not more, is the deafening silence maintained by the numerous social organisations based in the State of Manipur.
Here we are, the people of Manipur as a whole, who have never hesitated in raising a hue and cry when anyone from the North East region is subjected to any kind of discrimination in mainland India particularly in Delhi and NCR but are now maintaining a stoic silence when a couple from Manipur is assaulted by a group of men from the same State, but belonging to a different community.
A case of double standard and hypocrisy coming to the fore ?
As reported in the June 3 edition of this paper, a number of youth numbering about four to five and belonging to a particular community from Manipur first stopped the couple and physically assaulted them while they were returning home after having dinner outside.
The goons went a step further and came back again with more ‘man power’ and apart from physically assaulting the couple, also sexually molested the woman.
Not at all acceptable. One does not need a dictionary to really understand what the ‘derogatory words’ used by the attackers must have been.
This is a crying shame and should stand universally condemned.
The Sangai Express did not name the community to which the attackers belonged to for that was of not much significance.
On the other hand, trying to conceal the community of the couple would have served no purpose, for it was the Tangkhul Katamnao Long, Delhi which issued the statement and brought the story to the notice of the media.
This however is besides the point for remember this is not about one community against another community but about the act of decadence by a group of hoodlums.
Time for all of us to hang our heads in shame.
The angst of the Tangkhul students in Delhi is understandable, but one needs to tread cautiously and not try to give it a communal tone or politicise the issue, especially in the backdrop of the critical phase which Manipur is passing through presently.
We are given to understand by the statement of the TKLD that one of the accused has been arrested and it is only expected that Delhi police take the case to its logical conclusion.
Not only the police, but social organisations and student bodies from Manipur too need to keep a close tab on the case and see how it proceeds.
Certainly not the time to give the long rope to the accused.
Guilty or not guilty is the prerogative of the Court but there is no reason to believe that a student organisation like the TKLD would cook up such a story, though there is always the need to hear the story from the side of the accused too.
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