Life, cheap as hairstyle and Sandal

Cornelius Lanah *

Mass rally in Delhi condemning racial killing of Nido Taniam and assault of 2 Manipuri women on 04 Feb 2014 :: Pix - MSAD

No parents should ever know the horror of burying their own child in their life time. But tragedy strikes when we least expected it, leaving behind a vacuum which could never be filled again. If a child's illness could even bring tears to parent's eyes, I am lost for words to describe the feelings of losing a child to cheap and barbaric act of brutal human.

A life so fearfully and wonderfully knitted, nourished and nurtured for nine months in a mother's womb, took years of pain and sufferings of upbringing can be cheaply terminated when falls into wrong hands.

Some days back in Delhi, Nido Tania, a 19 year old student, son of an Arunachal Pradesh MLA was beaten to dead by shop keepers in Lajpat Nagar when he retaliated after they made fun of his hairstyle and hurled racial abuses. He subsequently succumbed to dead on 30 January. Life is as cheap as the hairstyle!

Since the incident occurred, there has been huge uproar of the Delhites and North East communities living in Delhi to seek justice for Nido Tania and to end racism. But will Nido get true justice? Will the promises of nation's top political leaders who came and spoke in future tense be fulfilled?

Or will it be just another case or racism in Delhi and forgotten soon? These are questions that we need to wait and see with our fingers crossed. As of now, more and more people are flogging into 'Justice for Nido' camp at Jantar Mantar to extend their support for justice and to condemn such cheap act of whamming off life.

Even as we continue to fight for the life of a brother here in Delhi, it is horrific to learn that A.Shepao, a 28 year old brother of our own blood was beaten to dead for a pair of sandals by suspected NSCN-IM cadres on 5 February. Alas! Life is as cheap as a pair of sandal?

Since the incident, Senapati town is facing the wrath of the public, directed toward the shop keeper and suspected NSCN-IM cadres. We saw the commodities of the shop been flamed and perhaps this is not the end but just the beginning to seek justice for A.Shepao. More protest to book the perpetrators and bring them to justice is foreseeable. But so be it, let law, irrespective of modern Law or customary law take its course to bring justice for our brother and peace in the district.

You see, when a life is taken many good souls will stand up to rigorously defend it. This simply adds to the meaning that life is indeed precious and should be safeguarded with outmost priority. The public uproar at Delhi and Senapati is simply to stand up and say that, life cannot be weighed with any amount of monetary values and dignity.

It is to stand up and say that, irrespective of who you are and what you are, we will not tolerate acts of barbarism to wham off life at will. It is to stand up and say that, there is law above you and we want law to take its uninterrupted course to bring justice.

Life, as we know is a precious gift of God. No one other the God himself has the authority over life. You may be an underground, over ground, a priest or a doctor but the authority of life doesn't rest in your hand. If taken, you'll certainly have a lot of explanation to do when you stand at the door of the Father who owns life.