Taking anger out on the streets : Murder most foul
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 28 2023 -

Total collapse it is.

Natural that young students, irrespective of gender will feel outraged, let down and violated. Only natural for them to take to the streets to give vent to their pent up anger and disillusionment.

And how does the Government respond ?

It wasn’t a response to an unfolding situation, but a reaction.

Tear gas shells, smoke bombs, lathi charge and brutally lathying of some ‘unfortunate’ students who fell into the hands of those who have been highly trained to control ‘mobs’ and this is the scene played out on the roads and streets of Imphal for the second day on the trot.

Apart from the muscle flexing exercise, the Government also reacted to the situation in suspending mobile internet service, again, underlining the point that since the evening of May 3, it has failed to look beyond what is shared or uploaded on the social media.

To The Sangai Express it is more than a case of abducting, perhaps kidnapping would be a more accurate term here given their tender age, torturing and killing Hijam Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemanjit, but should rank right up there among the rarest of rare cases.

Only God, the two victims and the cowardly perpetrators will know the torture the two young teenagers were subjected to before death rescued them from further horror, but the innocent eyes of the young girl and the young boy will continue to haunt the collective psyche of all those who believe in the decency of humanity.

No strong words enough with The Sangai Express to condemn the brutal murder of the young girl and boy and if at all the perpetrators are to be brought to justice, then it calls for the collective maturity of the people to understand and accordingly respond to the situation.

Certain points need to be kept in mind while responding to the unfolding reality and as the World Meetei Council (WMC) has put it, why were the photos of the two young persons leaked now when the kidnapping and subsequent murder took place long ago.

Remember Hijam Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemanjit went missing on July 6.

Why would the Kuki Chin militants expose and implicate themselves by exposing the pictures now, is another question raised by the WMC.

A serious study of the posers raised here would perhaps help the people of Manipur respond in a more fitting manner, for justice to the two slain young people should not fall short of breaking the backbone and economy of the narco-terrorists.

The profundity of the posers raised by WMC should be understood and appreciated.

It should also be clear to Imphal and the valley districts that since the evening of May 3, the people have not gone beyond reacting to the ‘plays’ staged by the narco- terrorists.

Stage the drama and see how Imphal and the valley districts react, is how the script has unfolded in the last four months and why can’t this trend be reversed is the question that ought to be raised.

Or should Imphal continue to dance to the sound of the drum beat that comes from Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh ?

A question which needs serious deliberations. A jog down memory lane may perhaps help.

As a young man shared on his social media post, it has always been the narco terrorists who have been calling the shots with Imphal and the valley districts only reacting. May 3-Imphal and the valley districts reacted to what happened at Torbung, Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi.

At the fag end of May, things seemed to be limping back to normalcy, but then the Kuki-Chin terrorists struck attacking villages at the foothills; at another point of time the narco terrorists sneaked into a village and killed three sleeping people who had returned from a relief camp as things seemed to have limped back to normalcy.

As the young man shared, in all these cases, Imphal and the valley districts reacted and this is where certain questions ought to be raised.

Why has Imphal failed to take dividends out of the observation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that illegal immigration is one key factor for the violence to erupt ?

A line which has been echoed yet again by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Imphal and her people should know how to take mileage out of these favourable stands adopted by New Delhi and it is frustrating to see that no one seems to have latched on to the unsaid but clearly audible messages that have been conveyed.