Posthumous allegation merits no authenticity

By: Thingnam Family Members *

It has been our misfortune that we are forced to have something to do with the NSCN (I-M) and its despicable acts and lies. Had it not been for the Satanic act of murdering our beloved Kishan by their cadres, we would not have personally anything to do with this group, leave alone its so-called "trial".

First, they murdered our beloved Kishan along with two of his colleagues in a manner that only a people under the influence of Satan could do. Then they tried to deny their involvement in the gruesome murder till compelling evidences had forced them to own up the murder, which they did reluctantly. Now, the spell of the Satan has come to the fore once more as they seek to justify the gruesome murder by telling despicable lies and heaping slanderous accusation on the dead.

We do not expect the evil murderers to understand the pain of having lost a son, a brother, a husband, or a father. We also do not expect a force that fights for an oppressed and subjugated people to be unethical. But with this latest act of accusing the dead, besides committing the horrendous murder, we now realise that we are facing a sinister force.

Understanding the hurt and humiliation from false allegations will not come easily to those who pray with the Book that says "love thy neighbour" and yet spread hatred for the neighbours or selectively kill people on communal ground.

Our beloved Kishan is no longer here to defend himself. But we will never allow his name to be tarnished by the lies and accusations heaped upon him by those who murdered him and his two colleagues. We owe this to our beloved Kishan who had the courage and conviction to stand up to the arrogance and reckless corruption of his murderers.

The clarification that we place here is not meant for those murderers and liars. It is for the people to judge for themselves on who the real corrupt-morally, spiritually and materially-people are.

The NSCN (I-M) had asked our beloved Kishan to handover 7 per cent of the fund allocated for implementation of NREGS in Kasom Khullen sub-division (Rs 2,68,676) to them (letter no. 02-03/RCM/NCA/GPRN/2008 dated 9/7/08 sd/- Th Rainam, finance in-charge of Chaplee Ukhrul). The same letter also threatened our Kishan in case he refused to comply with the diktat.

The NSCN (I-M) called this "Royalty tax of GPRN from NREGS", and the Government of India which have a peace negotiation with the NSCN (I-M), and Government of Manipur called such demands as "extortions". Our beloved Kishan believed that the money rightfully belonged to the villagers of Kasom Khullen.

He did not cow down to such demands and threats. As a man of conviction and commitment, he tried his best to ensure that the villagers get their due shares. On one occasion, in order to avoid the predatory eyes of those who deprived the common folks, and following the request from the victims of the Kuki-Naga clashes, he even arranged the distribution of the rehabilitation package in the compound of the Manipur Riffles.

On another occasion, he compelled the headmen of 78 villages under his block to clarify how much money they had diverted to the NSCN (I-M) from the NREGS material cost, including money for buying spades. Probably that was why our beloved Kishan and his colleagues were killed with spade by the murderers. He did not merely try to ensure that the due benefits reach the common people under his official responsibility. But he also tried his best to clean the society by discouraging moral corruption. On one occasion, he discovered and cancelled a bogus village that was created by vested interests to illegally extract benefit from the Government.

The murderers of our beloved Kishan will never find out who burnt down the office building of the SDO Kasom Khullen in 2005. One of the first things our beloved Kishan did when he took over as the SDO of Kasom Khullen in 2008 was to request the Government to rebuild the office building and staff and residential quarters. But throughout his short stint (around six months) as the SDO of the block till his death in the hands of his Satanic murderers, he had to do with a single room of the community hall with a bare furniture as his office.

Commitment to professional duty and responsibility, the sense of justice and conviction that our beloved Kishan had shown must have shocked his murderers and those who seek to perpetuate moral, spiritual and material corruption in the society. He must have also been a threat to those who thrive on hatred amongst communities which have been together for centuries.

An open letter written by a prominent citizen of Kasom Khullen is a testimony of who and what our beloved Kishan was: "He (Dr. Kishan) was going to show us what we would be able to do together. Our best S.D.O., a brotherly, a good friend of us all, particularly our Kasom area people, so far amongst the past S.D.Os…he…left us the most indelible thought that we can do no longer just complain about others, forgetting about ourselves.

We can no longer think that the world will change and our vision will be fulfilled without ourselves being changed and moved. Let the death of …Dr. Thingnam Kishan Singh…help us to end casticism, or tribalism of Hills and Plains, correct injustice, banish ignorance and stop any violence or war, because all these are of our makings". ("Remembering Dr Kishan as a Nation-builder", The Sangai Express, dated 6 March 2009).

Many may not be able to express their true feelings so openly due to the intimidation of violence or poisoned by hate propaganda by the murderers. But for those who have known him and his works, including those in Kasom Khullen, the truth of his character shall remain unblemished by the slanderous allegation of the murderers.

The falsity and hollowness of the malicious allegation against our beloved Kishan is amply exposed, not only by the above facts but also by the fact that they have murdered two other Meiteis Y. Token and A. Rajen against whom the murderers could not manufacture any charges. Nothing can hide the world-view and sinister motives of the murderers: they selectively murdered the three Meiteis while letting off three Tangkhuls from amongst the six people abducted by them, and they committed the crime in a place inhabited by the Kukis.

That not a morsel of food nor a drop of water was spared for the innocent souls waiting to be guillotined, as the post mortem report suggested is an ample proof that the murderers were some devils on the prowl preying on selective targets.

Temporary victory under the illusionary spell of the Satan cannot last forever. Love will triumph over the hate campaign, and truth will ultimately prevail over the lies. As we pray for the departed souls of our beloved Kishan and his colleagues, we shall also pray to God to take care of those people who are being misled by the Satanic forces.