The Devil is lamenting high and dry in Manipur

JC Sanasam *

The Devil is lamenting high and dry in Manipur

So many civil societies which are working in the line of social and moral values have emerged in Manipur. But does anybody of these devils swallow his saliva, think and try to understand?

Apart from his busy academic schedule my friend Prof. Prahlad Sharma (it is not the real name) often attends Swasthi Pujahs around his neighbourhood and at his friends' places, too, as the priest of the ritual during such functions. The other day we were having a small get-together of our group. We had information that he had to do one of such rituals in one family near his house; so he was to be late. Anyway, we started our session; still we were waiting for him. He inevitably appeared at last at the doorstep. As we greeted him, one in our group asked him, "So, for how much of guarantee of security, peace and happiness did you pray for the newly born child?"

He said, "Ah! The usual routine stuff. The uncle shot arrows and ground all the heads of the demons and ghosts of all directions with his teeth; so, the child will be safe."

Another in the group retorted, "Oh! What demons or ghosts at this time of ours! Do you see them anymore now? Rather you should have prayed that the child becomes a demon himself."

"Why? Why?", everybody wanted to know.

"Because now in our land only those who are demons can survive; small souls like ours have to spend whole life beseeching, imploring and whining for favours from the capable demons."

Another friend, Ibochouba quietly blurted, "You might not have seen ghosts but I've seen one."

"Where? When? How?"

"Oh, it was the Devil Ghost himself, I saw. When I walked through the Khwairamband Street alone, late at night, one day I saw him lamenting at the foot of the brightly lit lamp post. I asked him who are you, what's happened? He said he was the Devil. I asked him why he was crying. He said nobody regards him anymore in Manipur these days; he is so let down by the people here; he has lost his face; everyone has outshone and outdone him in executing devilish acts which, he thought, were his only. He felt he was left out high and dry; that was why he was crying", he said.'

A creepy story Ibochouba's anecdote might be, but to me it was indeed a real hard hitting parable. What worse acts can there be than the recent incident at Senapati, where a 14-year-old girl was raped, her body, especially her private parts, badly mutilated and her eyes gouged out, and thrown out to die. On the other hand, another 9-year-old girl, raped and thrown down to death from a third storey high at Hatta near the city itself some months before?

There is no end in the list of such wicked and crooked acts that are happening in Manipur relentlessly, including women being abducted and lost not to be traceable any further, strangers visiting homes and committing murders and similar crimes, women participating in extortion demands and trafficking killer guns, an SDO and his two staff members being stuffed in some sacks and slaughtered like animals are; grenades and IED explosives being hung around houses, being blasted even at well guarded bastions of Ministers and MLAs'.

What can we do with these evils? So many civil societies which are working in the line of social and moral values have emerged in Manipur. But does anybody of these devils swallow his saliva, think and try to understand?

To curb down these devilish and savage acts and root them out totally from the soil of Manipur eventually, perhaps now it is in the hands of parents and guardians. Child psychologists say such evils had already seeded in the psyche-heads of the criminals when they were young. Mostly it is the parents, neighbourhood and environment who and which failed to mould their children to normal healthy upbringing.

Unfortunately thus, such psychopaths are often children abandoned by both mother and father, and left uncared by the supposed-to-be guardians or children of divorced parents. However, if some good hearted guardians come in the front to look after such children many of them become individuals of high character and good citizens.

We can gather a good point out of what Ibochouba said, 'I and my children may not be successful in life and with our careers, but I can proudly say that none of my children will do extortion acts, demolish or rage schools or colleges or school buses nor will they carry guns to kill or murder people because I see to it that they do not commit such acts.'

To save Manipur every parent should learn a lesson from such exemplifying parents like Ibochouba. That is what being a good citizen is. Such citizens are not likely to produce children of peculiar and uncontrollable psyche.