Arson bid at petrol pumps :: Nothing insane about it
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 12, 2012 -

The dark soothe testifies the intent of the arsonists at petrol pump :: Pix - TSE

Abortive bid to set aflame two petrol pumps. Fuel outlets closing down in protest triggering a chain reaction in the form of panic buying with petrol being sold as high as Rs 150 per litre in the black market, passenger vehicles suspending service for the day and the sense of deja vu' is unmistakable.

But who cares ? Certainly not the people who actually tried to set two petrol pumps on fire, not the Government and certainly not the people either.

No one would have even raised the question of how long the petrol pumps will remain shut and certainly there will be no questions raised on how long passenger vehicles will remain grounded.

A public which has been brown beaten into quiet submission for decades can only create enough space for a number of sons of the soil to emerge and script the tragedy that is Manipur.

A case of laundering patriotism, nothing less and this is the fuel which feeds such imaginative minds to come up with a plan as grand as setting on fire petrol pumps.

The agenda is clear. Pay up or else face the consequences, never mind what happens to the people. Make no mistake about it.

The emergence of these elements has not only impacted gravely on the lives of the common people but has also gone a long way in muddying the water, the true situation that currently besieges Manipur.

Herein lies a tale, a significant one at that. The presence of a Government, which has never demonstrated its sincerity and political willingness to deal with these elements, has only gone to raise more questions than answers.

The politics behind the emergence of numerous sons of the soil is both intriguing and significant. Given the tight security arrangements and the huge presence of security forces, including the Army, the Assam Rifles, police, CRPF, BSF etc, it is hard to fathom how some rag tag groups of desperadoes can come together, float a highly patriotic sounding name and then carry out their nefarious business without much ado.

Other than affording some of these desperate souls to earn easy money and throw their weight around, such a situation is extremely conducive to discredit others and this can work only to the advantage of some political master brains and their agencies.

It is time to move beyond the mere act of trying to set ablaze a petrol pump or two and try to get an understanding of the larger political connotations.

Difficult it certainly is to understand how their mind ticks, but there is nothing ‘revolutionary’ or gallant about trying to put on fire petrol pumps which are located plum in the midst of civilian population.

Calling the arson attempt an insane act would amount to bedevilling people with mental issues. The plan and the act came from perfectly sane minds though peppered with all that is evil.

This is what makes the attempt to set afire the petrol pumps all that more abhorrent.

The most wicked thoughts come from those with a good mind and not from some delinquents and we are not only talking about the latest assault on our sensibilties.