The dead do not say anything: Deafening silence of Govt
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 24 2019 -

At the moment, the protest may seem to be localised, with only Thangmeiband affected but there is no reason to believe that it will not spread all over Imphal, if the Government does not act fast.

Found dead on February 18 inside her hostel room, and so far there has been no official statement from the Government and this does not put the Government in a good light.

The people of Thangmeiband, the place from where the young, late Ningthoujam Babysana hailed from, have every reason to feel peeved.

Indifference, this is what one may read into the deafening silence maintained by the Government.

Here is a case of a young student found dead under questionable circumstances and the least one would have expected is for the Government to respond to the situation and demonstrate to the grieving parents, siblings and the people of Thangmeiband that it cares and the death of the student would be investigated fairly and tightly.

If not handled well and on time, there is every possibility of the issue going out of hand with the protest spreading to other parts of the State.

Such a situation can only be to the disadvantage of everyone, but the Government needs to be sensitive to the hurt feelings of the people.

This is where silence should be done away with.

Let the Education Minister demonstrate that he cares for the little children who are called students. This is the way to go about it.

The Government needs to demonstrate that it cares and this is the right time to do that.

Already Students’ Union of Kangleipak has jumped into the fray and announced the closure of the school hostel.

There is no reason not to believe that other student organisations would not jump in and make things more complex.

The school authority is also yet to issue an official statement on the matter and certainly things could not be more confusing and messy than this.

Such instances can also go a long way in making parents wary about sending their children to school hostels and this is where concrete steps need to be taken up to ensure that the trust and confidence which parents and elders of the family share with schools are not allowed to be flushed down by indifference and the deafening silence as is being maintained by the State Government at present.

The child was only 14 years old and this is certainly not the time that children harbour thoughts of taking their own lives.

Innocent and lovely, this is the age of Babysana when she passed away.

Often suicide is an option floated to cover up anything and it stands that the dead do not come back to say how they died.

The dead will remain silent and this is precisely the reason why the Government cannot afford to remain silent.

This is the reality and the Government need to act now and try to soothe the frayed nerves of everyone.