Distorted sense of justice : Tears for fear
- Sangai Express Editorial :: November 15 , 2013 -

Equating revenge with justice.

Take this along communal line and it is a sure recipe for disaster.

The tears must have dried up a long time ago and yet at the same time there must be many an unshed tear, dry eyes telling their own profound stories.

Difficult to scale human cruelty, but yet human cruelty abounds in this place so much so that it is visible not only to the naked eyes but also in the sub-consciousness of every individual with a conscience.

This cruelty manifested itself in all its ugliness when a young man from Thangmeiband Lairenhanjabam Leikai was mercilessly beaten to death at Ragailong on November 13.

It was not a bullet, it was not a knife stab and it was not a single fatal blow on the head with a club that killed the young man, but a series of blows all over the body, not by a mob, but by a group of people who seemed to have deliberately gathered to 'teach him a lesson' which turned out to be fatal.

The venom of hate has indeed taken deep roots and more worryingly it has become contagious, spreading at a fast pace.

It was this contagion that manifested itself clearly, when the angry people of Thangmeiband gathered on hearing the news of the dastardly killing and soon morphed into a mob and marched towards Ragailong, to extract their pound of flesh.

Justice was the premise on which the mob was formed, but the very act of trying to storm Ragailong was again a manifestation of the overwhelming mindset in which revenge has come to be equated with the idea of justice.

To the credit of the police, they did manage to stop the mob from proceeding towards Ragailong in the dead of the night, but what followed after that was not only desirable but also extremely dangerous.

From Ragailong, the target suddenly changed to Mujikhul, at Thangmeiband itself, on the basis that Ragailong and Mujikhul are settled by the same community.

This goes against the very idea of Manipur, a place which is home to numerous different communities and ethnic groups.

Time for all to come out and take a strong stand against such culture. As in any tense and volatile situation, there are bound to be mischief makers, elements who derive a sense of sadistic pleasure by adding fuel to fire.

The possibility of such elements, who do not belong to Thangmeiband and who had no relationship of any sort with the youth killed at Ragailong, fomenting trouble and turning the target towards Mujikhul, after the aborted bid to storm Ragailong is something which cannot be written off that easily.

Mujikhul and Thangmeiband Lairenhanjabam Leikai are immediate neighbours and they have been living and co-existing in a state of harmony and love for ages, years which predates many, many generations.

Difficult to believe that the target should be changed so suddenly, without the machinations of some mischief makers, who are far removed, physically and emotionally from Thangmeiband.

It is such elements which need to be identified and weeded out from mainstream society like chaff from the grains.

What was witnessed on November 13 evening and November 14 morning was nothing but a reflection of the overall situation in Manipur, where the venom of hate and a distorted sense of justice has taken deep roots.

There can be no surgical operations to remove this culture which has become something like a tumour but this is no reason to throw in the towel.

All well meaning people of the land should stand up and speak out their minds for Manipur is walking on a tinder box.

Silence at this point of time can never be the better part of valour.