Words are always poor comforters when it comes to express grief, sorrow and solidarity at such lacerating moment. The gruesome murder of baby Elizabeth and the subsequent abandonment of her lifeless body in a highly decomposing state at Sadokpam left a mental scare to one and all. Such scare will not be possible to erase by any forces in the world. The story of baby Elizabeth will endure and she will be printed down to memory as long as the Manipur society exists.

All people are now virulent with thier tear welled up eyes. This is now the turn of Mr. Ibobi to come out from the pages of his theoretical book as a practical and radiant leader if he ever worth the salt of his loving Manipur. I wish the Honorable Chief Minister acts what he preaches. Whatever be the outcome, the History of Manipur has readily kept a page unwritten for Mr. Ibobi. Expressing condolences to the bereaved family on the funeral service or a drama like sobbing may not be able to fill the vacuum neither satisfied the angry public. Manipur witnessed hordes of talented politician who would readily shed tears on certain occasion.

We also have seen soon after the lifeless body of baby Elizabeth was recovered at Sadokpam,the prompt action taken up by the State Police Department was to block the IS TV channel and bellowed through the mike that the Greater Imphal area have been clamped under curfew. This may have been done with a view to control the furious and errant mob that they had experienced during the 18th June 2001. The whole exercise was carried out in a quick succession and on war footing. This has dispersed the public in different direction without knowing the reasons. Sometimes I do ponder how our swift and impulsive State Police Forces can be outsmarted by a few coteries of desperadoes with evil motives?

Till date the culprits are still at large escaping the long hands of the law-this has virtually reduced the whole State Police to the dwarfed status before the murderer. But it will remain a joke or rather a lame excuse to unable to trace the culprits and book in the long 13 days period for our State Police Forces have been known as one of the best in the Indian Police service records. Any suspect can be picked for interrogation but never was the solution. Is not it true that the commandoes in Manipur are far sensitive that they can crack down anywhere anyplace and could capture and gunned down even the one who by himself consider to have hidden in the safest hideout in the city.

In the meantime, political parties and MLAs in the opposition may please be silent forgetting the politics for a moment. This was observed when the masses of Manipur careered into whirlwind hunt of baby Elizabeth and her abductors all the top political leaders in the opposition side were engaging themselves in the press meet and busy to find a way out to disqualify two MLAs defected to Indian National Congress recently. They were evidently anxious to toppling the Ibobi Government only. How good it would have been for them, had they come out physically as a part of the family of Mr. Francis giving their vast array of knowledge and ideas which they always proud of.

However this was not done. Instead they were slugging mud each other keeping aside the most urgent business. They only demanded Ibobi to step down on moral ground. Yes-NGOs and other press circle in Manipur that are considered to be the watch dog in the society have every right to ask Mr. Ibobi to step down from the Chief Minister ship on moral grounds but if the same version ever repeated by the politicians in the opposition who, in the public view, nothing more than “an old book with a new cover” sounds like they are desperately hungry.

We all understand the child was sacrificed at the altar in the way human beings sacrificed to the men eating monsters in the folk lore of Arab. This is our own creation. In my poor knowledge and in the humble capacity as one of the guest columnist in The Sangai Express (English) it its publication on 11th November 2003, have expressed my feeling though that was not meant to be imposed to others that all the developments that have been taking place in our society are indirectly or directly should be held responsible by the society. This is none other than ourselves that shapes up, moulds up to become what it is today. We simply settled the bill and this time it was the lovely and innocent baby Elizabeth.

I may also be permitted to appeal to our premier pressure groups and leaders not to keep on clung “the Elizabeth murder issue” as it doesn’t belong to a particular group or a section of society. There are lot of lessons yet to be learnt from the 18th June 2001 where people formed parties and pay tributes to the slain martyrs in their own style. Kekrupat no doubt, is the sacred place and abode of the martyrs yet some section still forbid when the great anniversary falls. Kekrupat has emerged out time and again in the news in the ugly form. It is quiet a shame and a dishonor to the great heroes of all time.

The suggestion put forth by Mr.P. Gangte the president Kuki Impi Manipur (KIM) to earmark a special place for Elizabeth at Kekrupat along side the slain martyrs would be oft-cited indictment and doesn’t match.

So for the little Elizabeth let her stay away far from the mingling crowd. A picturesque statue in her replica stood high above in one part of the city may be appropriate. An honor may be given to her as “The Princess of Peace” for she showed the path of love and humanity to our people who all have been reeling under the chaos, unrest and distrust one another for so long. A memorial Children Park at Sadokpam dedicated in her name may be worth discussing too. This will sprinkle little water to the children of future generation and of course Lungnila Elizabeth may smile on that from her heavenly abode.

Any anniversary or function performed in her memories may be fully given charges to the student bodies like AMSU, MSF and DESAM etc. They may altogether carry out the anniversaries and function with a concerted efforts. It will be a fair on the part of other NGOs to stay away in the organizational matters in this particular event for it wholly belongs to the student’s communities. Everyone may participate when it comes to paying respect and tributes in the anniversaries. This way Lungnila will dwell to the heart of every Manipuris.

Now comes the repeat story of what mode of punishment would be deem fit for the murderers? In the old Manipuri tradition people professed to follow certain customary rules which can’t be altered. It had all been “an eye for an eye”. According to such laws they should be liquidated the same way they have committed the murder. If some one split his victim’s head open with an axe so will his head split open. In such circumstances the murderer of Elizabeth need a little bigger size bag than the one they manage for the poor one and drowned them in the same pond where the corpse of the child threw. The punishment however can be modernized and this will give the murderer a new lease of life- for a month.

In the process they may drown in the bottom of the pond every 3 to 4 minutes every day in a specific time. A round rope may hook the bag and other end of the rope may be held by someone so as to drag up soon as 4 minutes completes. This can be continued for a month or so and in the modern term this can be called “salvation dip” or “Sin dip”.

Manipur is fast advancing to barbarism and time calls for the people also to behave in the barbarian way less you die. Exposing the corpses of the murderers in the rain and sun for months together and ultimately keeping their skeletons in a laboratory may no be bed idea perhaps it will attract a lot of people over the globe and only available fairest chance to show the rest of the world that Manipuris hates terrorism.

People of Manipur will not have a solace in mind if the murderers ever shot down by the Commandoes without producing them in the public as it was happened in the case of notorious “JUGNU” group. That may cast a suspicion over the conduct of the Police Forces. People in Manipur as well as the neighboring states are waiting to see the next step of the Ibobi government and that will prove his sincerity.