Richard Loitam is dead, long live the spirit :: Humanity, The rallying point
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 03, 2012 -

Candle light at Imphal in memory of Richard Loitam on 29 April 2012 :: Pix - David M Mayum

Loitam Richard is dead. Long live the spirit that has sprung forth from the mortal remains of the young student of Architecture.

As the movement got off the ground to demand Justice for Richard Loitam, the rallying point was not about a student from Manipur killed under dubious circumstances, but about the death of a young man, underlining the essence of humanity and the values of universal brotherhood.

It is this spontaneous outpouring of grief and the united stand for justice that rekindles our hope in humanity.

To the thousands of people who turned up for the candle vigils across different cities of India, signed on the petition to be submitted to the Prime Minister of the country, the over 1,90,000 people and counting, who have joined the Justice for Richard group on the popular social netoworking site Facebook, it is obvious that it did not matter where Richard was from and who his family members are.

The common sentiments that unite the members who have signed up for the group is Justice and that no one should have the right to kill with such impunity.

It is also noteworthy to note that some members of the Justice for Richard group have been blocked for passing racially provocative statements by the administrators of the group.

A telling statement on what responsibility is all about and more specifically giving that cutting edge identity to the understanding of the term Manipuri Diaspora.

A lesson which the political class can and should learn.

The spirit of humanity which the death of Loitam Richard spawned appears to have also moved the Bangalore police and according to a report from the Bangalore edition of the The Times of India, the Madanayakanahalli police station is reported to have switched gears from the ‘mysterious death’ or ‘accidental death’ to murder now.

A powerful statement on how peaceful and meaningful protest, which appeals to the innate instinct of mankind and can make a monolithic structure like the institution of the police move and act.

Death is inevitable and in as much as it is inevitable, it also stands true that no one knows when the hands of death will come knocking at one's doors.

In the case of Richard, prima facie, and according to the circumstantial evidences, the hands of death that came knocking at his door were not some hoodlums or hired gunmen, but students, his own hostel mates.

It is a scary proposition to even think that a hapless young man could have been assaulted so severely by a group of some other students that it led to his death. It was gruesome.

Amid the spirit of the innate goodness and universal brotherhood that the death of Richard has kindled amongst the people, cutting across religious and regional divides, what was appalling was to see the canards being spread.

The canards included the term ‘drug abuser’. This is nothing but a craftily created tale to throw the focus of the people into jeopardy and if at all the murder is proved in the Court of law then those spreading these canards should be hauled up as accomplices to the murder.

It is not only a question of trying to mislead and thereby influence the due process of investigation and letting the law take its course, but also entails tampering evidences.

We have already raised the question of why the police was not first informed and why the hostel authority took it upon themselves to take the body to the hospital.

It could have been culpable homicide but the follow up action of the college authority reeks of a cover up attempt and this should be taken note of seriously by the law enforcing agencies.

A mother has lost her and so has a father his son. No one can bring back Richard to his beloved family, but the least that can and should be done is to ensure that justice is delivered.

The spirit which the death of Richard has given birth to is the beginning of the road towards justice. Let not the fight be that of the immediate family members alone but the whole of humanity.

Amen.