Leader Writer : Leivon Jimmy
New Delhi the Capital of India has once again hit the “shameful” spotlight for not being the capital of India but for wrong reasons. Starting from the pre Common Wealth games the image of national capital has been damage enough, for instances collapsing of foot overbridge, dengue and untidy atmosphere of the game village etc. Now comes the most popular headliners for the region rape, molestation, sexual abuse and so on, on North East girls.
The recent mindless act of gang rape of a Mizo girl has proven that Delhi the capital of India is far from safe especially for the north easterners. The safety of North East students has always been a state of concern, as every molestation, sexual abuse or rape, reported in Delhi, most of the victim turned out to be from North Eastern Region, not only rape but the victim is sometimes killed.
It was quite embarrassing and shameful for the incident occurred in the wake of the world wide observation of the International Fortnight Protection Violence Against Women.
Despite the attitude and inhospitality meted out by the mainland Indians towards the people of the region in every walk of life, many parents chose Delhi as the destination for higher Education. For some parents like the state of Manipur they are compelled to sent their children due to frequent disturbances in academic atmosphere not because they can’t afford. Limited job opportunity also another factors.
According to tentative data, about 4000 students from North East take admission in colleges in Delhi University alone, excluding the working class and approximately their about 100,000 people from the region. Besides extreme harassment the students also undergo mental and virtual pressure day in and day out from the moment the mainland people started calling them “Chingkies”.
The attitude or crime meted out there has adverse impact in the minds of the friends and families and public here. A sense of confusion and apprehension also creates back home whenever such incident are perpetrated as frequency of such barbarous act. The confusion in taking decision by parents whether to sent their students outside the state and the apprehension what could other children who are out there, be going through.
For some they considered that such incidents are intentional, a racial discrimination or taking advantages of the needy and hapless people created out of the situation.
It is right time the concerned Government or Authorities put their heads sincerely to bring out a long term policy in order to curb the growing menace, like a programme or policy inculcate the idea of respects from either sides, a common platform for Chingkies to come together and exchange culture, or sensitization, or such. Security round the clock can sometimes lapse and become futile allowing crime to cleave in the security parameter.
The situation has become alarming the reports further pointed out that as many as 16 severe cases of molestation, rape and other forms of extreme cruelty perpetuated in Delhi against people from the North-East have been recorded so far in 2009.
The incident has also once again has triggered the question of discrimination, alienation and disrespects to the women and the people of this region thus expanding the room for restlessness, lack of trust, hatred to get its root deeper. Sincere commitment and long term measure is the need of the hour instead of promises to improve security or blame games.
Although the matter is regarding the rape of an innocent woman on the streets of the National Capital, a very painful and agonizing event for the lady who was subjected to such humiliation, we seem to miss the point and get into the insignificant aspects of race, creed and genetic differences between us. The larger issue is forgotten or addressed sensibly, which should focus on ways and means to avoid such situations from repeating again in future. The real threat to a womans dignity and pride is the inhuman act of physical assault by a stranger, wherever that incident may take place, here or there or anywhere on the planet. It is downright shameful and must be condemned in the strongest manner possible. Besides, those of us who immediately get into the act of blaming and pointing fingers forget that such things have been happening more frequently than ever these days. Unfortunately, the victim happens to be another of our sisters from the Northeast once again. It might just as well have been another one from anywhere else. The fact that must be understood is that the culprits were not exactly targeting a partciular geographical inhabitant to perpetrate their crime, but were high in their drunken stupor and simply lost their sense of civility at that moment of the oldest vice of mankind. The law also needs more teeth to deter such perpetrators, and that is the real issue here. We should be taking up cudgels against our legislators who are supposed to review and update laws according to the need of the hour. Our outdated IPC laws are just too lenient on such issues, and we tend to overlook that the law itself does not provide the necessary confidence in us to deal with issues of this nature. It will be a sensible thing to ask our legislators what they are doing to make the law enforcement healthier and the punishments more stringent, so as to at least put a plug somewhere on the issue of rape. Today, rape is just a petty crime, once the chargesheet is filed and the culprit can go scot free on bail, without much ado. So, let us initiate a public debate and bring pressure to bear on our rule framers to act and bring about much needed changes to our obscure laws, and then we can take things from there. If that does not work, we still have recourse to public ire on the law enforcers, which can help to raise the issue to international forums. It would be useless therefore, to point fingers and blame each other, even to the extent of losing control over the content and the language being used on such effective means of communication as the Internet. Accusations and indecent statements only dilute the issue like I am witnessing here on these pages.
And if you were upset for Sr Ibobi, let me reassure how politics works, if the BJP or anti-AF(SP)A alliance takes power after an election Sri Ibobi will jump ship and still be CM. Once AF(SP)A is repealed she will be freed. And if Sr Ibobi thinks he can keep power better by removing the immunity granted to the Mayang thugs responsible for 88% of the rapes of your sisters mothers and daughters then he will remove the disturbed status and end their reign of terror. You may replace the term Mayang with Indian Security Forces, I am just trying to get your attention. If they obey the same laws that they have to in the rest of India I’ll stand in a queue to garland them and touch their feet.
As for the delay, it took her five years to get the news out further than Manipur, it was only after her detention at Delhi AIMS that the rest of India began hearing about the atrocities in Manipur. 2007 with the Gwanjiu she brings the message to South Asia, but no one knows much about Gwanjiu in the West. 2008 Autumn her biography is published by Penguin but I only heard about it because I was staying in Bangalore at the time, Penguin India published it. So yeah I’ve come late like the Americans, and I did not come for you. She did it. Glad you noticed my little efforts on the internet. But I also trust to snail mail. I am sending her book of poetry to H E President Hugo Chavez, having sent her his book the South exists also. He should know that Manipur exists also. Imbalanced harmony is slightly oxymoronic though don’t you think. Like many things about Manipur.
You have a point though I took to long to get started, and I it may take some time to complete. She will not stop until it’s done, neither shall I. O Mamo you really need to learn how to meditate are there no decent Peace Ashrams in Manipur yet.
One last time, you will not be familiar with the writings of Jonathan Swift, he suggested a solution for the problem of the Irish Famine was to sell Irish children as food for cattle. Now before you get all excited and start saying that Mr Swift should get an education he is dead, and what he was doing was called satire I usually spell that differently but don’t want to confound you further.
The point is to shake you up a little but perhaps direct your anger with some intelligence. You are saying it’s hard to work out but I believe you are saying that 88% of all rapes registered are committed by Indian Security Forces. Your State Government the one I presume you are old enough to vote for, keeps applying to the centre for disturbed area status so that these Indian Security forces can enjoy the Special Powers of the AF(SP)A. These special powers are not the ability to scale tall buildings in a single bound or to fly faster than a speeding bullet, they are to provide them with complete immunity from investigation arrest or prosecution when for example they commit some of these rapes, murder, extortion, I may add extraordinary rendition but you don’t seem that focussed and I don’t want to confuse you.
So what I was suggesting since you are obvious a mature ethical Manipuri of voting age, is that you vote for a Government other than the one you currently have if you require assistance the BJP and the CPI(M) have both declared their opposition to AF(SP)A. So I present the problem and offer a solution.
Another report here from a Manipur states well he would but then come the election Ibobi offers you all 500 rupees and you change your mind. What price is Freedom in Manipur?
In your own State you have decriminalized gang rape and murder of Chingkies for visiting Mayang Thugs in uniform. Your women have more legal protection in Delhi than Manipur. They have arrested some men for the gang rape in Delhi. The men who gang raped and murdered Thangjam Manorama and those who could not get an erection to penetrate the vomiting pissing shitting frightened woman bayonetted her and shot her in the genitals to prove that they were still real men, they are all happy laughing at you. Dr Singh promised you the Jeevan Reddy Commission on AF(SP)A and when the retired judge recommended AF(SP)A repeal he sidelined it. Your CM whenever he comments now if comments tries to attack the reputation of the dead raped woman. You only ever do that in a rape case when you have no other defence to offer. I am just pointing out that you repeatedly elect mafia officials who welcome these rapists into your State to have their fun. I am sure if you all get very angry again Dr Singh will offer you another Commission of Inquiry and you’ll calm down. But I guess that’s democracy if you believe it’s ok for Mayang thugs to gang rape and murder your women in your own state and you’ll not only pay them to do this but give them medals. It’s really up to you now isn’t it.
what do u mean when u say ur state? was that raped girl a mizo from manipur? we know and as is evident that the culprits would have picked up any person for that matter be it a naga or a kuki or a meitei or anybody else from the n-e coz they think tht we r a subdued nation n nobody wud come to our help. the sympathy n pity is not only for the manipuris or anybody else it is for the n-e as a whole or better for humanity. u get lead away by narrow thoughts tht tells a lot about u
n besides wht if tht girl be ur sister or ur relative. of all the rape case registered in manipur alone 88% are commited by indian security forces. where were u whn these things happened in the pst?u cn babble the whole day in the internet but wht is ur take n wht have u done? n who r the chinkies tht u mention? we? or u? or for tht anybody else? u urself lack ethics my cear better keep away thn harm the already imbalanced harmony we r already tired of maintaining it. we r all the same my dear, don’t discriminate n the leaders u know they n no worse than urs so keep quite n go to bed u r too young for this.