From famous to infamous
- Sangai Express Editorial :: January 18, 2014 -
Media reports about Manipur are now abuzz with murder of women, physical assaults and all kinds of abominable criminal acts.
In some rarest of the rare cases, there were reports of the fairer sex killing men.
But what is more disturbing are the brutal attacks and murder on/of disabled women who could not even narrate what were done unto them.
These disturbing incidents are not specific to Manipur. But the unfolding scenario in the tiny State is alarming.
It is a common knowledge that the common people strive their best to ensure that perpetrators of such ghastly and inhumane crimes get the severest punishment.
However in some cases, public sensibility becomes numb and the society remains silent when some people commit such bestial unlawful acts somewhere, sometime under some circumstances.
Here, one need not point out any specific example.
One odious report of the recent most time is about a boxing coach thrashing some young girl athletes, that too pouring water over the poor girls in between.
One of the victim is still bed-ridden in hospital.
One point that one cannot miss is that the girls were staying in a hostel and they were beaten blue and black in the most brutal manner.
To a young athlete, a coach is a guru and vice versa.
What is even more intriguing is the deafening silence maintained by the hostel warden and the centre-in-charge at the time of subjecting the young girls to a dreadful physical and mental harassment and thereafter.
It is a privilege for teachers to teach and chastise pupils.
In the field of sports, it is a privilege and duty for coaches to train athletes, teach them proper manners and inculcate the students a strong sense of discipline.
There is no room for argument on this point.
Putting it another way, teachers or coaches have the same rights over their students as parents have over their children.
It is no rare case that many students who are stubborn to their own parents are readily pliant to their favourite teachers.
It is also no exception that many children outrightly rejected all corrections made by their parents when some teachers teach them something wrong. Such is the faith of young students in their favourite teachers.
The recent incident where a boxing coach of national stature in whose name even a road was named slapped and thrashed three young students as if they were his sworn enemies for scribbling some letters on his car was a tragedy.
The assailant once held as a national hero reduced himself to the status of some petty criminals, if what was reported was true.
Earlier too many well known personalities of the State accused of several criminal activities including crimes against women were let scot-free.
But the trend took a new turn in the last few years and some culprits found guilty for committing crimes against women were awarded trend-setting punishments by law Courts.
This does not mean the accused in the physical assault case of three girl students should be punished without first establishing the facts and exact circumstances.
Yet, the report that the boxing coach once acclaimed as a national hero thrashed three young girls in the most brutal manner pouring water in between for a trivial matter is really hard to digest.
It is everyone’s conjecture whether the national hero intended to kill the young students or did he think his fame permits sheer arrogance.
But one unmistakeable truth is, there is a difference of only two letters between famous and infamous.
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