Let's think before we act
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 31, 2011 -

Ningombam Pramod from the desk

The situation in the state of Manipur today has jumped from bad to worst.

There is total chaos in the society, people are out in the streets at the drop of a hat and indulge in doing anything at their own discretion. There is no one to control or tell the next guy that he may be wrong.

Here, everyone think they are right. Everyone follows everyone but none to guide them. This is the current social scenario in Manipur. Whether we agree or not, this is the truth, and we have to face it.

We Manipuris normally go by emotion rather than by reason. Recently, the Chowkidar of Irilbung Water Supply Scheme and his son were abducted from their quarters on the night of December 7 by armed cadres of KCP (MTF), Kesho Meitei group in connection with monetary demand from PHE Department.

Later, the father and the son were found brutally murdered and their bullet-riddled bodies abandoned atop Keitanlok hillock of Lemba Tangkhul village under Yairipok Police Station in the morning of December 17.

The public outcry over the dastardly act was understandable and everyone prayed that such incidents should never recur in the state for good. Subsequently, four persons, out of the total five, who involved in the double murder of the father-son duo surrendered to the police.

It's a good sign that the culprits at least realized their mistakes and submitted themselves to the law of the land.

But the most saddening part of the whole story is the dismantling of the houses of the five accused persons by an irate mob yesterday.

It was an equally dastardly act that did not even spare rest of the innocent family members including women and children. It was indeed an act which was not necessary at all.

People tend to forget that they cannot take the law into their own hands, and there is law court to do the justice.

What is the difference between the culprits who committed the crime of killing the father and the son and the mob involved in dismantling the house where innocent women and children are living?

Why shouldn't all those people involved in breaking down the houses of the accused to be punished in accordance to the laws of the land for their unlawful deeds?

What if the persons allegedly involved in the killing were not found guilty and declared innocent by the law court after careful investigations.

Who is going to make up for the whole mess created? We need not always have to stand by the fact that we Manipuris go by emotion rather than by reason. We should act reasonably as and when situation demands.

This is not the first case of its kind happening in the state. There have been numerous past incidents of mob violence and targeting the houses of any accused person and making the entire family homeless just because one of the members committed a crime.

This is nothing but perpetration of another crime and not the solution. How long are we to remain in this cycle of crimes with no solution in sight?

In the past, Manipuris have been described as people who value the principle of forgive and forget and never have the desire to take revenge upon the wrong doers, no matter how much pain the other may have inflicted upon them.

Yes, these are the Manipuris of the past - our forefathers, great forefathers, whom we admire still today.

But only admiring them will not serve us any good. We need to follow their principles.

As the saying goes 'Look before you leap and think before you speak', we need to cultivate the habit of thinking before acting.

Will it be too much to ask? We hope not.