Some Thought On Local Laws

Yumnam Nirmala *

A mob set fire to an outhouse in August 2012 :: Pix - TSE

Alas! The girl was dead. She hanged herself to nobody's conscience, she committed what she thought was right. Everyone gathered at the spot. Meira paibis and the club members also reached the spot. Some of the women were sympathetic and some were still cursing her. We stood and stared at the dead body with and without remorse.

In my heart of heart, a sea of questions waged war against me. I was still kneeling down my knees and cried and wanted to kill all the Meira Paibis and Club Members. But to no avail how much I wanted to and tried as hard as I could, I was 'NOBODY'. Were all human-beings beasts? Didn't they have any emotion and pathos? Were they still living in the age of barbarism? I doubted they did ever have the so called organ 'Heart'. They were mindless indeed.

What I read everything from the theory 'The Great Chain of Being' where we, human-beings, occupy the first rung of the ladder among Animal kingdom, was only a theory, a bullshit. I know, I know, they had done the most terrible thing. The girl committed suicide out of depression and pressure from outside. The pressure outside became really hard for her to survive. The pressure was pushed by the so-called 'Meira Paibis and the Club Members'. The dialogue from 'The Three Idiots' by Chetan Bhagat still clang over my head, when one of the characters committed the same act when his teacher pressured him a lot. Choked in the wind pipe was the report but the actual reason for suffocation was the pressure in his mind. The condition here and the condition there was similar. The girl died because of the pressure, I know.

My cousin brother and I were discussing a problem which seemed to be comic apparently but serious in its content. As usual, we were talking about how it would be possible between a very, very much older man and just a kid. Besides, they were also family related. The girl was hardly 17 and the man was plus 50. Such was the talk of the night at around 9 p.m. My brother showed me some SMSs and again our curiosity was hightened. I checked the number and the texted words.

We were really puzzled at how such things really happened. The number was quite correct and the words seemed to us very shocking. We were amazed at the used words and sometimes we laughed at. The discourse continued for a while and my brother left me into an abyss of darkness as I went deeper and deeper into that very thought, the possibility of the story behind it and how such a very religious man could go astray of his righteous path. I lost in the thought and slept.

Suddenly, I heard some disturbing noises, shouting "Hey you rapist, come out", "Where are you hiding?" "Why do you ruin a girl who is just a kid, who is like your grand-daughter?"

I sprung up like a Jack-in-the-box being interrupted by the noise and realized that the very sound came from my neighbourhood. A sudden, short kind of lightning struck my mind and at that moment my body was terribly cold in the thought that the story my brother and I discussed some hours back might turn out to be true. I started trembling as I went out to see what really had happened, I saw a huge mob gathering in our courtyard just in front of my uncle's house. The mob were huge, and very violent.

I tried to go between the crowds and entered inside my uncle's house somehow. He was not there and my aunt sat as if she was just a stone statue. Meanwhile, the mob outside started destroying all the household things and tried to enter the main door. At this juncture, some family heads of our clan calmed down the mob and assured they would surely bring out our uncle within 20 minutes.

My uncle just showed up and as he was in front of the mob, stones were thrown and some women beat him up. Unexpectedly, police came and rescued my uncle. There were exchange of words between the mob and the police. Consequently, my uncle was arrested.

Every incident happened as if in a dream, in one winking of eyes. My brother and I looked at each other for a few seconds and we understood why he was arrested even though we didn't utter a single word.

Next day, again some men and women arrived at the hot spot and all household materials were broken and shattered living the house all stark-naked. Some local Meira Paibis came and ordered my aunt to vacate the house and locality immediately forever and informed that if any relative tried to help her and her children the same plight would be meted out to them. Such was the strict law of the local Meira Paibis. The children were now homeless and the next day they disappeared. We didn't know where they had gone and where they had lived. Inspite of all our sympathy, we were helpless before law and order. We wanted the children to come and stay with us. The so called law denied our every rights.

Months and days passed. We heard that our uncle was in jail. He would be there for six months. News reached us that he was badly beaten up by the commandos and inmates of the prison. Only news came and we were helpless. The victim was my aunt's niece. She was hardly 17 years old. My aunt's house was nearly my uncle's house. 25 years ago, they were in love and had three children. My aunt had a brother. He was also a married man and had a daughter who happened to be the victim. He was a care free man, loved to court several women and did bother nothing --- about his child, family. One day he brought a woman who happened to be pregnant for four months. There was a fierce quarrel between the first wife and the second wife.

From that day, the first wife left the house and stayed in her previous home. The girl was alone and she had no one to look after. Time brought a new change in her life. She started having boyfriend and she was frequently seen in the boy's bike. She acted as if she was a grown girl. She had no one to scold and she got every kind of freedom when it was the time for a teenage to be looked after very carefully. She started living in her own ways. She didn't bother for anybody. Indeed, she was a loser and sometimes we heard that she indulged in every kind of activities with her boyfriend and started drinking and eating intoxicated thing.

At this time, my aunt was the only relative who tried her to look after her needs. She told the girl to live together with her. The girl agreed somehow and during these days, she was taught and looked after by both my aunt and my uncle. The girl seemed to be little tamed. My uncle was seen frequently teaching her and sometimes they were seen walking, laughing, talking together without my aunt. But who would believe that they were in love. After all, they were just like father and daughter.

The girl was also a friend of my brother. They often exchanged their SIM card. One day my brother took a SIM card from her. At this moment, all the secrets revealed. My brother showed me the SMSs that were texted between my uncle and her. I wondered at reading the messages and couldn't believe my eyes whether they were really in love. We kept the news secret because if once flash then would it be a real trouble.

Some months later we heard that the girl eloped with her new boyfriend but brought back by my uncle as she was too young. Four days passed, the girl was kept shut inside as a kind of punishment. But on the following day, we heard that the girl vanished. She was found nowhere inspite of my aunt's and uncle's search.

Late at afternoon, we heard that she was with her mother. And her mother was so furious that she gathered local Meira Paibis and young men and women to arrest my uncle for his wrong, shameful deeds.

It was on June 24, the mob arrived and destroyed everything … the house, relationship between wife and husband, children and father. It was said that my uncle raped the girl. This was the news we heard that night. So he was sentenced for six months. Their children had nowhere to go. They were homeless and the wife suffered every kind of injustice, discrimination at the hands of local laws. Their life was lifeless and for what and why they were punished when they had done nothing wrong. Why was their house destroyed? People should have to re-think and retrospect what they had done to the children and wife.

Punish only the accuse one(s) but not his/her off-shoots. To live and enjoy one's life is everyone's right. Live and let live. Let's not encroach upon others rights. Let's remake laws and introspect before we act.

Nobody, nothing can change the local laws and out of shame and depression the girl hanged herself in front of the house late at night when no one saw her. She ended her life tragically.

Let's try to stop such mindless act whenever we come across the similar situation. Let's jointly re-investigate the problems thoroughly before meting out punishments --- the rights and wrongs. Even if the accused is found wrong, let's not make him or her the hindrance in the family and let the family be given their rights to live in peace in their own home.