T. Nchum
No amount of words can condemn rape committed on a woman and equally condemnable and appalling is the March 5 incident - the way we ‘Christian’ Nagas paraded the alleged rapist and lynched him in the most unimaginable way at the famous Clock Tower. I shudder to even narrate or imagine the torture that eventually led to his death. Even an animal taken to a slaughter house is treated more humane than that. Were those people involved in such outrageous retribution any better (in treating women, not necessarily rape)? Nagas have shown to the whole world that we are no better than beasts while we claim to be true “Christians”. The Clock Tower, once a pinnacle of grace and tolerance where the denizens of Dimapur have had many remarkable memories, have become a reminder of shame, intolerance and inhumanity for no fault of hers. Will we still adorn her with lights, decorations and a Christmas tree during Christmas? What a shame! I need not remind that we have completely slaughtered our image in the eyes of the world. How will we ever recover from such colossal disgrace!
The incident also exposed serious lapses on the part of the administration and the police which led to total mayhem and lawlessness by the mob. One should understand that a mob displays similar patterns of behaviour around the world. A mob from an advanced region is no more cultured and disciplined from that of a developing or under developed society. A mob in the United States will behave in a similar fashion to a mob in India or Nagaland when social and religious threads close to their hearts are broken. They lack rationality and has total disregard for any kind of authority .A mob is completely disorganised and anarchic. A mob never reasons the consequences of its actions and if not dispelled becomes beyond control. The mob of March 5th was no different. Efficient, effective and organised administration and police have been able to restrain mobs in many cases because prompt and timely intervention from the police and administration. A timely mediation could have perhaps prevented such an outward situation. Perhaps our then leaders in charge of Dimapur realised a little too late when things went totally chaotic beyond their control. I am amazed at their lack of intelligence to anticipate the gravity of the situation as it became obviously worse by the day.
While I out rightly condemn the appalling March 5th incident, I make an ardent appeal to the Chief Secretary and to the government that the Office of the DC and SP, in a melting pot like Dimapur, be occupied only by the most able of officers. I am also dismayed that neither the Chief Minister nor the Home Minister owned moral responsibility. Or perhaps such terms are alien to Naga politicians. We the Nagas need a thorough soul searching.
Will Dimapurians (renowned for boasting about Dimapur) ever boast of her? Will we still say we are Christians? Will the infamous Clock Tower ever regain her respect and sanctity?
Alas! God help Dimapur!
