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A heartfelt and hard-hitting post about the recent brutal murder of two Assamese men, who were beaten to death by a ruthless mob.
They were two beautiful, beautiful men who loved playing music. That’s how they spent their time. It was a beautiful story, until 8th June. Here’s what happened. They were brutally lynched to death by the residents of Panjuri Kacharigaon a tribal village in Karbi Anglong, because there was fake news on whatsapp about child kidnappers or khupadhoras.
The two men, Nilotpal Das and Abjijeet Nath had come here for a holiday. They were hammered, and their private parts mutilated. I am not posting the video of the mob lynching because it’s nauseating, though it’s already viral. I was watching one of their fathers speak. He only kept saying, “How can a human kill my son so brutally?”
There are candle light marches organized. And all news channels are going over board. But, two beautiful men were lynched. They kept saying they were Assamese, begging for their lives. But the mob kept hammering.
I am reading obituaries from their friends and family and how their kindness and gentleness touched so many lives. But the mob did not hear. And no one raised a voice. They beat them up. They even made a video and uploaded it on social media. Not to forget, someone called up one of the men’s girlfriend as that was the last dialed number, telling her that they killed her man. They said, she should check the morning newspaper.
Two men lost their lives for some fake news. Two families were destroyed. No one said a word, when they kept begging.
I am going through a phase of deep nausea as I am trying to make sense of the brutal murder of these young men who were lynched. I have been watching interviews that are coming out. People are saying that those villagers were illiterate, alcoholic, unemployed, have no electricity and have no development in their villages. I am not arguing there. All I am saying is, do illiterate people gouge each other’s eyes?
India has a vast population of underprivileged people. Should they all lynch? If there is no electricity, how does one charge one’s smart phones and upload videos of lynching on social media? How do they understand how to operate Facebook? I am not blaming the whole Karbi Community, but why should I call those lynchers my brothers? When our boys kept begging and crying, “Moi Oxomiya,” (I am Assamese), which part of this sentence they did not understand? Where is brotherhood here? They checked their wallets and IDs, took away their phones, and had the audacity to call Nilutpal’s girlfriend, gleeing over the murder. Is poverty and unemployment justification enough for you to drag a man crying for help?
In every narrative, I always hear out the women. Yesterday, I was watching the women in that village talk. I had not a moment of empathy with them. They blamed alcohol, illiteracy and all that. But I wonder – when our boys were lynched, none came out.
Now that your men are getting arrested you can give interviews on TV along with some protests. I wonder – when our boys were crying, not one voice was heard to stop it. Not one. These women according to them, were afraid. But within 24 hours they were on TV, talking. So much for fear.
I am again not blaming the whole community. I have close friends there too. And I love them. But I cannot process this brutality. It is also said that, when the police took the bodies to the local hospital, the mob followed, dragged the bodies out and lynched again. They say they were scared of the so-called ‘Child Kidnappers’. But, it incited so much fear, that you needed to kill two men begging for life? So much fear, that even when you checked their car and bags and found nothing, still you mutilated them?
I watched how Nilotpal’s father fell on his knees. None of the fathers asked for anyone’s blood. But I know, they will live their sons’ deaths every day. I am constantly imagining the pain their sons went through. Ten years of their lives are already taken away. Nothing justifies this brutality, not even the Government’s apathy or social media’s fake updates. Those villagers knew what they were doing. The ones who stayed silent were allies. Tell me one more time, when Abhijeet and Nilutpal cried, “Moi Oxomiya,”(I am Assamese) which part of this sentence you did not understand?
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Proud Indian. Senior Writer at Women's Web. Columnist. Book Reviewer. Street Theatre - Aatish. Dreamer. Workaholic. read more...
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