The more one hears and reads about the horrific killing of Angel Chakma on 9 December, the more one realises that all of us in Dehradun must hang our heads in collective shame. Angel was in hospital for over fourteen days –the University just washed its hands off as if the transaction with students is only transactional, the faculty who taught him remained indifferent, those who broke the law did so with impunity, there was no outrage in the political class as the victim is an ‘outsider’ and the social media continues to be overwhelmed with Seasons Greetings and Year End sales, while the mainstream media is busy with routine announcements pertaining to astonishments of the government.
After the outrage in Tripura, their CM, Manik Saha, spoke to Pushkar Singh Dhami who assured him that most of the accused have been apprehended and sent to jail/juvenile home. However, it is learnt that the prime accused has fled to Nepal.
Over time, the accused will be apprehended and law will take its course. But there are larger questions. What kind of education are we imparting? What is the nature of youth socialisation? Angel asserted that he was an Indian – but even if he was a Chinese, does the mob have a right to take his life? What has made us such a violent and intolerant society? What kind of values are we imbibing from the family? From the school? From social media?
Angel Chakma is dead. His parents are naturally devastated. His father is a serving soldier of the BSF who devotes his life to save us from an external attack. But what about the attacks within? Who will take responsibility for them? We can build a fence to seal our borders, but how about the ‘narrow domestic walls’ we have created in our everyday life.
Can this serve as a warning bell? Can all the public and private universities hold special sessions with students and faculty to ensure that such an incident never occurs again? Can the government set up a special investigation and prosecution team to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book? Meanwhile, we may hang our heads in shame for living in a society where a person can get killed for looking ‘different’.
