UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

By Deepika Singhania

Scene: Classroom of first year degree students.

Conversation: “Hey! You wanna go for that play today?”

 “Play? That North-East thing?”

 “Yep that’s the one. We don’t have anything better to do anyway.”

What we didn’t know then was that we would be moved to tears by the end of the play. It was something we had no idea about, something we thought to be a thing of the past.

We witnessed through it, the side of the world which was far away, but still a part of us. The atrocities experienced by the Indian citizens in the North-East by our very own Indian Army. We saw and felt the goosebumps after watching the inhumane acts committed there. All this just because of one ‘Act’- the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958. This act has been implemented in these ‘disturbed’ areas because of terrorism threat. This gives the army personnel to enter and search any premise in order to make arrests. They can shoot at anyone who categorizes as a ‘suspect’.

But this is being misused. I have always adored and respected our army. I still do. Its not the army’s fault entirely. But then again, they play the major culprit’s role.

But why give them a power which makes them so headstrong? Why hasn’t our government repealed the act, even after almost a decade of the on going atrocities? Why hasn’t the media done anything about it? Why do we need people like Irom Sharmila Chanu to fast for ten whole years to get justice for her hometown? Who will answer these questions? We have the citizens of our very own country being exploited for nothing but innocence. What was their fault, to be born in our country?

There are protests being held and its high time we raised our voices against injustice. We as the citizens of India, pledge- ‘India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters’. So if we don’t stand up for them, then who will? So be there when they need you. Like they say- ‘United we stand, d-i-v-i-d-e-d we fall.’