A mob is not a moral answer, a pragmatic response or a civilised reaction to another mob. The dance of barbarians of one hue will not balance or wipe out the dance of another set of barbarians. They are merely politically equivalent pawns of uncivilised forces.
As the news trickled that a mob in Manipur set on fire the house of Huirem Herodas Meitei, one of the prime accused in the heinous gangrape and disrobing of women by another mob, there have been early hints that the process of justice has begun. It has not. It is injustice twice over.
Civilisation is the progress of society towards the absolute rule of law, with no room to unleash emotions of revenge or seek retrograde personal settlements of crime and injustices. Today, Manipur resembles a society where civilisation has gone on vacation, allowing primitive forces to reign.
Modernity is about moderation, about reasoned and principled manners of tackling all issues and differences. Modern jurisprudence sees all crime as an act against the State, against its sovereignty, might and majestic splendour, which is why all crimes are tried as a legal contest between the accused and the State.
When justice becomes a stone throwing battle between two mobs, or a game of mobs, the State has been squandered, all of modernity is ashamed and civilisation has regressed.
At no cost can the action of a mob, or a gang of miscreants, burning down the house of an accused of the heinous and unpardonable crime of parading two women naked is an act of justice. Retribution is not justice, merely another act of injustice. Both actions of mob violence must be ruthlessly punished to not only render justice in these cases, but re-establish the rule of law in the state.
Manipur must be brought back to civilisation.
