a repost

A couple of months back, an uncle was shot dead back home, out of anguish, I wrote an article and got it posted at kuknalim.com. a Naga website. I got a lot of response through phone calls, comments, and emails. The most touching moment was when aunt called up and told me that she has the article framed beside her bed. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Here it is:

(Originally posted on Saturday, March 31st, 2007)

How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
How many times can a man turn his head,
And pretend he just doesn't see?
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?

Imtishilu, a retired policeman from 2nd NAP Alichen, was shot dead by some unidentified persons while he was returning with his wife from Mokokchung to Alichen...

This happened on the 17th of March 2007. He was from Settsu village. A group of armed men tried to stop the car Uncle and his wife were in. It was already dark, so concerned about safety, Uncle did not stop. In an insanely disproportionate response, the armed men were provoked enough to open fire. Uncle was fatally shot, though he lived long enough to reach home.

Killing has not only become easier in Nagaland, it also has become meaningless, insignificant and rampant. His wife, in shock, incredulous, and looking for any explanation that might justify such a calamity, asked the armed men why they were killing innocent people. Their response? Since Uncle had disobeyed by not stopping the car, he had been shot dead.


A person who was so full of love for everyone, never harmed anyone, probably never punished his children even when they disobeyed him had been shot dead just because he did not stop his car. Ruthless, unforgiving punishment for breaking a rule that had been arbitrarily imposed. What punishment??

When I heard that “Oko Imtishilu is no more” I felt sad that someone I knew since I was a little girl was no more. But what hurts me even more is the manner, the futility of his death. I had only heard of such incidents happening to people I didn’t know or knew only remotely. But this was different. This was close.

Uncle Imtishilu did not deserve to die this way. He was a good man, a devoted husband, a generous and ever cheerful and helpful neighbor, an understanding and loving father. His mistake that evening was not stopping the car. His mistake that evening was to be concerned about his family. Why was he shot? So that someone could prove that they were powerful enough to terrorize ordinary, harmless people? His wife came back home, but she will not be the same person and never will be. The pain, the memories, the horror, will remain.


The funeral is over, relatives are back to their respective places and families, and the neighbors are back doing their regular chores.

Life always finds a way to return to normalcy eventually. But not for everyone. Not for the wife, the children and the grandchildren. Their lives are changed. Pain, regret, and anger overwhelm them in a way no one will understand.

Or maybe someone will. We all know of at least one such tragedy. We all understand. Because the real victim here is Nagaland.

What did Uncle Imtishilu’s death achieve? There was grief, there was fury. And there was the funeral. There was a 12 hrs bandh in Alichen.

Life is back to normal already. But today in Nagaland, normal means fearfully waiting for something like this to happen again, wishing it never will. But it does.

Death is common, and cheap. And our idea of a normal human life, of a civilized society, has been twisted almost beyond repair.

How many more deaths do we need, before we speak up? Before we say that this is wrong? That humans are not meant to die this way. That humans are not meant to live this way. That life is sacred. And precious. And that if this continues, Nagaland will pay a heavy price: If we do not value our own lives, no one else will.

Protest. Speak up. Act. You will probably save the life of your son, your wife, your husband, daughter, friend, a neighbor, or a good citizen of the land.