IMPHAL, July 2: Responding to a written complaint lodged by the mother of Loitam Richard, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi has directed the Karnataka government to submit… Read more »The post NHRC directs Karnataka govt to …
IMPHAL, July 2: Responding to a written complaint lodged by the mother of Loitam Richard, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi has directed the Karnataka government to submit… Read more
The post NHRC directs Karnataka govt to submit action taken report appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/07/nhrc-directs-karnataka-govt-to-submit-action-taken-report/
I do not deny that racism exists in every corner of India; I do not even deny the very fact that in Loitam Richard’s case, the college authorities and the… Read more »The post Never Too Late To Stop Racism appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
I do not deny that racism exists in every corner of India; I do not even deny the very fact that in Loitam Richard’s case, the college authorities and the… Read more
The post Never Too Late To Stop Racism appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/06/never-too-late-to-stop-racism/
IMPHAL, June 12: The Chief Minister of Karnataka told the student representatives that the Karnataka government has not received any single note from the State government on the alleged murder… Read more »
IMPHAL, June 12: The Chief Minister of Karnataka told the student representatives that the Karnataka government has not received any single note from the State government on the alleged murder… Read more
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/06/no-initiative-from-state-on-richard-case/
Times of India IMPHAL: Bowing to the popular demand for handing over Richard Loitam’s murder… more »
Times of India IMPHAL: Bowing to the popular demand for handing over Richard Loitam’s murder… more
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-to-press-karnataka-for-cbi-probe-into-richard-death/
By: Dr. Malem Ningthouja, Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur) There is articulation of… more »
By: Dr. Malem Ningthouja, Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur) There is articulation of… more
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/mysterious-richard-inculcating-racist-lingo-and-protest/
Business Standard| Google News Rss Feed PTI / Imphal May 21, 2012, 14:05 The… more »
Business Standard| Google News Rss Feed
PTI / Imphal May 21, 2012, 14:05 The Manipur government wants a CBI probe into the death of a student from the state in Bangalore as there has been no conclusive finding so far, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh said. “We have been insisting upon the Centre …
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-wants-cbi-inquiry-into-death-of-student-in-bangalore-business-standard/
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 10:08 IST By Santosh Kumar RB | Place: Bangalore |… more »
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 10:08 IST
By Santosh Kumar RB | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA
The mysterious death of Richard Loitam continues to haunt the Bangalore rural district police as the medical report has said his death was not due to physical injuries.
In their report submitted to the police on Wednesday, doctors at Victoria Hospital, who conducted the postmortem, stated Loitam’s death was due to a cardiac disease the source of which may be heredity. The doctors prepared the report after analysing autopsy, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and pathology reports, police sources said.
The police said they will now gather information on Loitam’s alleged heart disease and ascertain if any of his family members had the disease earlier.
Senior police officers are not sure whether to covert the murder case into an unnatural death report (UDR) case or book a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 of IPC, police sources said. The superintendent of police (Bangalore district) D Prakash was not available for comments on the medical report as his mobile phone was switched off when DNA tried to contact him while Inspector general of police (central range) Malini Krishnamurthy did not pick up calls.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/latest-finding-richard-loitam-died-due-to-cardiac-ailment/
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by… more »
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by his fellow students, presumably was not the first student who died resulting from nasty brawl amongst students; and under the criminal justice system of this country, this is also not the first case that concerned authorities have refused to follow up a case properly or sought to cover-up crimes. Given this, one must ask and be honest as to why so many, particularly from the Northeast, have come out crying for “Justice for Richard Loitam”? The answer will invariably bring a context which will speak, not only about the nature of the present case but also the nature of the response against the death of Richard Loitam.
Justice for Richard – Protest at Delhi : Click the image to view the gallery
Racism and Its Violence: It’s Not a Private Affair Alone
We must ask four questions in order to put the unfortunate death of this young student from Manipur in perspective:
Answers to the above questions shall tell us something about “racism” vis-à-vis the present case. Indeed, these four questions will reveal that Richard’s case is a larger concern which has a collective stake rather than being merely a case of justice for an individual or a family. For instance, it seems, going by the preliminary post-mortem report and pictures of Richard’s dead body and his room that are being circulated on net, the nature of the injuries that had led to his death were not the results of a regular brawl with his fellow students who did not have the intention of causing injuries that might lead to his death or a consequences of a scuffle in which Richard fell and got injured. Prima facie, these pictures and the preliminary post-mortem report seem to suggest that the injuries that led to his death were results of a brutal assault. It is here that one is forced to think of the intent of those who allegedly assaulted him, and the above first question gets implicated in the present case which simultaneously makes Richard’s death a part of a larger issue of “racially” motivated acts.
Besides, legal fraternity will tell us that large part of the denial or subversion of justice under the criminal justice system in the country starts with the lowest level of the system, that is, the police. From refusal to register the FIR or registering it in ways that are detrimental to the victims to shoddy investigations, the denial or subversion of justice began from there. And more than any other class of people, it is the marginalized and weaker sections of the society who are more likely to face such an experience of subversion of justice is a well known fact. There is no point in denying that there had been an attempt to subvert justice by seeking to brush aside Richard’s death as a natural death and hush up the case. After all, the present outcry has been a reaction to such an effort to subvert justice. This being the case, what are the reasons for the attempt to subvert justice by the concerned authorities? Is it a case of familiar attempts of our criminal justice system which often denies justice to the weaker or marginalized sections of the society (here, the case being that Richard was a member of a particular people from a particular region which is marked by a marginal status vis-à-vis the larger Indian society)? It is this aspect of the present case which implicates the above second question, which, in turn, makes Richard’s death a collective concern over and above being a concern of his family and friends.
Needless to say, the outpouring of resentment and anger against the manner in which he was allegedly assaulted that led to his death and the initial responses of the concerned authorities have been presumably informed by a general sense of being marked out or differently treated or having faced outright acts of discrimination and humiliation by the people of the Northeast and an empathy with them by other citizens of the country. Only a self denial (due to ignorance or vested interests) of those who are used to seeking private solution (such as buying inverter) to a public malaise of institutional failures (electricity) in Manipur would deny that Richard’s case in not merely a concern or affairs of a private kind (family etc) but that of a public and collective concerns which speak of the place and experiences of the people in/from the Northeast. Arguably, it is also precisely because of this public concern that implicates the people from a geo-politically sensitive region that the Govt. of India and political class scrambled to respond to the outcry.
In order to understand the present case, both the unfortunate death, responses to the same and nature of contemporary understanding on racism, we might as well take note of the following two aspects:
The above aspects, the different “languages” of the majority perpetrators and the minority victim are points to be noted for us to grapple with the violence that has led to the death of Richard Loitam and responses to the same.
Need for Informed and Honest Response
Incidentally, and perhaps expectedly, on the other hand, there are some who have a misplaced, if not a sinister or deliberate, attempt to distract the issues at hand by raising the insecurity-driven-xenophobia which are often expressed in terms of “identity assertions” and violence against “outsiders” (or amongst the different communities) in the Northeast. Incidentally, some of these people who raise such issues have never spoken out against such xenophobic violence before they choose to raise the issue in this case. Raising such issue is not only reflective of a lack of understanding between the two forms of violence but also an attempt to distract, wittingly or unwittingly, from the issue at hand. The present case must, therefore, be addressed for what it is through proper investigations, which entails an informed and honest effort to take into account the context of the violence and the responses to the same.
It has been pointed out that the inmates (Jews/gypsies) of the Nazi concentration camps were/are not the only ones who were/are traumatized by the experience; the camps guards also suffer from the de-humanizing experience. However, juxtaposing the trauma of the camp guards to de-legitimize or sideline the dehumanizing and traumatic experiences of the inmates of those camps can only be a misplaced concern at best and at worst, a sinister move to deny the sufferings of the inmates and justify and perpetuate racism which had produced the Holocaust.
We must also remember that fight against “racism” in any form or manifestation is not an anti-state act. Indian State, constitutionally speaking, is not a racist State. Article 15 of the Constitution makes any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex or place of birth illegal. If the spirit and letter of the Constitution are not respected or followed by the Government or parties, one must not be apologetic about standing against the same. Notwithstanding the Constitution, we must know that our lived world is not entirely determined or covered by the constitutional provisions or laws. We might eulogize Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Indian Constitution. But, I suppose, Ambedkar must also be acknowledged for his insistence on or preference for “social transformation” over “political transformation”. Perhaps, the Constitution is like an “interview guide” that researcher uses while engaging with the realities of the “field”; the actual outcome depends on what the researcher actually “does” with it. In short, the kind of “transformation” that he had in mind must therefore be judged by what we do with the Constitution. In fact, Ambedkar’s concluding remark in the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 on “those who are called to work it happen” must speak a lot to us today.
In short, the case of Richard Loitam brings home the familiar lacunae in our criminal justice system and the reality of “racism” with or without “race” which has often been underplayed, if not actively denied, in this country, including by those who are incidentally at the receiving end of “racism”. Sooner we realize this and seek corrective measures, better it would be for one and all. Seeking justice for Richard Loitam must be a part of that effort.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-racism-and-its-violence/
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by… more »
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by his fellow students, presumably was not the first student who died resulting from nasty brawl amongst students; and under the criminal justice system of this country, this is also not the first case that concerned authorities have refused to follow up a case properly or sought to cover-up crimes. Given this, one must ask and be honest as to why so many, particularly from the Northeast, have come out crying for “Justice for Richard Loitam”? The answer will invariably bring a context which will speak, not only about the nature of the present case but also the nature of the response against the death of Richard Loitam.
Justice for Richard – Protest at Delhi : Click the image to view the gallery
Racism and Its Violence: It’s Not a Private Affair Alone
We must ask four questions in order to put the unfortunate death of this young student from Manipur in perspective:
Answers to the above questions shall tell us something about “racism” vis-à-vis the present case. Indeed, these four questions will reveal that Richard’s case is a larger concern which has a collective stake rather than being merely a case of justice for an individual or a family. For instance, it seems, going by the preliminary post-mortem report and pictures of Richard’s dead body and his room that are being circulated on net, the nature of the injuries that had led to his death were not the results of a regular brawl with his fellow students who did not have the intention of causing injuries that might lead to his death or a consequences of a scuffle in which Richard fell and got injured. Prima facie, these pictures and the preliminary post-mortem report seem to suggest that the injuries that led to his death were results of a brutal assault. It is here that one is forced to think of the intent of those who allegedly assaulted him, and the above first question gets implicated in the present case which simultaneously makes Richard’s death a part of a larger issue of “racially” motivated acts.
Besides, legal fraternity will tell us that large part of the denial or subversion of justice under the criminal justice system in the country starts with the lowest level of the system, that is, the police. From refusal to register the FIR or registering it in ways that are detrimental to the victims to shoddy investigations, the denial or subversion of justice began from there. And more than any other class of people, it is the marginalized and weaker sections of the society who are more likely to face such an experience of subversion of justice is a well known fact. There is no point in denying that there had been an attempt to subvert justice by seeking to brush aside Richard’s death as a natural death and hush up the case. After all, the present outcry has been a reaction to such an effort to subvert justice. This being the case, what are the reasons for the attempt to subvert justice by the concerned authorities? Is it a case of familiar attempts of our criminal justice system which often denies justice to the weaker or marginalized sections of the society (here, the case being that Richard was a member of a particular people from a particular region which is marked by a marginal status vis-à-vis the larger Indian society)? It is this aspect of the present case which implicates the above second question, which, in turn, makes Richard’s death a collective concern over and above being a concern of his family and friends.
Needless to say, the outpouring of resentment and anger against the manner in which he was allegedly assaulted that led to his death and the initial responses of the concerned authorities have been presumably informed by a general sense of being marked out or differently treated or having faced outright acts of discrimination and humiliation by the people of the Northeast and an empathy with them by other citizens of the country. Only a self denial (due to ignorance or vested interests) of those who are used to seeking private solution (such as buying inverter) to a public malaise of institutional failures (electricity) in Manipur would deny that Richard’s case in not merely a concern or affairs of a private kind (family etc) but that of a public and collective concerns which speak of the place and experiences of the people in/from the Northeast. Arguably, it is also precisely because of this public concern that implicates the people from a geo-politically sensitive region that the Govt. of India and political class scrambled to respond to the outcry.
In order to understand the present case, both the unfortunate death, responses to the same and nature of contemporary understanding on racism, we might as well take note of the following two aspects:
The above aspects, the different “languages” of the majority perpetrators and the minority victim are points to be noted for us to grapple with the violence that has led to the death of Richard Loitam and responses to the same.
Need for Informed and Honest Response
Incidentally, and perhaps expectedly, on the other hand, there are some who have a misplaced, if not a sinister or deliberate, attempt to distract the issues at hand by raising the insecurity-driven-xenophobia which are often expressed in terms of “identity assertions” and violence against “outsiders” (or amongst the different communities) in the Northeast. Incidentally, some of these people who raise such issues have never spoken out against such xenophobic violence before they choose to raise the issue in this case. Raising such issue is not only reflective of a lack of understanding between the two forms of violence but also an attempt to distract, wittingly or unwittingly, from the issue at hand. The present case must, therefore, be addressed for what it is through proper investigations, which entails an informed and honest effort to take into account the context of the violence and the responses to the same.
It has been pointed out that the inmates (Jews/gypsies) of the Nazi concentration camps were/are not the only ones who were/are traumatized by the experience; the camps guards also suffer from the de-humanizing experience. However, juxtaposing the trauma of the camp guards to de-legitimize or sideline the dehumanizing and traumatic experiences of the inmates of those camps can only be a misplaced concern at best and at worst, a sinister move to deny the sufferings of the inmates and justify and perpetuate racism which had produced the Holocaust.
We must also remember that fight against “racism” in any form or manifestation is not an anti-state act. Indian State, constitutionally speaking, is not a racist State. Article 15 of the Constitution makes any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex or place of birth illegal. If the spirit and letter of the Constitution are not respected or followed by the Government or parties, one must not be apologetic about standing against the same. Notwithstanding the Constitution, we must know that our lived world is not entirely determined or covered by the constitutional provisions or laws. We might eulogize Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Indian Constitution. But, I suppose, Ambedkar must also be acknowledged for his insistence on or preference for “social transformation” over “political transformation”. Perhaps, the Constitution is like an “interview guide” that researcher uses while engaging with the realities of the “field”; the actual outcome depends on what the researcher actually “does” with it. In short, the kind of “transformation” that he had in mind must therefore be judged by what we do with the Constitution. In fact, Ambedkar’s concluding remark in the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 on “those who are called to work it happen” must speak a lot to us today.
In short, the case of Richard Loitam brings home the familiar lacunae in our criminal justice system and the reality of “racism” with or without “race” which has often been underplayed, if not actively denied, in this country, including by those who are incidentally at the receiving end of “racism”. Sooner we realize this and seek corrective measures, better it would be for one and all. Seeking justice for Richard Loitam must be a part of that effort.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-racism-and-its-violence/
Lapses in probe: Loitam’s uncle Deccan Chronicle The family of the 19-year-old Manipuri student Richard… more »
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/lapses-in-probe-loitams-uncle-deccan-chronicle/
By Arijit Sen On the afternoon of July 15, 2004, 12 women disrobed themselves and… more »
By Arijit Sen
On the afternoon of July 15, 2004, 12 women disrobed themselves and stood naked in front of the Indian paramilitary headquarters in Imphal. Together they held a single length of white cloth that had “Indian Army Rape Us” emblazoned on it in red paint. No corner of India had witnessed such a display of anger, ever. The Manipuri women were protesting the gangrape and murder of a 32-year old woman, by paramilitary forces. It was only after this protest by the ‘Imas’ or mothers of Manipur and the publication of photographs of their protest in some newspapers that the rest of the mainstream media woke up. Reporters were sent to Imphal. Stories were carried and awards won. Unfortunately, the principal demand of the protest, the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, fell on deaf ears. Manipur, again, dropped off the national mainstream news cycle. Ironically, in December 2008, the same group of 12 women travelled from Manipur and staged a sit-in protest in Delhi. The media did not find the protests newsworthy.
It is not without reason that Indians from the Northeast corner of the country often feel neglected and ignored. The apathy displayed towards the region by the so-called mainstream Indians is perverse, if not criminal. Currently, the death of 19-year old Richard Loitam and 21-year old Dana Sangma has hit the national headlines. There are protests, debates and efforts to bridge divides. Even then a large number of educated Indians display surprising ignorance. Some believe that the entire debate of ignorance of the Northeast is a myth. Some, still, do not think twice before cracking a joke on the region. In metropolitan India, the dominant image of the region still remains that of a wild frontier.
At Delhi, few months ago, an award winning Indian film critic was looking back with much love at a few days she spent in Nagaland. Or was it Manipur? She couldn’t exactly remember. But she was certain it was the Northeast. That was what mattered most. She seemed happy to have done her bit of exotic tourism. “But oh the roads and the time we spent to travel to “what was the name of the capital city” from Dimapur?, she asked me. “I could have reached Paris in that time”, she underlined. Global citizens have their way of drawing comparisons. I couldn’t fathom the Paris-Kohima trade off even if it was in half-jest. But our cine pandit’s bharat darshan kahaani let my mind go back to what an Ivy League-educated American economist had once asked me, “Tell me frankly, are there any cannibals in Northeast?” I thought there wasn’t much difference between these two entitled and illuminated global beings. Be it an elite Indian or an elite Westerner, for most, the idea of Manipur and that of the entire Northeast even in 2012, still remains that of an area of darkness. It’s an idea that comes with a healthy dose of colonial hangover. Gazeteer’s records hidden away at archives in London, the fountain head of civilisation, have ravingly racist descriptions of Northeast India. In the 19th Century, according to Lord Dalhousie, it was an area full of “pertinacious savages”. An idea not too far removed from what is thought about the region now. In 2008, an Indian television anchor reporting from Nagaland famously said that “the further I travel inside Nagaland, the further I move away from civilisation”. The foundations of the British Empire still appear unshaken in such statements.
The biggest instrument of such a civilisation, democracy and in turn elections, has established itself comfortably in Northeastern Indian states. When it comes to governance in a place like Manipur, for most observers and policymakers what remains of interest is the number of people who cast their votes in elections. In this democracy overdose, many also tend to ignore that Manipur was the first corner in South Asia that elected a government on adult franchise in 1948. That assembly was dismissed, the King of Manipur was put under house arrest in Shillong. A treaty of accession was signed in 1949 under direction of the then Home Minister of India Sardar Vallabbhai Patel of the Indian National Congress. Late Mr. Patel probably would be a happy man to find Manipur’s speedy rise in India’s electoral politics in the last sixty years. A newfound status of a C Category State (from being an Independent Kingdom that was making the transformation to democracy) in 1949 to 60 MLAs and at least 30 militant outfits in active resistance in 2012 the journey has been stupendous according to some, disastrous according to most. Not to forget the inescapable darkness of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act across the state.
When it comes to building bridges with the rest of India, one extreme suggestion is to overlook problems and talk about success stories. Ignore the insurgency chatter, ignore the problems and put the winners, the successful on the hoardings of Incredible India. I met the incredible-then thrice world boxing champion MC Marykom at her home in Imphal in 2007. I clearly remember how she said that for many Manipuris sport remains the passport to a better life, or a job in the police or two meals a day in a training camp. Marykom’s story is one of incredible success against all odds. Yet, for her recognition has been incremental. Not a continuous one as is the case in cricket or tennis. It is almost to hide the embarrasments of racial hatred against people from Northeast India, an embrace of a Marykom seems imperative.
That embrace, however, fails to erase certain facts. The Ministry of Development of Northeast Region has released 138 billion rupees in the last ten years. However, the funds have either been misdirected or not used at all. According to the Human Development and Infrastructure Index mentioned in the Twelfth (2005-10) Finance Commission Report, the seven Northeastern states rank the lowest in infrastructure development. Basic facilities like elecricity, water, roads are absent in most of Northeast. There are local militias calling the shots in various places and in many places the ideology of resistance has been replaced by the convenience of money-sharing arrangements between local militias and bureaucracy. The Justice Manisana Commission report (2008) on the misappropriation of funds in North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council mentions how funds meant for development work were chanelled to militants and some departmental officers in Assam received their due share. In 2012, an Austrian Company moved out of oil exploration work in Assam, after they were asked to pay 70 lakh rupees by a faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam. There are at least 30 active militant groups in the region. The government is negotiating with at least 15. Every year, like a ritual, signing of ceasefire agreements and surrender ceremonies keep alive the lies and deception of peace building in Northeast India. Behind all changes in the region, this remains a constant.
What also remains constant despite all efforts is the attitude of the Indian bureacucracy towards the region. In 2007, an Indian Police Service official wrote a booklet for students from Northeast who come to study in Delhi. In “Security tips for Northeastern students” racial profiling was the underlining theme. It had instructions for women from the Northeast to avoid wearing revealing clothes and dress according to the sensitivity of the local population. “Avoid lonely roads/bylanes when dressed scantily”, it counselled, clearly implying that women from the Northeast display too much skin. It also objected to Northeastern food habits, especially the cooking of akhuni and bamboo shoots, saying “smelly dishes should be prepared without creating ruckus in the neighbourhood”. Ironically, the booklet was written by an IPS officer from the Northeast who considered these exhortations to be in the interest of ‘emotional and patriotic integration”.
Suddenly, when it comes to Northeast civil liberties seem to have been defenestrated. And in a free India integration seems to be taking place at gunpoint. This integration was probably never there and with the deaths of Richard and Dana seems to have gone horribly wrong. Take a look at the the profiling of Northeast India that takes place comes out in various ways. Jonathan Glancey of The Guardian mentions a report of the Indian media in his travelogue, Nagaland: A Journey to India’s Forgotten Frontier ( which too is guilty of making the area appear exotic), where someone suggests that the thriving monkey population of Delhi should be sent to Nagaland because, “the locals will have no problem dealing with monkeys; they will eat them”. This year in February during a dog menace in Punjab, the MLAs decided to write to the Nagaland government. Then MLA Makhan Singh, a member of the Vidhan Sabha Committee wrote that “besides looking for a provision in law to kill stray dogs we are working out the possibility of sending the canines to Nagaland, where dogs are commonly sold for meat”
After the death of Richard Loitam and Dana Sangma and a campaign for justice for them, Indian Parliament discussed Northeast last week. Arun Jaitley and P Chidambaram spoke with much passion. They spoke of helpline numbers for the students. They spoke about sensitizing the rest of India about the region. I am told most of Manipur could not catch them on TV. The region just gets one hour of electricity in a twenty four day.
Email: arijitsenmail@gmail.com
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-an-alien-in-his-own-country/
By Jagdamba Mall “Bhaiya mat maaro” were perhaps the last words of Richard Loitam… more »
By Jagdamba Mall
“Bhaiya mat maaro” were perhaps the last words of Richard Loitam – a 19 year Meitei Hindu 1st year student of architecture at the Acharya NRV Institute of Architecture, Bangaluru on 17th April 2012 who came to Bangaluru with the dream of becoming an architect but died instead after being attacked by two of his seniors – Vishal Benerjee and Syed Afzal Ali – both from Jharkhand in his college hostel on that fateful day. The two seniors had attacked Richard Loitam following an argument over watching an IPL match in the college hostel.
As per the report gathered from the fellow students who were present at the time of brawl, Loitam’s head was forcibly pushed against the window rods of hall. His head and vulnerable and sensitive parts of his body bore marks of severe assaults with some blunt object and was bleeding profusely from mouth and nose. When the door of his room did not open next day i.e. 18th April 2012 till noon and he was not responding to any loud call, he was found dead when his door was break-opened. Richard Loitam was a cheerful and obedient son of his doctor parents in Imphal, Manipur. He was an avid footballer, a music lover, cordial, sincere and bright student.
Instead of showing a human sympathy to the innocent victim student and his wailing parents and family members, the police and management concocted the story of Loitam being a drug addict who met with an accident because of which his death occurred. Even on the lapse of 21 days of filing this report on 9th May 2012, the culprits – Vishal Benerjee and Syed Afjal Ali are still not arrested and are in the hostel under police protection. They are neither rusticated nor punished in any manner even though a case of murder has been lodged in the police station under section 302 and 306 of Cr.P.C. They are attending regular classes.
On hearing the news of death of Richard Loitam, the team of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) under the leadership of Ningombam Sanjeev Kumar – a resident of Imphal (Manipur) and a research scholar Ph.D. student in Management in Bangalore University who is a national executive member of ABVP, visited the place of incident, took the stock of situation, met the College Principal, warden and all other concerned faculty member and employees and submitted a memorandum to Principal expressing the anguish over the inaction of police and college authorities and instead spreading over the mischievous propaganda against the dead – Richard Loitam. ABVP organized protest rally and submitted a similar memorandum to Shri R. Ashok, Home Minister of Karnataka Government as well, but in vain.
Back home, the student bodies in Manipur and other States of North-East Region are continuously agitating demanding the justice from State Government of Karnataka and Union Government. The print and electronic media has given a large coverage to this incident. The agitators clearly say if the victim was from any other State out of North-East Zone and the culprits/murderers were from North-East Region, could the law enforcing agencies under the control of Karnataka Government and Union Government remain as inactive as they are in this case? Such step-motherly behavior of Delhi and Bangaluru adds to already existing segregation and disenchantments in the minds of people of NE Region. The anti-national forces most active in Manipur and other NE States add fuel to the fire. To extinguish the fire of discontent and discrimination, the concerned Governments of Karnataka and Delhi must act decisively to do justice to the victim and his parents to restore the confidence.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/punish-the-murderers-of-richard-loitam-of-manipur/
Livemint – Posted: Fri, May 11 2012. 11:34 AM IST Pramit Bhattacharya The uproar over… more »
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/the-angry-northeast/
Lakshmi Chaudhry May 8, 2012, Firstpost Richard Loitam, a young architecture student, from manipur, was… more »
Lakshmi Chaudhry May 8, 2012, Firstpost
Richard Loitam, a young architecture student, from manipur, was found dead in his hostel room on 18 April. The most contentious aspect of this murder – and its shoddy investigation – is this: Is Loitam’s death damning proof of racism or not? This in turn has led to a broader debate as to whether people from the North-east are, in fact, victims of racism.
Home Minister P Chidambaram dismissed the problem in Parliament as “subtle discrimination” experienced by a wide range of communities: “Some years ago, it was based on language. Sometimes it was based on regions. Every south Indian, who came to Delhi, was called a Madrasi. Things have changed.”
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/the-richard-loitam-murder-denying-our-inner-bigot/
The lyrics Verse 1: Big Deal My mind states very disturbed/ please bear wit me… more »
Verse 1: Big Deal
My mind states very disturbed/
please bear wit me i Wana be sharing these thoughts/
n i know there is no law/
but goddam where is the love?
Feels like mother earth’s heart-broken/
the cut’s so deep its bleedin n open/
all this violence your tv’s provoking/
very ironic that ppl get killed over tv remotes!
“really?”
“see you don’t even know”/
ppl ignorant, they just got their own/
they don’t give a Shit bout the Shit outside their homes/
until they step on Shit,
“Shit! Gross”/
yday was ansh today its Richard/
moro its ur fren, day after its ur sister/
so stand up 4 ur beliefs, don’t just Sit/
if you want it, raise your voice n say”I want justice”/
Verse 2: Shree Sen
Human, losing humanity
Got stuck in the idiotic word TV
Manobikota’ aaj boro song’in / Humanism is dying rotten alone
Look around/ deykho aaj sudhu hing’sa/ Look Around, all you can see is HATE
No one listens/ jibon aaj mith’thay/ No one listens, life is a living LIE
Khotobikhoto pran/ nai tar mul’lo?/ Life is mourning, doesn’t have a value!
Monushot’to nei’/ sob aaj mrito/ Humanity is over, it’s all dead now
Think about it, so many are dying/
Harassment, Racism, Physical Abuse and
Kayray nilo nis’paap pran, jibon dhong’so, / Taking away an innocent life
Kothin ek odh’dhai ai holo sotto? / Fact of life is nothing but stuggle
Nikris’to’tar udahoron, nai richard’o/ Example of brutality, we have lost Richard now
Wa hai’niag’I lait’ray thawa’I khubak’ta Haptuna chat’li ai
– I don’t have words to say, with soul in my
palms I walk (risking my life….)
Don’t have any words/ bak’kohin ami/ I’m left with no words
Bikhip’to kotha niya/ agiya choli/ I move ahead with heavy words.
Boli ai hobay sesh, punora’bri’t’ti’r/ Lets say, we are gonna stop this madness
Come out, lets stop it/ chai bichar noi fakhi!/ We want justice, won’t let it escape
Veerse 3: Zing
lets take a moment to recollect;
lets call our thoughts and redirect:
if you still have a brain, a lil intellect(left)
oh lord, will you ever
resurrect back???
since when did people die of cuts and bruises?
a broken helmet is the proof, murderers loose;
painting the image of a victim with “drug-abuse”;
(got me wondering if ) the media is clean or did they “drug” the “news”?
the government is deaf , the ministers are mute;
so they justify girls bein raped cuz some people think their “skirts” are “LOOSE”??
or is it bout the looks?
for that, im sorry brothers, we aint born to choose;
born light-skinned, chinky-eyed, therefore, abused??
“GUILTY” of being “DIFFERENT” and they (wanna) hang the ACCUSED.
its time we rise above “ASAINS”, “BLACKS” AND “JEWS”..
RICHARD, DANA, ANSH, WE ALL STAND FOR YOU……
meanings…:-
1. “since when did people die of cuts and bruises?”
*(they say richard died due to a minor accident that happened a couple of days before he died)
2. “broken helmet is the proof, murderers loose”
*(they found some scratches, dents on richard’s helmet and now that is “proof” that richard died in the accident)*
3.painting the image of a victim with “drug abuse”-
*(they say richard died due to drug abuse)*
4.” so they justify girls bein raped cuz some people think their “skirts” are “LOOSE”??”
*(they say girls wearing short dresses are inviting rape, sexual harassment intentionally.. they blame the victim, not the criminal..*)
Source: Two Much Reverbnation
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/justice-two-much-shreesenprod-by-suraj-sarja-by-two-much-richard-loitam/
Dr. RK Bidyabati, mother of Richard Loitam from Manipur demanding a swift and fair investigation… more »
Dr. RK Bidyabati, mother of Richard Loitam from Manipur demanding a swift and fair investigation into her son’s sudden death
Source: IBN Live
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/video-blog-richard-loitams-mother-speaks-out/
Bangalore, May 9, 2012: The Hindu He(Narasingh, Former Minister, Manipur and CPI state secretary, Manipur… more »
Bangalore, May 9, 2012: The Hindu
He(Narasingh, Former Minister, Manipur and CPI state secretary, Manipur ) submits memorandum to Chief Minister on behalf of student’s father
Loitam Rajeshkumar, the father of Manipuri student Richard Loitam, who died on April 17 under mysterious circumstances in Bangalore, has appealed to the Karnataka government to order a CBI probe into the matter and arrest the culprits.
A memorandum in this regard was submitted to Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on Monday through M. Narasingh, the former Art and Culture Minister of Manipur.
A student of Acharya’s NRV School of Architecture, 19-year-old Richard died in his sleep on April 17.
While Richard’s family and friends alleged that he was beaten to death by two of his seniors, the police have maintained that the boy died of injuries he sustained in a road accident two days before his death, and registered a case of unnatural death. However, following public outcry and an opinion among forensic experts that the boy could have been beaten to death by more than two students (based on the nature of wounds sustained), the police have now registered a case of murder. However, no arrests have been made.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/former-manipur-minister-seeks-justice-for-richard-loitam/
Bangalore, May 8, 2012, DHNS : The Manipur unit of the CPI on… more »
Addressing reporters here, Secretary of Manipur unit of CPI and former minister M Nara Singh charged the college management with playing tricks over the incident.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/college-covering-up-richard-loitam-case-says-cpi-manipur/
The Madanayakanahalli police on Monday briefed a police official from Manipur about the progress of… more »
The Madanayakanahalli police on Monday briefed a police official from Manipur about the progress of investigation into the death of Manipuri student Richard Loitam at a city college hostel.
Following widespread protests, the Manipur government had deployed superintendent of police Potsangbam Dhanakumar to assess the speed of investigation and also check whether the attack was a racist one, or whether other Manipuri students in the city too were facing similar problems.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/loitam%E2%80%99s-report-ready-to-roll-manipur/
Sudipto Mondal It rakes up attitudes and discrimination in a supposedly liberal Bangalore Investigation of… more »
Sudipto Mondal
It rakes up attitudes and discrimination in a supposedly liberal Bangalore
Investigation of the mysterious death of Manipuri student Richard Loitam has taken an intriguing turn even as the police continue to probe into the possibility of his death being caused by a road accident.
Based on the nature of wounds the 19-year-old sustained, which include multiple injuries to his forehead, chest, face and thighs, an opinion has emerged among forensic experts that the boy was beaten by more than the two students. A case of murder has been registered but there have been no arrests yet.
While experts are yet to establish the exact cause of the death, the police and the college management agree that Loitam was attacked on the night of his death.
Brawl or racism?
But ever since the teen’s death made national headlines, activists and journalists have agonised over one question — was it an attack on a human being or a crime against humanity?
During the April 29 “Justice for Richard” protest in the city, there were murmurs about racism and hate crime. But protest leaders were quick to dissuade the agitators from making such claims.
“The brazenness of the attack has the classic symptoms of racism,” argues Johnson Rajkumar, Associate Professor of Visual Communication, St. Joseph’s College, who also hails from Manipur.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/%E2%80%98the-loitam-case-was-just-a-trigger-manipur/
