The murder of seven persons in Kiphire district on February 8 by unidentified assailants is a shameless act of cowardice and one that has shocked the sense of peace loving people. The cruel manner, in which the seven members belonging to the same family were killed in cold blood without any respect for human life, only goes to show the malicious mindset of the killers. Whatever may have been the ‘case’ in dispute, there is a lawful and fair way of dealing with issues at hand without having to take away another person’s lives. If a government does exist, it must nab the killers whoever they are without any hesitation or compromise before its credibility goes down the drain. Any government worth its salt has a duty to effectively put in place and implement the rule of law.
This gruesome murder once again brings to light the savage instinct of some of us who are still governed by the law of the jungle without respect for life itself. At another level, this open defiance of the lawless elements and their ill motive can be best illustrated by what the 17th Century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes described as the ‘state of nature’ or the state of men without civil society, a state of continual warfare. This is the level to which some of us have stooped down to—as beasts in the jungle and without the power of reasoning.
Coming to the question of delivering justice to the victims, it has to be kept in mind that customary laws are found to be wanting on this score. Justice for the seven human lives lost is quite unlikely unless the State government is able to intervene and prosecute the killers under the appropriate law. It will be of interest to note that in several cases related to rape, local organizations especially Mothers, have been insisting that such rape cases be referred to government courts rather than allowing it to be taken up under customary law as the concerned mothers are naturally apprehensive that the accused may be awarded a mere ‘soft punishment’ under the traditional court. While rape and murder are itself grave offences, the issue that needs to be seriously delved into is on whether fair justice can be dispensed under the prevailing customary laws.
It also goes to show that the traditional customary laws have not been able to develop effective responses to crime of the magnitude such as rape and murder. There are reasons to doubt about the capacity of customary law to deal with issues of violence against women or such barbaric killings as witnessed by the latest gruesome incident under Kiphire district. Given the extent of the changing nature of crime and violence and the concerns that most customary laws do not address them in a way it should be done, there is every reason to suggest that mainstream law should play a part in addressing such cases of rape and murder taking place within Naga society.
