Animals do not rape. It us, human beings, who the Scriptures say were created in the very image of the Lord, who rape. By any definition, rape is a heinous crime and while comparisons between different rape cases to draw the level of barbarism behind each act is not feasible and undesirable because rape means the same thing, we cannot help but label the rape of two women inside a bus in front of fellow travelers on NH-39 near Piphema in Nagaland in the wee hours of September 5 as one of the most heinous crimes committed not only against women but also mankind. 

Wordsmiths we are, but at this juncture words fail to come to us to appropriately air our grievances and protests against such a barbaric act for there are just too many unanswered questions and the more we study this rape case the more complex and the more heinous it becomes. Were the girls raped because they belonged to a particular tribe or community or was it an act of brutal savagery committed by a being or beings whose appearance is man but whose instinct and temperaments thrive on inflicting the most humiliating experience on women who have no means of protecting themselves? Or was it an act of showing off their manliness on the highway by hiding behind the muzzle of their guns and releasing their frustrations on the women? Or was the rape committed just to derive some sadistic pleasure by hurting the women? 

More importantly what message were the gunmen trying to convey by raping the women? Either way the savagery behind the very act of the rape cannot be written off and when we think that the heinous crime occurred inside Nagaland, which is predominantly a Christian State and where the Church and the Bible plays no small role in society, the incident becomes all that more abominable. 

The fact that the gunmen spoke in Nagamese and Hindi is a strong indication that the perpetrators of the crime were all Naga men and the worst part is they violated the chastity of the women who are also Nagas. To think that this can happen when the question of Naga Nationalism is at its peak is disturbing. Understandably the rape report has caused a furor in Manipur and even as we put down our comments, condemnations have started pouring in from a number of voluntary organizations. 

Apart from the barbarity of the rape, what the incident has also exposed is the utter lack of any security measures on the highway. At the moment we do not know how the Nagaland Government has reacted to the incident but Chief Minister SC Jamir should not see it as merely another criminal activity as it can have far reaching implications. Chief Minister O Ibobi and his Council of Ministers too should not take the matter lying down but get in touch with the Nagaland Government and investigate the matter thoroughly. 

The help of the Naga civil societies in probing the matter should be sought and yes intelligence feedbacks should also be sought to confirm whether any gang members are known to operate in the area where the rape took place. That the highways running through Nagaland and Manipur have become happy hunting grounds for a number of organizations to impose their writs and extort from the passengers and vehicles are well known and perhaps this incident should wake up respective Governments to the need to man the highways properly. 

New Delhi too should realize the need to provide adequate security on the highways. Let this also be a lesson to all concerned that the highway is not a place to show off their strength. We will not go so far as to suggest that there could be some hidden agenda behind the rape, but there are just too many loose ends for comfort and the people need to be on the alert to fight any ulterior motives. 

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)