Editor,
Let us be absolutely clear: the violence during the KSU’s black flag march is indefensible. Older adults were assaulted, women and children injured, buses attacked, vehicles vandalised or burnt, and public monuments damaged. Those responsible must face the full force of the law. A legitimate cause can never be a licence for violence.
But there is another uncomfortable question: where was this moral outrage before Shillong became the scene of violence?
Those now sitting on their moral high horse, loudly condemning the KSU, should ask themselves whether their outrage has been principled or merely convenient. Where was the same fury when roads were allegedly dug up to prevent people from reaching the Shree Cement public hearing? Where was the outrage when an ambulance was reportedly vandalised, when protesters were allegedly pelted with stones, and when people in Lapangap reportedly faced intimidation while trying to access their agricultural fields?
If violence is wrong in Shillong, it is wrong in Lapangap too. If vandalism is criminal when committed by the KSU, it is criminal when committed by those who nearly prevented a mother from giving birth. There cannot be one standard of justice for the city and another for the villages.
The government deserves criticism for another reason. The KSU’s demands may be controversial, debatable or even wrong but they did not become illegitimate simply because the KSU raised them. The government had an obligation to respond seriously and promptly. Ignoring grievances and then acting shocked when anger spills onto the streets is not leadership. It is a failure.
But the KSU must also own its failure. A righteous cause does not make a reckless method righteous. Once a protest becomes violent, the movement risks destroying the very credibility it spent years building.
And to those celebrating the KSU’s downfall while pretending this is simply a story of “violent protesters versus innocent citizens”: you are missing the bigger picture. Selective outrage is not morality. It is tribalism dressed up as principle.
You cannot remain silent when people in distant villages are allegedly attacked, and suddenly discover a passion for justice when the same violence reaches Shillong. You cannot condemn the stone in one hand while deliberately ignoring the stone in another. The government failed to address grievances. The KSU failed to control its protest, and sections of the public failed to consistently demand justice.
The real tragedy is not merely that violence happened. It is that we seem to care about violence only when it happens in Shillong. If we truly believe in justice, then condemn the KSU’s violence without hesitation but demand accountability from everyone else with the same ferocity. Otherwise, this is not justice. It is just another side choosing its favourite victim. There is a high possibility that had they been outraged by the violence when the KSU went against the government and Shree Cement, maybe the desperate act of violence during the KSU black flag rally wouldn’t have happened.
Nathaniel Marwein
Via email
