The tantalizing wait for that much elusive thing called peace in this volatile state has once again been shattered with an act so heinous and barbaric, no existing law can adequately compensate for it. The very act has also presented an opportunity for the inexplicably frustrated public to vent their ire. The result- a paralyzed social life, blocked roads and destruction of public as well as private property, not to mention the unfortunate loss of lives and physical injuries. What is more intriguing in all these developments is the fact that the state government have so confidently determined the value of a human life- at least the life of an individual in Manipur to be exactly ‘ 5 lacs. Though the official announcement states the amount to be considered as Ex-Gratia, considering the unfolding of events for the past many years where criminal investigations and recommendations for actions have fallen apart without any trace, the amount is in effect, the exact price of a life removed. The present unrest also has the added danger of taking on a communal hue as the perpetrators happened to be from a terrorist group fighting for the “Liberation” of a particular tribe, but have suddenly lost the plot and are taking refuge in the designated camps set up by the state government under the tripartite agreement entered into among the state government, central government and the said group for suspension of operation. The state government, meanwhile, in its’ casually unconcerned manner, have gone about dealing with the problem as a matter of routine, and till this very moment have not shown any sign of seriousness in the sense that no significant action has been taken to punish the culprits who were members or cadres of a terror outfit who it sheltered and protected. The state government must come down to earth and take stock of the ground reality instead of patting its own back and blowing its own trumpet for imagined achievements. It needs to take immediate and stern measures to ensure that the irate public is pacified, and that the immediate danger of a communal flare-up that is threatening to tear the social fabric apart yet once again is contained. Indulging a few errant individuals in the name of peace mongering will alienate the mass. It is the right time to develop the guts to handle the not-so-savoury tastes of maladministration, as well as the courage to admit the mistakes instead of committing more of the same in a futile effort to cover up the screw-ups. Meanwhile, the enraged public needs to understand that an eye for an eye will make the world go blind, and that generalizing a criminal with his or her origin is the worst form of hypocrisy. But then again, the trust for the government to prove that is gone beyond redemption.