The progressive thinking individuals in the society, and the journalistic fraternity in particular, is given a rude jolt of shock at the feral and primal response of a collective section of the community of the state when the police tried to arrest an individual from Nambol Sabal Leikai. The incident, while not being an isolated case, brings to the fore once again the vindictive and irrational tendency of our society to give in to collective emotions and mob-culture. It also lays bare the unfortunate truth about the relationship between the state Government and its various departments on one hand, and the society at large on the other. A sense of mistrust, suspicions, cynicism and ingratitude have evolved into the very fabric of our society so much so that a good number of us have already developed a preconceived notion of almost everything around us, oblivion to the facts, while a few more are still deliberately looking away from the truth or unable to acknowledge the reality for their myriad personal reasons. The blatant attacks causing grievous injury with the possibility of death to a police officer and his party on duty, as also the accusations of partiality and physical assault on the journalists points to a very deep psychological rot ingrained in our collective mentality. Simply put, the unfortunate and highly condemnable behavior is a clear manifestation of the frustrations and disillusionment of the ignorant and arrogant minds who fails to register the simple fact that the present social development is a result of the haphazard and short-sighted choices these very individuals made when they were given the precious chance to effect changes, instead giving in to popular opinion and easily swayed by pressures and momentary personal benefits. That the perpetrators are still unrepentant or unapologetic only reaffirms the primitive and rigid mindset which will undoubtedly stand in the way of change and progress, unable as they are to accept and embrace the social norms which call for restraint and patience so as to allow the normal and uninterrupted functioning of law and order. And while the rest of the country and the world is gearing up for adopting radical changes which are intrinsic to the development of any society, our society is witnessing increasing instances of undesirable and unprovoked disruptions and disturbances which is threatening to halt the already slowed march towards progress and to catch up with the rest of the world. Nurturing a society and taking it towards the path to progress entails a great amount of contribution and participation from its citizens. Instead of finding faults and laying the blame solely on the Government, it is time to own up to our part of the big blunder and make earnest efforts to inculcate a civilized mindset which will ultimately determine our social conduct. Rationalism, Restraint and retrospection should be the hallmark of an evolving mindset. Reactive, rigid and redundant thoughts should not be given a place if we are to rise above our present predicament.
