‘Cooperate, or we’ll throw you in a hole so deep that no one will even remember your name.’ Inspired by the Soviet gulags, variations of that line are a staple of trite Hollywood screenplays.
Unfortunately, it also happened in real life. A villager from Assam was just released after spending 54 years imprisoned (thanks, Kool). He’s been held for almost as long as India’s been independent.
Seventy-seven year old Machang [Machal] Lalung was arrested in 1951 from his native village of Silsang… Police said that Mr Lalung… was booked for “causing grievous hurt”…. police said there were no evidence to support the allegation, so within a year of his arrest, he was transferred to a psychiatric institution [for schizophrenia]. “It seems the police just forgot about him thereafter,” says Assamese human rights activist Sanjay Borbora…In 1967, the authorities at the institution certified Mr Lalung as “fully fit” and said that they intended to release him. But instead of being freed, police transferred him to another jail… Last year, local human rights activists brought Machang’s case to the attention of the National Human Rights Commission, which took up the case immediately and sought his release. [Link]
… the court papers wrongly mention the name as “Machang”… he had been languishing at Tezpur Mental Hospital… Machal, however, doesn’t remember what his crime was. “They say I hit someone,” he said… [Link]
The Medical Superintendent has stated that he has not been on any psychotropic medicine for several years and is free of any signs of mental illness. [Link]
I wonder whether someone will teach Lalang the words ‘compensation’ and ‘lawsuit.’ He could buy himself some chamak-chamak, ’cause that’s the way he rolls. Imagine the adjustments this Kumbhakarna has to make after being so long away from the world: audiotapes, nuclear power, PCs, video games, the Internet, the moonshot, space stations, cloning, the Berlin Wall, disco, the Indian wars with Pakistan and China, ‘India Shining,’ Zeenat, Shabana, Amitabh and Aishwarya. But no — at his age, it’s all about the water and the loo.
“I don’t like the kutcha toilet or people having to draw water from wells…”
“He is a very quiet person and loves to take a swig or two of the local brew, apung, and also jokes when in the mood…” To ensure that he is not inconvenienced, the family has been trying to follow the same daily routine he was used to… [Link]
Lalang wasn’t the only one forgotten:
The five cases are that of Machang Lalung, who has been lodged there for 54 years, Khalilur Rehman, who has spent 35 years there, Anil Kumar Burman for 33 years, Sonamani Deb, for 32 years and a woman Parbati Mallik, who has also spent 32 years there. [Link]
The most bitter fruit in this story? It’s memory.
“He was a bit lost for a week and sad when we informed him that his elder sister had passed away…” Some of the elderly neighbours have only faint memories about Machal who “went missing” more than 50 years ago. [Link]Strangely, even his relatives and family members forgot about [Machal] Lalung… After Mr Lalung’s release, he was escorted back to his village, where only one villager, Benu Lalung, recognised him. “We handed him over to the village headman but could not find his family or relatives,” said B Das, a police official. [Link]
sad story…incidents like this can happen only in india..missing 50 yrs of precious life for no fault of his and yet not questioning for fighting for what he lost..thats a common poor uneducated man in india..Iam glad his silent voice was heard by local human rights organisations.. I always wondered how people can live for 50 yrs in prison amidst four walls with no freedom.. I admired Nelson mandela when I was very young , he was in prison for decades fighting for a national cause and productively spending his time in prison reading and mobilising people despite being powerless in prison… On a lighter vein, reading ur article I remembered the story I read when I was a kid, Rip van winkle sleeping for 20yrs and waking up one day to find everything change around him….
Err…what are you basing that on? Ever heard of China? Thousands of people go ‘missing’ each year. At least this guy was alive. Hell, what about half of Asia, most of Africa and parts of South America? I hardly think India is alone in this.
BUT what I will criticise is what I assume happened here – how Indian families completely disown someone with a mental health problem. That is one thing that sadly hasn’t changed in the last 54 years.
Poor guy.
Look, I’m not defending the Indian system in this case–that’s just terrible no matter how you slice it. But it’s had an immense amount of socio-political and bureacratic upheavel to deal with during the relevant times and places, and a lack of resources. We’ve had similar problems (fixed faster) with no such excuses. I’ve heard of several similar cases.
We should recognize these things for what they are, neither more nor less.
India has one of the lowest incarceration rates and the USA, of course, has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Link below: href=”http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/y/world.htm”
It’s 29 per 100000 for india and 715 per 100000 for usa.
It’s clear from the statistics that both the countries have abominable criminal justice systems.
India: you are innocent even after you are proven guilty. so criminals roam free.
USA: You are guilty even after proving you are innocent as is the case with many africian american and increasingly hispanic defendents. or get locked up for 80 years for some flimsy criminal acts like stealing turkey or gold clubs.
Which one is more abominable?
I believe that it’s better for 100 criminals to roam free than locking up 100 innocents.
Molly Ivins wrote an excellent column: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0620-26.htm
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I am gonna agree with my friend. I don’t think low incarceration rate means India has fewer criminals.
here is what he sent me in reply to me mailing this post to his:
Yes, it reminded me of that too…[Veer and Zara] Perhaps that is one of India’s problems: all the criminals outside jails. I am not saying that people should be put in jail, but I am just a bit sceptical that the low incarceration rate means nobody guilty enough to be put to jail. Just remember gang rapes, looting, etc. after the tsunami… A natural disaster can summon a lot of animalistic emotions in humans, but still it is no reason to kill and rape unprotected women and children…