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The shocking story of how a 55 year old grandmother of Wanching village under Mon district was brutally gang raped and murdered on May 2, 2010 by three illegal immigrant from Assam is too demonic for the human mind to even comprehend. Such brutality should not be allowed to happen ever again and for this deterring punishment must be meted out to the perpetrators. The fact that the three culprits along with 32 other illegal immigrants were working at the Wanching road construction project and stationed at the village for the last two months should be a lesson for all concerned. In fact the rape and murder by three “Miyans” (Muslim immigrants) once again highlights the need for caution when it comes to illegal migrants because similar incidents by similar kind of people have taken place in the past. And expectedly, they were ILP defaulters.

The entry of such people into our districts, villages or even homes also makes one wonder as to how well or not the State machinery, village authority or even the public is prepared to be able to verify the motives and also character of such migrants. There has to be greater vigilance along our borders and for this the local people should take the initiative along with help of district administration in keeping a close watch on the flow of people across our borders into our towns, villages and even homes. Not surprisingly it is reported that illegal migrants are being brought to our villages by contractors for the purpose of several road construction. There is nothing wrong to bring in cheap labour from the outside. However it will be a sensible thing to do for the contractor or anyone to inform the village authorities so that necessary local measures may also be enforced to avoid any untoward incident.

The obvious problem with road construction is that while no doubt it brings about development and improvement of communication, yet at the same time unwanted elements also come in which has the potential to disturb the peace and well being of our innocent people especially in our villages. And such unimaginable crime such as rape, murder, communal violence hitherto unheard of can lead to social disequilibrium and other forms of genocide. Then we also have the growing concern which was highlighted in these columns about road construction and the danger of HIV/AIDS further spreading into our population. It will be proper to remind all concerned that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted a five-country assessment of the impact of selected transport projects on the spread of HIV. The writing on the wall is clear.

Given what happened at Wanching village and other similar incidents, it will be unwise on our part if we miss out on the other negative social consequences that may accompany the development of roads and transport. What impact is it having on the indigenous people’s land, its resources and its cultural identity? Of equal concern should be the changing demographic profile especially the increasing flow of illegal migrants. Of late, Naga society is witnessing increased level of anti-social crimes, something which we were not used to in the past. With new roads being build across the State, the government machinery with involvement of civil society groups should gear up to respond to the inimical forces and elements that come along with development.