Amidst the chaotic
situation in the news room,came the news.
‘A boy found dead at railway tracks in West Bengal after allegedly
being ragged’. I heard it and like any other news item I did my best to ignore it. I thought someone
else was assigned to work on it, so why should I bother. Two days had passed
since then that yesterday I noticed on the Nazareth
alumni page that the boy who died actually belonged to my school, Nazareth
Academy. The biggest draw back of
being a journalist is that things like death, rape and murder hardly evoke your
inner consciousness. Every crime, every inhuman activity, every death is
nothing but merely news for people like me.
I have been active on this blog for around two years now. And
every time I write a new article, I make sure that what I write is NOT
something news worthy. This might be the first article on this blog that relates
to an event that has been reported widely in all the news papers and television
channels. I still decided to take up this issue. Because today I realize that
every death is not just news, that death of a Nazarite is not just another news
item for me .
Aakash Agarwal passed out from Nazareth Academy in 2011, a year after I left the place. I tried hard to recall who he was, but
I failed. I don’t know if I ever met this guy. He must have been someone
competing with me in a debate or writing competition. Or he must have been
someone encouraging me from the audience while I was on the stage. Or may be someone
for whom I clapped during a football or a Kabaddi match.
May be Aakash was not one of the above mentioned. But his death has still managed to evoke me because
there was certainly a time that we shared the same campus, ate our lunch at the
same time, in the same field. There was certainly a time that we prayed
together in the morning.
After studying in an institution like Nazareth,
it is sometimes difficult to realize the true nature of the world around. The
place taught us to respect our seniors and at the same time taught the seniors
to behave with the juniors. The idea of ragging or being ragged hardly comes in
the minds of the students of this great institution.
Was it the sudden change in the kind of people around Aakash,
whom he found difficult to tackle, forced him to give up his life?
My mind is not ready to accept this. My school was not as
harsh as the real world but at the same time my school taught the students to
face the challenges of life. Nazareth Academy taught us to fight for the right. And more than any thing else Nazareth
taught us to believe in God and have faith that in the worst of the situations,
the Almighty will lend a helping hand.
Whether he was murdered or not is a subject of
investigation. But a Nazarite gave up his life and surrendered in front of the
wrong, as an alumnus of the prestigious institution, I find it difficult to believe.
Rest in peace Aakash Agarwal. I still have faith in the
police and judicial institutions of this country. May you get justice soon. And
may your sacrifice be a lesson for all other students.
