‘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]
