The power of voice.

It happened around the time when humans were in a deep sleep and owls had just awoken. The guards were half asleep on their post sitting on squeaking handicapped chairs supported by a vertical pile of bricks. The white spotted circular satellite of this planet was completely and clearly visible in the darkest canvas ever seen. They came in hustling through the bushes; jumping above the fences; face covered with black masks; eyes blood red; and equipped with wooden sticks, metallic rods. They knew which way to enter, which way to exit, what time the security will be minimum. They carefully moved forward with a concrete, practically feasible plan, following the safest path while dodging any security cameras. They entered the building, then her apartment, beat her continuously till any chance of her being alive evaporated and finished the journalist who wrote against their leader. They were gone in a split of second, like they were never here.

A single, strong, truth seeking woman met her end in her sleep. A childless mother providing motherhood to several orphan students belonging to backward section of an unjust society. An optimist, a writer, a fighter who wasn’t afraid to raise her voice against the strongest tyrants the world has ever seen. An inspiration for the youngsters who taught that words are the most effective weapon, that literacy is the way to overcome any societal issues.

The news of her demise spread faster than any social media rumor. Her companion, her family, her well wishers were stunned. This day will be remembered as the black Friday in the history of journalism. Hearts were torn apart and scattered all over the motherland. Her children were orphaned once again. God has been cruel once again. Her last rites were done according to her wishes the following day, she was buried near her parent’s grave. Her journey however has not ended yet. People gathered in front of her building to say their final words to her and bid her farewell. They demanded justice from the blind law and the deaf authorities.

They stayed there for days remembering her memories, reciting poems, quotes of unity from her writings and singing patriotic songs. There wasn’t a single moment when fall of enthusiasm was observed in the environment.

One of them said- “This day should never have come but it is here, we are here. We knew that there will be a target on our back since the day we took this job. She knew it too. I don’t have words to express what I am feeling right now. It is not anger, it is more than that. It is the thought that are we willing to continue doing what we do after this day and honor her or are we going to back out? Are we going to put down our fierce writing swords or are we going to continue to put out the truth in the world.”

Someone else said- “The fact that all of us are here shows that we won’t be scared to silence. When one of us will be put down, ten more will rise. This fight doesn’t end with a death. It will go on till the people sitting in those air conditioned office realizes that it is us who have put them in that position, that they will be held accountable for their inactions, that they will be dethroned from their respective seats.”

The peaceful protest went on; cops were stationed at the location; their food and drinks were arranged by the people protesting; they didn’t faced any opposition from each other on the contrary they took care of each other. The protest gain mass attention from people all around the country. Many came to the place from different parts of the nation to show their support. The pressure on government officials rose with the increase in the number of protestors.

It was unusual to see a crowd this big gathered at one place in an organized manner. The authorities tried sending their goons to create unrest but they failed miserably. Her voice through all those who went through her work proved to be more powerful than any venomous hatred that the evil minds tried to brew. The situation gained international recognition. Every organization which supported non violence ideology came forward to voice their opinion. Many transfers took place, many were suspended, many resigned from their jobs. But this wasn’t enough, justice was still to be served. The people who killed her, the people who hired them, and the organizations which were providing them assistance were still to be found.

Weeks went by and the demand for justice was at its peak. The Central authorities finally decided to take the matter in their own hands. The search for the culprits took an overnight turn when one of the active cell that night were turned ON again and the trackers pinged its location. A culprit was found hiding in a local motel not far from the crime scene. When the cops spotted him he ran faster than an Olympic runner but not faster than the cops. After few hours of hardcore interrogation he spilled out a few names of his comrades who went with him to the apartment that night. Of the man who hired him which led them to another man and then another man, ultimately to the leader who was suspected to had order the hit on the deceased.

The leader went underground after he found out that he has been linked with the murder. After a couple of days a local journalist reported him in disguise at a small town hundreds of miles away from the incident location. He was alone, was living in an isolated place and had enough cash with him to last a lifetime. When he saw the cops while standing on a bridge he knew it was over, he didn’t put the effort to run instead he jumped into the river hoping to die the easy way. His final wish didn’t came true and the cops pulled him out in one piece, after that no one knows whether he remained in one piece or not.

The news of the capture were announced, a wave of joy was seen among the country. After weeks of continuous efforts justice was finally served. After the announcement one of her colleague said, “Today marks as the day when her teachings had come to reality. Her persistence to fight for righteousness; truth, had given us strength to make the authorities remember why are they at that position. I hope that the world never forgets that together we are stronger, our thoughts, our voice is powerful than any other weapon in existence. When you go home today remember that you are taking with you an important quality of her spirit i.e. her willingness to stand by the needy.”