The Terrorist
( A Short Story by M. Menonimus)
The Terrorist
The Terrorist
Last Monday, after being taken my bath and having food I was about to leave home for an urgent appointment and at the meantime, a white Maruti van arrived at my gate and two young men: one about forty-five and the other was about thirty, got down the van and approached me with a customary salutation. The one wearing black long pants and a yellow shirt accosted me and said, “Sir, I am Prasenjit, the editor of the Frontier News and we have come to have an interview with you. Please, sir, give us some time.”
Nowadays I am often troubled by journalists and it is not because that they trouble me by asking questions without rhyme and reason but because they sweep away some precious moments of my time. So on unavoidable circumstances, I usually have taken to meet people on Sundays and hence I said to Prasenjit, “I am ready to leave home for a seminar. You may come on the following Sunday after 9’clock.”
He said, “On the coming Sunday we will come again and if I fail to come, one of my colleagues will be sent. Please give us an interview for our Frontier News.”
I replied, “OK. But may I know your questionnaires beforehand so that I can make preparation?”
He found a file of paper from the folds of his flat notebook and handing that over to me said: “Take it up, sir.” And then they left me.
I gave a quick glance over the questionnaires and found that there were seven questions. The first four questions were asked about my writings and career. The fifth and sixth questions were done asking views on contemporary world literature and the last question was asked seeking my opinion on the political success of the present government.
It was the autumn season and the next Sunday appeared to be a bright day. The sky was free from any speck of cloud. The East wind was blowing softly. I got up from bed very early as I had lots of chores to be pursued. Usually, on Sundays, I either read a book or keep busy in writing. But that day I was busy till it was almost 8.30 a.m. checking a manuscript. When I was about to get up from my study, suddenly two young boys around thirty came direct to the door of my study room and said, “May we come in, sir?”
I, turning up my head towards these unexpected intruders, replied, “Come in.”
One of the two youths was wearing jeans and spotted a yellow shirt. He looked smart, intelligent, and agile. The other boy looked simple and he was wearing black pants and a blue shirt. I gestured them to sit on the chair in front of my study table.
I usually take an hour especially from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. to get me prepared for the day. Within the hour I take a bath and food and just after 9, o’clock I meet previously appointed people.
I asked the smartly looking boy, “Your introduction?”
The smart boy looking at me replied simply, “I am Hemanta, a terrorist by profession and I have been operating my activities through Frontiers News. The editorial board has sent me to have an interview with you.”
I was surprised as I have heard none even not one who is really a marked terrorist to be introduced himself as a terrorist. So I asked him, “Why do you introduce yourself as a terrorist?”
He replied, “I am sorry that you, till today, are unfamiliar with this term.”
I asked an explanation for that. Then he without a least hesitation began to say, “I hope that you would not disagree with me that a person who spread false news, rumours or concoct stories in order to create dissension, riots among people; who suppresses up the truth to instigate groups of people against one another and by doing these earn his livelihood is called a terrorist.”
In this sense, I am a terrorist. I have been doing the same thing for the last five years.
I asked, “As you know this, then why have you taken up the job of a terrorist?”
He resumed “I had a long hope from my student life to become a journalist and hence after taking Post Graduation in English literature, I had taken a diploma in Journalism and eventually picked up a job in a news channel as a reporter. But as long as I provided the news channel authority with facts and true events so long my collected news was neither published nor broadcasted. Though some of my collected news was published yet they were edited in such a manner that the real truth got vanished from the fact. For example: in the recent communal feud in the northern tribal area more than two hundred people were killed intentionally but we were compelled to broadcast that only twenty have been killed and the other twenty were wounded. Thus when a woman is raped we show the seduced woman in the news again and over again, but not him who seduces her. Again in our news, a bicycle thief is exhibited with much hatred but when a governmental official engulfs millions and millions of amounts of public money we remain silent. And if in any interview the interviewee’s views go against the governing authority then we deviate him from his point by switching off the electricity connection or create interruption by asking such questions so that he falls in embarrassment and gets his mind deviated.”
Then I took the questionnaire in my hand and said, “In the seventh question of the questionnaire you have asked for my views on the political success of the present government. And if my views go against the favour of the government then what will you do?”
He replied, “Please sir, we hope of favourable views of yours on such political matters. And yet if your views seem to go against the government then we must edit your words and phrases in our own ways so that the disfavourable phrases get omitted. Or if it becomes not possible then we would cut it short showing an excuse of lacking time.”
Then with some disgust, I said, “It seems that you have been trying to turn me into a terrorist as you are, isn’t it?”
He replied, “Sir, why do you hesitate? Please try to become a terrorist. Then you will have everything. You will get food to eat, fine clothes to wear, a fine house to live in, and a car to run on. We will get a costly sofa in place of these plastic sets of chairs to sit on.”
I replied with my eyes closed, “I am not willing to give you an interview. You may leave me here.”
Then I felt my throat to be suffocated and my whole body to be trembling and my feet to be numb. I came out of my room to breathe in some fresh air but I saw that the sky had turned cloudy as if a hail storm would ensue to cleanse the filth of the earth. 0 0 0
The Terrorist
N.B. The short story ‘The Terrorist‘ originally belongs to the book ‘Neha’s Confession and Other Stories’ by Menonim Menonimus.
The Terrorist
Books of Composition by M. Menonimus:
- Advertisement Writing
- Amplification Writing
- Note Making
- Paragraph Writing
- Notice Writing
- Passage Comprehension
- The Art of Poster Writing
- The Art of Letter Writing
- Report Writing
- Story Writing
- Substance Writing
- School Essays Part-I
- School Essays Part-II
- School English Grammar Part-I
- School English Grammar Part-II..
Books of S. Story by M. Menonimus:
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