This morning’s Times of India did not just carry a headline. It carried a memory.
Three men sentenced to death for gang rape and murder. Clinical words. Legal words. Necessary words. And in the middle of it all, the name of a young man who had tried to stop them. Bibash Nayak. Twenty-five.
Murdered because he stood between brutality and two women.
I remember Bibash.
Six years ago he was part of my small class of seventeen aspiring writers. A quiet youngster. Not the type to dominate discussion. When others performed their brilliance, he listened. When he finally spoke, it was measured, thoughtful, almost shy. But when he wrote, he blazed.
His assignment was titled A Bookmark. A story about a homeless artist near Flora Fountain, in Mumbai. I opened it again today. The sentences still breathe. The observations still sting. There was compassion in his writing. There was restraint. There was depth. The boy could see people.
And now he is gone.
Did those men in Hampi know who he was? Did they know that the young man they bludgeoned had wrestled with adjectives and metaphors, had dreams of books with his name on the cover? Of course not. To them he was not a writer. Not a son. Not a student. He was an obstacle.
That is what lust does. It reduces human beings to obstacles.
And then I look at our politics and I see something similar. Powerful women in West Bengal speaking with clarity and courage. Even Rahul, flawed as all politicians are, attempting to articulate dissent. And what do we see? Ridicule. Lampooning. Dismissal. Sneers.
Talent treated as nuisance. Thought treated as threat.
There is a strange insecurity in power that cannot tolerate brilliance. Like those ruffians, some in authority see articulate voices not as contributors to democracy but as stumbling blocks between them and their unchecked lust for power.
The pattern is disturbingly familiar. First dehumanise. Then dismiss. Then destroy.
We are becoming a nation where standing up is risky business. Where defending a woman can cost you your life. Where speaking truth can earn you mockery instead of engagement. Where talent is inconvenient.
I weep for Bibash. Not just because he died bravely, but because he lived brilliantly. Because he saw a homeless artist and found a story worth telling. Because he believed words matter.
And I weep for us.
If a society cannot protect its women, cannot honour its brave, and cannot respect its talented, then it is not merely losing law and order.
It is losing its soul.
Bibash, you were not ‘A Bookmark.’ You were a whole, unfinished book. And we are poorer for the chapters we will never read…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
So beautifully penned. We have lost balance. We gave eyes that do not see. Its terribly sad
Unfortunately yes indeed. Day by day lumpun elements in every level of society are on the increase. Even minor confrontations or comments are reason enough for gruesome murders ,be they against social evils or road rage. High time that adequate training is imparted and a sense of fairness inculcated right from nursery and parents are also sensitized to both practice righteousness and train their wards. Otherwise very soon we will be a nation of hooligans and thugs.
Well written. It is time our country wakes up. Rest well, in Peace, Bibash.
A beautiful tribute to a lovely soul. As children of God, we are called to fearlessly stand up for the Truth, defend the defenceless and fight for the vulnerable. They can take our life, but nobody can touch our soul – that is eternal and safe in His hands. Let’s continue to stand firm and act in accordance to what He calls us to do.
In a deeper sense of Eulogy for Bibash and to all the living, God bless your braveness and may you speak out more truth in near future. Bless you Bob🙏🏻
Thank you for introducing Bibash to us. We will never meet him but he left behind d legacy of defending women, for being there for d helpless. He paid with his life. What a sacrifice. An example for all boys n men to stand n speak out everytime so no one else loses their life. We can keep his memory alive.
Thank you Bob for adequately presenting a wonderful soul. Bibash, obviously was a person who responded with his heart without thinking of the consequences. He paid for it with his life. Such is the present condition of our Society. What happened to the ancient indian religious culture that is so highly valued and put on a pedestal. The individuals who live under it have forgotten how to be human, kind, considerate, logical, and speak with responsible integrity and moral consciousness. Can we not change. ?
Saddened that such rare talents are sniffed out even in the nascent stage…
What a loss
We live in a very different troubled world, where the pitch of the voice overrides the substance and good sense spoken in in gentler tone, where the breadth of the chest and the brawn is more important than the brain.
An Eye-Opener to Mankind
Thank you for sharing Bibash’s testimony. It reveals a beautiful truth: humanity was created by God with purpose, dignity, and a spirit meant to reflect His love.
Scripture reminds us that the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life do not come from the Father, but from the enemy. The Bible calls him the deceiver, a liar from the beginning, the accuser of the children of God, and the god of this world. Once known as Lucifer, created as an angel and entrusted with worship in heaven, he allowed pride, greed, and the desire to be like God to corrupt him. As a result, he was cast out of heaven along with one-third of the angels who followed him.
Today, that same spirit of deception continues to operate. Greed, lust, pride, hatred, violence, murder, and evil intentions are not born from God. When people surrender to these forces, they allow darkness to influence their hearts and actions. Evil spirits, fallen angels without bodies, seek expression through humanity—and innocent loving spirit and lives like Bibash’s are lost as a result. This is the tragic fruit of a world that has drifted far from God.
We also see systems and leadership corrupted by power and wealth, where the rich grow richer while the poor suffer silently. These realities surround us, and they demand not silence, but spiritual, corporate and unified awakening.
Therefore, let us stand together—as one family—and pray without ceasing to the True and Living God, our Heavenly Father. Let us come through His Son, Christ Jesus, the only Way, the Truth, and the Life, who gave His life on the Cross to redeem and reconcile all mankind back to the Father.
Let us be desperate—not for power, but for repentance; not for revenge, but for transformation. Let us cry out for change in leadership, for God-fearing men and women who will rule with justice, righteousness, truth, and compassion. Leaders who will uphold the value of every human life.
We long to see our nation restored—where love overcomes hatred, where communities live as brothers and sisters, where parents are honored, elders respected, and people of every race, religion, and tribe live together in peace, as we once knew.
May Almighty God through His Son Christ Jesus and led by His Holy Spirit awaken the conscience of mankind.
May He soften hardened hearts.
May light overcome darkness.
May God bless our great nation.
Amen
Noted, with thanks
Prayers and blessings
Anthony
Beautifully written . A poignant story . I would love to read the bookmark too . It’s a brutal , unfair world out there
Really touching and the hard truth about India r v really proud of r country where people like Chandrashekhar Azad Khudi Ram Bose Ram Prasad Bismil Ashfaq Ullah Khan.Binoy Badal Dinesh laid down their lives for the mother who we r descerating .There is no place for empathy or intellectuals just Mirzapuris.Might is right recently in kanpur the Lamborghini case Shivam Mishra goes sxot free is this the law r v deaf & blind can’t v take action.
Everyone has a family I guess v have to rise above it or the had chambers may start again with people whom most adore .
Sorry to just exist
Action needs to b taken it’s not about RG Kar or Nirbhaya
Rest in peace Bibash! A sad and brutal end to a young man of courage, talent and action. Thank you Bobby for this column which reads like a tribute.