The killing of Manipuri guitarist Chongtham Vikram Singh in Delhi should not be allowed to become another crime story that briefly captures public attention before disappearing into the news cycle. It raises a more uncomfortable question: who is entitled to feel completely at home in India’s capital? Singh was 54, a musician and teacher who had spent decades building a life through music. His journey from Manipur’s emerging rock culture to Kolkata and eventually Delhi was, in its own quiet way, a story of India becoming more connected. His death exposes how fragile those connections can remain.

According to police and his family, Singh objected to men allegedly making noise and drinking outside his apartment. What followed was an assault that ended with his death in hospital. Seven men and a juvenile have been arrested. The investigation will have to establish exactly what happened and why. That last question matters enormously. There is, so far, no evidence cited by police establishing a racial motive. That must be respected. It would be irresponsible to convert suspicion into fact. Yet it would be equally irresponsible to ignore why Singh’s killing has resonated so strongly across the North-east.........

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