Price of Negligence

Lt Gen. HJS Sachdev (retd)

The Manipur tragedy has taken centre stage both nationally and internationally for the last three months for all the wrong reasons. Deaths, destruction, displacement, depravity and a deep divide between communities, you name it and it is in the script. That this would happen to a state like Manipur was unthinkable a few months back. The scale and ferocity of violence left everybody, the governments, security forces, society and the nation dumb-founded and numb. They are still grappling to understand the cause and find solutions while the perpetrators had Manipur on its knees.

Even after three months of public debate and views of experts expressed on electronic and print media, there is no sight of a solution. So, what went wrong, why did it happen and what needs to be done to restore in peace and tranquillity in Manipur? The violence continues unabated with ghastly stories coming out on a regular basis. The instability has the potential to not only undo the ‘India Story’ but blow up into a security nightmare. The solution perhaps lies in the honest answer to the question--is it a law and order problem or a national security challenge?

There has been enough written on the history and genesis of the problem dating to the kings and Britishers. But I will restrict myself to the current problem.

Timeline

February 2023: The state government orders survey of select hill areas (Churachandpur, Tengnoupal and Kangpopki districts) to identify illegal occupation of forest land and cultivation of poppy. These districts happen to be Kuki-Zo dominated around the Valley.

10 March 2023: The state government unilaterally decides to abrogate the suspension of operations (SOO) agreement with select militant groups belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, thus paving way for action against them by state forces.

25 March 2023: The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is removed from select areas of Manipur (read the Valley). The army and the Assam Rifles normally do not engage in active operations unless protection is provided under the AFSPA. This act led to tacit protection of Valley-based militant groups (Meiteis) from the army and the Assam Rifles.

19 April 2023: The acting chief justice of the Manipur high court, Justice M.V. Muralidaran, in a single bench, passed an order giving the state government four weeks to forward recommendations to the Centre for inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list. The hill tribes took umbrage to the move and protests commenced in their regions.

3-5 May 2023: On May 3, one such rally organised by the All-Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in Churachandpur turned violent and the mayhem ensued. Reports of killings, burning of houses and places of worship led to large scale displacement of both communities. If that was not enough, 4,000 weapons were looted from the armouries of the police while the personnel stood as mute spectators.

May 5 onwards: The violence has claimed the lives of more than 160 persons with more than 450 injured in the clashes and left more than 50,000 homeless. The army/ Assam Rifles’ efforts to restore normalcy were blocked because of active intervention and participation by the people, especially women’s group such as the Meira Paibis (Meiteis) and the inaction/ connivance of the local police.

It is baffling that apart from a visit by the home minister, who tried to calm the nerves, there has been a conspicuous silence and inaction. About 1,100 looted weapons have been returned leaving around 3,000 still unaccounted for. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the horrendous video of women being paraded naked is a too little, too late. It is also incident-specific, leaving the larger canvas blank.

Social media is a powerful tool in the hands of every citizen. The internet was banned to prevent news and fake news from fanning the fire. But the visuals remain on mobile phones and if not immediately, they will surface as and when the ban is lifted. Nothing can remain hidden for long. This has the potential to reignite and prolong the mistrust and hatred amongst the communities.