On the opening day of the ongoing Manipur Legislative Assembly Session scheduled from July 31 to August 12, Chief Minister Biren Singh informed the house of the gory achievements of his administration since violence broke out on May 3, 2023, i.e. 226 persons killed, 39 missing, over 59,000 displaced, 11,133 homes burnt, 4,569 homes destroyed and 11,892 cases of violence filed, so far, without mentioning how many of these cases have been resolved, if any at all.
None of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs attended the 60-member legislative assembly session, nor had they attended the previous two session after violence erupted in May last year. In the latest episode, the CM invited them to attend the assembly session but without guaranteeing their safety, which made it a farce. For the Kuki-Zo, travelling to the Imphal Valley is not safe, where even the Naga are getting attacked.
Biren Singh’s myriad achievements “also” include: one, thousands of arms and ammunition looted from police and IRB armouries in May 2023 in Imphal Valley, which were actually distributed to Meitei radicals according to ground sources; two, expansion of ‘Arambai Tenggol’ (radical armed Meitei group) from a cadre of 7,000 till March 2023 to 50,000 by January 2024 spread across 59 units; three, according welcome to Arambai Tenggol sporting arms and taking control of Imphal with security forces nowhere in sight; four, allowing Arambai Tenggol to ‘summon’ MLAs at Kangla Fort and compelling them to sign a proposal and take an oath of allegiance; five, allowing UNLF cadres (who signed a peace deal and surrendered arms) to carry arms and establish posts.
Thousands of arms and ammunition looted from the police and IRB armouries in May 2023 in Imphal Valley, were actually distributed to Meitei radicals according to sources
On August 1, 2024, the Meitei and Hmar (belonging to the Kuki-Chin-Zo ethnic group) of ‘Jiribam District’, signed an agreement to end hostilities and re-establish peace. The state administration
called it a big achievement although it applies only to Jiribam District, which remained largely peaceful since May last year with only two incidents of violence this year; a 59-year-old farmer went missing in June, and an ambush on a joint CRPF-state police patrol in July that killed a CRPF person and injured three security personnel.
Removing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Imphal Valley before May 2023 gave freehand to the Arambai Tenggol and other radical Meitei groups, which contributed to the lawlessness and violence in the area. More violence can be expected now with some Assam Rifles (AR) troops being pulled out from Manipur (to be replaced by CRPF) for deployment in Jammu region of J&K, where the AR is to have a base according to newspaper reports.
July 31 witnessed massive protests in violence-hit Churachandpur District, with the Kuki-Zo protesting in large numbers at Gothol, Khousabung and Kangvai areas against the Centre’s decision to
Allowing Arambai Tenggol to ‘summon’ MLAs at Kangla Fort and compelling them to sign a proposal and take an oath of allegiance surmounts to obvious failure of the administration
pull out the Assam Rifles. They also held candle light vigils and held placards inscribed ‘AR protect and save our lives’, ‘AR don’t go back’, ‘Meitei militants are the problem, not AR’ and the like. Intriguingly, Manipuris have more confidence in AR, which operates in a totally impartial manner.
India is still without a national security strategy (NSS), perhaps by design, since that would make governments accountable. In the absence of NSS the hierarchy enjoys shadow boxing – firefighting
crisis after crisis. Why else did we rush off ‘Uniform Force’ of Rashtriya Rifles (adept in CI operations) to eastern Ladakh, weakening the CI-grid that led to the surge of violence in J&K? And, now we are similarly disturbing the CI-grid in Manipur by pulling out AR?
It is no secret that the politico-bureaucratic nexus is not happy with operational control of the AR under the Army. That is why a few years back there was a proposal to merge AR with the ITBP
and place them under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). One obvious reason was to take full control of the narcotics trade in the northeast, which in a small state like Manipur alone is to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore annually, according to a report by the Editor’s Guild of India released last September.
All Indian governments, including the present one, fear a military coup. Hence, the Army is looked down upon – as a necessary evil. Hence, efforts continue to downgrade soldiers below the police and CRPF under the present administration
All Indian governments, including the present one, fear a military coup. Hence, the Army is looked down upon – as a necessary evil. Hence, efforts continue to downgrade soldiers below the police and CRPF under the present administration. John Swinton, former chief of staff of New York Times had stated that the “business of journalists is to destroy truth…..we are tools and vassals of the rich, behind the scenes we are intellectual prostitutes.” We have had an intellectual prostitute who even accused a serving Army Chief of trying to engineer an army coup.
The cumulative effect of the above, together with the absence of NSS, is why we have capitulated to China in Ladakh, and are trying to “buy” peace from Beijing and do not even respond to Pakistan’s proxy war in the manner we should. National defence remains a casualty. Why else would Bloomberg say ‘Modi Can’t Build India’s Military This Way’?
In the absence of a NSS, we have capitulated to China in Ladakh, and are trying to “buy” peace from Beijing and do not even respond to Pakistan’s proxy war in the manner we should
One may argue that the CRPF has also been deployed in CI environments like the AR. But it is also a fact that they cannot operate as impartially as the Assam Rifles because of the politics involved, especially when the state administration is involved in ethnic cleansing. Also, the CRPF must go by what the MHA wants. If this is not true, how are reports of infiltration from Bangladesh and smuggling of cattle from India to Bangladesh coming so periodically, when BSF manning the border is directly under the MHA?
The pullout of AR from Manipur, especially from violence-ridden areas like Churachandpur District would increase the carnage, with Arambai Tenggol, UNLF and other Meitei radical organisation going after the Kuki-Zo, under the tutelage of Biren Singh who doesn’t even acknowledge that ‘Arambai Tenggol’ even exists and is involved in ethnic cleansing by even using Manipur police commandos for this. The Naga know that after Kuki-Zo, they will be the target. Hence, the NSCN (IM) has issued a warning to Arambai Tengoll not to target Christians. Hopefully, better sense will prevail at the Centre and state level.
-The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.
The author is an Indian Army veteran. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
