Police atrocities in the people's movement for ILP

Samarjit Kambam *

Sit-In and Rally to protest Killing of Student by Police firing and pro-ILPS on July 15 2015 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Policing is a tough task is a foregone conclusion. In situations such as a curfew, there is no rota, no off, no rest for the police personnel. Over and above, manning a curfew usually gets associated with an empty belly. And when a riotous crowd crops up in a curfew, the situation really gets an ugly turn. Such are times which really test the mantle and stoicness of police personnel.

But in our state of Manipur, the most important quality i.e. mental stoicness which is a must-have for every police personnel seems to be missing. The job of a policeman is always associated with toughness – toughness of mind and body but that doesn't mean that he should flex his muscle under any circumstances that could render or lead to injury or dead of a civilian, especially in a democratic set up.

In the ongoing ILP imbroglio, many police personnel were no doubt injured but it would be very wrong to take it the "forgive no injury, forget no insult" way, just like a personal vendetta. Looking upon the people as foes and carrying out diabolic offensive to the protesters become tantamount to mounting an all-out war against the public. The intention of taking vengeance for injuring their peers is clearly reflected in the way the police personnel are handling the protestors. It's a crystal clear sign of lack of professionalism among the state security forces.

The death of Sapam Robinhood came as a blow to the collective psyche of the masses. No doubt, he was a victim of police brutality. His was a death that could have been avoided. Many questions arise whether the state police personnel had undergone any training on how to control a crowd. There is a standard operating procedure that Tear gas and Mock bombs are to be fired from a certain distance from the crowd and at a specified angle.

Such standard operating procedures seem more like a delusion to the police personnel of our state. Nowhere in any part of the world have we come across an incident that leads to the loss of a precious life due to ham-handed firing of a teargas. The ineptness of the state police personnel in almost all state of affairs is lucidly exhibited here.

Over and above the many injured in police brutality, the recent incident at Kakwa where Wangthoi, a youth who was taking part in a protest was severely beaten, made to swim in a drain and forced to holler "Ima Lairik Paningde", a deviated abbreviation of "ILP" many times which means "Mother, I don't want to study" and then beating him up again in the most inhuman way was police brutality of the highest degree. Seems like a case of vengeance, more like an act of cowardice, a sign of impulse overruling professionalism. The tell-tale marks on his body bear testimony to the fact that the police personnel have misused their powers and their acts have far exceeded the threshold of heinousness.

The security forces need to understand that the ugly head of mob-mentality usually rears up in a people's movement that arises out of a public issue. And a public issue should not be misunderstood for a private one. In a crowd every sentiment and act is contagious, and contagious to such an extent that an individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the collective interest.

And when that mentality arises among the participants their minds give way to spontaneity, irrationality, loss of self-control, and a sense of anonymity that power-packs each and every individual of the crowd naturally making them violent and restive. Something that needs to be thoroughly digested by the law enforcers. Controlling and dispersing a mob should not be mistaken for crushing a mob.

Ferocity is usually associated with a riotous crowd because a riot occurs when the people are furious, not happy. Gauging the behaviour and intensity of the crowd and chalking out plans and means to control it should be the primary objective of the police personnel. Making the crowd to die down with "whatever means necessary" will garner only unwarranted actions and unwanted consequences.

In a democratic country like India with the 'Right to Life' enshrined in the Indian Constitution, respect for human rights should be the Bible of the police personnel no matter how grim the situation is when controlling a rowdy crowd. The government needs to impart special training to the police personnel in this regard alongwith equipping them with adequate modern riot gears and infrastructure.

For Sapam Robinhood

"What's the hurry? Take some more or you'll get hungry at school" the mother said to her son. "Sorry! Mom, its getting late. All my friends must've already reached school and they may be waiting for me". He waved 'B-bye' to his mom and said the words which she didn't know would be his last "See you back after school, dearie mom". And then he scurried away to school. "God! My son has become so handsome and tall" she told herself.

Beaming with pride she watched the apple of her eye fading slowly in the horizon as he headed towards his school. Fast forward. Noon had already approached. She heard the news of students going for protest rallies. She never gave an iota of thought about her son getting harmed or injured in the protest rally.

After a while some locals and friends of his son rushed towards her home to tell her that her son's in a 'dead or alive' situation. She frantically rushed to a private hospital only to find out that her son had already passed away, never for a moment opening his beautiful eyes to give her a glance nor opening his sweet lips to say, "Mom, I am here".

Brave mom, we give our hearts to your brave son Sapam Robinhood, an innocent soul who laid down his life for us, for our better tomorrow. To you he is your son but to us he is more than a son of a mother. He is a braveheart, a true patriot, our hero, a torch bearer for the people's movement for ILP. He gave us the strength to march further towards the goal.

His sacrifice has kept our hopes alive, has paved the way for a collective conscience, for a harder struggle. His act of bravery a driving force for us, a force that tightens the bond between the valley and hill brothers.

Robinhood is no more. But he will always remain alive to us, will forever remain cherished in our hearts.