Impressing the centre more important than swearing action
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 22, 2024 -

DAYS after the state witnessed violent protests in denunciation of the Kuki militants massacring six children and women of Jiribam district after holding them hostage, chief minister N Biren has called the abduction and killing of the six civilians 'crime against humanity' and confided that security forces have launched hunt for the perpetrators.

The November 11 incident, wherein heavily armed Kuki militants killed two elderly people and abducted six civilians after attacking a CRPF post and a nearby police station, the premises of which also served as a relief camp, has been generating widespread condemnations from diverse sections of the society.

The condemnation chorus has been magnifying after mutilated bodies of the captive childrep and women were found floating in Jiri and Barak rivers, with many demanding that the perpetrators be traced and executed.

The fact that the CRPF troopers had gunned down 10 of the attackers hasn't been able to pacify the agitated public on account of the captives subjected to brutal torture before being done to death and their corpses dumped in the river.

Accepted that the communal feud between the Kuki and Meetei people has seen multiple casualties on both side but the manner in which the six Jiribam denizens, including infants, were held captive and slain is being termed as incomprehensible, beastly and outright challenge to the establishment.

Referring to the November 11 incident, CM Biren, in a video statement, expressed profound sadness and anger over the 'horrific' killing of three innocent children and three innocent women by Kuki terrorists after being taken hostage in Jiribam, along with stating that such barbaric acts have no place in any civilised society.

By declaring that the hunt for the terrorists is currently underway and they will be brought to justice very soon, the chief minister has, without an iota of doubt, rung out a strong message that the perpetrators shall not be spared.

While casualties cannot be averted in the event of gunfights between armed groups belonging to the warring communities, deployment and utilisation of over 60,000 state and central forces, specifically for containing the communal conflict should have made the commoners feel secure to an extent.

Contrary to the people's inkling that rushing in of central forces in hundreds would guarantee their safety, Kuki militants continue to target periphery Meetei villages, thereby deepening the suspicion that the government forces lack the commitment to safeguard the public.

Amid such public disenchantment, chief minister N Biren vowing to give exemplary punishment to those involved in the abduction and brutal murder of six Jiribam denizens, including three minors, needs to be substantiated with visible action on the ground without which the violence-affected section of the society would naturally question sincerity of the government in addressing their distressful condition.

Therefore, with the home ministry rushing in additional central forces and advising the state government for their judicious utilisation, the people would be hoping to see real time action rather than listen to the irksome repetitive assurances by government authorities.

Rather than according importance to reacting to the recent remarks of former home minister P Chidambaram on the Manipur crisis and giving weightage to the disparaging comments by the 10 Kuki MLAs, including his cabinet colleagues, against him, it is desired that chief minister N Biren impress upon the central authorities on the urgent need to stringently deal with the aggressors, prioritise safeguard of lives and properties of all the vulnerable section of the population, pending viable solution to the ethnic strife in the state.

It is equally important that the centre give weightage to some national media quoting top level security sources as saying that Kuki groups are being empowered by foreign actors under the guise of religion with the ultimate goal of exploiting them to create a separate state by annexing areas of Manipur, Mizoram, as well as Chin State in Myanmar, along with Chittagong in Bangladesh.