Internet ban, again
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 18, 2024 -

TO name a few, farmers in some valley districts weren't able to harvest/thresh paddy crops due to the firing by suspected Kukis from the nearby hilltops towards the paddy fields;

two women - Sapam Sophiya Devi, belonging to the Meitei community, and Zosangkim, from the Hmar tribe - were killed in the Bishnupur and Jiribam districts, respectively, by armed persons from the communities in conflict;

10 attackers were slain in firing by CRPF personnel in a village under Jiribam district; and six women and children were abducted only for their bodies to be found floating in the Barak river with heads smashed or eyes gouged, suggesting extreme torture.

If such unprecedented and gory incidents do not outrage the public and spark protest, then what would?

Strife-torn Manipur has been witnessing a series of attacks and violent incidents in different districts, Jiribam in particular, during the past two weeks, all of which could be attributed to the government authorities seemingly perceiving that deployment of additional central para-military forces in the state would naturally descale the tension and violence.

While attacks and counter-attacks had been the norm in the Meetei-populated fringe valley villages and the adjoining Kuki-dominated hills, Jiribam border district has been witnessing several incidents of violence this year, though the overall situation in the district was relatively peaceful even after ethnic violence broke out in many other parts of the state since May last year.

To many, attacks on Meetei villages is primarily due to central and state government's reservation in containing activities of Kuki militants, regardless of flexing muscle power and swearing befitting action against the Kuki militants.

Since onset of the violence, chief minister N Biren has been facing criticism from various sections of the society, besides multiple attempts from ruling party legislators to unseat him from power, on the ground that his government has failed to protect the denizens and their properties.

Such disparaging remarks against the chief minister are in sharp contrast to his first five years in office when he enjoyed tremendous public support, the insurgency-hit state experienced one of the most peaceful days and the red carpet, literally, was rolled out whenever he visited far-flung villages, including Kuki settlements in the hill districts.

Contrary to those days of euphoria, the government under him is now being branded as indolent and at the mercy of the centre rather than exercising the mandated power.

As criticisms grow, there has also been a tendency for the incumbent government to label voice of dissent as anti-national, often resorting tp curbing free expression through ban on internet service, as is the case at the juncture.

Like it or not, the ban on internet for posting hate speech against the chief minister, and alleging inciting of violence, is an affront to the Supreme Court, which had in 2017 advocated strengthening the fundamental rights, equal rights for women, accountability for security forces violations, and called the right to individual privacy 'intrinsic' and fundamental under the country's constitution.

However, the state government continues to resort to banning the internet services either to prevent violence or social unrest, or to respond to an on-going law and order problem, making Manipur the second state after Jammu & Kashmir in terms of days without internet service in a calendar year.