Preposterous claims
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 15, 2024 -

AMID outcries by Mizoram-based civil and political organisations and Kuki bodies in Manipur against the recent killing of 10 militants in retaliatory firing by CRPF troopers at Jakuradhor village and death of a Hmar woman due to burnt injuries when suspected Meetei youths torched some houses in Zairawn village under Jiribam district, the Union government has started despatching additional security personnel to prevent escalation of violence in the strife-torn Manipur.

As reported, 20 more companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) from Assam and Tripura have been airlifted to the state in the wake of suspected Kuki militants raining bullets and bombs on Meetei villages in the fringe areas hours after the CRPF troopers opened fire to counter threat from heavily armed Kuki-Hmar militants, who went on the rampage in the Meetei-dominated Jakuradhor village, torching houses, firing indiscriminately, killing innocent civilians and taking hostage six children and women.

While collateral damages and casualties is inevitable as both the communities in conflict are now armed to the teeth, it is disheartening to learn that Mizoram's apex students' body Mizo Zirlai Pawl, Mizoram Congress party and the Mizo National Front (MNF), a former ruling political party, have overlooked the fact that the 10 Hmar individuals slain in firing by the CRPF troopers were part of a heavily armed group that opened fire, set ablaze houses in the Jiribam village in full view of personnel of the central paramilitary force and even inflicted injuries to a CRPF constable, providing more than enough reasons for the troopers to retaliate in self-defence and prevent further destruction of civilian life and properties.

As such, it is ridiculous that the elimination of 10 armed miscreants is being misinterpreted by the Mizoram students and political organisations as excesses committed by the central force, whose sole purpose for despatch and deployment in the state is to contain acts of violence and arson, pending solution to the conflict.

Accepted that loss of lives and properties affect every section of the society, but it is also equally important to knowledge that the armed miscreants not only undermined presence of the security forces but also dared to attack police station and a CRPF post.

Moreover, under no circumstance could the deceased 10 merit reference as village volunteers, as claimed by the Mizoram organisations and handful of CSOs operating from Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts for the simple reason that the village they had targeted is a Meetei settlement.

That they were not village volunteers but trained militants could also be comprehended from the recovery of sophisticated weapons such as AK series and INSAS rifles, SLRs and rocket propelled grenades, all capable of claiming multiple lives, wreaking havoc and causing maximum damage.

Had they been armed with licenced firearms such as single or double barrelled guns, then the firing by the CRPF troopers could be condemned as security excesses and atrocities.

Thus, it is advisable that the Mizoram-based organisations counsel Mizo cognate tribes settling in Manipur and elsewhere not to cross the limit but to strive for peaceful coexistence with the indigenous communities in their adopted states and, if possible, contribute towards achieving the goal of uniform development.