Is drug money fuelling conflict ?
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: January 20, 2025 -
THE recent recovery of the banned Yaba (commonly referred to as 'World is Yours') tablets and brown sugar estimated to worth around Rs 62 crore from Mata village area in Churachandpur district by the Assam Rifles deepens the suspicion that the crisis situation in the state is being exploited by drug smugglers, and possibly fuelling the violence.
As per a statement issued by PRO ICAR (S), the recoveries were made during an operation conducted based on credible input regarding the movement of contrabands from Myanmar towards Mata village, which is located about five kilometres south of Headquarters Veng.
With no signs of a solution in sight to the on-going crisis regardless of the union government's fresh initiatives to bring civil societies of the warring communities to the negotiating table, the reports about seizure of such a huge quantity of narcotics suggests that drug money is being used to keep the flame burning and exert pressure on the centre to accord importance to the demand for separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community.
Notably, disproportionate fund allocation between the hill and the valley districts, and backwardness of the tribal communities settling the hills are being cited by the Kuki civil bodies as the primary reasons for raising the demand for separate administration.
As such narratives imply that the Kuki-Zo people are economically underprivileged there is every reason to suspect that proceeds from sale of drugs are being channelled to fund the conflict, which has seen use of highly expensive weapons and unrestrained firing.
In fact, even before outbreak of the Kuki-Meetei clash in May 2023 there had been various instances of security forces seizing contraband items, including drugs, in the border districts, thereby hinting that Manipur remains the favourite transit route for smuggling of narcotics.
Apart from. Manipur, neighbouring Mizoram too had been occasionally hogging the limelight, but for the wrong reasons, especially owing to frequent reports about seizure of significant quantities of drugs and large cache of weapons, triggering speculation among the security analysts that drugs and arms dealers might be using the Christian-majority state, which also shares porous border with Myanmar, as the alternative route for transportation of drugs and weapons.
Though seizure of drugs and weapons in the two states underscores constant vigil maintained by the security forces to neutralise activities of the disruptive elements, possibility of the smugglers carrying out drugs and weapons transaction undetected cannot be ruled out as it would be impossible for the security forces to effectively tackle anti-social elements on account of the hostile terrain, logistics advantage enjoyed by the drug dealers and pathetic socio-economic condition of villagers settling along the border belt, who could be easily lured to smuggle both drugs and weapons from across the border, to name a few factors.
Nevertheless, efforts being made by the security forces to prevent drug smuggling are commendable, and it is hoped that similar vigil would be maintained to help contain the violence and facilitate the centre to find an amicable solution to the conflict through the dialogue process.
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