Is Manipur turning into an African or any West Asian State under civil war ?

Laiphrakpam Ibotombi Singh *

protests across Imphal, following gruesome death of 6 abducted individuals on November 16th 2024 :: Pix - Kanta Lai

"Wake up, wake up, my people of ‘Sana Leibak,’ Manipur and Unite, helping always the weak ones amongst us will bring peace and prosperity in this beautiful land".

The recent cold blooded gruesome killing of eight women and children which included an eight month old infant, by Kuki-Zo militants has turned the State of Manipur like any African and Southwest Asian country where there is no law of the land.

Manipur has been witnessing unprecedent violence since May 3rd, 2023 resulting in large scale fatal and non-fatal casualties besides thousands who have been rendered homeless as their houses and livelihoods have been burnt.

The level of violence has been compounded by involvement of Kuki militant groups under Suspension of Operations (SoQ) and Myanmar origin Kuki-Zo terrorists operating as mercenaries in creating mayhem against innocent Meitei villagers staying on the outskirts of Imphal valley neighbouring Chin-Kuki dominated areas.

The level of violence has not subsided, instead, is flaring up on and off in Kuki dominated areas, resulting in more than 260 deaths, 1600 injured and around 70 thousand of families displaced. The unfortunate violence has made the natives refugees in their home land.

The prevailing situation in Manipur is ripe for a full blown civil war because

a) There is no law of the land in Kuki-Zo dominated areas
b) The authorities of ruling State Govt is confined to Imphal valley
c) No effective venturing by Govt Machinery and Security Forces in Churachandpur, Chandel, Kangpokpi and foothills adjoining Kangpokpi-Churachandpur-Chandel (Moreh) districts which is under complete control of the Zo-Kuki terrorists
d) Rampant cross border movements of terrorists from Myanmar
e) Free flow of arms, ammunition and other warlike stores into Manipur,
f) Rampant extortions and illegal tax collections under the garb of donations and other means
h) Skewed growth in strength of terrorists, militants and insurgent organisations
i) Unfortunately security personnel at the helm does not know what they are supposed to do, they cannot even differentiate between terrorists, militants and insurgents and are resorting to knee jerk actions, more of reactive scenarios than proactive actions to control the situation, besides there is no synergy in application of security forces,
j) Almost daily violations of CFGR by Kuki militants under SoO
k) The economy of the State is in shambles, some Government employees are not paid for last few months.

Overall, the situation in Manipur is that the warring people have access to the latest modem weapons and military equipment but with primitive mindset, which is a right recipe for a civil war. Continuation of the present non-interventionist attitude by the Central Govt, remaining a mute spectator, may deteriorate the fragile situation and soon lead to a full fledged civil war in Manipur. Should this unfortunate incident take place, it will be the darkest blob in the history of India.

The situation in Manipur is like any other country in Africa or West Asian Countries under civil war. I would like to share an incident narrated by a young Lady In Somalia while I was part of United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UNSOM-II) in 1993-94. In fact, it was a peace enforcement under Chapter VII of UN Charter, a prelude to peace keeping operations. I am reproducing the incident in first person on behalf of the beleaguered well-educated lady.

“One morning around 10 O’clock a boy came running to our house breathlessly to inform us that militias were heading to our home. My father, who was one of the city’s dignitaries, immediately was concerned and anxious.

He ordered us to hide ourselves, since no one could predict the purpose of this unexpected visit. In any case, we could see in our mother’s eyes that this was not a good sign. From my hiding place, after only a minute of rest, I heard a shot ring out, A sharp cry of pain from my father and then the dolorous weeping of my mother and my little sisters.

“For fear of being killed, I could not immediately bring myself to come out of hiding. Having committed their criminal actions, I heard the militias leave to return to their barracks unimpeded by the slightest interference from anyone. Now I had the courage to emerge, but I almost fainted when I saw my poor father lying in a great pool of his own blood where he had been cut down.

I rushed forward if maybe he was still alive, but the look in my mother’s eyes convinced me that he was dead. Meanwhile, families of our neighbours had come and gathered at our house. All were shocked and saddened by this tragic event. Above all they were frightened, for the only crime my father had committed was his membership in the Opposition party.

“That afternoon while we struggled to finish the final ritual burial as we lay down the corpse of my beloved father, two jeeps filled with armed militias rashly drove up to the cemetery and began firing indiscriminately into the crowd of mourners.

All the mourners ran away, but some wounded persons who could not move lay on the ground as their relatives scrambled to save their lives having so effectively cleared the cemetery the soldiers carried away my father’s corpse. They intended to hang it over the bridge of the city. This unusual punishment of the corpse of a dignitary was meant to be a strong warning' to others. The message was grotesquely clear, that the warring militia would not forgive even the dead bodies of suspected opposition supporters.

“For my people corpses are sacred. Witnessing the body of my father gradually undergoing decomposition suspended in a public place before our very eyes, was an outrageous indignity to the honour of an innocent dead person. This gruesome sight spread fear, shock and dismay among the cities populus and word of this act spread far beyond the city. For myself and my family the rage and pain we felt went beyond any operation of human feeling we could imagine. Henceforth our lives were dedicated to the fulfilment of silent, primal oath of mutual revenge".

Analysis of the above tragedy is almost akin to what is happening in Manipur as law of the land has been abused by many gun wielding people, rampantly violating Article 14 and 21, the soul of the fundamental rights laid down in India’s Constitution. Notwithstanding the present prevalent situation, It is better late than never to synergise the efforts of the Centre and the State Govt so as to bring normalcy and gain the confidence of the people. Some of the focus areas and recommended actions are as under:-

(a) Bringing Normalcy and Mutual Trust: Post 03 May 2013 carnage and violence, there is a deep wedge of mistrust prevalent between the two warring communities in Manipur. Therefore, bringing in normalcy, side by side ensuring mutual trust and confidence amongst the communities, should be the primary objective for which a neutral person at the helm is the need of hour.

(b) Unified Command: Ensure coordinated management of various security forces deployed in Manipur and State Govt machinery so as to synergize their efforts in conflict resolution for which necessity of having unified command at Strategic level as well as at the Operational level. It is not the number of troops pumped into Manipur, but the quality of leadership which is lacking in resolving the conflict. Therefore, a strong personality, with exposure towards conflict management, at the helm both at the Strategic and Operational levels is the . need of the hour. Focus areas directives may be issued initially once a month and can be relaxed based on progress and achievements.

(c) Disarmament: Another, foremost important tasks which require synergized efforts from all Govt machinery including the SF is disarmament without which no dialogue can take place. Without disarmament normalcy will not return, instead the situation will worsen. Disarmament can be achieved by encouraging surrender or use of punitive force against all armed personnel, including Kuki-Zo militant groups under SoO who are terrorising innocent villagers on daily basis, in violations of CFGR. Simultaneously, Indo-Myanmar border fencing need to be completed on a war footing and effectively sealed to prevent flow of weapons and warlike stores from Myanmar into Manipur.

(d) Abrogation of SoO: Abrogate Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the militants who are violating cease fire ground rules (CFGR). Deployment of security forces must be based on detailed analysis of threat and flash points for violence and not reactive knee jerk actions as prevalent now. The SFs must pursue precision hard intelligence based surgical strikes towards violators of CFGR by Militant Groups under SoO and village volunteers and ex-servicemen who have taken up arms. Simultaneously, encourage surrender of arms by giving lucrative incentives by way of absorbing, for which the Centre must chip in financially.

(e) Dynamic Deployment: Ensure dynamic and grid deployment of the security forces and ensure accountability. Instil confidence, indulge in psychological operations for winning Hearts and Minds of the public. Stop spreading rumours and false propaganda, invoke relevant Acts and initiate suitable legal actions as per the law against violators.

(f) Intense Operations: The security forces must create conducive atmosphere for initiating dialogues through political means. Proactive intense and tangible operations in likely flash points and vulnerable areas, both in the hills as well as in the valley, is key to conflict resolution. The acts of the SFs should not only be transparent by means of daily press brief and but also made aware amongst the public.

(g) Unification: All the civil society organisations (CSOs) and other student and women- organisations in Manipur, presently, are deeply polarised. Thus, there is a need to unify them, so that meaningful dialogue can take place between the warring communities. Remember deployment of large security forces is not a solution to the ongoing problem, as military is a means to bring down level of violence and facilitator for bringing in conducive atmosphere for a political dialogue for a permanent solution.

(h) Dialogue: Combined with intense operations by the SFs, side by side dialogues without pre-conditions must be initiated by the executives. Remember conflict resolution requires political dialogue from warring factions, the agenda should be without disintegrating unity of Manipur.