Call to amend the Army Act : Tharoor bang on target
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 20 2018 -

Give more autonomy to North East people.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act needs to be amended, for it has done more harm than good.

This was Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor some days back at New Delhi while speaking at a book launch.

This is what many people from the North East have been demanding and it is good to see an MP from the oldest political party toeing along this line now.

In all probability, the line of Shashi Tharoor must be his opinion, not reflecting the stand of the party which he is representing in Parliament.

For remember it is the Congress which has been in power for the greater part of the period after India achieved independence.

Again it is the same party which has been in power for the greater part since Manipur attained Statehood in 1972.

The statement of Tharoor is indeed welcome, but the sincerity of his statement would have been that much more if only he had struck such a stand when the Congress was in power at the Centre. So what made the articulate Congress MP suddenly see the merits of granting more autonomy to the people of the North East and watering down the provisions of the Army Act ?

Obviously it could not have been an election rhetoric for Tharoor was not addressing an election meeting.

It however is significant that an MP has deemed it fit to openly say that the Army Act do need a serious revision, if not its total revocation, given the staunch opposition from the Army.

A systematic dialogue with the Army, is the suggestion from the former Union Minister and while this is definitely on track, one cannot help but wonder why such a line was not spoken when he was on the Treasury bench.

The MP was also bang on target in stating, “Rather than an umbrella look, it would be better to have at least half a dozen different perspectives of the area as the problems are not the same, even within the States.”

Nothing could be more right or appropriate than such an approach for all the States in the North East are unique in their own ways.

Moreover each community has its own unique issues and the observation of Tharoor is particularly true for a State like Manipur, which is home to numerous communities.

Even amongst the Nagas, each sub-tribe has its own distinct characteristics and it would be a folly to view the North East region as one.

Acknowledging the diversity and accordingly approaching the issues in the region guided by this fact is what is needed.

This is a truism which should not blow over the heads of the political leaders at New Delhi.

What works in Nagaland will not necessarily work in Manipur and vice versa.

On the other hand the call to amend the Army Act should be seen in its correct perspectives.

For too long Manipur and the North Eastern States have suffered under the immunity and impunity granted to the men in uniform to discharge their duty.

The fact should tell its own story.

After the whole of Manipur was brought under the Act in 1980, the number of armed groups has only increased, thereby underlining the fact that far from neutralising the militants, it has only succeeded in driving more people to join the armed movement.

The call of Tharoor should be taken with the seriousness it deserves.