Can Prime Minister Narendra Modi have the guts to remove AFSPA totally from Manipur ?

Ningombam Bupenda Meitei *

Narendra Modi at Imphal on 08 Feb 2014 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Can Prime Minister Narendra Modi dare to remove AFSPA from AFSPA (excluding AFSPA free zone - Imphal municipality areas of 7 assembly segments of Imphal valley) controlled areas of Manipur ?

On 2004, the then Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh under the leadership of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, has removed AFSPA from the municipality areas of 7 assembly segments of Imphal valley.

In the16th Lok Sabha election campaign, the Manipur unit of BJP pledged to 'repeal' the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 if it comes to power. ( see here )

BJP pledged to repeal the act in toto, hence, any question of diluting its own stand by deviating it to just a mere removal of the act from Manipur only, would not fail to tantamount to witness the self contradiction of BJP's self pledge on AFSPA in Manipur, but, not surprisingly, the much thought dichotomy of pledge in which one pledge negates the other pledge is vivid in the same party BJP itself, which is quite evident from its own leader Arun Jaitley's article.

The Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha of the same party BJP, the present ruling party of India, and present Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley wrote an article 'Why AFSPA should continue' arguing that AFSPA was strongly necessary in India. ( see here )

Now, unlike the former BJP MP and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who never visited Manipur for 5 years when he was the Prime Minister of India, his follower the present BJP MP Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is talked of visiting Imphal in the later part of this year 2014.

The questions remain are simple, such as ;

Can the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, with his thumping majority in Lok Sabha, dare to fulfill the pledge, the repeal of AFSPA and not only the removal of it from Manipur, of his own party BJP ?

If not, then, does he want to prove that he, the Prime Minister of India, has to toe the line of the article of his own handpicked Defence Minister Arun Jaitey, thereby, giving the impression that PMO can't decide over Defence Ministry ?

If not, then, will he, the 1st Prime Minister born in an Independent India, allow himself to be witnessed by India and the world that he, the strong Prime Minister, could not do anything more in, at the least, removing if not repealing AFSPA totally from Manipur, an action of his that could send a strong message that he could do much more than the one whom he used to call 'weak Prime Minister' Dr.Man Mohan Singh, who at the least removed AFSPA from municipality areas of 7 assembly segments of Imphal valley ?

If yes, then, BJP is bound to come as its first ever government of Manipur in Imphal in 2017 by winning with majority in the coming state assembly election. But, can BJP consider such a small state Manipur of some political significance in New Delhi ? In a sense, can BJP consider Manipur in the core of the heart of BJP ?

If yes, then, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will be remembered by the great people of Manipur as truly a great statesman and human being who extended the removal of AFSPA to villages and hills of Manipur, a bold step to go beyond the cities and municipality areas of Imphal valley - the only areas where presently AFSPA don't cover.

Finally, my simple questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi are ;

If you, the tea seller - the chai wala - can unfurl Tiranga on Red Fort on Independence Day of India, why can't you, the Prime Minister of India raise the dignity and honour of the people of Manipur and Manipur's thousands years old civilization by making them free and equal like you and Gujaratis, Marathas, Bengalis, Tamils, Telugus, and any free Indian in India, by removing AFSPA totally from Manipur in your maiden visit to Imphal as the strong and unique Prime Minister of India ?

Can you dare to listen to your own conscience and not to your Defence Minister on AFSPA in Manipur ?

Can you give freedom to the people of Manipur from AFSPA so that the entire people of Manipur salute you when you unfurl the Tiranga on the soil of Imphal? Or, will you, in your silence, allow the freedom of Manipur to be obtained through revolution ?

Can you as the leader of young India give light to the youth of Manipur who want to be treated as same as their counterparts in any AFSPA free society of India ?

Can you as the leader of women in India give confidence to the Manipuri women - mothers, daughters and young girls - who want to be honoured as same as their counterparts in any AFSPA free society of India ?

Can you do it, my Mr. Prime Minister, as the unique and democratically elected mass leader of billion people of independent India ?

Yes, I think you can.

I know India and the world knows you as the man of actions, and not of words only.

Having written this notion of mine, I salute those jawans of paramilitary force Assam Rifles and officers of Indian Army who have laid down their life in their supreme sacrifice for the defence of our nation Bharat. I having been schooled in Sainik School Imphal, have been educated and trained to be fit enough to not only understand the defence forces of India but also to join it. No one has a right to blame Indian Army entirely. No Army Chief has instituted AFSPA. AFSPA is a constitutionally validated legal act in India as of now the 25th of August, 2014. The blame must go to Manipur Government which announces Manipur as 'Disturbed Areas' firstly, after which, the next blame must go to Government of India which extends the validity of the act to cover Manipur.

The Parliament is not only for Arun Jaitley or CPI(M) - who all stand against the repeal of AFSPA - but also of India, which does not fail to include the North East India, the region which is also the mostly presumed battle field of Indian and Chinese armies and future air forces, and the Kashmir region, the battle field of Indian and Pakistani forces, and in the middle of the military infantry battle on the ground unlike the politico- diplomatic engagement in South Block or Hyderabad House in New Delhi, the innocent common people in the battle field, the land where their homes lie, either get killed, injured in collateral damage, or are rendered homeless or are forced to become refugees in the non-military battlefield areas like New Delhi.

The time has come to test the destiny of Modi's leadership as a mere leader or the statesman of the world like Jawaharlal Nehru for the future history of India, by witnessing whether, he, being the leader of Lok Sabha, can have the big heart from his big chest to introduce a debate on 'Repeal of AFSPA' on the floor of the House to end such act of colonial British legacy which was used to act against patriotic Indians in Quit India Movement in India's freedom struggle, or will he, the strong leader of billions of people of India, salute, accept and follow the article of his own handpicked Defence Minister who got defeated by Capt. Amrinder Singh in the recent Lok Sabha election.

Mr. Prime Minister, allow me to salute you from my heart too.

Jai Bharat, Jai Hind.