Securitisation of Moreh
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: January 18, 2024 -

IN the continuing violence in conflict-ravaged Manipur's border town of Moreh, one more security personnel has unfortunately fallen victim to the attack of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) wielding armed Kuki-Chin militants in the early hours of January 17.

The latest victim identified as Wangkhem Somorjit (32) of Malom Tulihal Makha Leikai was said to be a personnel of 5th India Reserve Battalion (IRB).

He was attached to one of the units of state police commando deployed as reinforcement in the border town after it became an epicentre for clashes between the security personnel and armed Kuki-Chin militants following the assassination of Moreh Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Chingtham Anandkumar Singh in a sniper attack while he was overseeing the work for development of a helipad near the ground of Eastern Shine School on October 31 last year.

Incidentally, the latest attack on the security forces by the armed Kuki-Chin miscreants in the border town has come about just two days after two individuals, namely, Philip Khaikholal Khongsai and Hemkholal Mate, who are allegedly among the prime suspects in the assassination of SDPO Anandkumar Singh were arrested by a combined team of police commandos on January 15 evening.

In between these two incidents, there have been so many incidents of deadly attacks and ambushes launched on the security forces by armed Kuki-Chin miscreants that the war-weary people of Manipur, who are living in constant fear of what might happen and how the day would unfold not only in the restive border town but also in other parts of the state, may have lost count of the piling casualties on both sides.

This is a sad reality that the people of Manipur, regardless of where they dwell and take a position or not in the ongoing violence, have to deal with and manoeuvre themselves for keeping alive for more than eight months now.

Keeping in mind the strategic importance of Moreh as a town bordering Myanmar in the ambitious Act East policy of Government of India, and also in view of the conflict that has been going on between the armed rebel groups and forces of military junta in the neighbouring country, the urgency of securing the border town and sanitising it of the armed elements whose writ runs large has been felt more than ever today.

How the Kuki-Chin militants have been trying to take complete control of the border town, which used to be described as a mini-lndia with people of different communities co-existing harmoniously, first by chasing out the Nagas during the 1990s and now the Meitei/Meetei people, whom they perceive as formidable forces that stand in the way of realising their objective, is not a secret privy to some select people anymore.

From crying hoarse against the deployment of security forces to launching persistent armed attacks, Kuki-Chin militants have been doing everything possible to tighten their grip on the strategic border town, which they ostensibly managed to do so for some time after the ethnic violence between the Meitei/ Meetei and Kuki-Chin people broke out on May 3 last.

In the light of all these disturbing developments that would have far-reaching impact not only in the social fabric of Manipur but also in the efforts of Government of India to secure the country's borders against hostile interests, it is inexplicable why the securitisation of such a strategically important border town like Moreh has not been able to achieve despite the deployment of large number of both state and central security personnel and, most importantly, acknowledgement by none other than Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself on the floor of the Indian Parliament that the influx of illegal immigrants from across the border is at the root cause of present crisis in Manipur.