The Truth Behind Bomb Attacks

Vedpal Yadav *

Police inspecting the site of the bomb blast at Keishampat Junction on September 05 2012 :: Pix - Hueiyen Lanpao

Last two months were painful for the common people of Manipur, as UGs out on spree of violence, tried to justify the killings of Army persons as their achievements but to achieve what aim? Whereas we the common people of Manipur could only keep quiet, while the UGs who carried out these acts of violence took shelter amongst us thus even endangering our lives. We and even the media were too scared to even raise a protest against them, even if our own die in these bomb attacks.

Till August, we thought peace had returned to Manipur, there was no violence, Patrol pumps remained opened till 10 pm, and people could move unhindered at nights. Army and Assam Rifles were contributing in a big way by way of their goodwill programs. Government was starting with the business of governing and provide the amenities that are due to us.

PLA then started targeting the Army and Assam Rifles persons and has managed to cause a few casualties. This is where we need to ask ourselves, why PLA is doing this. Can the bomb attacks which are only the acts of cowardice, ever send the Army back from Manipur or are the UGs threatening us to better heed and pay up immediately on receipt of their extortion letters.

Bomb attacks are the worst form of cowardly acts of violence, for it proves no bravado on the part of UGs to hide among us and then to trigger the bomb from our midst. They are using the common people as human shields to hide behind and to do the dastardly act. What is worst is that UGs are probably not even coming forward to do the bomb blasts themselves they are using the vulnerable people from the society like children, women and drug addicts to carry, plant and trigger these bombs, thus endangering their lives.

They are relying on the fact that army will not retaliate because of the respect for Human Rights. The Assam Rifles and Army have acted with commendable restraint and have not fallen prey to the provocations and have not acted arbitrarily even while trying to act against the perpetrators of the cowardly bomb attacks who are hiding amongst us.

It is this act of UGs to hide amongst us that is forcing the Security Forces to restrict our movement, carryout searches and arrest on suspicion. Even after loss of life and injury to its soldiers during the recent spurt of IED attacks, the restraint shown by Assam Rifles and Army in acting against these UGs is a commendable job in itself. We all must understand that any action by the Security Forces whether pro-active or in retaliation to such cowardly act of IED attacks will only cause hardship and discomfort to the local population.

It is very easy for the Security Forces to launch an immediate search for the perpetrator of violence who are hiding amongst us and are using us as a human shield, but that will lead to more harassment and discomfort to innocent population. Hence, I hail the decision and restraint shown by Security Forces so far and plead my local brothers and sisters to come out and act together against these cowards who are hiding amongst us.

The bombs do not know their targets, as the recent incidents show, when planted in crowded areas they have often caused more civilian casualties than to the Army or Assam Rifles. What is worse is that our fear despite losing our near and dear ones in these blasts, is so much that we dare not protest against the UGs for carrying out those blasts.

We need to ask ourselves, are we free enough to speak out against the atrocities and diktats of the UGs if we want to, or do we only choose the easy targets to protest against. Don’t we actually need to fight a battle against this curb on our freedom and speech imposed on us by the UGs due to the fear of gun and arbitrary killings and grenade throwing by them.

We should not forget that it is the UG groups who have been looting the hard earned money of innocent people in the form of extortion from last so many years. These explosions and attack on Army or Assam Rifles is nothing but a game of fear psychosis which they are playing to induce fear and panic among the local populace so that their extortion demands can be fulfilled unquestionably in future.

It is the helpless effort by these groups to regain their lost ground which they feel is slipping out of their hand with the improving economic and social condition of the state. At the rate at which the number of these groups is increasing we will never be able to meet their unjustified extortion and sooner than later we will end up paying with our blood.

The UGs groups have repeatedly made us believe that they were doing all these violent acts for the sovereignty of Manipur. The word Sovereignty is so powerful and emotive that I doubt that all of us including the UGs even understand its meaning. I want to ask all the people of Manipur, is the promise of Sovereignty for Meities same as Sovereignty for Kukis or Nagas or will they start spilling the blood of our sons all over again. Do they think that making a separate Manipur independent of India, is at all a solution.

After the cacophony of demand of Sovereignty dies down, will the UGs leaders ever define, what is it that they actually mean by Sovereignty and do they even have any better system of economics or Governance to offer. What is the alternative that they are offering? The aim of the so called leaders of these groups is not to have an independent Manipur but a state or ground on which they can exercise their dictatorship and rule the innocent people of Manipur like Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein

I don’t know if UGs have achieved anything till date but I do know that If we want peace to return to Manipur and if we want to enjoy the fruits of developments then we need to refuse the UGs from taking cover amongst us and stop the loot carried out by them in the name of ideology. We know that they are no more than common thugs looting common people to live luxurious lives.