The pattern behind the offensives :: Moreh : Central point
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 19, 2024 -

The pattern is unmistakable. And so is the systematic approach.

The primary objective is complete control of Moreh.

This has been the agenda of the Kuki militants for long and wind back to 1992/93 and one is immediately reminded of how the border town was cleansed of all Naga folks, particularly the Tangkhul people.

The seeds of the clash back then can be traced to the border town and this came close to the formation of the Kuki National Front in 1988.

From then, there was no looking back in the pursuit of Zalengam, armed with the knowledge that one of the most effective ways of marching towards claiming a land on which they had migrated years back was to get as many men and women as possible in the policy making corridors of the Government, at the Central and State level as well.

The Nagas did wake up to the looming reality much before the Meiteis did and this is where the far sightedness of the man heading the NSCN (IM) ought to be acknowledged and saluted.

The Meiteis continued to live in their own self proclaimed castle, snug under the illusion that they are a class apart and just refused to acknowledge the reality that was staring them in the face.

The system in the approach should have been seen and understood a long time back.

From 1988 to 1992/93 to 2008 and it is undeniable that the Kuki-Zos had managed to separate the friends from the foes or potential foes and it was while the war of words and confrontation was on with the Nagas that everything was played to the hilt to win the sympathy of the Meiteis, the big brother, so to say.

In the process, no one paid attention to the fact that Moreh had become a fertile ground, the place to be, so much more so, with the coming of the Look East Policy which was further boosted with the rechristening of the Look East Policy to Act East Policy with the coming of Narendra Modi and the BJP at New Delhi.

In between the Suspension of Operation pact was signed and the State Government under the Congress then was made to come on board in 2008.

Those in the media will recall how it was a reluctant Congress Government at Imphal which became a party to SoO in 2008.

As things stand today, it should be clear to all that Moreh was central to the SoO pact and how the outfits and the people they claim to represent made their way to the good books of the Central security forces, particularly the Assam Rifles is there for all to see and digest today.

All these points would not have come out so clearly if not for the ongoing clash and the series of attacks launched against the State force personnel at Moreh from the last few days of December 2023 and which has stretched on till today, that is January 18, 2024.

Security Advisor and chief of the Unified Command Kuldiep Singh may be under the impression that there is nothing to suggest the involvement of Myanmar based militants in the recent series of attacks on State forces at Moreh, but how does he explain the fact that the president of the Zomi Revolutionary Army is a former MP of Myanmar ?

Or is it just a case of the president being a Myanmarese but its cadres all based in Manipur ?

Either way, the answer should be clear to all by now. Moreh is central to the scheme of things of the Kuki militants and this is an agenda not born on May 3, 2023 but a long time back, and as noted earlier here, the Meiteis did not see this coming and neither did the State Government.

Aiding the agenda of the Kuki militants is obviously the laid back approach of the Assam Rifles to what is happening there at the border town.

Is it just a case of the SoO pact tying the hands of the Assam Rifles or is there something more ?

Geo-politics vis-a-vis what is happening at Myanmar and the keen interest and influence of China in the neighbouring country ?

Only the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry will have a clear cut answer but the very fact that questions are being asked on this count should say so many things.

Can the silence of the Prime Minister be seen and understood via the prism of geo-politics on a matter which should ideally be seen as an incursion on the internal security of India ?

The answer is left to the people who matter but while the answer is awaited, Manipur continues to burn.