Gunmen let loose in foothills, militarisation in city
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: May 25, 2023 -

WHILE clarification issued by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Defence Wing with regard to manhandling of Manipur Fire Service personnel by the Indian Army troopers amid the fresh mob violence in New Checkon area under Imphal East district on May 22 seems fair enough, no explanation could justify verbal abuse and assault of the firemen who had rushed to the incident spot to handle the situation but were evidently hesitant to move ahead due to safety con-cerns of both man and machines as mobs in a state of belligerence can't be expected to exercise restraint and act with maturity.

Had the army men present there firstly dispersed the mobs then it is quite possible that the firemen could have discharged their service with efficiency.

Regardless of the PRO Defence clarifying that the Army troops were in the area tackling a mob that had already set fire to some houses, with the clear aim of inflaming communal passions, the fact is that people in large number converged at New Checkon after some men with firearms forced closure of the small market run mainly by womenfolk of different communities and shutdown of shops nearby the market.

With tension still running high across the state, especially in sensitive mixed-populated pockets, in-spite of the absence of unwanted incidents in Imphal areas for over a fortnight since outbreak of the communal riots on May 3, it is but natural that open display of firearms in public places would be construed as hostile and arrogant attitude and consequently create unwanted problems, including retaliatory actions.

As per the PRO's account, the Army personnel were preventing the crowd from carrying out disruptive action and had requisitioned the Fire Services to douse the fire.

When the Fire Service tenders arrived, they were reluctant to proceed citing that the crowd was nearby, despite the assurances of the Army that there would be harm to the Firemen or equipment.

The PRO also elaborated that the Army person-nel themselves commandeered the Fire Service tender and doused the fire and prevented spread of the blaze to adjoining houses.

Thus, had the firemen been not assaulted, such acts of alertness on the part of the Army or Assam Rifles would be praised by all sections of the society.

However, it's an undeniable fact that the army men committed excesses as could be comprehended from an officer of the involved unit reaching out to the fire service personnel to pacify the latter.

It must be remembered here that the May 22 assault was not limited to only the firemen but some media persons were also at the receiving end of the army personnel's hyper-active action.

There is no doubt that the assaults, even if of minor nature, are not digestible to many especially in the backdrop of reports doing the round that the central forces deployed in the state haven't been displaying the same sense of alertness and commitment in preventing the relentless attacks by armed persons on civilians in the foothill villages.

Thus, for return of peace and harmony the need of the hour is to maximise efforts for protecting the civilians in all parts of the state rather than militarisation the capital city where the acts of violence so far had been retaliatory in nature.