Police diligence to determine Manipur's fate
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: July 20, 2021 -

WHEN shootouts used to be commonplace during the peak of insurgency, the then discourse revolved around civil societies, rights groups and victims' families branding the security forces, Manipur police commandos, in particular, as the culprits.

Unarguably, there were many instances of controversial killings of civilians and allegations over stage-managed encounters as well as genuine gunfights between insurgent activists and security forces but the latter were generally picked up as the guilty party.

Such protracted negative narrative coupled with protest demonstrations orchestrated by state level civil bodies and local JACs led to the public scorning and fearing at the very sight of the men in uniform.

In fact, hundreds of cases pending in the Supreme Court of India over alleged fake encounters in Manipur validate the public's apprehension that security forces are not ardent upholders of the Constitution of India which enshrines provisions for fair trial to even hardened criminals.

Atrocious acts of security forces in those days were not confined to insurgency-related incidents alone but also during civil unrest as there are well-documented evidences of brutal crackdown against protesters, including male police personnel dragging away girl students from restricted zones by pulling their hair, to recount a few instances of how the security forces reacted violently.

These vicious scenes, however, dissipated after rights organisations, armed with tell-tale evidences of abuse of power by the security forces, knocked at the door of the apex court to seek justice.

After decades of violence, the state has been seeing a semblance of normalcy and mellowing down of the security personnel.

However, role of the police would be most crucial at this critical juncture of the Covid-19 pandemic as their diligence would be the decisive factor on whether the crisis situation aggravates or brings respite to the general population.

Unlike the past decades when they had to grease their weapons regularly to take on any elements who defy the law of the land, the police are among the first line of defence against the invisible enemy dreaded across the world today.

The first day of the 10-day long total curfew imposed by the state government with effect from Sunday to curb the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic showcased how important the police force would be in shielding the people from the contagion.

From being construed as the perpetrators for the past many years, the virulent pandemic has brought to the fore that the police are the real warriors in the battle against the infectious disease as they are the ones who have to stop the vectors from causing further distress in the society.

Since the onset of the pandemic, police personnel have been performing duties round the clock to contain spread of the contagious disease but they shall have to be resilient and mercilessly deal with rogue elements so as to ensure fruition of the virus containment measures.

Moreover, the make or break 10-day curfew should be an opportunity for Manipur police to not only dilute years of contemptuous narrative but also to make the public believe that they don't have to go on living their life by covering the mouth with a strip of cloth or synthetic plastic.