SFs, public need to discard suspicious mind-set: CM Biren
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 19 2022: Apart from claiming that law and order situation of Manipur has improved considerably in the past few years, chief minister N Biren Singh stressed the need for both the armed security forces and public to discard the old mindsets and views of casting aspersions on each other.

Until sometimes back, armed forces deployed in Manipur particularly the Assam Rifles suspected the entire people of the state as insurgents while the public feared of being apprehended whenever they came across AR troopers.

However, such mindset needs to be changed now as law & order situation of the state has improved notably, Biren said while thanking Assam Rifles, Manipur police and other paramilitary forces for their contribution in reconnecting and maintaining healthy relations with the public.

In his special address at the inaugural session of the North East seminar on the theme 'Future Ready Manipur - Looking Beyond Ethnicity & Insurgency' held at the City Convention Centre, here, on Wednesday, the chief minister said that security personnel should ensure safety of the people and create a healthy relationship with the public.

Attending as chief guest of the inaugural function of the seminar organised by the Assam Rifles, Biren said that outsiders fear of visiting Manipur until recently much due to bad law & order situation and frequent bandh/ blockade.

However, the new government since its inception in 2017 made a commitment to bring an end to bandh/ blockade culture along with improving the law-and-order situation.

As government did accordingly, bandh/blockade culture is almost non-existent now and law & order too improved significantly since 2017, Biren said, adding that his first priority after becoming the CM was to bridge the gap between hill and valley and also among various communities.

According to CM Biren, security scenario in the state has been improving over the recent years and disturbed area under AFSPA getting reduced further.

The government has also successfully rolled out numerous outreach programmes to bridge developmental gaps and ensured deeper emotional integration, he said.

He observed that Manipur had lost opportunities in the past due to problems of insurgency and polarisation on ethnic lines.

Resolving identity-based issues requires a comprehensive approach based on mutual respect and collective aspiration of a shared and united future, he added.

According to CM Biren, the 'Go to Hills' mission was introduced to know and understand the grievances of the people residing in hill areas as interacting and meeting face to face is the need of the hour.

"We can exchange our thoughts with civil society organisations, church leaders and village chiefs and know their grievances for redressal," he said, adding that 'Go to Village' mission was launched after 'Go to Hills' to take government officials to villages and provide services to the people at their doorsteps.

Taking advantage of the event, the chief minister requested Director General Assam Rifles (DGAR) Lt Gen PC Nair to initiate the process for vacating the Assam Rifles camp from the Manipur University campus.

Expressing hope that the seminar would provide tools to chart a way towards a prosperous and peaceful Manipur, N Biren expressed satisfaction on learning that the Assam Rifles has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Manipur University for organising such seminars to brainstorm ideas for a prosperous and peaceful Manipur.

In his speech at the inaugural session of the seminar, DGAR Lt Gen PC Nair said that a joint survey involving both the sides is required for resolving the Indo-Myanmar border dispute.

However, Myanmar being a friendly country of India, no intense pressure was given for resolving the border dispute at fast pace as done with other neighbouring countries, he said and expressed hope that border dispute with Myanmar would be resolved in the next 5-10 years.

Regarding the demand for vacating AR post from Manipur University campus, the DGAR said efforts are on to vacate the AR post but unavailability of water and electricity at the site to be shifted has delayed the process.

He said that the AR post could be shifted within one month if the new site has proper water and electricity facility.

The inaugural session of the seminar was also attended by CAF & PD minster L Susindro Meitei, education minister Th Basanta Kumar Singh, Keishamthong MLA Nishikant Sapam, top ranking officials of AR and paramilitary forces and VCs of several universities.

Around 300 students of MU, 50 of DMU, 100 NCC cadets, 80 students of Lilong Haoreibi College, 40 students of Yairipok Universal College took part in the seminar besides leaders of Meira Paibi and CSOs.

The seminar had two plenary sessions on the topics 'The troubled neighbour - Turbulent Myanmar: Implications & impact' and 'Past v/s Future - shedding the historical baggage in Manipur' respectively.

The first plenary session 'The troubled neighbour - Turbulent Myanmar: Implications & Impact' was moderated by South Asian security and terrorism expert Jaldeep Saikia.

As a panellist in this session, retired joint director of the Government of India cabinet secretariat HK Jain spoke on 'Transborder Ethno-Nationalism; Challenges to the state' while retired Indian Foreign Service AMB Gautam Mukhopadhaya talked on 'China - The Unseen Player in Myanmar'.

Retired Indian Revenue Service officer Yudhvir Shahrawat also presented a talk on 'Moreh - Gateway to East'.

Dr Alex Waterman of Leeds University, United Kingdom also presented a talk on 'Impact of Naga peace process on Manipur' through video conferencing during the session.

The second session on 'Past v/s Futureshedding the historical baggage in Manipur' was moderated Lt Gen (retired) Dr KH Singh.

As a panellist, senior journalist Pradip Phanjoubam presented a talk on 'Understanding the past: Challenges to achieve socio political convergence' while another senior journalist Subir Bhaumik talked on 'Future contours of insurgency in North East with special reference to Manipur'.

Education minister Th Basanta also presented a talk on 'Unshaking the dreams-challenges to mainstreaming the potential of youth' in the second session.

Meanwhile, a statement of PRO-IGAR said that the North East seminar was an initiative of Assam Rifles undertaken annually to exchange ideas, views and share the perspective of diverse stakeholders in the region.

The initiative was undertaken in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Assam Rifles and Manipur University for restoring peace and ushering in prosperity in the North East.

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