Continuing violence points to a lack of political will, and obduracy in failing to acknowledge that far more needs to be done
Recurring instances of violence in Manipur point to the obvious — the unrest that erupted in the state last year in May is far from over. This week alone, a mob targeted the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion in Khangabok, Thoubal; Thoubal Police Headquarters was also attacked. Though authorities managed to repel the mobs in both instances, three BSF personnel were injured. In Moreh, a beleaguered border town, an Indian Reserve Battalion jawan and a havildar on deputation with the Manipur police commandos were killed and two others injured. The state’s Home Department Commissioner has put in a request with the Home Ministry requesting “air assets” in Imphal to meet with similar emergency situations.
These instances, only the latest in a dismal series, highlight how eight months into the ethnic conflict, the state government is yet to step up to its challenge. The attacks on security personnel are disturbing on multiple counts. After the initial inertia, the state has seen a larger deployment of security forces, including the Army and paramilitary forces, to bring the situation under control. Yet, accusations of partisanship are rife on the ground, posing hurdles in their way. Despite the Army chief’s recent assertion of growing stability in the state, violence against the security forces also highlights that force alone cannot tame a situation that requires sensitivity and compassion in equal measure. The instability in Myanmar, where Arakan insurgents claim to have taken control of Paletwa town in Chin state, that lies close to Myanmar’s border with India and Bangladesh, is a troubling development, compounded by the fact that of the estimated 4,500-odd arms looted from state police armouries in Manipur in the early days of the ethnic clash, only about 30 per cent have been recovered so far. This means that unaccounted-for arms remain in circulation in a state where borders and buffer zones have deepened along ethnic lines between the hill and valley people and where each feels distrust for the other and for those meant to govern and protect them.
In June last year, Home Minister Amit Shah had announced the formation of a peace committee, with representatives from different ethnicities, political parties and civil society, to begin the process of healing. The committee ran into internal differences soon after and is yet to meet. In the unending season of anger and grief in the state, this shows both a lack of will and an obduracy in failing to acknowledge that far more needs to be done.
Source: Indian Express, 19/01/24
