New Delhi: In comments that underline the seriousness of the ongoing violence in the sensitive border state of Manipur, the director general of Assam Rifles, Lt General P.C. Nair, on Friday, September 1, said that the situation in Manipur was unprecedented.
“The situation that we are facing in Manipur is unprecedented. We have never faced anything of this kind in history. It is new to us, it is new to Manipur too. Something similar happened in the early 90s when the Nagas and Kukis fought and then within the Kuki groups also there was a fight in the late 90s,” Lt General Nair told ANI. The statement is significant and alarming as it comes from the Assam Rifles and is not referring to an insurgency but to the ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis.
The violence in Manipur has so far caused at least 160 deaths and there are reports of 2,000 villages being burnt and over 360 churches either being burnt or destroyed.
Lt General Nair spoke of the multiple challenges that the armed forces were facing in the state that has been marred by very serious violence since May 3. Lt General Nair said the “large number of weapons” with civilians was a key concern.
“The society has become weaponised. Unless these weapons come back in whatever way they can, this challenge will be the biggest. Today, there’s so much against each other, it’s so corrupted. This needs to be stalled,” were his exact words.
The Wire had reported on how various estimates had put the weapons “looted” from police armouries at more than 3,000. On June 3, the Indian Express reported that as many as 4,000 weapons had been looted from the police and state armoury. It also said that till then only 650 weapons had been recovered. The kind of weapons “looted” is a grave concern. FIRs seen by The Wire indicate the loot of sophisticated weapons like AK and INSAS rifles, and bombs, among others. Looters also took away bulletproof jackets and set fire to police stations.
Manipur is meant to enjoy an advantage as per the ruling BJP, of a “double-engine” government, with the same party in control in Imphal and in Delhi. But despite a long and unprecedented visit and stay by Union home minister Amit Shah, the violence is not under control. The Supreme Court last month, upon summoning the chief secretary of the state had remarked, that there was “no law and order left in Manipur“.
The role of the state police, whether in controlling violence or in allowing the “looting” of the armouries, has been pointed out by the Supreme Court and cases of violence have been shifted out of the state to courts in Assam.
Meanwhile, fresh violence has killed at least eight persons in the districts of Bishnupur and Churachandpur over the last three days with firing and violence continuing since August 29.
There is little coordination between central forces and those from the state. Assam Rifles has been locked in another unprecedented conflict with the state police. Manipur Police filed an FIR against Assam Rifles last month for “allowing Kuki Militants to flee”. A video of a heated exchange between Assam Rifles and Bishnupur police had earlier gone viral.
Assam Rifles is administratively under the Union home ministry but operationally works under the army. It is commanded by army officers, who constitute around 80% of the officer cadre.