Manipur has faced the blues of insurgency in every way. There was a time, locals say, when nobody dared to step out of home after 4pm.
For many years, there was this perception here that Manipur was forcibly merged with India and New Delhi delayed giving it statehood.
Based on these sentiments, outfits like the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People’s Liberation Army (PLA), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) emerged.
As one reaches poll-bound Manipur, locals exude the feeling that things have changed. The state was considerably peaceful in the past five years. Still, an incident that took place in Churachandpur district haunts everyone.
Tragedy struck
An Assam Rifles commanding officer, his wife and son along with four other soldiers were killed here when some armed men ambushed their convoy on November 13 last year with IED at Sekhan village of Singhat division.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe and insurgent groups have claimed responsibility, but with this incident, the demand of repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) again has become a key issue of the elections.
News18 travelled to Churachandpur to get a feel of the ground in this district recently hit by insurgents.
The road to Moirang Lamkhai goes straight to Churachandpur district. As you get closer, the feel of increased security cover is palpable. Police and army personnel occupying the roads is not new in Manipur.
The hills in the state have a largely Christian population, reflected in the many churches here.
As we tried to speak to locals about November 13 incident, a lot of them sidestepped the questions. We tried to get a feel of the pulse of the area at a nearby tea shop.
Sanjau King, a college student, said, “See, what has happened…the way Army personnel were killed is not acceptable. Manipur is not only about insurgency. This incident puts a mark on us and, as a fallout, AFSPA will not be repealed. Though all political parties are saying it, let’s see.”
Another person sitting there, who did not want to be named, said, “That day, the incident was horrific, it was not right. On the one side, it’s the insurgents, on the other the drug cartels, and we are sandwiched. AFSPA should be repealed we feel, but the November incident has again put a question mark.”
Locals also said they have held rallies in protest of the violence, and they want peace.
A National People’s Party (NPP) office was nearby and News 18 met the local candidate Pu Th Thangzalian. Recalling the November incident, he said, “People want peace, they want free and fair elections. I feel very bad about that incident, the government is responsible for that. Right now AFSPA should not be repealed for security. It might be withdrawn after one or two years.”
The comment of this candidate was interesting as NPP’s clear stand has been the repeal of AFSPA from Manipur.
Poll position
The Centre in 1980 declared Manipur a “disturbed area”, and AFSPA was enforced. It grants Indian armed forces the power to search properties without a warrant, arrest people, and use deadly force if there is “reasonable suspicion” that a person is acting against the state. Locals have frequently complained about its misuse
The removal of the Act has been a major issue in Manipur politics. Civil rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila went on a hunger strike against it for over 15 years. This time, mainstream political parties also want AFSPA to be repealed. Former chief minister from the Congress Okram Ibobi Singh told News18, “During my time, things were dangerous. But then also, when things fell into place, we implemented the removal of AFSPA slowly in certain assembly segments. We feel this should be repealed. We will work this out when we come to power.”
NPP, said to be the dark horse in the Manipur polls, has put removal of AFSPA in its manifesto. Yumnam Joykumar Singh, the NPP chief in Manipur and deputy chief minister of the state, said, “I was a DG (director general of police). I have seen the situation at that time. We worked and brought normalcy. The time has now come to review AFSPA and we feel that it should be repealed.”
Chief minister N Biren Singh from the Bharatiya Janata Party also demanded the repeal of AFSPA just after the Churachandpur incident but it is not mentioned in the BJP manifesto. He told News18, “See, it’s an ongoing process and it’s there so it does not have to be mentioned in the manifesto.”
Union home minister Amit Shah too campaigned in Churachandpur on Wednesday, but the issue of AFSPA did not feature in his pitch.
https://twitter.com/amitshah/status/1496450065904603140?s=24
All political parties are on the side of the removal of AFSPA. How the new state government raises the issue before the Centre remains to be seen.
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