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Journalism of Courage
Tasked with manning “buffer zones” between Meitei- and Kuki-Zomi-dominated territories in Manipur, the Assam Rifles is facing heat from the Meiteis, with some even demanding its removal from the state.
Most recently, the Assam Rifles was embroiled in a row when its vehicles blocked state police personnel from the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district from crossing over into a Kuki-Zomi-dominated territory. Police claimed they were pursuing “suspected Kuki militants” who had killed three Meitei men that day, and actions of the Assam Rifles personnel allowed them to flee. The police also filed an FIR against the central force.
Normally, there are 20 battalions of the Assam Rifles in Manipur, with the primary mandate of counter-insurgency and border guarding. Since ethnic violence erupted in the state on May 3, two more battalions were moved in, senior officers told The Indian Express, and their deployment was readjusted to create a “gap” between territories dominated by the two communities in conflict.
This means that the Assam Rifles and the Army have been placed in “fringe locations”, where Meitei-dominated areas in the valley meet Kuki-Zomi-dominated areas in the hills, with an aim to stop troublemakers from crossing over. Officers said this is what has aggrieved members of the Meitei community, some of whom also harbour the impression that Assam Rifles favour the Kuki-Zomi.
On Monday, a protest was held across the valley by the Meitei women activists known as Meira Paibis. The protesters held placards saying ‘Go back Assam Rifles’ and ‘Stop using Indian security forces against Meiteis’.
In fact, confrontations between the Meira Paibis and the Assam Rifles have been taking place since the end of May, with women blocking not just the movement of personnel in valley areas but also the movement of trucks carrying rations and other supplies to their camps.
About the Bishnupur incident, RK Tharaksena, a senior member of the Meira Paibi community, made several allegations. “How did the militants cross the buffer zone in the night and kill those people? Whenever there is any attack by the Kuki people, they (Assam Rifles personnel) just stand and observe,” Tharaksena claimed.
As a video of the confrontation between the Assam Rifles personnel and the policemen emerged, the Spear Corps of the Indian Army issued a statement on Tuesday night: “Some inimical elements have made desperate, repeated & failed attempts to question the role, intent and integrity of the Central Security Forces, especially Assam Rifles…It needs to be understood that due to the complex nature of the situation on the ground in Manipur, occasional differences at tactical level do occur between various security forces.” The statement added that “all such misunderstandings” are “immediately addressed through the joint mechanism to synergise the efforts for restoration of peace and normalcy in Manipur.”
Beyond the present conflict too, longstanding grievances have been attributed to the Assam Rifles, including alleged illegal immigration from Myanmar. “For 40 years, the sole responsibility for the Indo-Myanmar border has been with the Assam Rifles. So how are all the immigrants coming? It is all happening under their nose… Areas with large-scale poppy plantations in the hills are also under their nose,” alleged Dhananjoi, a leader of Meitei civil society organisation COCOMI.
Assam Rifles officers countered these charges by saying that while the crackdown on poppy cultivation is the responsibility of the state police, the border is largely unfenced, with a Free Movement Regime in place. They said when illegal immigrants are found, the state and the Ministry of Home Affairs are informed, so their biometrics can be recorded. “But to address the issue more seriously, fencing of the border would be required,” said an officer.
Historically, the paramilitary force has had a strained relationship with the valley’s residents, particularly during the long years of counter-insurgency operations when the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was in force. One of the most prominent acts of resistance in Manipur was when 12 Meitei women protested naked in front of the Assam Rifles Headquarters in Imphal in 2004 against the killing of a 32-year-old woman, Thangjam Manorama Devi.
