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Journalism of Courage
THE LARGE number of weapons that were looted in Manipur and remain missing so far is a major cause for concern given the possibility of them landing in the “wrong hands”, the Director General of Assam Rifles, Lt Gen P C Nair, told The Indian Express.
While saying that the situation was “limping back to normalcy”, Nair pointed to the challenge posed by the “corrupt” and “caustic” feelings which some members of the Meitei and Kuki communities harbour against each other, fanning disaffection and violence at the smallest provocation and after “selective” video leaks.
As reported by The Indian Express on October 29, the state government has been able to recover only about a quarter of the 5,600 weapons and less than 5 per cent of the 6.5 lakh rounds of ammunition stolen from the police armouries since the violence broke out in May.
“If these weapons do not come back, they are weapons in the wrong hands. Many of them could have gone to insurgents,” Nair said in an interview to The Indian Express, when asked if the large number of missing weapons amidst an internal security situation could revive insurgency.
But he remained hopeful that attempts to revive insurgency may not garner local support. This optimism is grounded in the fact that people in Manipur have “witnessed economic development” and experienced peace in recent years, he said.
“Since the ethnic clashes broke out, we have increased patrolling and surveillance at the India-Myanmar border. But it is an open border… we can’t be there on every square inch of the ground. But the important thing here is that any insurgency needs public support to sustain. That may not happen because Manipur, in recent years, has witnessed significant socio-economic development and progress. People have tasted peace,” he said.
Ever since clashes broke out in Manipur, the Assam Rifles has often found itself under attack. There have been instances of friction between the Manipur Police and Assam Rifles, with the former filing an FIR against the Assam Rifles for allegedly allowing Kuki militants to escape. Over recent months, there has also been a growing call for replacing the Assam Rifles in the state.
Rejecting allegations of bias, Nair blamed “vested interests” for running a disinformation campaign though videos that were “selectively circulated” and “did not present the full picture”.
“Ask any common man from both the communities. They will tell you what role we, along with the Indian Army, played there. We were just doing our duties,” he said. “And what were people against us for? Because we are preventing both the communities from fighting with each other. There were instances when people of a community were going en masse to attack the other side after being fed a certain narrative… we stopped them. So obviously, when emotions are running high and they are prevented from doing what they want to, stories get cooked up,” he said.
“People have now realised that the Assam Rifles, along with the Army, can sort this mess out… Nobody knows the people, terrain, culture, traditions better than us. Surely, the other forces which came have also helped, but they are, in some way, handicapped (as compared to)… the kind of institutional knowledge and continuity that we have,” he said.
On the friction between the Manipur Police and the Assam Rifles and the challenge of working alongside other paramilitary forces, Nair said: “When all this started, the security forces had never worked in conjunction with each other, the police and the central forces. But the biggest gain is that today, every operation that is being undertaken is being done jointly.”
As for his assessment of the current law and order situation in the state, he said in the last two weeks, there have been no reports of intense firings. “I can see the situation is limping back to normalcy,” he said.
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