Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The army has had to battle much more than militancy in the Valley 8212; it has had to contend with serious allegations of extra-judicial killings of innocents and the rape of local women and girls. Every alleged incident of this kind has fanned a viscerally angry response at a mass level, giving a fresh lease of life to age-old grievances and resentments and stoking the fires of insurgency.
Responses from the army brass to incidents of this kind have been cloaked in ambiguity. But misguided attempts to protect 8220;the boys8221; from 8220;false8221; charges 8212; even while they have been perceived as only too real at the ground level 8212; make the army8217;s task of maintaining peace in the region that much more difficult. The argument that prompt action against erring officers and jawans in such cases would immediately lead to demoralisation within the army is a false one. The army is an institution that recognises the value of discipline and abides by well laid down rules and orders. Demoralisation would only set in if the punishment meted out appears unjust or out of sync with the rules. In cases of blatant abuse, therefore, it is best that the system of military justice is allowed to take over promptly rather than misguided notions of solidarity with the wrong-doer. New Delhi is still grappling with the political and security consequences of the alleged rape of Thanglam Manorama by the security forces in Manipur and delay in ensuring justice in that case had led to widespread public disaffection.
