Former BSF ADG PK Mishra's Statement Shows Disconnect from Logical Reasoning and Ground Reality in Manipur

In a recent viral video, former ADG BSF, Shri PK Mishra, was seen putting the entire blame of failure of law and order on one agency, indirectly targeting the Assam Rifles. He further accused them of having links with Kuki militants. He however contradicts himself, as he also made an allegation that Manipur police sought the help of militant groups like the UNLF. What was interesting was, not only that Mr. PK Mishra shied away from taking the name of Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, but he also didn’t hold Manipur police responsible, while still indirectly putting the blame on Assam Rifles for not curbing militancy. What goes between him and Assam Rifles is unknown, but he should not have involved Kukis unnecessarily when his speech established the fact that he has zero awareness of the ground reality. The Kukis are presently suffering from the misinformation and hate spewed against them by the media fraternity of Manipur - he should not have made them suffer the same from the national media.

The former director made an allegation that there is lack of co-operation and co-ordination amongst the state forces and the para military forces in the state of Manipur. He however forgets that it is he who himself said that Manipur police sought the help of the UNLF, although intentionally omitting Arambai Tenggol. As a so-called expert, who confidently gave the solution on the Manipur issue, why is he unaware of the allegation by the Kukis regarding the co-operation and co- ordination of para-military forces and Manipur Police in the presence of Arambai Tenggol and the UNLF in Saikul, Sugnu and now in Jiribam when the para-military forces’ in-charge in this bordering region belongs to the Meitei community which resulted in the displacement of Kukis and the arsoning of their villages. These allegations are based upon patterns replicated and implemented against the Kukis when a Meitei official is posted in the region. He also seemed to miss the striking similarity of what happened in Jiribam today to what happened in Sugnu last year where peace and stability in the region was disturbed with the help of the Meitei military official there too and the deployment of Akash Oinam in Saikul, Major Singh from 37 Assam Rifles and Premjit Huidrom of CRPF in Jiribam. As far as Pallel and Moreh are concerned, Biren’s heartthrob SSP Nectar takes the credit. So the question is, does he want the annihilation of the Kukis like the Meiteis do?

He also seems to be unaware of the division of jurisdiction between Home Minister Shri Amit Shah and the chief minister of Manipur which the chief minister himself declared to the world after his meeting with Amit Shah in June last year. One of the reasons for the failure to bring normalcy in the state of Manipur is the disrespect and complete disregard of this arrangement by Biren and his government. With attacks coming 99% of the time from the valley to the hills or in Kuki villages that lie within the disputed jurisdiction of the valley district, I think he should not have misled Indians by placing the blame on Assam Rifles alone. One can also ask that if we question the Assam Rifles, what are the other para-military forces deploying in the valley district deployed for if they could not tackle the menace of not only law and order but also in their failure to stop the militants from the valley from attacking Kuki villages? As opposed to his claim, I say, no central agency can bring normalcy in the state of Manipur if they are not given the powers to maintain and control law and order in the valley districts of Manipur.

With those who commit the heinous crimes to ethnically cleanse the Kukis still called ‘village volunteers’ even by the chief minister and with their historical records of attacking and arsoning of Kuki villages with the help of their security forces, it is by compulsion that Kukis have weaponised to defend themselves against the atrocious attacks. Once organisations like them are recognised as terrorist organisations and when paramilitary forces can have free hand to tackle them militarily in any event of their attacks, it won’t take the Assam Rifles even a week to de-militarise the Kukis. The Kukis best know if they are soft on them or not when insurgency and militancy becomes the issue.

If Assam Rifles is in collaboration with Kuki militants, why did they warn the volunteers guarding the borders that they must face the Assam Rifles first if they try to attack the Meitei villages nearby? Why are real bullets used to disperse angry mobs protesting against government and administrative policies? A good number of Kukis have been injured and more than 4 protestors have succumbed to death from their bullets amidst their attempt to bring law and order in the hill districts. Would any other para-military forces deployed in the valley dare use the same undemocratic means of mob handling on the Meiteis? Had this approach adopted in the hills been adopted in the valley too, stoppage of outright attacks and confrontations would have been a done deal by now. The irony is that despite looted armoury causing chaos to law and order in the valley and despite those weapons being deployed in the hills for illegal and terrorist activities, the state government thinks AFSPA in the valley is not a necessity despite the same being implemented in the hills where there is better law and order.

Myanmar shares international boundaries with at least 4 states of India, and it has a porous border across. Drugs and weapons trafficking is an issue across the bordering region. The porous boundary is what makes Myanmar the safe heaven for terrorists. Different tribes and ethnic clans reside across these borders and many insurgents wage a separatist movement from the country. However Kukis are scapegoated and singled out alone for the entire crimes happening across the borders, when separatist movements against India is the least concern for Kuki insurgent groups in Myanmar as defeating the Junta and establishing a democracy is their priority at the moment. If Assam Rifles is accused today of giving weapons to the Kukis, should they not be accused of supplying weapons to all insurgents operating in the North East? Or does he think that all other insurgents groups are capable of acquiring illegal weapons except for the Kukis using the weak spot across the borders? How can a former military officer be so out of touch from ground reality and logical reasoning? Thus the question is does he have any personal vendetta against the Assam Rifles or the Kukis?

And if the public and politicians’ opinions are the basis on which central armed forces should be removed from the state, by his analogy, should they not be removed from the state of J&K too? We should trust our armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir, and we should trust them in Manipur too. Yes, there can be human rights violations and misuse of power by the officials, but they should be dealt with accordingly at their personal level and reforms should be introduced to curb the menace of such officers. But as Indians we should never put the blame on the entire agencies for the misdeeds of unethical officers. The Kukis adopt this approach towards our centrals forces. Despite the atrocity and displacement we had to undergo when Meitei military officers are placed in sensitive jurisdictions, we demand for the removal of the officer(s), not the entire military bases in the district. Thus as a former military officer himself, his  comments  are  uncalled  for  and  unnecessary.

Manipur needs both military intervention and political solutions. As long as political and military support by the state government exist, long term peace and normalcy is a far cry. Manipur today, despite the deployment of other central military forces like BSF, CRPF, Gorkha Regiment and others, could not instill peace and normalcy since the culprits have the backing of the political power in the state. If we want peace, then military wise, what applies in the hills should apply in the valley and politically, the central government should handover to itself the responsibility, power and duties of the government until a political solution is found. Thus, experts who are clueless of the ground reality but rather pick up their entire knowledge of the Manipur problems today from propagandist national, regional and state owned media should stop themselves from giving opinions and solutions. Their illogical and out of touch reality opinions and solutions can worsen the already dire situation the Kukis are living in today.