On 27th June 2021, two explosive-laden drones crashed into an Indian military station at Jammu. That incident was considered the first use of drone in India to attack the Indian military. Security experts had then realized that the wars in India will now have to tread the unconventional path.
Early Warnings by the Mainstream Media:
While the use of drones by the public has been mainly for entertainment / news gathering/ photography etc., security experts have always been concerned about the potential threat/s drones have posed. As far as 9th July 2023, IndiaTV had reported on the use of quadcopters by the Kuki and Meitei communities to “to monitor each other’s movement”.
On 10th July 2023, NorthEast Live TV has carried a news titled: “Manipur unrest: Rival clashing groups using off-the- shelf drones to monitor each other’s movements” , wherein it was mentioned that the drones were used for surveillance purpose. On 19th Nov 2023, Imphal International Airport had to be shut down because some errant Meitei public had flown a rogue drone over the Airport.
Alert from Twitter Users:
On 14th December 2023, a Kuki X user (@KukiLalboi) tweeted a video wherein a “Meitei militant is seen recording the demo to drop the highly explosive bomb using drone.” He added that this is “really a great threat to national security”. The video raised a huge concern amongst the Kuki community, and accordingly Kuki X users made serious efforts to inform @PMO (Prime Minister of India’s Office), @HMO (Office of the Home Minister of India), @ adgpi (Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of Indian Army) about the said video.
It was later learnt that the demonstration on drone carrying/ dropping of bomb was videographed by a meitei youth Nandalal Thiyam of Bishnupur, who was regularly in the news for modification of drones, and electric skateboard .
Such news / video would have immediately alerted any drone regulatory body in any country, but not India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body for drones, or as called by DGCA, the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The DGCA failed to appreciate the precarious drone environment in Manipur, and did not immediately put in place regulatory measures.
Curious Case of Nandalal Thiyam Meitei
On 15th December 2023, The Sangai Express had carried a news that Mr. Nandalal Thiyam had assembled a drone which “can travel a long distance and carry an object as heavy as one kilogram”. What the news willfully hid from the masses was that the said drone was being modified by Mr. Thiyam Meitei to be capable of carrying bombs upto 1 kg to attack the Kukis.
Law Regarding Possession of Drone/s
DGCA’s Drone Rules, 2021 In India the law regulating the use or possession is the Drone Rules, 2021.
Rule 14 (1) of the Rules, stated: “No person shall operate an unmanned aircraft system without first registering it on the digital sky platform and obtaining a unique identification number.”
Rule 26 stated that no person shall operate drone so as “to endanger the safety and security of any person or property.”
Rule 27 prohibits any person from using drone to carry arms, ammunition, explosives and military stores, except with the written permission of the Central Government or any other person authorised by the Central Government.
Rule 50 stipulated that a person failing to comply with the regulations will be fined with a penalty not exceeding rupees one lakh.
Manipur Drone Policy, 2023
To regulate drones within Manipur, the Manipur Government had issued an Extraordinary Gazette on 3rd April 2023 titled: “Manipur Drone Policy, 2023”.
Para 5.2 of the Policy deals with “Regulation of Drone”: All Drones of different variants (including nanos, micros, small, medium and large) operating in the State should be mandatorily registered in the Digital Sky Platform and obtain a Unique Identification Number (UIN) from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India.
Para 5.3 of the Policy mandatorily requires that “all drones operating in the state shall mandatorily follow all rules/ guidelines set under the Drone Rules, 2021”. To sum up, the Manipur Drone Policy, 2023 is just a reaffirmation of the applicability of the DGCA’s Drone Rules, 2021 for the state of Manipur.
Villains Still Free: DGCA responsible?
As no action was taken by the DGCA, and no report has even been sought by DGCA, the evil actions of Mr. Nandalal Thiyam was kept hidden. Rather, he has been regularly feted and invited by various organisations. 12 days after Meitei terrorists, and allegedly supported by Mr. Nandalal Thiyam, attacked villagers of Khousabung, NewsPint reported that on 29.02.2024 government institutions such as NABARD (in collaboration with Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhya Institute of Agricultural Sciences) had invited him for its “One day Program on Robotics and Drone Application in Horticultural crops”, at Kameng Campus, Imphal East.
It is very surprising that NABARD has been engaging with those drone makers who are using drones not for peaceful purposes, but to attack others.
The digital sky (Digisky) portal shows that no drone was registered in the name of Mr. Nandalal Thiyam or in his organisation’s name (Zero and Infinity Innovation and Problem Solving).
This is a clear violation of the Drone Rules, 2021, and of the Manipur Drone Policy 2023; yet the DGCA, and the Manipur Government were not vigilant enough to check if the drones being displayed by various people in Manipur are properly registered.
Manipur Police – Law enforcer or Law Breaker? It is very surprising that no drone was also registered with the national regulator by the Manipur Police 2021 and Manipur’s Drone Policy, 2023.
Below is a photo of Drone utilised by Manipur Police (Source: Ukhrul Times ), and unavailability of Manipur Police’s name in DigiSky.
First Drone Attack on Kuki Villagers
Eventually, on 16th December 2023, the Meitei terrorists, allegedly aided by the Meitei Police and with the drone operated by Nandalal Thiyam Meitei, created history in India by becoming the first ethnic group in India to use drones to attack another ethnic group i.e. the Kuki villagers of G. Songgel, near Sugnu. The drones were loaded with military grade explosives.
Second Drone Attack on Kuki Villagers
As no deterrent action was taken against the Meitei terrorists by the Meitei Government and the DGCA, the Meitei terrorists acted with impunity and deployed the same modus operandi used at G. Songgel to attack the villagers of Khousabung, a Kuki village near Moirang, on the 18th January 2024.
Warmonger Licypriya Kangujam’s new passion: Drones
On 18th January 2024, Ukhrul Times (UT) reported that Licypriya Kangujam was seeking “crowdfunding to acquire Thermal Drone to aid in ‘entering war’” . The UT translated her Facebook’s post as under
Within just 2 days, Licypriya reported on her Facebook that she was in a position to purchase 02 Thermal Imaging Drones (each valued at more than Rs. 5.5 Lacs). On 22nd January, the Frontier Manipur reported that the drones were handed over to Arambai Tenggol . The said news journal also reported that the drones were handed over to the illegal organization Arambai Tenggol to be used “against illegal Kuki Narco Terrorists to protect our indigenous rights, our forests, land and our country.”
Very surprisingly, the drones were carried in an airplane from Delhi to Imphal. How the Airport Security and Airline Security allowed such Thermal Imaging Drones to be carried in an airplane when the said drones were not registered with the DGCA is totally surprising. And yet no report was sought by DGCA or BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) for such security lapse.
Complaints Unheeded
Complaints about such alarming procurement of drones by the Kangujam family to harm the Kuki population were made to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the DGCA, the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles by a Twitter User (@DrBobBuilder) on 19.01.2024, but till date (31.03.2024) no action has been taken either based on the complaint,or suo-moto.
Right To Information Sought From DGCA
Having seen that no suo-motu action was taken by the DGCA on the misuse of drones by the Meiteis, an RTI was filed with the DGCA on various questions. The queries and the corresponding answers were as below:
2. How many numbers of Drones in Manipur are registered and authorised with DGCA?
(Views of TLM: No drone was registered by Nandalal Thiyam or his organization; or by Manipur Police; or by the Forest Department of Manipur who have been utilizing drone illegally for declaration of Forest Reserve in the past; or even by any agricultural university, including Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhya Institute of Agricultural Sciences)
3. How many numbers of Thermal Imaging Drones in Manipur are registered with and authorised by DGCA? Please provide the required details of the civilian owners.
(Views of TLM: This clearly means that no civilian in Manipur is authorized by DGCA to own Thermal Imaging Drones. It also means that the Kangujam family or the Arambai Tenggols or even the Meitei police are illegally procuring / using Thermal imaging drones. Such illegal activities should be stopped immediately, and the persons illegally owning it should be prosecuted as per the law of the land. DGCA and Manipur government should immediately take cognizance of such brazen disregard of the Drone Rules/ Policy)
4. Any drone registered in the name of Licypriya Kangujam or Kanarjit Kangujam or Bidyarani Devi Kangujam Ongbi? If not registered how were they allowed to collect money for drones by the DGCA (Click the Link: Ukhrul Times )
(Views of TLM: As per DGCA, no drone was registered with any of the Kangujam family as on 31.03.2024, as shown below:
This only means that the Kangujam family, including Licypriya, have been engaging in illegal activities of drone collection, purchase and transfer without any registration or authorization from DGCA)
5. Any report sought by DGCA from the state Government of Manipur on the usage of drones by non state actors in the current violence in Manipur?
(Views of TLM: Under Rule 51 of the Drone Rules 2021, the Director General of DGCA, or any person authorised by him is fully empowered to inspect any unmanned aircraft system, any related facility, interact with any personnel, and inspect any document or record. However, the DGCA, with all its power, had for reasons best known to the DG, DGCA, turned a blind eye to the rampant misuse of Drones in Manipur. This speaks ill of the regulatory system in place, and questions the credibility of the DGCA in enforcing the Drone Rules 2021.)
Conclusion : From the above analysis, it emerges that the DGCA has not been able to regularly monitor and ensure the proper implementation of the provisions under Drone Rules 2021. This lack of supervision of the DGCA is the main reason why drones are used with impunity by the state and non-state actors alike in Manipur, and is contributing to furthering the violence. This does not bode well for the state and for the country, and most of all for the reputation of DGCA.
References:
Thingkho Le Malcha (TLM) is a traditional method of communication used to send out messages across the Kuki hills during the Anglo-Kuki War,1917-1919... more
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