Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 18: The Union Home is rushing about 5,000 paramilitary troops to Manipur to assist the State government in handling the current “volatile” situation particularly in Jiribam district where at least 19 people have been killed in the current month alone.
The decision to rush 50 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force was taken at a meeting convened by the union home minister Amit Shah on Monday evening with the top officials of the Central and State governments to review the prevailing security situation in Manipur for the second consecutive day. Mr Shah directed top officials to focus on restoring peace and order there as early as possible, the sources said.
Subsequent to the meeting a ministry team will visit violence-affected areas shortly to help state officials in managing the situation, sources said. There is also a discussion on further re-imposing the contentious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in ‘hyper-sensitive’ areas.
AFSPA which gives sweeping powers to the military to operate anywhere that is declared a ‘disturbed area,’ was re-imposed in six police station areas including Jiribam, on Thursday. No military personnel in an AFSPA area can be prosecuted without the central government’s nod. Prior to Thursday 19 police station areas were not covered by AFSPA.
“The Centre has decided to send an additional 50 CAPF companies comprising more than 5,000 personnel to Manipur in view of the “challenging” security and law and order situation in the north-eastern State. While 35 units will be drawn from the CRPF, the rest will be from the BSF,” official sources said.
This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rushed 20 additional Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies, 15 from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and five from the Border Security Force (BSF), to the State following an order issued on November 12 after violence broke out in Jiribam district and spread to other places.
CRPF Director General (CRPF) A.D. Singh and senior officers from other CAPF are also present in the State. With last week’s deployment, a total of 218 CAPF companies are now present in the State, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year. “A deployment plan is being drawn to base these new 50 units in Manipur as per the violence levels being reported and the dynamic law and order situation in consultation with the State Government and the MHA,” the sources said.
On Saturday, the MHA had said all security forces deployed in Manipur have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in the State. It said armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence, leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order.
The sources also said a joint coordinated action plan involving central and state forces, as well as other agencies, will be initiated to ensure “full synergy” in addressing the situation in the state. Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who continues to stare down calls to quit, is to meet MLAs to review the situation.
All of this comes amid renewed violence in the north-eastern state after fighting broke out over a year ago between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community. The conflict has simmered since, splitting earlier cohabitating ethnic communities.
As part of that ongoing violence, last week there were attacks on the home of an MLA of the ruling BJP and on those of at least four other lawmakers, including the Health Minister. A mob even tried to storm the Chief Minister’s house, setting off another big clash between security forces and protesters and resulting in the former having to fire tear gas shells to disperse the latter.
Also last week six people – three women and three children – were abducted by a group of suspected Kuki insurgents from Manipur’s Jiribam district. All six were found dead, five days after the abduction, in neighbouring Assam, according to top sources in the Manipur government.
The killings prompted furious protests in Manipur, leading to clashes between the state government and protesters. On Sunday one protester – a 21-year-old man – was shot dead. It is unclear who fired the bullet that killed the 21-year-old, but protesters claim police commandos fired weapons to disperse the mob in which the youth was killed.
A group of alleged Kuki insurgents were engaged in a gunfight with the CRPF in which 10 suspected Kuki militants were killed. A group of people from the Kuki tribes surrounded the hospital in which their bodies were stored and began a protest to block its transport, claiming the 10 were “village volunteers.” A ‘coffin rally’ – protesters carrying the coffins containing the 10 bodies – has been announced.
On the political front, the National People’s Party withdrew support to the BJP, claiming that Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s government had “completely failed to resolve the crisis.” The NPP, though, has said it has not withdrawn support from the government, and is acting specifically against the Biren Singh-led administration only. “We have suggested that trust needs to be built… it is because of trust deficit that efforts to bring peace are not succeeding. (But) no trust-building efforts were undertaken,” NPP boss and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma declared.
The NPP has 7 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. The ruling party has also come under pressure from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP’s ideological mentor, which has demanded a swift resolution of the persistent crisis.
Mr Sangma, however, said the NPP may still support the BJP government if the leadership was changed leading to an environment of peace. “There may not have been a specific plan behind the violence in Manipur as such things can happen when sentiments are high. There were some efforts to contain the situation but they were not enough,” he said.
He insisted that the Manipur decision would not strain the NPP’s ties with the BJP. “The decision is about Shri Biren Singh. Our MLAs and our party’s Manipur State Committee lost confidence in him and decided not to support his government,” he said.
The withdrawal of support by the NPP is unlikely to threaten the Biren Singh government, which has 32 MLAs in the 60-member House. The majority mark in 31. However, seven BJP legislators who belong to the Kuki-Zo community have stayed away from the State’s capital Imphal since the ethnic conflict broke out in May 2023. Their association with the party has been loose since.
“The BJP will face a challenge if the Naga People’s Front (NPF), which is in the government, unlike the other parties, withdraws support. The other parties such as Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and independents can step in but they would be worried about a possible public backlash,” a political commentator in Imphal said.
The NPF has five MLAs while the JD(U) has six. Manipur has three independent legislators. The NPP is now in the Opposition in Manipur, along with the Congress, which has five MLAs, and the Kuki People’s Alliance, which has two legislators.