Manipur Administration Defunct?

Security analysts, academics and journalists, who have been closely following the 6-week long ethnic strife in Manipur feel early return of peace is a far cry

With the administration in Manipur getting nearly defunct, the chances of an early return to peace, in the trouble-torn state seems remote. This is the view expressed by security analysts, academics and journalists, who have been closely following the 6-week long ethnic strife which has claimed at least 120 lives and uprooted more than 45,000 people from their homes.

A lot of people have been asking the question as to why an estimated 60,000 troops have failed to control the law and order situation.

Take the case of the Army. The Army troopers are handicapped as 17 police stations in the Imphal valley are not under the purview of the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Protection Act) with the government denotifying the same recently. In areas under these 17 police stations, the Army is supposed to operate only in the presence of a magistrate.

Now, with more than 60 Army columns operating everyday, it is common knowledge, that a small state like Manipur would not have the required number of magistrates to accompany each of the columns.

Secondly, it has been found that local women protestors frequently block roads that prevent Army movement as well as movement of essential supplies.

The situation has been made more difficult with the clear polarization among Meitei and Kuki lines even in the state police and administration. Again, while the Kukis have no trust on the Manipur police, the Meiteis have been repeatedly accusing the Assam rifles of being pro-Kuki. Such allegations and counter allegations have made administration and maintenance of law and order all the more difficult.

Coming to supplies of essential commodities, while the National Highway-2 is once again blocked, the only lifeline of Manipur now is NH-37 which connects Assam’s Cachar district to the Imphal valley.

An estimated 600 vehicles, mostly trucks have been plying through the route, 300 on either side, everyday ferrying essential commodities to Imphal. This brings us to the question as to how are the hill areas like Moreh, Kangpokpi and Churachandpur surviving?

Well, while areas under Tengnoupal, which includes the border town of Moreh, are surviving on supplies form Myanmar, districts like Churachandpur are ferrying essentials from the Mizoram side. Again, as far as Kangpokpi is concerned, the supplies are being brought from the Nagaland side, through Kohima.

In this kind of a situation, everybody, be it the forces on ground, or the common people, are looking towards a political initiative to restore peace in the state by directly engaging with the clashing communities.

Unfortunately, no headway has been made in this front and what we are seeing on the ground is nothing but firefighting to somehow maintain a semblance of order in the frontier state.

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