Manipuris volunteered to defend their villages
Civil rights activists may have gone into an overdrive against the Manipur government’s decision to arm civilians against militants, but the Centre sees nothing amiss in the move
By Bharti Jain, |
NEW DELHI: Civil rights activists may have gone into an overdrive against the Manipur government���s decision to arm civilians against militants, but the Centre sees nothing amiss in the move. Officials here are already drawing a distinction between the Manipur initiative and Salwa Judum movement, saying that not only were arms sought by villagers themselves, but, SPOs, unlike their counterparts in Chhattisgarh, would not be uprooted from their homes as they take on militants out to harm innocent civilians.
A senior official at the Centre also pointed out that the move to appoint 500 locals from Heirok village in Thoubal district and Lilong Chajing in Imphal West was perfectly legal as the Police Act provided for appointment of civilians as SPOs in aid to the state police in disturbed areas.
Besides, the concept of ���community policing��� was not only being followed elsewhere in the country (including Delhi through the Bhagidari initiative) but also in western countries including the US (the neighbourhood watch programme.) The only difference in Manipur, the official pointed out, was that members of the community were armed for their own protection.
The Okram Ibobi Singh government in Manipur had on Friday decided to arm around 500 villagers ��� 300 at Heirok and 200 at Lilong Chajing. The move was in response to the residents��� demand, which they had pressed last month by marching to the chief minister���s residence, that they be armed to protect innocent civilians against assault by the insurgent groups. In March, militants from the People���s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak) had gunned down 3 villagers, including 2 women, in Heirok, while another villager was killed by insurgents in Lilong Chajing in April.
The killings fuelled the popular uprising against the militants. Residents of Heirok issued an ultimatum soon after to the underground���s as well as their overground supporters to leave the village. The militants retreated, along with the local supporters whose houses were then burnt down by the villagers.
Emboldened, the villagers formed a joint action committee and after one of their meetings, declared that they would not heed to any of the militants��� demands, be it for ���taxes��� or protection money. ���We will not allow any militant outfits to operate or enter our village...the present trend of killing innocent people is an act of terrorism,��� Kh Basanat Singh, vice-president of the JAC told newspersons in Imphal last month.
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Interestingly, the villagers have also said that they would not allow the insurgents to tamper with the public distribution system, be it blocking of PDS supplies or pushing up prices by imposing illegal levies. The Centre sees this as a positive development and possibly the first instance in the north-east of locals rising against physical and economic oppression by militant outfits.The appointment of local people as SPOs as a first line of defence against militants has seen a success story in neighbouring Tripura. Since the SPOs were brought in to assist the Tripura State Rifles who set up pickets in the insurgent-infested villages four years ago, the state has seen a steady decline in violence levels, with incidents falling from 212 in 2004 to 94 in 2007 and killings (security forces + civilians) dipping from 113 to 20 in the corresponding period.
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