Talks among two groups, return of displaced people may help to restore normalcy in Manipur : Ex-top Army officer

Normalcy would be restored in Manipur when the two groups, instead of clashing, initiate talks and the internally displaced persons return to their place of origin, a senior former Indian Army officer from the state said on Sunday.

Gen L. Nishikanta Singh (retd), who had headed the army’s Intelligence Corps for 5 years, said: "There are three factors for people to go back to their place of origin. The first factor is adequate security to ensure their safety. Second is dwelling units or houses for them to live in and lastly the means of livelihood."

The semblance of peace that had prevailed before the recent developments had inspired the possibilities of sending back people staying in the relief camps to their place of origin wherever possible, the former top Army officer told the media.

"People from Sugnu, Kwakta, and even Pukhao areas could be sent back to their original place if there is adequate security for their safety. Similar arrangements should be made for the displaced Kukis to return," he observed.

According to the retired Army officer, the people who are perpetrating the recent violence are doing it as they do not want the violence to end and want to keep the pot boiling.

"At the end of the day, what they are perpetrating is a los for both the polarised communities. People on either side want peace. I’ve visited over 26 relief camps. What everyone in those camps is asking is for them to return to their homes," he said.

Their concerns arise from the fact that there is such a large deployment of central paramilitary to the tune of over 60,000, but the violence still continues unabated, Lt Gen Singh (retd) said adding that there is also a growing allegation that certain paramilitary forces are biased in their action as they aid a particular community in the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur.

Director General of Assam Rifles, Lt. Gen P.C Nair said last week that his force -- tasked with essentially three roles: border guarding, counter-insurgency operations and conventional operations alongside the Indian Army -- have been playing an absolutely unbiased role in curtailing the violence and stopping the killings, shooting and burning of houses in Manipur that has occurred since May 3.

On an optimistic note, the Assam Rifles Chief said that "the worst is behind us and that the sporadic incidents of shooting and killings will gradually subside and we are heading towards better times".

He added that the warring communities need to start talking to each other for conflict resolution.

Lt. Gen Singh (retd) also agrees that there must be talks between the two groups.

"I fully agree that there must be talks to resolve the crisis. As of today, both sides aren’t willing to talk. The question is how to make them talk. If there is a lesson to be learnt from history – it is the military actions, the action taken by the security forces which, in most cases, compels the warring groups to come together and talk. Without this initiative from the security forces and simply requesting them to talk cannot happen," he pointed out.

While the Assam Rifles DG feels that the biggest challenge in dealing with the Manipur violence is the large number of weapons that are out within both the communities, the retired Indian Army Intelligence Corp chief said that the security forces need to establish deterrence to show there is no impunity for taking law in one’s hand.

"Unless this deterrent is established the violence will continue. Before winter sets in, maximum internally displaced persons should be facilitated to return to their place of origin."

He predicted that winter is going to be very difficult as it would witness a new round of fighting.

"The new phase or the phase 3 of the violence will possibly start off once the monsoon is over and the dry spell comes in. In military parlance, it is called the campaigning season. Here it cannot be a classical campaigning season, but it will definitely facilitate military operations when there is no more rain. By then the poppy would have been harvested. That would be the time when the violence is going to be deadly. Military operations are difficult in monsoon. Winter facilitates visibility and easier movement. In non-snow bound areas, winter is an excellent time for fighting," he said.

Lt Gen Singh (retd) has classified the Manipur violence in phases. The first phase lasted for about 10 days from May 3 and till May 12 when the 10 Kuki MLAs submitted a memorandum for a separate administration. Phase two started from May 27-28. Between these two phases, there was a constant effort to internationalise the conflict. There was a group who submitted representations to several international forums. This process is happening even today.