THE IMPHAL QUESTION

THE IMPHAL QUESTION 

As violence continues, GoI needs to seriously review the functioning of Manipur's administration & police 


The gruesome case of arson that saw an ambulance being torched in front of police personnel, burning alive a seven-year-old boy, his mother and relative on the outskirts of Imphal, probably indicates a near-total collapse of Manipur's law and order machinery. The boy, who had been staying at an Assam Rifles relief camp that hosted members of the Kuki community, was earlier injured in firing by miscreants. It was while taking him to hospital that the ambulance - under escort of Manipur police - was waylaid by a mob, allegedly from the Meitei community.


The ongoing turmoil in Manipur is chock-full with such incidents, where the state police has simply melted away. The recent attack on Congress MLA Ranjit Singh's residence by suspected Kuki insurgents and the torching of 32 houses of the Kuki-inhabited Natyang village happened despite GoI making serious attempts to work towards peace. This underscores a simple reality: No matter how many central forces GoI deploys to the strife-torn state, law and order cannot be enforced without the professional, unbiased conduct of the local police.


True, the violence in Manipur has engendered huge district between the state's Meitei and Kuki communitie. And fundamental to this situation is the distrust of state police itself. With reports indicating that large part of Imphal valley have been taken over by street gangs and extremist outfits like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, serious questions need to be asked of Manipur Police. The latter seems to have either lost its ability to impose it's authority or is unwilling to get caught in the crossfire of ethnic strife-torn.  This is unacceptable - Manipur police as an institution is supposed to be the protector of all communities in Manipur.


Plus, the failure of the police also strengthens the belief among the tribal communities that their only source of protection are the armed ethnic insurgents. So, a vicious cycle is in play where the abdication of the state police force is providing a fillip more elusive. Given these circumstances, GoI needs to seriously review the functioning of the Manipur government vis-a-vis its law and order responsibility. Unless this is fixed, Manipur's fires will continue burning.  

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