REPRESENTING TRAUMA DURING A CONFLICT SITUATION

Speedier anticipation of potential trouble could have prevented the violence in Manipur. But the government’s blunders continue, and have grave and ugly consequences

- PRADIP PHANJOUBAM

THE unprecedented bloody feud in Manipur between the Kuki-Zo group and the Meiteis crossed the four-month mark on September 3, yet there is no sign of this tragedy concluding. Every now and then, there are still reports of gun battles breaking out in the foothills, shattering hopes for a return to normalcy.

The situation is compounded by a lack of will and competence of the Central as well as the state governments to exercise their legitimate might. At this moment, the combined strength of the Manipur Police and Central forces would be close to one lakh on the ground, but things are still allowed to slip deeper into the abyss. It is true that this is not an easy task for the security establishment. They are not free (or inclined) to resort to violent actions as they are dealing with citizens and not enemies, though a great number of citizens are now armed, as an officer of the Indian Army clarified.

As for the state government, from May 3 to now, the story has been about blunders. If it were not for its inability to get a full grip on the problem, in all likelihood, today's crisis could have been quelled the day it broke out. Or, speedier anticipation of potential trouble could have prevented its outbreak altogether. But the blunders continue, with grave and ugly consequences.

In June, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, after a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, came back and informed the press that Shah had assured him that if the state police took care of the valley, the home minister would ensure the Central paramilitary forces brought the hills under control. A buffer zone was thereby created at the foothills to separate the two warring communities.