The centre is not happy with the developments in Manipur. Maybe it is high time to take a more tougher action on multiple fronts. The issue of security along the India-Myanmar border is quite sensitive.
New Delhi has therefore called for indepth reports from multiple agencies and the state Govt. The central government security apparatus are more keen to know "whether there is any malafide intent to remove Assam Rifles from border security duty and get India Reserve Battalion".
An insurgent organization who want separate constitution, flag and 'control', what else can be expected from them - came an angry outburst from an analyst in Delhi.
(A view of Myanmar's side of the border from a bridge built over River Tiau, a natural border between India and Myanmar at Zokhawthar in Mizoram. File snap)
 |
| Lucrative timber business near Kamjong area with "underground support" |
Amid all these - authorities in New Delhi are toying with the idea of kickstarting election process by ruling BJP and NDA and whether announcement of polls can bring normalcy.
The developments come amid the Southern Tangkhul Students Union -- Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long (TAKL) - influential youth body - expressing strong resentment over what it described as the government's failure to ensure the safety of 'Naga-inhabited villages' along Manipur's international border.
Making things worse and embarrassing further, TAKL has warned that continued inaction could prompt people to seek support from neighbouring countries, including China.
"This is one of the unwarranted statements," a source said.
Addressing a press conference at the Manipur Press Club in Imphal on Tuesday, Sept 29, TAKL president Yarchuiso Kashung alleged that several villages along the Indo-Myanmar border in Kamjong and Ukhrul districts remain vulnerable to attacks.
Kashung referred to recent attacks on villages including Wanglee and Namlee and the killing of four civilians near Pilong in Kamjong district.
He alleged that Myanmar-based Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) militants had been involved in attacks on border villages. The allegations come amid earlier attacks on Tangkhul Naga villages near the international border, including Namlee, Wanglee and Choro, where houses were torched and residents fled to safety.
He alleged that despite repeated incidents, the state and Central governments had failed to provide adequate security to the affected villages.
 |
| Longwa village (India-Myanmar border) - Nagaland |
From security operatives' angle however - there is another version. Ultra groups are engaged in drug and timber business in the border areas. Apparently, a group of Eastern Flank (NSCN-IM faction) cadres "went inside Myanmar" territories for business operations and they were ambushed.
Some of them were also drugged.
However, the Home Ministry is keen for a detailed report from various sources 'addressing multiple angles'.
Manipur - by routine - goes to the polls by March 2027 along with UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa.
"The possibilities of deferring polls look remote as no civilian society and political groups and individual groups would prefer another spell of President's Rule in the state," the source said.
Sources, however, say the same sets of NGOs and pressure groups who want adequate protection in border areas are opposed to border fencing.
This two-sets of norms and demands should be done away with. The need for border fencing was accepted by Home Minister Amit Shah as a matter of policy in early 2024 and he announced border fencing. This announcement was resented.
By June-July this year, CoBRA commandos, armoured vehicles and tougher rules of engagement marked a "new phase" as tension increasingly involve Naga groups alongside Meitei-Kuki fault lines in the poll-bound Manipur.
In June 2026, the CRPF inducted two battalions of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) into Manipur. The elite force, which earned distinction in anti-Maoist operations, has now been tasked with stepping up operations against armed groups, dismantling bunkers and recovering illegal weapons.
All these have unnerved the NSCN-IM - Eastern Flank and other armed groups too.
Naga women vigil groups have been set up in at least 10-12 locations in Kamjong areas and other than security forces; no civilian movement is allowed. For sometime even central forces were prevented in some pockets often leading to altercation.
In Kamjong area dominated by Tangkhul Nagas; there is hardly 15-20 IRB personnel posted and the main operation is handled by central forces. IRB has adequate natives. Locals want "enhanced Tangkhul Naga deployment in the name of IRB". Presumably, they want around 300 IRB personnel in the area for obvious reasons, say those in the know of things.
"Often incidents are being suitably manipulated with or without the knowledge of local Naga civilian population. There are a number of vacant Kuki hamlets since February this year and the trust between Kukis and Nagas continue to be breached," the source added.
In the complex and murkier Naga-Zo-Kuki clashes nearly 50 lives have been lost and of these, 22 people -- 11 from each side were killed in last one month.
Speaking at the North Eastern Council (NEC) meeting in Shillong not long back, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that the era of insurgency in the Northeast was effectively over.
“The Modi government ended the era of violence in the Northeast and transformed the region from a hotspot of disputes to a hotspot of opportunities,” Shah said.
Security officials interpret that message as a signal that future outbreaks of violence will be met with tougher, swift and decisive actions.
 |
| Security Camp: Imphal |
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment