In the first seven months of year 2006, a total of 181 people have been killed in Manipur, which includes 62 (34.25 per cent) civilians, 23 (12.71 per cent) security force (SF) personnel and at least 96 (53.04 per cent) militants.
Source: Institute for Conflict Management database.
Among the major incidents of terrorism-related violence in 2006 are:
January 3: Three SF personnel are killed and five others sustain injuries during an encounter with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) cadres at Longpi village in the Tamenglong district.
January 4: Four National Socialist Council of Nagaland –Khaplang (NSCN-K) cadres are killed by the SFs near Chandraman bridge under Kangpokpi police station in the Imphal West district.
January 23: Four People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cadres are killed in an encounter with the SFs at Sandankhong in the Bishnupur district.
March 11: Four PLA cadres and a woman, Maikham Singlai, are killed and a two-year old child is wounded in an encounter between the SF personnel and militants at Chingkhan Yonyer village in the Chandel district.
April 25: Four Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) cadres, including the Thoubal 'district commander', are killed following an encounter with the police at Nungei Khunou in the Thoubal district.
May 6: Three Zeliangrong Revolutionary National Front (ZRNF) cadres are killed in an encounter with the SFs at G. Kholet village in the Senapati district.
May 11: Assam Rifles personnel kill People’s United Liberation Front (PULF) ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Bashir Lashkar alias Muthi alias Moti along with his ‘deputy home secretary’ Mohammad Shafi alias Rami in an encounter at Kakmayai under Yairipok police station limits in the Thoubal district.
On May 17, 2006, the Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh escaped an assassination attempt when armed militants ambushed his convoy at Langmeidong in the Thoubal district. One police commando was injured in the attack, while one unidentified militant was killed.
These incidents are a continuation of the terrorist violence that Manipur has witnessed in the previous years, especially in 2005. With 331 militancy-related fatalities (138 civilians, 50 SF personnel and 143 militants) in 2005, Manipur ranked second among States worst affected by militancy in the country, behind Jammu and Kashmir, where 1,739 lives were lost. In the fragile northeastern region, over forty-six per cent of the total militancy-related fatalities was reported from Manipur, which accounts for just 6.3 per cent of the population, and 8.52 per cent of the land mass of the northeastern region.
Manipur’s share of civilian fatalities in the Northeast was 42 per cent, and 46 per cent of militant fatalities also came from this State. But fatalities among the security forces accounted for a staggering 72 per cent of all SF fatalities in the region, making it the most unsafe place for the troops. These lives were lost in sustained violence throughout the year, with an astonishingly uniform distribution through the year.
The geographical distribution of the violence was, however, substantially skewed. The four Valley Districts, Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishnupur, with just 11.14 per cent of Manipur’s total area, accounted for 55 per cent of the fatalities, while the five Hill Districts, Chandel, Churachandpur, Tamenglong, Senapati and Ukhrul witnessed 149 of the 331 deaths (45 per cent). However, while violence in the Valley Districts was evenly spread, the two Hill Districts of Churachandpur and Tamenglong, sharing their borders with Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram, were the worst affected, accounting for 99 of the 149 deaths. Churachandpur remained the most violent district of the State, with 69 deaths, followed by Imphal East, with 50 deaths. Senapati, inhabited by the Naga and Kuki tribes, was the least violent, accounting for 12 deaths in the year.
The situation has worsened considerably as compared to 2004, with civilian fatalities in 2005 a full 176 per cent higher than the 2004 figure, and total fatalities up by 52 per cent. Fatalities have risen steadily over the past five years, and year 2005 recorded the highest numbers since 1997.
Synchronized counter-insurgency operations have remained central to the area-domination exercises by the Army in the State, as it competes for tactical control against the militant groups over vast stretches of ‘liberated zones’. Several such operations were launched during the year, including Operation Stinger in October 2005, against militants holed up in the Karang island of Bishnupur district; and Operation Tornado in November to clear the Belcra bowl in the Jiribam area of Imphal East district. In October, Assam Rifles personnel also launched another operation in the Chassad area of Ukhrul district. In terms of individual losses suffered by the militant groups, the UNLF suffered the maximum, losing 92 cadres (52 killed and 40 arrested); the PLA lost 80 (26 killed and 54 arrested); and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) 68 (33 killed and 35 arrested) cadres. However, the total neutralization of 449 militants (143 killed and 306 arrested) in 2005 had little impact on the militancy, with 15 active outfits operating in the State with an estimated combined strength of 10,000 cadres. The scale, intensity and focus of the militancy were evident in the following major attacks through 2005:
January 16: UNLF killed six SF personnel in an attack at a place between Tuilaphai and Sijon village in the Churachandpur district.
April 25: Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed and four others sustained injuries in an ambush by UNLF militants on their vehicle at Sonapur under Jiribam police station in the Imphal East district.
July 10: Three Assam Rifles personnel were killed and seven persons, including two civilians, were injured as PLA militants triggered a powerful bomb explosion and subsequently ambushed an SF patrol in the Waithou Area of Thoubal district.
September 19: Ten SF personnel were killed in an attack by KYKL militants at upper Ngaryan Hills range in the Bishnupur district.
September 21: Two BSF personnel were killed in an ambush by the PLA at Kumbi-Khodrak Road under the Kumbi Police Station in Bishnupur district.
November 8: Twenty-one persons, including 13 women, were injured in an explosion at the Thangal market area in Imphal city. Two persons subsequently succumbed to their injuries.
November 13: Three CRPF personnel were killed and two others sustained injuries in an ambush by the UNLF at a spot between Kaimai and Sibilong, under Nungba police station in the Tamenglong district.
December 31: Manipur Inspector General of Police (Intelligence), T. Thangthuam, was killed along with a constable in an ambush by the PLA militants in the Bishnupur district.
Counter-insurgency measures yielded, among others, the following results:
January 10: Three UNLF terrorists were killed during an encounter with the police at Bunghol Khullen village under Yairipok police station limits in the Thoubal district.
March 9: SFs destroyed an UNLF ‘administrative camp’, located near Khoirentak in the Bishnupur district and recovered a large quantity of ration.
May 30: Four front-ranking KCP cadres, including Moirangthem Boicha alias Prithvi, chief of the KCP (P group) were killed during an encounter with the SFs at Nongada Makha Leikai in the Imphal East district.
June 20: Eight militants belonging to the UNLF and PREPAK were killed in an encounter near Phoipi in the Henglep area of Churachandpur district.
June 30: Four PLA cadres were killed in an encounter with the police at Thangjng Ching in the Churachandpur district.
October 4: Three unidentified militants were killed by the army during an encounter at Karang, a lake island in the Bishnupur district.
October 5: Troops killed three unidentified militants and arrested eight others during Operation Stringer launched in the Karang island and nearby Loktak lake in the Bishnupur district.
October 8: Three PLA militants were killed in an encounter with the SFs at Thanga Tangkhul village under Kamjong Chasad sub-division.
December 27: Four UNLF cadres were killed in an encounter at Ningthoukhong Mamang Pat near Loktak Lake in the Bishnupur district.
Apart from the SF and militant clashes, Manipur also witnessed a number of internecine clashes among the outfits. Such incidents include:
January 12: A combined team of the UKLF and the KRA cadres killed the ‘chief’ of KNA during an internecine clash at Diyang in Churachandpur district.
February 15: At least two cadres of the UNLF and one of the NSCN-IM were killed, while six persons sustain injuries during two separate incidents in the Tamenglong district.
March 25: Two NSCN-IM militants were killed and another injured during an internecine clash with the UNLF and an unidentified Kuki outfit at Yangnom in the Ukhrul district.
April 4: Three KNF (Samuel faction) cadres were killed during an internecine clash with the rival Military Council faction (KNF-MC) at Molcham village in the Churachandpur district.
October 11: Two militants, one each belonging to the UNLF and PLA, were killed in an internecine clash at Kam Ranga village under the Jiribam police station in the Imphal West district.
December 15: Four militants were killed in a clash between the KNA and KNF-P at the Koubru Hill Range under Gamnom Sapermeina police station in Senapati district.
The reign of terror manifests in other forms as well, as the rule of militants combines with a complete retreat of civil governance. The militants continue to terrorise and extort with impunity, and people have little option but to abide by their diktats. Refusal to ‘cooperate’ is rare, and invites immediate and extreme penalties. On March 2, 2005, unidentified militants shot at and injured Th. Kulachandra, Principal of the Manipur Institute of Technology, Takyelpat, at Mongsangei in the Imphal West district for refusing to meet an extortion demand of INR 500,000. On August 25, the Taxation Wing of the State Government ceased functioning for a day following en masse leave taken by the employees following threats from several militant groups. On October 25 and again on November 26, approximately 3000 employees of the Manipur Government posted in Thoubal District took out a silent rally at the District Headquarters to protest against extortion demands by militant outfits and the abduction of persons for non-payment of ‘dues’. In the months of June and July, the Kuki Movement for Human Rights (KMHR) petitioned the Prime Minister to take steps to stop the National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) extortion from Kuki villagers in the Tamenglong district.
Militant power, evident in the numerous decrees passed during the previous years, was further consolidated through new demands and decrees in 2005:
January 6: The KYKL decreed that girl students of classes IX and X must wear eeyongphi phanek (the traditional local dress) to school.
February: The Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) banned Government doctors from working in private clinics.
March 1: The KYKL banned ‘cabin restaurants’ in the State, terming them a ‘major factor in the moral degeneration of society”.
May 23: PLA banned the sale and consumption of tobacco products in Imphal.
June 21: The KYKL asked civilians not to attend or take part in the civic action programmes of the SFs.
September 16: The KCP banned shooting and exhibition of digital movies and music albums for a year.
November 2: The KYKL banned local fairs in the State, describing them as the “bed rock of immorality, obscenity and drug abuse”.
Though there were some attempts by the marginalized civil society to raise murmurs of protest, the militants continue to hold sway and browbeat all opposition into submission. As a result, vast stretches of the State’s territory, including some areas in the immediate neighbourhood of the State capital, continue to remain out of the control of the state machinery and are traversable only under substantial armed escorts.
The situation has taken a particular turn for the worse, and the Army’s image has taken a severe beating, since the alleged rape and custodial killing of Manorama Devi, whom the Army described as a PLA militant, on July 11, 2004, in the Leipharok Maring village in Imphal East District. Since then, the demand for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been interspersed with demands for the complete withdrawal of the Army from the State. While the latter demand has been rejected as impossible to meet by the Union Government, its vacillation on the continuation of the AFSPA has attracted severe criticism in the State. The Jeevan Reddy Committee appointed to look into the working of the AFSPA submitted its report in June 2005 recommending its withdrawal. A good six months thereafter, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on December 27, 2005, remarked, “The recommendations of the high powered review committee have been discussed with the Home Minister and a decision would be taken by the Government soon.” Further, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in the first week of January 2006, stated that the Act was being “amended and relaxed”, in view of the Army’s opposition to its complete withdrawal. It is not clear whether the Army will be able to operate effectively under the diluted Act, particularly where the majority opinion within the State supports the demand that it be scrapped in its entirety.
Peace remains elusive in the State despite some political initiatives. On March 7, 2005 Chief Minister Ibobi Singh said that his Government has received proposals for peace talks from two militant groups in the State. Two weeks later, on March 21, he was talking of ‘sending feelers’ to the UNLF. On July 15, the State Legislative Assembly passed a resolution urging the Union Government to initiate peace talks with the militant outfits. Policy makers and potential ‘negotiators’, however, had little to offer, in the face of the total indifference demonstrated by militant groups. Even though the Union Government managed to effect cessation of hostility with eight minor Kuki militant groups in September 2005, the non-involvement of and subsequent opposition by the State Government created an avoidable and unwelcome schism between the security setup and the State Government. In any event, peace deals with the fragmented and marginalised Kuki groups had little operational value; in the year 2005 the eight outfits had been responsible for the death of just five civilians and one SF personnel. Major groups such as the UNLF, on the other hand, either rebuffed intermittent appeals for peace or prevaricated with fanciful demands, such as UN mediation.
Evidence of a nexus between the political classes and insurgents continued to pile up. Revelations by a national daily in December 2005, quoting the Army Chief J. J. Singh, claimed that Chief Minister Ibobi Singh has contributed INR 15 million to two insurgent groups operating in the State, revived the persistent question of political collusion and infirmity in the history of insurgency in the State. Earlier, on August 26, Central Reserve Police Force personnel seized a vehicle being used by the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), which belonged to the Chairman of the Manipur Assembly’s Hills Areas Committee. In both the cases, the accused denied charges.
The imposed isolation of Manipur from rest of the country through blockades, which intensified after the Manorama Devi episode in 2004, took a new turn when, reacting to the State Government’s decision to observe June 18 as ‘State Integrity Day’, the influential All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) imposed a month and half-long economic blockade. The State Government was trapped in a vicious dilemma of either easing the economic hardships of the people by taking back its decision, or protecting the demands of ultra-regional civil society organisations, and the blockade on National Highway 39, apparently blessed by the NSCN-IM under its objective to create a greater ‘Nagalim’, dragged on till it was eventually lifted following appeals from different forums and a series of meetings between the State Government and ANSAM representatives. In fact, the unresolved Naga conflict continues to reverberate constantly in Manipur. The NSCN-IM enjoys a free run in the Naga dominated Hill Districts of Manipur, with the help of sympathetic Manipuri Naga organizations like the ANSAM and the Naga Students Federation, internally polarizing the State between the majority Meiteis, who live in the Valley, and the Nagas and Kukis, in the Hills.
While other States in the region are showing sustained signs of improvement and some significant steps towards peace, Manipur appears to be spiraling into the abyss.