Leaving border villages to their own fate Indifference continues
|
The common narrative that runs through is unmistakable. The mayhem took place on May 7, 2026. On May 9 a team led by Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam visited the affected border villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Z Choro in Kamjong district equipped with the line that the State Government has not received any report of incursion from across the border to attack the said three villages. A line which has been strongly opposed by the villagers who witnessed the attack and live to this day and the Assam Rifles issuing a written statement that the attack was the handiwork of the Myanmar based KNA (B), a team of the PDF. Phungyar AC MLA Leishiyo Keishing had also gone on record in asserting that the May 7 attack was nothing less than an onslaught launched from across the border. More than a month after the attack at the said three villages, Delhi continues to maintain a stoic silence and again more than a month later, there is nothing to show that any measures have been taken up to avert any offensive from across the border. The common thread-one that reeks of utter indifference-that runs through the opposing stand of the State Home Minister and the line maintained by the still alive witnesses of the said three villages and the written statement from the Assam Rifles and the silence of Delhi, is palpable. That Delhi has been indifferent to what has been happening here in Manipur since the evening of May 3, 2023 is without a doubt, but it is a bit hard to digest that even after more than a month of the attack at the border villages, the State Government has not still deemed it fit to up the security at the said villages. An Assam Rifles post is there, no doubt, but the reality certainly demands a beefed up security arrangement. Or is this a case of Imphal also following the indifferent line adopted by Delhi since the evening of May 3, 2023 ? Only the State Government can answer this question, but the fact remains that the border cannot be left unwatched and unmanned like this. The on the spot report filed by a reporter of The Sangai Express after spending June 5 and 6 at the border should tell a story, a report which more than says that these villages have been left to their own fate with no back up from the State Government. This is not governance and it simply does not make sense to leave the border wide open and unguarded while the roads of Imphal are choc-a-bloc with security personnel breathing down the neck of every motorists.
Back in 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly instructed then Chief Minister N Biren Singh to focus on the valley while he (Amit Shah) would look after the hills. Tough to say whether this arrangement still stands, but as of today, the focus of the people has shifted to the hills where the Kukis are pitted against the Nagas, with killings, violence, abductions and hostage taking defining the present reality. The Imphal-Ukhrul road continues to be blockaded with no one from Ukhrul and Kamjong able to take this route and no one seems to know the fate of the six Naga men who have been taken hostage since May 13. Fourteen Kukis continue to be kept under captivity. All happenings in the hills and if the arrangement of 2023 still stands then what is Delhi doing ? On June 7, 2026, Manipur was greeted with the news that three units of the elite CoBRA force of the CRPF had arrived but the question still hangs on how effective they would be, when the Assam Rifles, Army and different units of the CRPF and BSF have been pressed into service here since the evening of May 3, 2023. Taking this reality into consideration, where the number of security personnel is extremely high, it is hard to believe that the State Government has still not deemed it fit to deploy the needed security personnel to protect the said three border villages. Something, somewhere is just not right. For three long years, Imphal has grappled in the dark on how to deal with the situation and perhaps now is the time to start showing that they have got their priorities right and start doing the right thing. For starters, ensure security at the border villages.
Back in 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly instructed then Chief Minister N Biren Singh to focus on the valley while he (Amit Shah) would look after the hills. Tough to say whether this arrangement still stands, but as of today, the focus of the people has shifted to the hills where the Kukis are pitted against the Nagas, with killings, violence, abductions and hostage taking defining the present reality. The Imphal-Ukhrul road continues to be blockaded with no one from Ukhrul and Kamjong able to take this route and no one seems to know the fate of the six Naga men who have been taken hostage since May 13. Fourteen Kukis continue to be kept under captivity. All happenings in the hills and if the arrangement of 2023 still stands then what is Delhi doing ? On June 7, 2026, Manipur was greeted with the news that three units of the elite CoBRA force of the CRPF had arrived but the question still hangs on how effective they would be, when the Assam Rifles, Army and different units of the CRPF and BSF have been pressed into service here since the evening of May 3, 2023. Taking this reality into consideration, where the number of security personnel is extremely high, it is hard to believe that the State Government has still not deemed it fit to deploy the needed security personnel to protect the said three border villages. Something, somewhere is just not right. For three long years, Imphal has grappled in the dark on how to deal with the situation and perhaps now is the time to start showing that they have got their priorities right and start doing the right thing. For starters, ensure security at the border villages.