For decades in Ma-nipur, operations under the command of either the Army or the Assam Rifles against the insurgent groups, most of which resorted to insurgency since the 1990s, have been interspersed by surrenders.
Except for a few groups, which actually surrendered voluntarily after realising the futility of their activities, most collective surrenders came about following the capture of key leaders, who were convinced or coerced by the Army or the Assam Rifles to do so. But even when such surrenders involved handing over of sophisticated arms, neither strategy has led to ending insurgency/terrorism in Manipur, nor did such surrenders ever lead to permanent disbanding of any group for various reasons. But that is not to say that security forces should not try to effect these surrenders.
Continuing a series of successful efforts to convince insurgents to come back to normal way of life and join the mainstream, 16 hardcore cadres of various banned outfits laid down arms before Manipur DGP Y. Joy Kumar in the presence of Maj. Gen. C.A. Krishnan, AVSM, inspector-general, Assam Rifles (IGAR) (south), in a simple surrender ceremony held at the HQ IGAR (S) at Mantripukhri, Imphal, on August 9, 2011.
The homecoming of these youth is a result of persistent efforts by the units of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (south), which has been motivating their families to encourage these youth to give up weapons and join the mainstream.
The 16 former insurgents include three members from the United National Liberation Front, two from the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, one from the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, one from the Kangleipak Communist Party, four from the People’s Revolutionary Army, two from the United Tribal Liberation Army and three from the People’s United Liberation Front.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Kumar appreciated peaceful surrender by these cadres with their weapons and felt that it would definitely be a guiding beacon for other misled youth to follow suit, paving way for peace and harmony in the state. The DGP also assured all help and facilities by the state government under the state’s existing surrender policy to former insurgents. Maj. Gen. C.A. Krishnan mentioned that more and more misled youth are being encouraged to abjure violence, lay down arms and join the mainstream. He also said that those who show courage and lay down arms require support from all sections of the society to reintegrate with the mainstream.
He also highlighted the need for all sections to extend support to them. It may be recalled that since April 2010, a total of 182 insurgents surrendered themselves with arms to the Assam Rifles at Imphal.
Apart from these 182 cadres, the Assam Rifles in Manipur also succeeded in facilitating signing of the tripartite agreement by the first Valley-based insurgent group, the KCP (MC) Lallumba group in July 2010, which resulted in 122 cadres of the group laying down weapons. While there is no doubt that such a large number of surrenders come about because of the relentless efforts by the Assam Rifles, it certainly does not mean the end of these movements. Statements issued by all the insurgent outfits deny that any of their cadres surrendered, only indicating that they have no intention of letting up on terrorist violence and extortion.
The Assam Rifles has also been making efforts to organise rehabilitation programmes through vocational training for the surrendered cadres in Manipur and also outside the state. Over 127 such cadres who were rehabilitated through an intensive spiritual and vocational training programme conducted with the help of the Art of Living Foundation.
Apart from spiritual motivation, these ex-insurgents were given training in computers, electricity, fridge and air-conditioner repair, auto mechanic, mobile phone repair, farming, food processing etc. Self-help groups have also been formed to train and enable these youth to start their own businesses like piggery, poultry, fishery and taxi service. Interested cadres are also counselled for enrolment into the ITBP, CRPF and Assam Rifles.
While these surrenders form a silver lining, and in 2010 there was a reduction in insurgency incidents and fatalities compared to earlier years, there is still more than enough insurgent activity still going on by all the groups. In 2011, after targeting employees in education, banking and hospitality sectors, insurgents in Manipur are now also targeting labourers. The latest to join the fray are Kuki groups with threats like “pay `1 crore or your husbands will be killed”, sent out to three families in Thoubal district of Manipur whose bread-winning male members were finally abducted on July 29.
In 2010, non-Manipuris were targeted by the insurgents in a big way. Having extorted money time and again from non-Manipuri traders and businessmen, the Meitei insurgent groups intimidated at least 200 Sikh families to leave the state permanently. Many of these are families have been in Manipur or neighbouring Burma for many decades, in some cases over a century. Marwaris too have been paying huge amounts as “taxes” and are yet threatened.
Such out of law collection of money and threat mechanism by insurgents as well as abductions and killings of innocents continue mainly because of lack of governance and the widely and frequently reported nexus between the ruling political leaders and various insurgent groups. A new development has been reported from Darjeeling on August 4, 2011, that the National Investigation Agency found out that KYKL has set up new bases in the region by using residents of Darjeeling and Sikkim. NIA investigated the KYKL activities in the region and submitted a supplementary chargesheet to the Darjeeling district and sessions court, following the arrest of many KYKL members from the region in 2010.
The members of the organisation allegedly used to send money from Manipur to their counterparts who had set up a base in the region for investment in real estate. According to sources, these insurgents had bought large tracts of lands in Jalpaiguri and Siliguri areas and had already constructed two-to-three-storeyed buildings in Kurseong and Gangtok. Some KYKL members, arrested by the NIA from Khaprail, Siliguri and other places, call themselves “army commander-in-chief” and “finance-in-charge” of the outfit. Ningthoujam Tomba, along with Sonokhybam Memcha, Roma Chanu, Sorokhaibhem Menjor Singh and Kangunjam Rabi Kumar Singh had also been arrested. “During the investigation, it has also been established that Chirom Robert Meitei, Kongkham Tomba Singh, Asem Naoba Singh, Ch. Leishemba, along with Ningthoujam Tomba, had entered into a criminal conspiracy to wage war against the state,” the source reportedly added. Chirom Robert Meitei was the information and publicity secretary of the outfit. The larger plan of sending money to the Darjeeling-Sikkim region is to send it to KYKL agents in Nepal from where the money would be routed to Burma, Malaysia and Singapore to procure deadly arms. This forms another part of the Chinese connection with North-Eastern insurgents.
Now that the NIA has made some significant progress in capturing top leaders like Antony Shimray of the Issac-Muivah group of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and R.K. Meghen of the UNLF, it should press forth relentlessly and catch more. But even then insurgency in the Northeast will not end till the alleged nexus between politicians and these groups is not severed meaningfully. Is there any hope of the political will required to be put into effect?
Anil Bhat is a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi