At The Mercy Of The Gun

"Please do not kill me yet. I have only just become a minister after havinglost three previous elections and am still learning (the job). Please tell me how to servethe interests of the people and please do not ask me to resign (from the state assembly),for that amounts to surrendering my commitment to the voters."
—M. Hemanta Singh, Manipur’s minister of state for sport and youthaffairs, at a rally in Imphal in January.

Never before in the decade-and-a-half- old insurgency problem in the Manipur valley,has the fear of death stalked its leaders to such an extent. Last month, Chief MinisterRishang Keishing wrote to each of the ministers and 55 M L As , including those from theOpposition, asking them not to move within and outside the capital, Imphal, unlessprovided with adequate security.

A majority of them have since refused to even step out of the fortified BabuparaColony, where most ministers and M L As  live. Others, including Opposition leaderand former Manipur People’s Party (M P P) chief  minister R.K. Ranbir Singh, whohave not been accommodated at Babupara, are crying foul and demanding Keishing’sresignation. The fear psychosis stems from an ultimatum served to each minister and M L Ain January by the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Front (R P F) , asking them toresign from the assembly or face death at the hands of its armed wing, the People’sLiberation A rmy (P L A) .

Prior to the diktat, the R P F asked select ministers close to the chief minister toresign by December 31 as the government had "failed" to secure four"popular" demands of the Manipuris. The militants want the government to:

• Lift the 100-year- old  garrisoning— since colonial times— of the "sacred" Kangla Fort in Imphal, once the seat of spiritual and temporal power of the ancient Manipuri kingdom.
• Lift the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in force in the hill areas  since 1958 and in the valley since 1980.
• Stop "Operation Sunny Vale," an army-led counter insurgency drive launched last August. (Incidentally, insurgent groups like the RPF, PLA, the United National Liberation Front — UNLF— and its armed wing, the Manipur People’s Army, have been forced to seek refuge in the hills as a result of frequent army raids.)
• Respect Manipur’s "territorial integrity," which, it is popularly felt, may be violated if the Centre carves out a "South Nagaland" to appease the Naga insurgents with whom it is believed to be carrying on a "dialogue."

Keishing is not taking the threats lightly. He admits that  the situation in thestate is at its worst. "Things were very bad when I first came to power in 1980, butthis is the worst I have ever seen in Manipur. The insurgents are better armed and possessmore sophisticated weapons than before." But he is quick to add: "No matter whatthey do, the fact remains that they can never achieve their stated objective and the onlylasting solution can be through a dialogue within the Indian Constitution."

The main Opposition part y, the MPP, on the other hand, has been trying to thwart the RP F threat by supporting the four-point charter. It has also demanded the dismissal of theKeishing government for jeopardising the lives of all legislators by not fulfilling the"people’s demand which the Opposition has been voicing for long." M P Pleader R.K. Ranbir Singh and party chief O. Joy Singh led a nine-member delegation toDelhi to apprise Home Minister S.B. Chavan, Minister of State in the P M O BhuvaneshChaturvedi and Opposition leaders about the situation in Manipur and also to seekKeishing’s ouster.

Ranbir Singh is scathing in his criticism of the chief minister. "While Keishinghas sought to overlook the gross human rights violations that have taken place since thelaunch of Operation Sunny Vale last August, I, as well as the other M L As ,  havebeen feeling extremely insecure ever since the R P F issued the ultimatum. The governmenthas discriminated against our party by providing our M L As inadequate security and eventhough I have not been given safe accommodation, they want to cut down the number of mysecurity guards."

However, state Chief Secretary K.K. Sethi insists that the government is not taking anychances with the security of legislators and is doing "whatever possible within theresources at hand". Deputy Inspector General of Police (Range), Aramabam PradeepSingh, adds that despite the "best efforts" to provide security to as many MLAsas possible, all of them could not be given adequate cover at all times on account of ashortage of personnel and escort vehicles.

Sethi admits that ever since the RPF threat the atmosphere is "slightly moretense". Says he: "The situation is very fluid and we have reports of fresh,sophisticated, arms coming in. However, though the physical movement of ministers andlegislators may have been curtailed, the government continues to function and there is noslowing down of its working." 

Sethi and Pradeep Singh point out that the security forces have been able to curb theextremists’ activities in the valley and put them on the backfoot. In 1995, 642extremists were arrested, 49 killed and 197 weapons seized from them along with 3,920rounds of ammunition.

At the same time, the security forces suffered setbacks too. Between July 16, 1995 andJanuary 15, the militants killed 30 security personnel, injured 62 and snatched 52 assaultarms along with 4,623 rounds of ammunition. During the same period, 102 civilians werekilled and 87 injured by the militants.

That the separatists’ writ runs in Manipur is evident from the fact that everygovernment servant "contributes" a percentage of his income to their"cause". While the U N L F— which even boasts of administering a"Liberated Zone" in the hills— has fixed a 1 per cent cut from the grossincome of all government servants, it has asked cabinet ministers to pay Rs 15 lakh eachand ministers of state Rs 10 lakh each. The RPF reportedly charges between Rs 200 and Rs300 per person depending on the income slab. While the Opposition M L As have been spared"as they have no source of making money," Keishing admits that "mostpeople" are paying up "out of fear."

With general elections round the corner, both the Congress and the M P P, which areplanning to contest the two Lok Sabha and the lone Rajya Sabha seats, have reason to fearthe worst. While the M P P plans to "appeal" to the insurgents not to disruptthe elections, Ranbir Singh "cannot really say whether they will listen".Keishing too appre hends more violence during the polls: "There is a strongpossibility of an up surge in violence and we will have to take security measures to keepthe polls as peaceful as possible." At the same time, he is confident of a 70 percent voter turnout "which will show whose side the people are on".

Even while the Manipuris were struggling to come to terms with insurgency in the state,the recent upsurge in militancy has made their lives more uncertain as there is no tellingwhen and where an ambush or shootout will take place. Though, unlike Kashmir and parts ofNagaland, shops and establishments function normally during the day, Imphal, like everyother town and village in the state, turns into a ghost city at dusk. With virtuallynobody daring to step out after dark, it’s only the dogs on the streets which keep asilent vigil.