Prime Minister Manmohan Singh landed in Imphal amid a visible public protest, convened by the Apunba Lup, a conglomerate of 32 organisations protesting the imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur.
Manmohan Singh’s visit obviously had twin objectives. First, it was a confidence-building exercise for a flagging Congress party in Manipur scheduled to go to the Assembly polls early next year. Second, it was an open demonstration of the Prime Minister’s disquiet about the draconian act, which is a thorn in the flesh of those people in whose living spaces the act is enforced and a veritable conundrum for Delhi.
Following Irom Sharmila’s shift to the national capital, the emaciated lady with an iron will has attracted national and international attention. The UDA government was forced to do something. Hence the Prime minister’s Manipur visit.
Justice Jeevan Reddy and his team had conducted a thorough enquiry on the adverse effects of the act. That the act violates the human rights of civilians in a conflict zone was not lost on the committee. Since the Reddy report has not been tabled in Parliament, one is not privy to the recommendations. But sources claim that Justice Reddy and his team have recommended that the act be revoked.
The Prime Minister, on the other hand, has assured the people of Manipur that the act would be toned down and “made more humane”.
One would like to put this question to him. How can an act, which was cleverly crafted by an imperialist power for quashing any uprising, now be used by the state against its own people? And to think that the act has been used so unrelentingly and aggressively shows blatant disregard for human rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Is India so lacking in creativity that it cannot think beyond a colonial act to tackle militancy in the region?
Manipur is replete with ironies. Its people, as I have repeatedly maintained, are highly cultured, intellectually brilliant and extremely versatile in the field of performing arts and sports. Many of them fill and feed the academic spaces of universities in Delhi and other places in this country.
Recently, a police officer from Manipur, Soibam Ibocha Singh, a veteran in counter-insurgency operations, was reported to have adapted concepts from the Royal Ulster Constabulary of Northern Ireland and policing methods of Japan and Singapore, to introduce a two-tier system of policing in Manipur. As a result of this acquired education, Soibam Ibocha Singh was able to ensure least collateral damage during the two-month-long agitation against the act. He was conferred a PhD for his thesis on community policing.
Ratan Thiyam, the doyen of Manipuri theatre, was conferred the Sui-ka-pha award by Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on the occasion of Assam Divas. Thiyam has left his imprint not just in Manipur but is an acknowledged dramatist in the national and international arena.
Manipuri dance is known for its expressive narration of poignant tales but also for its remarkably colourful and unique costume, which is one of a kind.
Yet this dynamic population has also procreated the most virulent form of militancy which has all but paralysed the democratic process and resulted in the complete breakdown of law and order.
The spiralling violence and extortion has compelled a weak-kneed state to adopt extraordinary measures such as the use of the army and paramilitary forces in large numbers. Needless to say, this has created a deadly cocktail.
While Manmohan Singh was touring Manipur and promising more financial sops to the state on Saturday, Manipuri intellectuals like Bhagat Oinam and Bimol Akoijam were arguing the wisdom of pushing in more funds into Manipur when the state was in no position to utilise those in a transparent manner.
They stated their points at an international seminar on Armed Conflict, Development and Governance, which was going on in Shillong the very same day. It is no secret that a good chunk of development funds go into the coffers of sundry militant outfits, particularly the more notorious ones. A weak state is least capable of putting the funds to good use. But Delhi, in its ignorance of ground realities, repeatedly makes these mistakes and compounds the problems.
Over the years, several crores of rupees have been cornered by militant organisations in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam. This peculiar phenomenon has led Ajai Sahni, a counter-insurgency expert, to coin the phrase “terrorist economy”. This terrorist economy naturally causes further attrition in the state economy. Development is stunted and the state’s gross domestic product sinks lower and lower.
One of the papers presented at the Shillong seminar suggested that one way of tackling extortion, which has become a flourishing industry in the Northeast, is to decentralise the governance. The more centralised the economy, the easier it is for insurgents to blackmail those who administer the funds. If truth were spoken, then extortion is not purely a terrorist activity. In states like Manipur, there is overt and covert collusion between insurgents, politicians and government officials. Without this cohort the outfits would not be in a position to find out how much money a particular department is allocated.
And if one is to look at the neat percentages worked out for payment to insurgents, then it needs no further elaboration to know who does the calculation and book keeping for insurgents. Of course, the excuse used by all government officials is, “We have to comply. Otherwise, we will be shot”. It’s an easy way out and a profitable one too, for many.
So how does decentralisation happen? Economist Dipankar Sengupta suggests that panchayati raj should be implemented in letter and spirit. This, in fact, is the only solution to the conundrum in India’s Northeast.
The reason why development has stalled is because village-level institutions were allowed to atrophy. After the Constitution was adopted in 1950, a select group of people became the rulers. They did not believe in the wisdom and ingenuity of the people at the grassroots level. They did all the planning and prepared schemes that were not in consonance with the needs of the people.
Implementation of those schemes was skewed and corruption ensured that the money was creamed off before it could reach the so-called targeted beneficiaries. A vested interest nexus of contractors, politicians and bureaucrats developed not only in the states but at the Centre as well.
As Sengupta proposed, to counter insurgency, this process needs to be reversed. The 73rd and 74th amendment acts need to be implemented in right earnest. These acts are designed to bring in greater transparency because people themselves craft development plans.
Since militants themselves deride governments for lack of development, they would have no excuse to strangle the development process further by demanding a cut out of the funds for development. And if they do so, they would lose the oxygen of public support.
New Delhi has proved beyond reasonable doubt that India’s Northeast is good for occasional engagements but not worth giving a serious thought to. This region must find its own answers to its assorted problems. But can politicians and bureaucrats do that? Civil society must rise to the occasion.
(The writer can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com)
