Manipur Police Behaviour in Kuki Areas 'Questionable' but Assam Rifles is Unbiased—Lt Gen Kalita (R)

Army & Assam Rifles "saved numerous lives" in Manipur by going on alert before May 2023; there are question marks about Manipur police behaviour in Kuki areas but Assam Rifles is absolutely unbiased: fmr Eastern Army Commander .......................................... The former Army Commander of Eastern Command, under whose command Manipur falls, and who retired in December 2023, has confirmed that because the Army and Assam Rifles had put troops on standby before May 3rd, 2023, when the violence broke out in Manipur, “numerous lives were saved”. Earlier, the former Director General of the Assam Rifles, Lt. Gen. Nair, told The Hindu (17/9) “we saved nothing less than 2,000-3,000 lives between May 3 - 5”. Lt. Gen. Rana Pratap Kalita, the Eastern Army Commander, was reluctant to put a figure but repeated that “numerous lives were saved”. This is one aspect of the performance of the Army and Assam Rifles in Manipur that has neither got the attention it deserves and certainly not the credit it merits. In a 40-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Gen. Kalita was questioned about the Kuki belief that the Manipur police are biased in favour of the Meiteis and the Meitei belief that the Assam Rifles are biased in favour of the Kukis. In response he said: the effectiveness of “the Manipur police in Kuki areas is a question mark” adding “this has been the situation from the start”. However, he insisted that the Assam Rifles are “absolutely unbiased” and “extremely professional”. In the interview, Gen. Kalita also said that the ineffectiveness of the Manipur police or, at times, its failure to function properly has adversely affected the Central forces in Manipur. I will leave you to see the interview to find out further details in all these cases. I am only giving you the main big points. Actually, there’s a lot of detail and explanation that is embedded in Gen. Kalita’s answers which you must hear for yourself. In the interview, Gen. Kalita was also questioned about reports that the resurgence of violence in September happened because Kuki insurgents have breached the SoO Agreement and are allegedly using rocket propelled grenades fired from high tech drones. In response, Gen. Kalita made clear that “right from the start” insurgents from both communities have been involved. He pointed out that in Jiribam on the 8th of September , when the bodies of three militants from the Kuki Liberation Army were found, there was also the body of a militant from a Meitei insurgent group. His main point is that insurgents from both communities have been involved from the start i.e. it’s not something that’s happened in September. Gen. Kalita was asked about reports that rocket propelled grenades have been fired form high tech drones by the Kukis – something that the former Director General of Assam Rifles, Lt. Gen. Nair, has questioned – but I will leave you to watch the interview to hear Gen. Kalita’s answer yourself. There’s a lot more in this interview on other subjects such as who heads the unified command, the Security Advisor or the Chief Minister, why has the Indian state failed to resolve the crisis in Manipur which is now almost 17 months old, was there delay on May 3rd 2023 in requisitioning the Assam Rifles, is it true that the only serious attempt at dialogue between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities was made by the Assam Rifles and Indian Army in June 2023 but derailed when the video of two women who were stripped and paraded naked went viral and what are the steps needed to immediately control the violence. Finally, Gen. Kalita is also asked whether the Central government needs to play a more active role to get the two sides (Meitei and Kuki) to start talking to each other. You will have to see the interview to find out what Gen. Kalita says about all of these. Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month.    / @thewirenews