Lc. Jinine Some three months back I wrote an editorial for a human rights periodical. The theme of that very editorial has just been related with the incident of the loss of one young boy Irom Roger with a (licensed) gun in the hand of a son of a key minister in Manipur SPF government. In a probable road infuriation, Irom was shot dead by Nongthombam Ajay, son of Nongthombam Biren, spokesperson of and minister in government on 20 March along the Imphal Tulihal Airport during the Yaosang festival. I wrote about the irony of the arms control in Manipur.
This Yaosang incident pokes me a couple of diagnostic questions; is it the Gun or is it the Hand of the Holder? Readily I was thinking of the greater concern on the hand of the holder in the face of legalized weapon. Next moment another thought sprouts up associating the hand of the holder – the attitude and behavior of the holder. Then with an attempt to figure out a wider visualization of the issue, I zoom out my thought. The things show up lively somewhat – the shared character of Meetei belligerency; combativeness, offensiveness and haughtiness that have been aggravated by the protected impunity of militarization and policing coupled with the armed conflict in Manipur over the decades.
As we all perceive that the ever rising wave-out of happy trigger vehemence among the monsieur community of the legislators, bureaucrats, contractors and other becoming the wealthy is generating a criminal shock across. There are reasons and excuses for such adventure of proliferating small arms in the ever bleeding Manipur. However rather than to shield off their lives from the supposing aggressions, the gun aspiration is ceasing the pulsating judicial necessity by breaching the ethics.
Gliding a bit away from the above, I would like to reassert the followings regarding the dynamics of arms violence and dimensions of nonviolence in Manipur;The more guns and hand grenades are one becoming entrepreneurial undertaking in the go global era in the name of so called freedom cause. In the name of punishing the guilty they are executing extortion. We know these dare devils undertake money making industry by floating a bogus cause in nexus with security forces. What we do not know is that they had been hatched by the monsieur community of those legislators, bureaucrats, and those office goers who packed up so much from the public treasure. These affluent privileged people have looted the privilege of these cursed dare devils. Killing them in fake encounters is the mare treatment to the effect so far. Address the causes of the breed of devils is put away at bay by the government and public as well.
The deployment of large government military forces armed with sophisticated weapons, and the continuous campaign of the job recruitment in the army, paramilitary, police, and other in Indian Reserved Battalion, Special Police Officer, Village Defense Force, etc. in the name of protecting civil populations of Manipur – what do they address?
A series of military civic programs, cultural exchange tours and so on, appear speaking so aloud of military encroachment over civil administration, indicator of state failure, the blasphemy for democratic aspiration. The six hundred football grounds in hills leveled up by the military forces, in fact, there may be very economical answer that they are not helipads. The true benefit of the confounding militarization has not been encountered positively.
The existence of another world called Armed Opposition Groups equipped with the powerful arms and ammunition is justifying their cause because of the dominant State is. This world who is party to the violence armed conflict is pausing tensions and aspiration among various section of the people. The necessity of addressing the root causes by acknowledging their claim may be of the democratically and universally uphold mechanisms. However until date, correct response from the government is seen unsubstantiated.
The people including the most of the stake holders particularly the State show their concerns about the controlling arms in order to limit the crime and violence. Gandhi endeavored the nonviolent approach to combating injustice and demanding human rights. The children of Gandhi’s soil who are coming into the power corridor in Indian and global domain uphold his non violent philosophy. The politicians and key personalities across the globe advocate this philosophy. More interestingly somewhat in the same tune, politicians and concern citizens hum this beautiful song in Manipur as well. However, perhaps owing to the enormous challenges that hardly suitable to deal with the reality confrontation, the State imply the philosophy rather virtually; literally the power over- stake holders exceptionally follow the path. The living example is of the manner Indian and its provincial Government response to the Irom Chanu Sharmila’s decade long hunger strike. Amidst such dynamics the general people have seen the existence of practicing gun and arms which has been coming alive in the above patterns in Manipur domain.
The State, their agents and other stake holders should take into account the manner and quality in which treatment of the above issues administered to uphold the philosophy of non-violence.
The writer is human a rights defender; MA Human Rights, IIHR, New Delhi; Certificate Course in Conflict Analysis, USIP, Washington DC and International Humanitarian Law Training, ICRC, GenevaEmail: lcjinine@gmail.com
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