Why Myanmar strike should not be used against lifting AFSPA
Ever since news broke out regarding the ambush on a convoy of the 6 Dogra Regiment by members of a joint team made up of armed cadres of the NSCN(K), KYKL and KCP that left 18 security personnel dead and as many as 20 injured on June 4 at Tengnoupal-New Somtal Road under Chandel district of Manipur, it's been a heady cocktail of jingoism and much chest-beating in both the national media and social networking forums.
The immediate reports in the media about the ambush had more to do with why the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) would have to stay on in the region as the ambush followed closely on the heels of the said Act being lifted from Tripura and rumbles on the ground that the state administration in Manipur had given a call for its removal from Manipur as well.
On social media, it was yet another day where ignorance about the people of the region reared its head. Countless number of people, caught in the emotion of the dear beloved nation being under attack, commented on how Manipur and other states in the region deserved the imposition of AFSPA, happily unaware that the Act is against the fundamental right to life that is enshrined in the Constitution of India.
Hindi film actor Hrithik Roshan took off valuable time from his preparations for an award extravaganza hosted out of the country and added his gyaan on how Manipuri tribals were attacking the Indian Army and was subsequently trolled by the natives who have various social networking sites to thank for giving them a platform to join in the melee.
Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast calling for the repeal of AFSPA since 2000, following what has now come to be known as the Malom Massacre in which ten civilians were shot and killed while waiting at a bus stop by personnel of the 8th Assam Rifles, was in New Delhi the day the ambush took place. She was in the national capital for a case lodged against her on charges of attempting suicide (the Act under which she is so charged has been scraped but she continues to be tried in court and kept in custody).
When asked to comment on the violence, Sharmila condemned the ambush. But her additional comment on how the AFSPA did not help anybody was soon misinterpreted and then swept right under the carpet.
But the most significant outcome of the ambush in Chandel is how it has become the rallying point for a new India, who can send "messages to its neighbours". This is clear from national media outlets in both the print and visual sector chattering up a storm over how the Indian Army "has neutralized" insurgents "across the border".
Speaking to a TV news channel, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the go-ahead to the Indian Army for a "hot pursuit" of militants into Myanmar and that two militant camps were completely annihilated in a major operation. He said he was "confirming that Indian armed forces crossed over into Myanmar and carried out strikes on two of the militant camps, annihilating the entire camps and they have returned back safely".
More interesting is that all media outlets hailing the nation and its Army are in awe of the range of body count that the Army is said to have inflicted in Myanmar. One channel had the whole range that mentioned that about 50 armed cadres had been killed "but the figures could be more than 100 and probably touch 150".
National newspapers had their own counts. But closer home where all the action is happening, media outlets in Manipur were provided a one page press release by the Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) attributing Major General Ranbir Singh, Additional Director General of Military Operations (A) as saying this:
"The Indian Army engaged two separate groups of insurgents along the Indo-Myanmar border at two locations, along the Nagaland and Manipur borders. Significant casualties have been inflicted on them. As a consequence, threats to our civilian population and security forces were averted. We are in communication with the Myanmar authorities on this matter. There is a history of close cooperation between our two militaries. We look forward to working with them to combat such terrorism."
How the geography mentioned in the said release "along the Indo-Myanmar border at two locations, along the Nagaland and Manipur borders" has been altered into surgical strikes inside Myanmar is something that is worthy of explanation.
Till the time Myanmar acknowledges that the Indian establishment did venture into its territory, there will be a "did they or didn't they?" for there have been earlier instances of the two countries moving in to take action on insurgent camps.
But equally true is the fact that when Myanmar army intruded into Indian territory twice (in 2013 and 2015), there was no action taken by the Indian Army or the government.
Which leads to the question: Was the change in wording for national-level media meant to stem the call for pressure to question why it was being barred from entry into villages in the ambush area? Or simply that the powers that be can decide how to play the media depending on its reach?