Fresh challenge in Manipur as Centre plans to replace two Assam Rifles battalions with CRPF

 Intel warns unrest as Kuki-Zo groups plan protest against the security rejig

Namrata Biji Ahuja,  TW,  August 01, 2024  :  The tenuous peace in Manipur faces an imminent challenge from the protests being planned by the Kuki-Zo community against the purported move of the Centre to bring CRPF into the hill districts of Bishnupur-Churachandpur replacing two battalions of Assam Rifles for law and order duties. 

The move is being seen by the Kuki-Zo community as a deliberate attempt to remove the Assam Rifles whom they feel has played a “neutral” role during the ethnic violence witnessed in Manipur in the last one year. 

Intelligence reports suggest the Kuki-Zo groups are planning to protest during the transition phase when the CRPF moves in to replace the Assam Rifles. The process will take some time, security sources said.

On Thursday, a meeting was held at the group centre of CRPF in neighbouring Assam between representatives of the Assam Rifles and members of different communities who agreed to take measures to ensure peace is maintained during the transition period by ensuring there are no incidents of arson and firing and all stakeholders cooperate with security forces. 

The security rejig in Manipur reflects a re-assessment of the role of central forces deployed in the tiny northeastern state like the Army, Assam Rifles, Manipur police and central paramilitary forces resulting in not only multiplicity of forces, but also confusion over the role of central forces.  

The Assam Rifles, popularly known as Sentinels of the Northeast, has been a border guarding force along the Indo-Myanmar border deployed in counter insurgency operations and to assist in maintaining peace in the region. Its contribution in counter insurgency operations in Northeast has been significant as the region has witnessed a sharp decline in threats from insurgent groups over the years. 

On the other hand, the CRPF is a central armed police force deployed in law and order duties to assist state governments in maintaining internal security in different parts of the country.

Security sources told THE WEEK that the expansion of duties of the CRPF in hill districts will be for law and order duties as the existing security challenges are predominantly an outcome of ethnic clashes last year, rather than an insurgency problem. “There is a reassessment whether AR needs to remain deployed in active law and order duties within the state,” said a state official. The message is two pronged. “It reflects an attempt being made by the Centre to treat the simmering tensions in Manipur as a law and order problem. Rather, the CRPF personnel, coming from other locations, would also convey a message of neutrality,” said the official. 

But it is an uphill task. There is simmering suspicion as some of the Kuki-Zo groups, especially women groups in the Hill districts, who are planning to stage protest, believe that the CRPF does not have the local knowledge and expertise to handle the sensitivities of the people in the districts. A press statement issued by Zomi Mothers’ Association, Kuki Women Union, MPC Women’s Wing and others urged the Centre to reconsider its decision in the interest of peace and stability in Churachandpur. 

The statement said, “If the government remains adamant in its decision to remove nine Assam Rifles Battalions from their present place of posting, we want to make it unequivocally clear that the Civil Society Organisations and the people of Churachandpur will not remain mute spectators.” 

“We are prepared to mobilise and undertake all necessary measures to ensure that our voices are heard and that justice prevails,” it said.

The security brass is watching the developments closely and is on its feet to prevent a law and order fallout that can disrupt peace in the state once again. Almost a dozen Assam Rifles battalions have been deployed in Manipur over the years, said a senior security official, and it is the prerogative of the union home ministry to revise the deployment of forces as per requirements and threat assessments across the country. 

Sources said the Union home ministry is toying with the idea of deploying more boots on ground in Jammu where security challenges are mounting during the ongoing counter terror operations. 

The process of CRPF deployment may take weeks or months, but the lessons of the past one year has shown the need to overcome a trust deficit in Manipur. Whether it is the CRPF or the Assam Rifles, the challenge for the home ministry in coming days will be to maintain peace as it makes a fresh attempt to revise the role of central forces deployed in the complex security landscape of Manipur.