Indian Army Not A Sight Of Security: Northeast Women

Imphal, Mar 26 : “Indian Army is not a sight of security. It is rather a sight of insecurity,” said activist Grace Jajo today during the discussion on the topic ‘Women in Armed Conflict’.

The three-day programme entitled ‘Militarism and Future of Democracy in Manipur organised by Manipur Research Forum in collaboration with Department of Philosophy (Manipur University), Indian Council of Social Sciences and Research, All Manipur Working Journalists Union and Human Rights Alert kick started yesterday.

Presenting a paper, Grace Jajo narrated her bitter experiences with security forces under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

Renu Takhelambam, a member of a widow body broke down while narrating how society and the government treated them. She along with others had floated a forum of women whose husbands were killed by the security forces.

Political processes hijacked by Indian military in the name of national security
Senior journalist of the state Yumnam Rupachandra dwelt on the difficulties faced by the media persons in a trouble torn Manipur due to various factors.

Meanwhile, several seasoned intellectuals of Manipur and others addressed discerning listeners on the opening day of the three-day colloquium under the broad theme Militarism and Future of Democracy in Manipur.

The speakers mostly delve on the interplay between militarism and democracy. Speaking authoritatively on the dais of the Senate Hall of Manipur University on the opening day, Namrata Goswani of Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis, Delhi, underscored the hypocrisy of the Indian Union saying the security of the Indian state is dictated more by territorial integrity than its people.

Manglem Ningthouja, Chairperson, Campaign for Peace and Democracy (Manipur) led a scathing attack on the pretense of the Indian state to socialist ideology infused by the founding fathers of modern India.

On the question of the historical and political possibilities of India and Manipur, he said that Indian state since its inception is based on monopoly capitalism and the expansion of territory is part of the capitalist agenda to explore new market.

According to him, the Indian state must first accept the peoples’ right to self determination and plebiscite in Manipur in order to set in motion a conducive environment to rebuilding democracy and democratic practices in the State.

Joseph Kuba, Regional Director, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Imphal, expressed the anxiety created by the political processes which have been hijacked by the military in the name of national security.

Speaking on the same day, A Bimol Akhoijam, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, made a self-deprecating observation about the “subservient mentality” of the people of Manipur which was born out of the historical and geopolitical accident of the Manipuri kingdom being crammed between the British Indian Empire and the Burmese Empire. The subservience was reinforced even after 1891, he said.