Kuki CSOs are not at fault when they root for a particular paramilitary force called Assam Rifles and protesting tooth and nail against state forces or any other central forces to be posted in areas under their control. It is a force in which their kith and kin have served at various times, and understands them. So far, the aspirations or demands of the Kuki armed militant outfits centred around a homeland of their own within India and its territorial boundaries unlike the Naga and Meitei insurgent outfits who want to secede from India.
While the Naga outfits assert that the Nagas had never been under any sovereign nation past or present, the Meiteis make it a point to flaunt Manipur’s sovereign and independent status before its ‘merger’ to India. So, the Nagas and the Meiteis are indeed a pain in the ass for India. Naturally so, the Indian establishment is always on the lookout for an ally or ‘collaborator’ in this corner of Northeast India. And the convergence of interests happened between an establishment bent on crushing the spirit of Nagas and Meiteis as against the aspirations of a nomadic people wanting a home in these parts.
Yet one must say, the single-minded demand for only Assam Rifles in areas under their control is rather twisted or skewered and it does not augur well for the reputation of the said ‘coveted’ force. If they genuinely believe in the Indian Constitution and aspires to live and prosper within the territories of India, why should they object to posting and stationing of either CRPF/BSF or any other paramilitary force and demand Assam Rifles only.
What is so special about Assam Rifles? We know, it is one of the oldest paramilitary forces in the country, loves to project themselves as the ‘Friends of the Hill People’. For decades, the force has indeed done great work in the hills of the northeastern region through civic action programmes besides their mandate in counter-insurgency operations. Its battalions have mostly been deployed mainly in the NE region with occasional deployments elsewhere and it is headquartered in Shillong.
In fact, it would be safe to say that the said paramilitary forces has its roots in the region, not only in terms of deployment but also on account of its origins. The Northeast region, as we all know, is mostly composed of hilly regions with a sprinkling of valleys. So, it is but natural for some of the hill brethren to have emotional ties with the force because of the operational area and the composition of its personnel. Many of its personnel were drawn from the local populace.
And we know, it was basically the Assam Rifles who painstakingly crafted the SoO arrangement. The SoO agreement was first signed between the central government and the Kuki militant outfits brought under two umbrella organisations and it was only later on that the state government was brought into the picture and hence, the tripartite agreement.
The Nagas, on the other hand, have no particular love for Assam Rifles as could be seen from frequent skirmishes or face-offs between NSCN (IM) and Assam Rifles in both Nagaland and Manipur. In the Manipur valley, the Assam Rifles happens to be a symbol of colonial oppression right from the colonial days when it occupied the sacred Kangla and continues to occupy it even after Indian independence till 2004. It is now 2024, but it is a hangover hard to shake off.
In the wake of the present ethnic clashes in Manipur, the force of Assam Rifles was somehow drawn into the eye of the storm with the Kukis celebrating them as their protectors and the valley population accusing them of a bias against the Meiteis. Now, the Kukis are out in force to object to a recent decision by the central government to replace the Assam Rifles formation with CRPF in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi. They even say, they do not have faith in other paramilitary forces other than Assam Rifles.
(The views expressed are personal)
