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Front Page >> Opinions > Story
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Plights Of The Damned
By Elf Hmar
The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in their statement (The Sangai Express, January 23, 2006) denied any roles in the displacement of tribals from Parbung and Tipaimukh sub-divisions in Manipur to Mizoram. The claim is arguable. It is nothing but propaganda to rob the people of the truth. But such propaganda can be no panacea as the situation has escalated to uncontrollable crisis. Despite that, the group is still talking about peaceful co-existence. Never knowing that their deeds deliver the loud message that the innocent villagers have no rights to be in these areas. But how can we rob the light from the day?

Late 2005, combined Indian military forces launched their counter-insurgency operations to flush out underground militants in the valleys and borders of Manipur. Feeling the heat of the Indian military campaigns, valley-based armed groups abandoned their strongholds and fled to the hilly district of Churachandpur, a domain of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group of indigenous tribal peoples.

Whatsoever, the presence of insurgent groups from the valleys in the hills is nothing new. They had infiltrated the green lands of the tribal peoples long before. Who knows they must be having bigger plans for the future? Their interests were to strengthen their grip over the hills’ indigenous tribals, steal and rule over the lands and then exploit it with their unscrupulous greed in the name of fighting for ‘sovereignty’. Land is money. Money is power. Power drives a man insane. And insanity has no virtue for humanity. Just destruction. But this is never about peaceful co-existence.

The absence of security forces, defunct government facilities, and the remoteness of the region make it a safe haven for armed groups. It was manna from heaven. Thus, they befriended the hills’ own tribal militant groups to meet their selfish desires, taking refuge in the lands of the unsuspected, with an under-the-table strategic policy.

Hounded and cornered, the fleeing valley-based insurgents, notably the outlawed UNLF, then resorted to the planting of IEDs and Landmines in the occupied hill territories. Will they do this in the valleys of Imphal and Bishnupur? Civilian and livestock casualties were already reported since late 2004 in other parts of the hill district. Unfazed by the dangers these destructive bombs may pose for the civilian population, they rampantly continued to plant these destructive devices. Frustrated by the slowly tightening of the noose by their necks, they were desperate enough to attempt any means to preclude the Jawans from further undertaking offensives against them. Life value takes a backseat. Insanity took over humane reasoning.

‘Landmines’, a stranger to this part of the region until now, began unleashing its terror. Innocent civilians, unaware of the dangers beyond, unknowingly stepped on these destructive bombs planted underneath, some laid as booby traps to be tripped upon. Many lost their lives, many amputated for live, and countless more queued for the worse. Husbands and wives widowed. Sons and daughters orphaned. Brothers become sisterless. And sisters, brotherless. Children plucked like fruits from their trees before ripen. Their only mistake – being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Playing Microsoft minesweeper is child’s play, where you only lose the game, and not your precious life.

The woes of the deprived of this under-developed region increased manifold. They can no longer attend to their jhum-fields. Nature, which somehow daily provides them a little of their need, cannot do so anymore. Death lurks everywhere they tread. Unprotected and un-provided, they can only cry till their eyes get dry; their throats sore.

They trembled and shivered hapless before guns that spoke just one language – death. Tortured and harassed mercilessly by the UNLF, they live a life lesser to animals – as human shields against the Army, enslaved as laborers by their invaders, terrorized and killed. Women and children were not spared either. Not only were they robbed of their dignity, but also of their lands, homes, livestock, food and the only belongings they held dear.

Left with no alternatives, the hapless fled and ran empty-handed in all directions. Leaving behind many, the old and the sick, the more under-privileged amongst them to the mercy of the self-styled “commanders of life.” Along with it, they left their hearts – their exploited lands. Not knowing when they would return. They can only dream. But their dreams have been black-holed by nightmares. They can only hope. But even that have already been stripped off from them. They are left only with their soul and the beckoning of their hills to come back. But even if they are rehabilitated, what do they have? Will their lands remain theirs? Will their homes really be homes? Their living conditions will not improve. Development will remain a far cry. They will remain caught between guns however. And will they ever feel safe, and for how long? Will they ever get back their long-lost peace? They have no future. Not anything. For the many deprived people of this region, life is not life anymore.

*** The author can be reached at elfhmar@yahoo.com

(Courtesy: www.hmar.net)

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