There is something admirable about the Constitution of India as a living document. Take for example, the honesty with which it records the historicity of the emergence of this country, something that one can see in its definition of Manipur, which goes as follow: Manipur: The territory which immediately before the commencement of this Constitution […]
There is something admirable about the Constitution of India as a living document. Take for example, the honesty with which it records the historicity of the emergence of this country, something that one can see in its definition of Manipur, which goes as follow: Manipur: The territory which immediately before the commencement of this Constitution […]
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2016/05/manipur-as-a-constitutional-fiction-with-a-nostalgia/
The post Devils and Holy Cows appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.For the state of affairs, or the mess to be precise, in Manipur, whom do we hold responsible? Our political class and its leadership are the obvious class of people that come to our min…
The post Devils and Holy Cows appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
For the state of affairs, or the mess to be precise, in Manipur, whom do we hold responsible? Our political class and its leadership are the obvious class of people that come to our mind. Perhaps, our criticisms of this … Continue reading
The post Devils and Holy Cows appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/09/devils-and-holy-cows/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=devils-and-holy-cows
The post Sex! Yes, Sex! Oh yes, Sex! appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam Yes, sex does sell. But when one says that we must also know that the sex in question is primarily, if not exclusively, that of women. Sex is omnipresen…
The post Sex! Yes, Sex! Oh yes, Sex! appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam Yes, sex does sell. But when one says that we must also know that the sex in question is primarily, if not exclusively, that of women. Sex is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscience. It’s everywhere, in its … Continue reading
The post Sex! Yes, Sex! Oh yes, Sex! appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/07/sex-yes-sex-oh-yes-sex/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sex-yes-sex-oh-yes-sex
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam It is possible to change the state of affairs in Manipur. But who shall do the needful for that change? If we go by, as Marxists… Read more »The post Minds that Matter appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam It is possible to change the state of affairs in Manipur. But who shall do the needful for that change? If we go by, as Marxists… Read more
The post Minds that Matter appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/07/minds-that-matter/
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam It seems, times have truly changed for the mandarins in New Delhi. Delivering a lecture at a well-known institute in Delhi, former Union Home Secretary remarks… Read more »The post Pathos of Self Estrangement appeared f…
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam It seems, times have truly changed for the mandarins in New Delhi. Delivering a lecture at a well-known institute in Delhi, former Union Home Secretary remarks… Read more
The post Pathos of Self Estrangement appeared first on KanglaOnline.com.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/06/pathos-of-self-estrangement/
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by… more »
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by his fellow students, presumably was not the first student who died resulting from nasty brawl amongst students; and under the criminal justice system of this country, this is also not the first case that concerned authorities have refused to follow up a case properly or sought to cover-up crimes. Given this, one must ask and be honest as to why so many, particularly from the Northeast, have come out crying for “Justice for Richard Loitam”? The answer will invariably bring a context which will speak, not only about the nature of the present case but also the nature of the response against the death of Richard Loitam.
Justice for Richard – Protest at Delhi : Click the image to view the gallery
Racism and Its Violence: It’s Not a Private Affair Alone
We must ask four questions in order to put the unfortunate death of this young student from Manipur in perspective:
Answers to the above questions shall tell us something about “racism” vis-à-vis the present case. Indeed, these four questions will reveal that Richard’s case is a larger concern which has a collective stake rather than being merely a case of justice for an individual or a family. For instance, it seems, going by the preliminary post-mortem report and pictures of Richard’s dead body and his room that are being circulated on net, the nature of the injuries that had led to his death were not the results of a regular brawl with his fellow students who did not have the intention of causing injuries that might lead to his death or a consequences of a scuffle in which Richard fell and got injured. Prima facie, these pictures and the preliminary post-mortem report seem to suggest that the injuries that led to his death were results of a brutal assault. It is here that one is forced to think of the intent of those who allegedly assaulted him, and the above first question gets implicated in the present case which simultaneously makes Richard’s death a part of a larger issue of “racially” motivated acts.
Besides, legal fraternity will tell us that large part of the denial or subversion of justice under the criminal justice system in the country starts with the lowest level of the system, that is, the police. From refusal to register the FIR or registering it in ways that are detrimental to the victims to shoddy investigations, the denial or subversion of justice began from there. And more than any other class of people, it is the marginalized and weaker sections of the society who are more likely to face such an experience of subversion of justice is a well known fact. There is no point in denying that there had been an attempt to subvert justice by seeking to brush aside Richard’s death as a natural death and hush up the case. After all, the present outcry has been a reaction to such an effort to subvert justice. This being the case, what are the reasons for the attempt to subvert justice by the concerned authorities? Is it a case of familiar attempts of our criminal justice system which often denies justice to the weaker or marginalized sections of the society (here, the case being that Richard was a member of a particular people from a particular region which is marked by a marginal status vis-à-vis the larger Indian society)? It is this aspect of the present case which implicates the above second question, which, in turn, makes Richard’s death a collective concern over and above being a concern of his family and friends.
Needless to say, the outpouring of resentment and anger against the manner in which he was allegedly assaulted that led to his death and the initial responses of the concerned authorities have been presumably informed by a general sense of being marked out or differently treated or having faced outright acts of discrimination and humiliation by the people of the Northeast and an empathy with them by other citizens of the country. Only a self denial (due to ignorance or vested interests) of those who are used to seeking private solution (such as buying inverter) to a public malaise of institutional failures (electricity) in Manipur would deny that Richard’s case in not merely a concern or affairs of a private kind (family etc) but that of a public and collective concerns which speak of the place and experiences of the people in/from the Northeast. Arguably, it is also precisely because of this public concern that implicates the people from a geo-politically sensitive region that the Govt. of India and political class scrambled to respond to the outcry.
In order to understand the present case, both the unfortunate death, responses to the same and nature of contemporary understanding on racism, we might as well take note of the following two aspects:
The above aspects, the different “languages” of the majority perpetrators and the minority victim are points to be noted for us to grapple with the violence that has led to the death of Richard Loitam and responses to the same.
Need for Informed and Honest Response
Incidentally, and perhaps expectedly, on the other hand, there are some who have a misplaced, if not a sinister or deliberate, attempt to distract the issues at hand by raising the insecurity-driven-xenophobia which are often expressed in terms of “identity assertions” and violence against “outsiders” (or amongst the different communities) in the Northeast. Incidentally, some of these people who raise such issues have never spoken out against such xenophobic violence before they choose to raise the issue in this case. Raising such issue is not only reflective of a lack of understanding between the two forms of violence but also an attempt to distract, wittingly or unwittingly, from the issue at hand. The present case must, therefore, be addressed for what it is through proper investigations, which entails an informed and honest effort to take into account the context of the violence and the responses to the same.
It has been pointed out that the inmates (Jews/gypsies) of the Nazi concentration camps were/are not the only ones who were/are traumatized by the experience; the camps guards also suffer from the de-humanizing experience. However, juxtaposing the trauma of the camp guards to de-legitimize or sideline the dehumanizing and traumatic experiences of the inmates of those camps can only be a misplaced concern at best and at worst, a sinister move to deny the sufferings of the inmates and justify and perpetuate racism which had produced the Holocaust.
We must also remember that fight against “racism” in any form or manifestation is not an anti-state act. Indian State, constitutionally speaking, is not a racist State. Article 15 of the Constitution makes any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex or place of birth illegal. If the spirit and letter of the Constitution are not respected or followed by the Government or parties, one must not be apologetic about standing against the same. Notwithstanding the Constitution, we must know that our lived world is not entirely determined or covered by the constitutional provisions or laws. We might eulogize Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Indian Constitution. But, I suppose, Ambedkar must also be acknowledged for his insistence on or preference for “social transformation” over “political transformation”. Perhaps, the Constitution is like an “interview guide” that researcher uses while engaging with the realities of the “field”; the actual outcome depends on what the researcher actually “does” with it. In short, the kind of “transformation” that he had in mind must therefore be judged by what we do with the Constitution. In fact, Ambedkar’s concluding remark in the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 on “those who are called to work it happen” must speak a lot to us today.
In short, the case of Richard Loitam brings home the familiar lacunae in our criminal justice system and the reality of “racism” with or without “race” which has often been underplayed, if not actively denied, in this country, including by those who are incidentally at the receiving end of “racism”. Sooner we realize this and seek corrective measures, better it would be for one and all. Seeking justice for Richard Loitam must be a part of that effort.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-racism-and-its-violence/
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by… more »
Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by his fellow students, presumably was not the first student who died resulting from nasty brawl amongst students; and under the criminal justice system of this country, this is also not the first case that concerned authorities have refused to follow up a case properly or sought to cover-up crimes. Given this, one must ask and be honest as to why so many, particularly from the Northeast, have come out crying for “Justice for Richard Loitam”? The answer will invariably bring a context which will speak, not only about the nature of the present case but also the nature of the response against the death of Richard Loitam.
Justice for Richard – Protest at Delhi : Click the image to view the gallery
Racism and Its Violence: It’s Not a Private Affair Alone
We must ask four questions in order to put the unfortunate death of this young student from Manipur in perspective:
Answers to the above questions shall tell us something about “racism” vis-à-vis the present case. Indeed, these four questions will reveal that Richard’s case is a larger concern which has a collective stake rather than being merely a case of justice for an individual or a family. For instance, it seems, going by the preliminary post-mortem report and pictures of Richard’s dead body and his room that are being circulated on net, the nature of the injuries that had led to his death were not the results of a regular brawl with his fellow students who did not have the intention of causing injuries that might lead to his death or a consequences of a scuffle in which Richard fell and got injured. Prima facie, these pictures and the preliminary post-mortem report seem to suggest that the injuries that led to his death were results of a brutal assault. It is here that one is forced to think of the intent of those who allegedly assaulted him, and the above first question gets implicated in the present case which simultaneously makes Richard’s death a part of a larger issue of “racially” motivated acts.
Besides, legal fraternity will tell us that large part of the denial or subversion of justice under the criminal justice system in the country starts with the lowest level of the system, that is, the police. From refusal to register the FIR or registering it in ways that are detrimental to the victims to shoddy investigations, the denial or subversion of justice began from there. And more than any other class of people, it is the marginalized and weaker sections of the society who are more likely to face such an experience of subversion of justice is a well known fact. There is no point in denying that there had been an attempt to subvert justice by seeking to brush aside Richard’s death as a natural death and hush up the case. After all, the present outcry has been a reaction to such an effort to subvert justice. This being the case, what are the reasons for the attempt to subvert justice by the concerned authorities? Is it a case of familiar attempts of our criminal justice system which often denies justice to the weaker or marginalized sections of the society (here, the case being that Richard was a member of a particular people from a particular region which is marked by a marginal status vis-à-vis the larger Indian society)? It is this aspect of the present case which implicates the above second question, which, in turn, makes Richard’s death a collective concern over and above being a concern of his family and friends.
Needless to say, the outpouring of resentment and anger against the manner in which he was allegedly assaulted that led to his death and the initial responses of the concerned authorities have been presumably informed by a general sense of being marked out or differently treated or having faced outright acts of discrimination and humiliation by the people of the Northeast and an empathy with them by other citizens of the country. Only a self denial (due to ignorance or vested interests) of those who are used to seeking private solution (such as buying inverter) to a public malaise of institutional failures (electricity) in Manipur would deny that Richard’s case in not merely a concern or affairs of a private kind (family etc) but that of a public and collective concerns which speak of the place and experiences of the people in/from the Northeast. Arguably, it is also precisely because of this public concern that implicates the people from a geo-politically sensitive region that the Govt. of India and political class scrambled to respond to the outcry.
In order to understand the present case, both the unfortunate death, responses to the same and nature of contemporary understanding on racism, we might as well take note of the following two aspects:
The above aspects, the different “languages” of the majority perpetrators and the minority victim are points to be noted for us to grapple with the violence that has led to the death of Richard Loitam and responses to the same.
Need for Informed and Honest Response
Incidentally, and perhaps expectedly, on the other hand, there are some who have a misplaced, if not a sinister or deliberate, attempt to distract the issues at hand by raising the insecurity-driven-xenophobia which are often expressed in terms of “identity assertions” and violence against “outsiders” (or amongst the different communities) in the Northeast. Incidentally, some of these people who raise such issues have never spoken out against such xenophobic violence before they choose to raise the issue in this case. Raising such issue is not only reflective of a lack of understanding between the two forms of violence but also an attempt to distract, wittingly or unwittingly, from the issue at hand. The present case must, therefore, be addressed for what it is through proper investigations, which entails an informed and honest effort to take into account the context of the violence and the responses to the same.
It has been pointed out that the inmates (Jews/gypsies) of the Nazi concentration camps were/are not the only ones who were/are traumatized by the experience; the camps guards also suffer from the de-humanizing experience. However, juxtaposing the trauma of the camp guards to de-legitimize or sideline the dehumanizing and traumatic experiences of the inmates of those camps can only be a misplaced concern at best and at worst, a sinister move to deny the sufferings of the inmates and justify and perpetuate racism which had produced the Holocaust.
We must also remember that fight against “racism” in any form or manifestation is not an anti-state act. Indian State, constitutionally speaking, is not a racist State. Article 15 of the Constitution makes any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex or place of birth illegal. If the spirit and letter of the Constitution are not respected or followed by the Government or parties, one must not be apologetic about standing against the same. Notwithstanding the Constitution, we must know that our lived world is not entirely determined or covered by the constitutional provisions or laws. We might eulogize Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Indian Constitution. But, I suppose, Ambedkar must also be acknowledged for his insistence on or preference for “social transformation” over “political transformation”. Perhaps, the Constitution is like an “interview guide” that researcher uses while engaging with the realities of the “field”; the actual outcome depends on what the researcher actually “does” with it. In short, the kind of “transformation” that he had in mind must therefore be judged by what we do with the Constitution. In fact, Ambedkar’s concluding remark in the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 on “those who are called to work it happen” must speak a lot to us today.
In short, the case of Richard Loitam brings home the familiar lacunae in our criminal justice system and the reality of “racism” with or without “race” which has often been underplayed, if not actively denied, in this country, including by those who are incidentally at the receiving end of “racism”. Sooner we realize this and seek corrective measures, better it would be for one and all. Seeking justice for Richard Loitam must be a part of that effort.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-racism-and-its-violence/
To insist that one must address and understand “Political Premise” of AFSPA is to… more »
To insist that one must address and understand “Political Premise” of AFSPA is to insist that we must fundamentally know/address the following issues:
To those who are protesting against the AFSPA:
(a) Narratives of human tragedy, of near and dear ones having been tortured, detained, killed or made disappeared by the state agencies under the Act, are facts. But are these narratives of human tragedies un-related to the above questions/issues?
(b) But when somebody (or in “we the people” kind of programme in TV channels) brings out similar narratives of human tragedies in the hands of non-state actors, does the issue of AFSPA get diluted or distracted precisely because your fight is based on a limited or narrow legal/human rights perspective that does not address basic questions pertaining to the Act as I have noted here (as well as elsewhere)?
(c) How do you intend to make the issue of AFSPA politically significant (amongst others, keep the question/issue no. 2 above in mind as well) when your own politicians and middle class can probably sense the human tragedy and say it’s bad but insurgents also do the same and so on.
(d) Granted that, one may agree or disagree with those who are “waging a war” against the Indian State, but the fact is, IT IS THERE as A PART OF OUR REALITY. So, which one makes more sense: Address something that has been there for decades and something that affects our lives with an honest acknowledgment of the reality of “rebellion” and realistically approach the issue or continue to deny or distort the reality (which, while the AFSPA is ostensibly dealing with a phenomenon of “waging war” against the State with arms–in short, “armed rebellion” at the same time legally/juridically denying it, as in Supreme Court Judgment of 1997) OR allow one to be guided by a mob mentality or lynching mindset saying that these “extortionists” blah blah must be “eliminated” (something that the mighty Indian State has been trying for more than 50 years with its military might under a “legal fiction” all this while without success and only to be admitted now and then that we must find a “political solution”!)?
Lastly, HOLLOW promise of a “yes, yes, AFSPA must go” by your politicians or those who feel the human tragedies under the violence of the Act but have a nagging question “what after AFSPA?” for there are these “naharols” (or insurgents), can never be addressed (or rather exposed) until and unless one brings in the above TEN questions/issues into the struggle against this notorious “legal fiction” that has created havoc in our life.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/ten-issuesquestions-to-understand-the-significance-of-the-political-premise-of-afspa/
By: A Bimol Akoijam To all those who seem to have a problem when I talk of “Tragedy of de-linking the political premise of AFSPA” Read the following excerpts: (1)… Read more »
By: A Bimol Akoijam
To all those who seem to have a problem when I talk of “Tragedy of de-linking the political premise of AFSPA”
Read the following excerpts:
(1)
Calling Naxalism a bigger challenge then terrorism and insurgency, Union home minister P Chidabaram on Tuesday said…”The most violent movement in India is not terrorism or insurgency but Left-wing extremism”…[t]he burden of the governance cannot be shifted from the state governments to the central government….in the ultimate analysis, the responsibility of governance in the Left-wing extremism affected districts must rest with the states”
— Naxalism is a bigger challenge than terrorism – Chidambaram, Time of India, page no 11, dated 14 September, 2011)
(2)
Irom Sharmila presents a more complex choice before the average citizen. For Manipuris, she is a homegrown heroine…[b]ut for those outside Manipur, she is just as likely to be seen as someone who is questioning the majesty of the Indian state… there are enough number of others who will see…Irom Sharmila’s fast …as a challenge to the Indian state much in the manner that any popular movement in Jammu and Kashmir is seen as a threat to national sovereignty”… [t]he imposition of a draconian law like AFSPA, be it in Manipur or Jammu and Kashmir, reveals a crisis of governance. Indeed, both Manipur and Kashmir have suffered because of corrupt politics as much as they have from violence.
— Rajdeep Sardesai, Irom’s cause is riskier to support. Anna is safe, IBNlive blogs
(3)
ASK YOURSELF:
(i) Do these observations have anything to do with the AFSPA?
(ii) Where do the familiar arguments like “AFSPA gives powers to the NCO” and the “Right to life has been jeopardized” etc stand vis-à-vis these observations?
(4)
DO THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS MAKE SENSE?
(A) The Act addresses a reality in our real world, that is, armed insurgency which purportedly threatens the “national security” (ie undermining the territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Indian State). In Manipuri, that phenomenon is called “khutlai paiba lalhouba” (or “armed rebellion”; here it must be noted that “insurgency” is a synonym for “rebellion”).
And yet, the Supreme Court Judgment has categorically insisted that the “disturbed condition” wherein the Act has been enforced is not due to “armed rebellion”. It even says that the said “condition” does not constitute a threat to the “security of the nation”! If the Act is not about the “disturbed condition” related to “khutlai paiba lalhouba” (or “armed rebellion”) or it doesn’t threaten the national security, what is it?
Having failed to address or remained ignorant of such basic questions, many have failed to understand the Act itself. For instance, the violence which is being exercised by the State through AFSPA is fundamentally based on or derived from the violence to “institute order” rather than “violence to preserve order”. The AFSPA is a violence to institute “Indian-ness” or the legitimacy of “Indian State” in specific areas and their inhabitants wherein the “Indian-ness” are problematic. That is why the Act has not been imposed in all those areas that have “armed insurgency”. It is imposed only in those places wherein “Indian-ness” has become problematic for the Indian State (Northeast, Kashmir, and briefly Punjab), not in those areas wherein “Indian-ness” has not been seen as a problem as such, albeit affected by armed insurgency (ie leftist insurgency in “mainland” India).
— AFSPA as “Another 9/11” —Reality beyond rhetoric and dubious knowledge of ground reality, The Sangai Express, dated 14 September, 2011
(B) Interestingly, all this while the protestors are busy while barking at the “bare act” of AFSPA with their increasingly redundant legal arguments, the Government of India does not and will not de-link what it thinks the Act is addressing while thinking about AFSPA.
— AFSPA: Tragedy of Delinking Its Political Premise, Imphal Free Press, dated 11 September, 2001
(5)
Take note
(a) The use of expressions by Union Home Minister, which need your attention/your own reasons, to clarify the meaning and politics of the categories/terms (“insurgency”, “terrorism”, “extremism”), his comment on “governance” vis-à-vis Central and State Governments (ostensibly as an instrument of “law and order, which is a State subject under the Constitution) and the fact that AFSPA can be imposed by the Central Government after the amendment to the Act in 1972. (Anyone who had watched the programme on CNN-IBN recently…remember the remark of a retired General of the Indian Army that placed the responsibility entirely on the State Government)
(b) Ask youself, why is that the protest against an Act which subverts the premise of the claim of being a “Democratic Republic” is seen as “anti-national” while those who support the subversion become “nationalists” (with reference to Rajdeep Sardesai’s write-up which speaks of a truth nonetheless).
(C) Confession: To my fellow citizens, particularly Northeasterners and more specifically Manipuris; Have written and argued a lot on this issue over the years, and frankly I am getting tired now; if you still have problem on the idea of the “political premise” of the Act, please do check out, amongst others,
(i) Another 9/11. Another Act of Terror: The Embedded Disorder of AFSPA, in Bare Acts (CSDS-Sarai, 2005)
(ii) AFSPA: Smoke Screen of a Political Act, Imphal Free Press, dated 22 May, 2011
(6)
Price of Political Disconnect
(A) A racially grounded nationalist ethos continues to perpetuate an inhumane and politically dangerous politics, of which AFSPA becomes a naked display of lies and dishonesty and an instrument that seeks to legitimize the unleashing of an illegitimate violence by the state agencies.
(B) A discriminatory politics that subverts and deprives a civilized life (based on the principle of democratic ethos and dignity of the people) continues for decades with an ominous additional promise of life without dignity and well-being for many more years to come.
(C) the delinking of the political premise of the AFSPA has allowed the subversion of a civilised democratic life while simultaneously strengthening the denial and distortions of the nature of the historically rooted (and contemporary) socio-political issues that affect our collective life for decades. Consequently, our capacity to address and deal with our troubled situation in an informed, honest, purposeful and realistic manner has also been seriously jeopardised.
— AFSPA as “Another 9/11” —Reality beyond rhetoric and dubious knowledge of ground reality, The Sangai Express, dated 14 September, 2011
(D) Fiasco of 2007 Assembly Election wherein AFSPA couldn’t become a political issue in Manipur and a possibility that history may repeat itself once again in 2012!
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/what-the-heck-do-we-know-of-afspa/
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam By and large, those who oppose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act continue to de-link or ignore the subversive political premise of the Act in their… Read more »
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam
By and large, those who oppose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act continue to de-link or ignore the subversive political premise of the Act in their criticism against the same. Primarily driven by narrow juridical perspectives informed by Human Rights concerns, those who oppose the Act have allowed AFSPA to go on without facing a fundamental challenge to its foundation. As a consequence, the prospect of the Act going through a process of mutation to come back in another incarnation to continue the subversion of a civilized democratic life in the Northeast in general and Manipur in particular cannot be ruled out.
Rhetoric of a Merry-Go-Round
It’s worth remembering that not only AFSPA came as a product of a “decision” by the political executive (i.e., as an ordinance on 22nd May, 1958) but also subsequently escaped more or less unscathed from the “legislative oversight function” of a democratically constituted Parliament on 18 August, 1958. And finally, rather than returning the legislation to the Parliament again for reconsideration, the President readily gave his assent on the legislation, thus making it into a law on 11 September, 1958.
Finally, this “special” law, which, unlike many other “extraordinary” or “special” laws, specifically allows the deployment of the military forces in the “internal affairs” (or as it has been termed as “law and order”) of the State, survived the judicial scrutiny in 1997 as the Supreme Court upheld its “constitutionality”.
Incidentally, after having escaped all these processes, legislative, judicial and executive scrutiny, the Act did return to the political domain once more as a consequence of the upheaval in Manipur in 2004. And yet, the political premise of the Act has never been the primary concern of the protest against the Act.
Indeed, despite this historicity of the Act, strange as it may seem, even as we mark the anniversary of AFSPA, the day the Act became a law, or a “lawless law” (as the then MP from Manipur Laishram Achaw meaningfully called it), one might continue to hear the same legal arguments against the Act which were put up before the Supreme Court. And redundant arguments (e.g., the power to shoot has been given to Non Commission Officer, as if the power is given to a JCO or Commission Officer, it will be acceptable) are likely to be in the air once again. This being the case, the need to go to the basics must be emphasized once more.
Basic Questions
One basic issue that has been relegated, with serious consequences, has been the issue of what this Act is for? All legislations are to address some realities/phenomena in our real world. Acts on dowry, sati, child-marriage, for that matter the recent talk of Lok Pal, all are (about) legislations to address or fight realities of our life (the menace of dowry, sati, child-marriage or corruption). The discussions or debates on these legislations are not carried out by de-linking these realities. If so, what is that AFSPA is fundamentally seeking to address?
The Act addresses a reality in our real world, that is, armed insurgency which purportedly threatens the “national security” (i.e. undermining the territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Indian State). In Manipuri, that phenomenon is called “khutlai paiba lalhouba” (or “armed rebellion”; here it must be noted that “insurgency” is a synonym for “rebellion”).
How does one hope to discuss the Act by de-linking it from the purpose and reality of “armed rebellion” that it purportedly seeks to address? Indeed, have the familiar arguments on power being vested with the NCOs or for that matter even the infringement on the fundamental and sacrosanct “Right to Life” of the citizens ever reminded one of what is that the AFSPA is seeking to address or deal with this reality of our real world? None!
Interestingly, all this while, as the protestors are busy while barking at the “bare act” of AFSPA with their increasingly redundant legal arguments, the Government of India does not and will not de-link what it thinks the Act is addressing while thinking about AFSPA.
It is no wonder then that the protestors are not only least bothered about, if not oblivious of, the dubious and sinister politics that has given birth to, and sustained, this legal fiction called AFSPA over the years. While the Supreme Court Judgment categorically has insisted that the “disturbed condition” is not due to “armed rebellion” wherein the Act has been enforced or that the said “condition” does not constitute a threat to the “security of the nation”, the military and the political class continue to maintain otherwise.
If the Act is not addressing or not related to what the people know it as “khutlai paiba lalhouba” (or “armed rebellion”), what is that the Act is seeking to address? Having failed to address or remained ignorant of such basic question, many have failed to understand the Act itself. For instance, the violence which is being exercised by the State through AFSPA is fundamentally based on or derived from the violence to “institute order” rather than “violence to preserve order”. That AFSPA is a violence to institute “Indian-ness” or the Legitimacy of “Indian State” in specific areas and their inhabitants wherein the “Indian-ness” are problematic.
Indeed, it is not merely the ignorance of written words or documents, even the empirics have failed to draw the attention of many protestors to the real character of the Act. For instance, that the AFSPA has not been imposed in all those areas that have “armed insurgency” does not even allow many of these protestors to see the real nature of political violence invoked by the Act. Thus, having failed to understand the political premise of the Act, they do not adequately comprehend the fact that AFSPA has always been imposed wherein “Indian-ness” has become problematic for the Indian State (Northeast, Kashmir, and briefly Punjab), not in those areas wherein “Indian-ness” has not been seen as a problem, albeit affected by armed insurgency (i.e., leftist insurgency in “mainland” India). And consequently they continue to argue against AFSPA as if the Act is an instrument of maintaining “law and order”, a premise dubiously set up by those who impose and seek to sustain the subversion of this diabolical legal fiction.
Having failed to understand the nature of the political premise and its violence invoked by the AFSPA, most of these protestors have also failed to understand that the reason behind the use of the military forces (which has the ultimate physical force for the “institution of order”) rather than the police (which exercise the violence to preserve/main order) runs deeper than the issue of whether the police forces can handle the situation or not. That had it been a question of “law and order”, either the police forces would have been readied long time back for the job or the military would not have also objected to the restraints on power which are typically imposed on those who perform the duty of maintaining “law and order” under the normative and institutional imperatives of a democratic order.
Thus, the delinking of the political premise of the AFSPA has been a critical factor in allowing the subversion of a civilized democratic life under a legal fiction. Not only that, such an approach has also allowed the people to be a part of the denial and distortions of the nature of the historically rooted and contemporary socio-political issues that affect our collective life for decades. Consequently, our capacity to address and deal with our pathetic situation in an informed, honest, purposeful and realistic manner has also been seriously jeopardized. And it must go without saying that harping on narrowed legal arguments, resorting to rhetoric and proclaiming dubious knowledge of “ground reality” to hide one’s ignorance or dishonesty do not help much to fight against AFSPA and its political premise.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/afspa-tragedy-of-delinking-its-political-premise/
By: A Bimol Akoijam Going by the dominant views, primarily legalistic and devoid of political basis, on AFSPA amongst those who are protesting against the Act in Manipur, sometimes I… Read more »
By: A Bimol Akoijam
Going by the dominant views, primarily legalistic and devoid of political basis, on AFSPA amongst those who are protesting against the Act in Manipur, sometimes I wonder why the Government of India keeps on complicating the matter for themselves!?
They could have easily repealed AFSPA and introduce a more “humane” one by taking into account some of the criticisms such as the power to shoot has been given to the Non-Commission Officers (NCOs). Well, don’t give the power to shoot to NCOs, but give it to Commission Officers, if not JCOs! And as for the “Right to Life”, repeat the same argument given by the Supreme Court and introduce some safeguards along with Dos and Don’ts of the Supreme Court Judgment of 1997. And also, provide a rationale for the new act, beyond the “bare act” of the new “humane” legislation; Govt. of India must say, unlike what it did while introducing the AFSPA in 1958, that we have “terrorists” who indulge in “extortion” and “intimidate” and “kill” innocent people in Manipur!
But before they repeal AFSPA and introduce a new one as an alternative, make it sure that the Central leaders call people, some of the major players in the state selectively (invitation from the central leaders can instill quite a lot of “self-worth” to people who have been complaining of being “neglected”) and (this is important) Prime Minster must pay a visit to Sharmila in hospital-cum-jail and give a press conference and announce that Govt. of India has taken time to take the decision (insist in English, one cannot take a hasty decision, and that one cannot afford to follow “hou hou laobi” culture or episodic response but requires a “holistic” response etc.) as the AFSPA involves “political” issues, amongst other, issues of “national security and integrity”.
Make it sure that such an admission is followed by a statement (preferably in soft and emotionally laden tone) that “insurgents” are our brothers and sisters followed by an empathic remark starting with a BUT (make it sure that this word is stressed) that Govt of India cannot remain as a mere spectator to the suffering of the people in Manipur and allow the “terrorists” who “extort” and delay “development” to go on with their activities against “the people” of Manipur! (Note: For a cue, whoever says this must watch Indira Gandhi’s expression in an interview with BBC at the time of crisis in the then East Pakistan, why India could not remain a spectator to the human sufferings in East Pakistan in the hands of Pakistani soldiers!)
Lastly but not the least, such an announcement must be ended with wholesome praise for the Manipuris’ contributions to the world of sports, culture (theatre, dance, cinema etc) and announce some financial/development package, including plans to open KFCs and Malls!
After that, the Govt. of India don’t have to worry about a “movement” against AFSPA in Manipur and they can be sure of the moral high ground to watch the confusion and internal bickering amongst those protestors and people in Manipur for a while before it subsides ultimately!
In any case, if we go by what the Manipuris in general have understood about AFSPA as it can be seen from their slogans and articulations that reflect the way they understand AFSPA after all these year, it is unlikely that they will sense the problematic aspects of the fundamental political premise (of AFSPA and its would be substitute) that soon. After all, the alternative Act will take into account their complaints on NCOs and Right to Life etc). By that time, as such, situation would have also changed as various historical and unfolding forces would have shaped the world (including their own) differently.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that there will not be fringe elements that will still talk and argue against the New Act for the basic problems inherent in the political premise of AFSPA and the new Act. But Govt. of India does not have to worry about those fringe elements, precisely because they are after all “fringe elements”. In any case, intrigues against each other, pulling down one another, and killing each other IS NOT a WEAKNESS for the people of Manipur. Therefore, those fringe elements will be effectively taken care of by the people of Manipur themselves!
Meaning, accusation of Perpetrating a Colonial Act over the people ends!!!!
QED!
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/some-suggestions-to-govt-of-india-on-afspa/
By: A Bimol Akoijam The deranged man reads the leaflet again and scratches his head, and looks up at the leader of the protestors, and says, “So, she has been… Read more »
By: A Bimol Akoijam
Previously on Devil’s Advocate: Deranged Man and Protestors
LP: What do you mean?
DM: If she decides to call off the fast or something happens to her, what will you do?
The leader shots back, “Then, you will see a civil war if anything happens to her! Government of India will be solely responsible …God forbid, if something bad happens to her!
DM: And Armed Forces Special Powers Act?
The leader and protestors look at each others.
The deranged man reads the leaflet again and scratches his head, and looks up at the leader of the protestors, and says, “So, she has been fighting against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, uummm…I see”
“Yes, she has been fighting against this draconian Act”, replies the leader of the protestors.
DM: I know
LP: How do you know?
As their leader asks the question, looking at the clothing and disheveled hair of the deranged man who keeps on scratching his head, the other protestors smile.
DM: Oh, it’s written here…this leaflet that you have given me.
LP: Oh!….So?
The deranged man scratches his head again as he continues to read the leaflet all over again. Then he looks at the protestors and their leader.
DM: So? Ummm…do you support Sharmila because she is fighting against the Act?
LP: Yes, we support her because she is fighting against AFSPA
DM: You should have told me that. Instead, you said, you are supporting Sharmila because she is ON A FAST!
And the protestors again look at each others.
“Why is she against this Act?” asks the deranged man.
LP: It deprives us of our basic human rights like the “Right to Life”
DM: You mean, AFSPA deprives you of your “Right to Life”?
LP: yes
DM: How?
LP: It allows the army to shoot, even causing death, on the basis of mere suspicion! It’s there in the leaflet.
DM: yeah…I see that but this is wrong…
LP: That’s it…we have been wronged…
DM: No, I mean what you are writing here is wrong. You write here and also say that AFSPA deprives you of the “Right to Life”, but it does not!
LP: What!?
DM: Yes, AFSPA does not deny “Right to Life”!
LP: How can you say that? This Act gives power to security forces to shoot to kill even on the basis of suspicion, it’s unconstitutional…
DM: But that was what those who fought against the Act have said in the Supreme Court and the Court has given its judgment that says that the Act is constitutional and the soldier cannot shoot and take the life of a citizen arbitrarily. He must have reasonable ground to justify the suspicion because the Constitution still protects the citizen’s “Right to life” as the Constitution is not suspended while the Act is in operation.
The leader and protestors seem to get puzzled by this observation of the deranged man. And they look at each other. Looking at the leader, the deranged man continues, “Have you read the Supreme Court Judgment?”
The leader stares at the deranged man for while and then uneasily looks at his followers. Slowly turning towards the deranged man, he says, “Errr ahh err…well…errr…yes…long time back!”
As they hear their leader, the followers look at each other. There is an element of disbelief in their glances on what their leader has just said and their own experssions also seem to indicate that they haven’t probably read the judgment even though they have been protesting against this Act for years, repeatedly shouting all these while, the same slogans as they did before their challenge against the Act in Court was rejected by the Supreme Court in 1997.
DM: Then, why are you saying that AFSPA denies “Right to Life”?
The leader keeps quite for a while and looks at his followers, then says, “Well…I don’t agree…you know it is democracy, people have the right to disagree”!
DM: True, but under the democratic system, Judiciary is important, and the Highest Court has given its Judgment which has rejected the view that the Act denies “Right to Life”. Anyway, you must have a reason to disagree? Why do you disagree? What are your reasons behind your diagreement?
LP: Ummm err…leave the Judgment…reasons and all that…it’s all talks…those are all “theories”. We have to understand the “ground reality”!
One of the protestors says, “Yes, yes, “theories” are not important, we must know the “ground reality”!
DM: “Theories”? All talks? Aren’t you also only talking, your slogans and this leaflet?
LP: What!?
DM: Anyway, is “Right to Life” a theory or ground reality? Is there such a real thing called “Right to Life”, people do get killed in reality anyway, not only in Manipur. So is “Right to Life” a reality or a theory?
The leader seems to be taken aback by this question of the deranged man. Just as he seems to ponder over it, one of the protestors says in Meiteilon, “Tok-o yaare..angaobasiga waari touranu…kari kanndoino” (it’s ok, stop it, there is no point in talking with this mad man). Another chips in, “Masi mee-se ngaosinnaba oiramganee…Govt ki agent oiramgani…intelligence agency-sing-gee mee soidana oiramgani…ngaoragabu kamaina maana mee-gee judgment-kado paramdoi-no” (this man must be impersonating as a mad man…he must be an agent of the govt…a member of the intelligence agencies…how can a mad man read judgment and all that)!
Still another protestor looks at the deranged man suspiciously, then turns to his other colleagues and says, “Masi nupa-se moi-gee atoppa group-ki mee oiramgani…Iche Sharmila-da support touganu, AFSPA-ki fight-ta oina support tou kai-na ngashai haikhrido” (This guy must be from the other group, that’s why he was saying that we should fight against AFSPA, not support Sharmila)!
Then the deranged man interrupts them, looking at them and then at their leader, he says, “What are they saying?”
Looking at the deranged man, the leader replies, “Nothing”!
DM: They are saying something though?
Saying this he smiles at the leader. The leader also looks at him.
LP: It’s not important!
DM: Really? What they are saying is not important?
The leader seems to be flummoxed by this pointed question from the deranged man and he seems to ponder on the remarks of the other protestors for a while. Then looking at the deranged man, he continues.
LP: well…err…anyway…what were you asking?
DM: I was asking as to what your friends were saying just now?
LP: Leave that…before that, what were you asking?
DM: Oh that! Well, I was asking, is the “Right to Life” a theory or what you called a ground reality?
LP: Ummm errr..errr…
One of the protestors intervenes, “You must know ground reality”!
LP: Yes…you must know “ground reality”!
DM: That’s ok but you haven’t answered my question and you are trying to avoid…
Before the deranged man could complete, the leader says, “see, people have been killed…you know extra-judicial killings…you must know…”
Just as the leader was saying this, a protestor interrupts, “call Engel-lei, she is there…her husband was also killed in a fake encounter”. And he sends someone to call Engel-lei.
LP: Yes, you must know the “ground reality”…we have amongst us a victim of extra-judicial killing, a young girl in her early 20s whose husband was shot dead right in front of her by Manipur Police Commandos”!
DM: Oh..my God! That’s terrible!
The deranged man seems to be disturbed by this information of a young widow.
LP: See, you must know “ground reality” to understand AFSPA!
DM: But to the best of my knowledge, Manipur Police and its Commandos are not covered by AFSPA; they do not operate under the AFSPA!
The leader looks at the deranged man and then to his followers who also look at each other, as if the remark of the deranged man seems to have unsettled their “ground reality”!
TO BE CONTINUED…
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/devil%E2%80%99s-advocate-deranged-man-and-protestors-part-2/
Amidst the sultry tropical weather, a group of protestors repeatedly shout, “Save Sharmila!!!! One of the protestors passes on the leaflet that they have been distributing to people to a… Read more »
Amidst the sultry tropical weather, a group of protestors repeatedly shout, “Save Sharmila!!!!
One of the protestors passes on the leaflet that they have been distributing to people to a deranged man who happens to pass by. Shaken by what is written on the leaflet, the deranged man seeks to strike a conversation with the protestors. Initially, seeing the odd looks of the man, some of them laugh at him and teasingly calls out one guy, who happens to be one of the leaders of those protestors, to entertain the deranged man. He, along with a few, decides to take a break from the protracted protest, and have a conversation with the deranged man. As such, they need some rest as they have been shouting for a while and it will be some time before those who have gone in a police vehicle to summit a memorandum to the PM or his office, something that they have never failed to do so each time they organized such a protest during the last decade, return to the protest site.
As they sit down, one of them asks the deranged man, “So, what do you want to know”?
Deranged Man (Henceforth, DM): Why are you supporting Sharmila?
Leader of the protestors (Henceforth, LP): Because Iche Sharmila has been on a fast!
DM: Oh, you support her because she’s been fasting?
The leader continues in all seriousness, “Yes, Iche Sharmila has been fasting for the last 11 years!”
DM: Oh I see! So you are supporting her because she is on a fast?
LP: Yes
DM: Why don’t you ask her to eat; In fact, still better, since you seem to love her so much, why don’t you offer her food, instead of protesting like this?
LP: You mad!? She’s on fast for 11 years!!!!
DM: That’s what…you shouldn’t have allowed her to go hungry for so long?
The deranged man continues, scratching his head as he glances at the leaflet and looks at those protestors.
LP: She has been forced-fed all these years… She won’t eat!
DM: Too bad!
LP: What!!!!?
Taken by surprise, the leader retorts back; the deranged man continues again.
DM: You people love her so much and protesting all these while in this weather and she refuses to eat! I don’t understand. Doesn’t she love you? If she loves you, I think she will start eating food!
The deranged man continues.
Hearing his remark, the protestors look at each other and some of them become visibly perturbed by the remark. One of them says in Meteilon (a dominant language which consists of a group of Manipuri dialects spoken by people in the valley of Manipur as their mother-tongue…like the Mandarin amongst the Chinese), “Masi angaobashi…mathong maram khangdaba…kaothatlu…fujillaga fadouni…mee ushittaba…makok yaodaba” (this mad man has no sense, kick him, it’s better to beat him up…brainless fellow)!
The leader looks at them and says, “Ngaikho… tapthakho…angaobaga maanaraga kei kandoino” (Wait…what you will get if we do that with a mad man”)!
DM: You angry?
LP: Of course not
Being a seasoned leader, with a touch of diplomacy, he smiles as he answers. Then, he looks at his followers with another smile.
DM: So, does she love you people?
LP: Yes, she loves us, why would she fast if she does not love us, the people of Manipur!?
DM: That’s all the more reason for her to call off the fast so that you don’t protest like this in such weather!
One among the protestors menacingly walks towards the deranged man and says, “Shut up!”
LP: Wait!
The leader stops the guy and then looks at the deranged man and continues,
DM: Oh, then you should be fighting against that Act, rather than SUPPORTING HER BECAUSE SHE IS ON FAST!
The leader thinks for a while and answers, “That’s what we are doing”!
DM: But you said, you people are SUPPORTING SHARMILA BECAUSE SHE IS ON A FAST! Didn’t you say that?
The leader looks at the deranged man and his followers. Then he continues.
LP: Yeah…err…but it’s the same thing!
DM: No! How can it be?
LP: What do you mean?
DM: If she decides to call off the fast or something happens to her, what will you do?
The leader shots back, “Then, you will see a civil war if anything happens to her! Government of India will be solely responsible …God forbid, if something bad happens to her!
DM: And Armed Forces Special Powers Act?
TO BE CONTINUED…
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/devil%E2%80%99s-advocate-deranged-man-and-protestors/
By: A. Bimol Akoijam To all those denizens of Manipur who are offended or hurt by the manner in which the “mainstream”, the “national media” and “politicians” at the “Centre”… Read more »
By: A. Bimol Akoijam
To all those denizens of Manipur who are offended or hurt by the manner in which the “mainstream”, the “national media” and “politicians” at the “Centre” have “neglected” or “marginalized” Sharmila’s fast…
BUT IS THE ISSUE FOR WHICH SHARMILA IS ON FAST A TANGIBLE POLITICAL ISSUE THAT DESERVES THEIR ATTENTION?
THINK ABOUT THIS: Only a few years back, one of your brothers burnt himself to death while some of your “Imas” (mothers) had stripped in public and yes, Sharmila has been on a fast for a decade now…”the people” in traditional attires (such as pungou faneks, feijoms and colourful ethnic dresses) and children in school uniforms formed human chains in protest against AFSPA…
BUT…
SOON AFTER THAT, “THE PEOPLE” VOTED BACK TO POWER A PARTY LED BY A MAN WHOM MANY SEEMINGLY HATE AND IRONICALLY ENVY AT THE SAME TIME – HAVEN’T YOU HEARD HOW PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THOSE RICH MEN…CONTRACTORS, HANGER-ONS OF POLITICIANS AND OFFICIALS IN POWER? — OVERWHELMINGLY FOR NOT EVEN MENTIONING AFSPA IN HIS PARTY’S ELECTION MANIFESTOS!
INDEED, IS THE ISSUE FOR WHICH SHARMILA IS ON FAST A TANGIBLE POLITICAL ISSUE FOR THE PEOPLE OF MANIPUR?
OH YES, ELECTIONS ARE ROUND THE CORNER…
I AM SURE EVEN THE PIMPS AND PROSTITUTES KNOW WHAT AFFECTS THEIR SENSE OF DIGNITY AND WILL FIGHT FOR THEIR SELF-RESPECT AND WELL-BEING, DESPITE THE PREJUDICES AGAINST THEM…
I HOPE THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN “THEORY” BUT KNOW THE “GROUND REALITY” AND ALWAYS DO “ACTIONS”, A RESULT OF WHICH IS WHAT WE SEE AS MANIPUR AS IT STANDS TODAY ALSO KNOW THE SAME!
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/time-to-look-within-and-have-some-shame-and-self-respect/
By: A. Bimol Akoijam In a swift response, the Chief Minister of Manipur said that the terrorist violence that struck Sangakpham on 1st August, 2011 was the handiwork of NSCN… Read more »
By: A. Bimol Akoijam
In a swift response, the Chief Minister of Manipur said that the terrorist violence that struck Sangakpham on 1st August, 2011 was the handiwork of NSCN (I-M). This is a development which is quite uncharacteristic of the Govt. of Manipur on such incidents or as an editorial in the Sangai Express, a leading newspaper in Imphal puts it, “can’t really recollect the last time that a case of this proportion was laid bare so fast and so conclusively”. However, the said organization, according to a report released by Newsmai News Network from Dimapur, has denied the allegation. Besides, according to a press report, contrary to the statement made by the Chief Minister at the Press Conference on 2nd August, 2011, the Koren (Koireng) Youth Organization has denied that the suspected bomber one Anthony s/o Bonkolung of Sadu Koireng is “a resident of Sadu Koireng Village, Saikul sub-division…and he is not known to the people of Koireng”.
CM O Ibobi Singh inspecting the site of Sangakpam bomb blast. Source: Imphal Free Press
The contradictory reports do not help the citizens who are at the receiving end of such violent and atrocious crime. This being the case, we, as citizens must know the truth as to who is/are behind the dastardly and gruesome act at Sangakpham. The government must put the system and institutions at its disposal to task so as to come out with the truth and bring those who are responsible for the crime to justice at the earliest.
And we as citizens must also know that we must not rest till the institutions for investigations and protecting the life and dignity of the people are made to perform their assigned and expected duties and responsibilities. Only then, we can expect to live with certain sense of normative and institutional mechanisms of a civilized life.
All those who cried out for justice, and those who have statements such as “enough is enough” etc must put their statements into action by seeking and pursuing this: to know the truth and make the above institutions accountable. Only then, can one say that their slogans and outpouring of emotions have some sense and value. Otherwise, those statements shall remain as symptoms of a pathological mind which make them vulnerable to atrocious violence and indignity.
This being the case, we deserve to know:
a) Who is Anthony, the suspected bomber?
b) What are the material and circumstantial evidences on the basis of which the officials have established the identity of the suspected bomber and the organization of which he was a member or on whose behalf he allegedly carried out the heinous act?
c) As per the statement of the Chief Minister, the Bajaj scooter (Chetak) which was allegedly used in the blast had a Nagaland number (NL-O1E/1394) registered in the name of one K. Daniel s/o K. Angami of Diphu Par, Dimapur (Nagaland). Now the question is:
i) Was this information based on the recovery of the necessary document(s) from the blast site or provided by authorities in Nagaland?
ii) Has the investigating agency in the state kept in touch with their counterpart in Nagaland on this matter a) to establish the facts of the case and b) to trace the owner for further questioning?
d) ISTV news mentioned that the Union Home Minister also reportedly blamed NSCN (I-M) for the blast at Sangakpham. (There was one line in Morung express which also reported the statement of the Union Home Minister). If this is so, which agency has given them this news? This is crucial for two reasons: a) The Union Government has been in talks with the said organization and b) for the deeply ethicized and communalized mindset, the words of the Government of Manipur can be subjected slanderous allegation. Moreover, this has serious implication for the “ground rules” of the “cease fire” between the Government of India and the NSCN (I-M), which, as far as Manipur is concerned, is nothing more than a farcical enactment and a part of a make-belief world of those who were ostensibly happy with the withdrawal of the “three words” from the “ceasefire agreement” following the so-called “uprising” in Manipur in 2001.
We must avoid communally charged perspective; what we have seen at Sangakpham is the display of a horrible act of a naked and illegitimate violence that attack the life and dignity of the citizens. Democratic ethos demands accountability of institutions and transparency for a civilized life in the state. And we must work to restore such institutional imperatives, not hollow talks and rhetoric.
By the way, such a note as this one is something that one can legitimately expect to come in media in Manipur. I am sure that many of us have seen such reports and news analysis in media across the globe following such incidents. If it doesn’t come, it only speaks of our media guys just as it speaks of the people of Manipur in general. It’s time to take responsibility, each one of us, for a change.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/sangakpham-we-deserve-to-know/
var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By A. Bimol Akoijam In our times, empirically and theoretically speaking, terrorism has been an illegitimate child of a legitimate…
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var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By A. Bimol Akoijam In our times, empirically and theoretically speaking, terrorism has been an illegitimate child of a legitimate…
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Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/bPIQwFWnVYM/
By A. Bimol Akoijam In our times, empirically and theoretically speaking, terrorism has been an illegitimate child of a legitimate politics. The so-called “Islamic Terrorism” is a classic example. It’s… Read more »
By A. Bimol Akoijam
In our times, empirically and theoretically speaking, terrorism has been an illegitimate child of a legitimate politics. The so-called “Islamic Terrorism” is a classic example. It’s a part of common knowledge today that it is a phenomenon which was initiated and groomed by the Western Powers, particularly the United States, in their effort to counter the erstwhile Eastern Block. So is the case of the Tamil nationalist outfit LTTE, which was initially groomed by none other than peace loving Indian State. Now, going by the allegation of the Govt. of Manipur, perpetrator of the terrorist violence at Sangakpham turns out to be a “legitimate” organization.
Therefore, there is enough ground for us not to turn a blind eye to the nature of the unbridled violence — of which terrorism is only one side of the coin — that has come to subvert a civilized life in Manipur. In other words, the State must be equally subjected to our critical scrutiny for its role and complicity in perpetuating “illegitimate” violence on us.
This does not deny the fact, however, that terrorism shall remain an expression of illegitimacy precisely because its violence is naked and exclusively a product of a decision unmediated by established norms and institutional mechanisms. It is illegitimate because the acts, its violence and intimidation, are not accountable to the people, particularly to its victims. The violence that struck unsuspecting citizens at Sangakpham is one amongst a series of expressions of terrorism that the state has witnessed over the years.
Scourge of Illegitimate Violence
Make no mistake, planting bomb in public place and killing civilians can only be the handiwork of those who want to destroy Manipur and de-legitimize those who seek and work for the wellbeing and dignity of the people of Manipur. And given that NSCN (I-M) being an organization that does not recognize Manipur as it exists and arguably do not enjoy legitimacy amongst the people of Manipur, except in the eyes of some organizations and sections of the population, it may not be answerable for their acts, including for the alleged one at Sangakpham, to the people of Manipur. But, arguably the Government of India is answerable; in fact, far more than the alleged involvement of the NSCN (I-M), the Government of India must be held accountable for the death and destruction at Sangakpham. After all, those who died at Sangakpham are “citizens” of this country and NSCN (I-M) is a recognized “entity” by the Government of India with which it has been in “political talks” and a “cease-fire” has been in place between the “two entities” for more than a decade.
It must go without saying that the violence, or to use Max Weber’s expression “physical force”, that is deployed by the State is “legitimate” insofar as it is mediated by the established norms and institutional mechanisms. This has been the imperatives of a civilized polity, particularly represented by the democratic ethos. If the violence of the state does not commensurate with such normative and institutional mechanisms, it is not legitimate.
This is another reason as to why we must bring the State into our scrutiny. The culture of an unmediated and illegitimate violence has been initiated, groomed and sustained by the state in Manipur for decades. The reality of the violence perpetrated on the people by the security and law enforcing agencies of the state is only a symptom of a deeper subversion of the normative and institutional mechanisms by the State itself. The notorious AFSPA is a classic example of that ethos. Allowing the military, an institution that is primarily there for war, to operate as a law enforcing instrument to deal with the “internal affairs” of the state for decades has encouraged a culture that seeks to deploy brutal violence as a means of addressing political and other issues. Incidentally, the illegal and unconstitutional character of such an approach could only be sustained when the Supreme Court in its Judgment on the Act pronounces that the “disturbed” condition wherein the Act has been enforced is not due to “armed rebellion” (or in Manipuri, “khutlai paiba lalhouba”)! It even goes on to say that the disturbance is not of such a “magnitude” so as to say that it constitutes a “threat” to the “security” of the nation. Had it admitted that the “disturbed” condition is due to “armed rebellion” and threatens the security of the nation, AFSPA would have been unconstitutional for there is Article 352!
Consequently, under this legal fiction, the deployment of militaristic violence and its ethos have been allowed to get entrenched in the state as a part of administrative mechanism. The price of that subversion of the normative and institutional mechanisms of a civilized constitutional order has been what we have been paying all these years. The inability to judge “legitimate” and “illegitimate” violence in the state is not unrelated to this subversion.
Thus, let not this tragedy at Sangakpham become an opportunity once more for those who treat the public, their sense and sensibility, with contemptuous behavior of Feudal Lords to subvert a historically rooted political issue, which they have been trying to turn into a question of “crime” in the sense of taking it as an issue of “law and order”. Indeed, let it be known that the grotesque world wherein illegitimate violence rules our life in the state was inaugurated, nurtured and sustained by that decades-old approach.
No More Rhetorical Justification
It must also be equally understood that for those people who fight against an ethos that encourages the dictum, “kill the dog and give him a bad name”, a much more dangerous ethos than the classical example of lawlessness communicated by the saying “give a bad name to the dog and kill him”, must not keep on asking for the “reason” or “explanation” following such crimes as we have seen at Sangakpham. Whatever reasons that might come cannot be the rationales for justifying what is essentially indefensible “legitimate” violence. Be it under the cloak of AFSPA or counter-insurgency or in the name of “revolution” or “liberation”, one must be able to recognize an illegitimate violence for what it is.
In a similar sense, we must be careful of the expression “collateral damage”, an atrocious term introduced by States rather than non-state entities, which suggests that the killing is “unintended” while not denying the premeditated awareness that the victims will be part of the dead beforehand. Let no rhetoric of “revolution” or “liberation” be allowed to deploy as a smokescreen for the crime which can be committed only by people without any ideological commitment, both in the ideational and instrumental senses of the term “ideology”.
Only then, can we meaningfully mourn and rejuvenate to say “Dear Aping alias Neha (10) d/o Basanta of Sangakpham Awang Leikai, Imphal, and Philaso (10) d/o Kachipkhui of Marou village, Phungyar sub-division, Ukhrul, you come from different communities, young souls of class III, fast friends that you were on earth, so will be in heaven too; Rest in peace but come back again; we will ensure your place Manipur become a peaceful place where you two can walk hand-in-hand once again!
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/sangakpham-and-beyond-confronting-illegitimate-violence/
var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By : Bimol Akoijam In a seminar held at Manipur University recently, a gentleman who happens to be a ‘mayang’ (outsider) dares to say that…
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var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By : Bimol Akoijam In a seminar held at Manipur University recently, a gentleman who happens to be a ‘mayang’ (outsider) dares to say that…
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Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/l9cP5_NUSj4/
var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″muses of a lovelorn soul insights of an engaging mind a figment of imagination of a restless life… voice that comes like a gentle breeze…
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var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″muses of a lovelorn soul insights of an engaging mind a figment of imagination of a restless life… voice that comes like a gentle breeze…
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var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By: Bimol Akoijam In response to a Public Interests Litigation (PIL), the Government of Manipur has reportedly promised that it is working…
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var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By: Bimol Akoijam In response to a Public Interests Litigation (PIL), the Government of Manipur has reportedly promised that it is working…
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Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/jfGD2AHEmLY/
