[Assam] Sentinel Editorial

Sun Oct 22 19:35:38 PDT 2006

this is better:
  http://movies.indiainfo.com/reviews/atc.html

umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com> wrote:
    More than anyone else hand over Abu Salem to the army?
  http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=75920

  About Saikia -the new army victim --since his brother was killed (rightly?) as ULFA cadre -- don't ULFA and other terrorist organizations target the kin of their opponents (see Saddam's supporters'a gainst Saddam's lawyers etc) --they should be prepared for a similar action against their kin. Mistakes do occur. Has someone seen the encounter specialist movie "Ab Tak Chchappan"  ?
  http://www.boloji.com/cinema/026.htm

  Umesh

Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com> wrote:
                A rather well-written piece from the Sentinel. I say well-written, not of its writing style, but only of content. If there were aberrations in the language - well, I didn't notice any:) 
  --Ram

  The Army and the People
Ever since the security forces were deployed to fight the Naga insurgency in the late fifties, there has been no looking back for the Indian Army in so far as the anti-insurgency operations in the Northeast are concerned. Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to state that next to Jammu and Kashmir, the northeastern region is one of the most militarized areas of the world today. While it is true that the proliferation of militant outfits in the last three decades or so has thrown up ever new challenges before the security forces engaged in counterinsurgency operations in this region, yet the unpleasant fact that quite often emerges is the behaviour of the Army as an occupation force. And this cannot be explained away by saying that grave violations of human rights occur occasionally because the security forces have to operate in unfamiliar terrain amid people who are either sympathetic towards the insurgents or unwilling to cooperate with the Army. There have been too
 many human rights violations by the security forces over too long a period of time in the different States of the Northeast affected by insurgency to make one accept the argument that such violations are aberrations and that they are more an exception than a rule. Amid the scores of such violations in the recent past, the rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama and the death in Army custody of Ajit Mahanta are but two instances that are deeply etched in public memory. And recently there has been a new addition. 
The sustained torture of a young man of Khowang, Nipul Saikia, in the hands of the security forces has once again highlighted the issue of human rights abuse by the Army and has raised some pertinent questions about its role in counterinsurgency operations. Nipul was randomly picked up and subjected to the most barbaric forms of torture by the Army personnel who finally admitted him in the Assam Medical College Hospital when his condition alarmingly deteriorated. By all accounts, Nipul was an innocent villager, though one of his brothers was an ULFA activist and had been killed by the Army. The incident evoked such strong public ire that the General Officer Commanding of the 2nd Mountain Division, Major General NC Marwah publicly apologized for the inhuman treatment meted out to the young man and promised a speedy inquiry and subsequent punishment of the guilty Army personnel. Earlier too, in the Ajit Mahanta case the Army top brass had, in a delayed response, accepted
 responsibility for the death of the person, offered compensation to the family and promised punishment for the offenders. In the matter of the torture in Army custody of Nipul Saikia, Maj Gen Marwah must be credited with swift response and a large measure of transparency. Unlike on earlier occasions, there was little equivocation and quick acceptance of the guilt. There is no doubt that the response of the Army authorities was largely motivated by the organized reaction of the people who blocked the national highway. But it is also somewhat reassuring to believe that at least a section of the Army authorities, however small in number, is finally realizing that wanton violations of the rights of the citizen cannot always be pushed under the carpet or taken cover under the sweeping provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, and that the best way to defend the credibility of the armed forces is to be transparent in such matters. 
However, the admission of the crime and the apologies from the Army's top brass do not actually take away from the highly disturbing fact that by applying the worst forms of third-degree methods on helpless civilians, the Army has only shown how insensitive it has become in the course of its anti-insurgency operations. What should seriously worry the higher echelons of the Army as well as the government and the representatives of the people is the fact that the continuous use of the security forces to tackle internal security situations (where the enemy is drawn from the ranks of one's own people) has progressively eroded those very credentials and code of ethics that are so necessary to sustain the morale of an army. Torture, it has been rightly said , dehumanizes the torturer. It is indeed a pity that an institution that is geared up on the highest ideals of honour and sacrifice is today seen as perpetrator of torture and rape, however few in number such aberrations might
 be. One single case of torture or rape or fake encounter resulting in the cold-blooded killing of a suspected insurgent is enough to swiftly neutralize a hundred acts of good done by the security forces, especially during times of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. No amount of acceptance of responsibility or financial assistance to the victims can really compensate for the damage done to the mind and body of the person. Therefore, quick action against those Army personnel responsible for human rights violations must be accompanied by a concerted and well thought-out plan to change the mindset of all those engaged in anti-insurgency operations. It is a known fact that neither in Jammu and Kashmir nor in the Northeast has the Army been able to win the confidence of the people, something without which it can never hope to accomplish its mission. Therefore, one of the major challenges that is being faced by the Army today is to relate itself meaningfully to the
 people of the insurgency-hit areas. Given the ground reality, this would be no easy task. But it is never too late to make a serious beginning. 
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Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, 
(Washington D.C. Metro Region)
MD 20740 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com 

Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, 
(Washington D.C. Metro Region)
MD 20740 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep
 Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com 
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