New Delhi: Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has debunked claims by the Manipur government that 900 Kuki militants have entered the state from Myanmar or that the minority tribal group used drones to drop bombs early September, calling it a “battle of narratives” that needs to be controlled.
General Dwivedi’s comments came Tuesday after Manipur Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh clarified last week that the intel that 900 Kukis had infiltrated into the state “could not be substantiated on the ground”.
Manipur has been embroiled in an ethnic conflict since last May, as tension blisters between the majority Meitei community and the minority Kuki tribe. The state shares a border with Myanmar, which has also been witnessing civil unrest since the 2021 military coup.
At an event in Delhi, the Army chief said that wrong narratives were being built in the state. “There were no bomb drones,” he said, adding that there was no infiltration by “900 anti-national elements” either.
He, however, said that there is polarisation between the communities. “The situation may be stable today, but it is tense.”
‘Ek ke saath ek free’
General Dwivedi remarked that the situations in Manipur and Myanmar were “ek ke saath ek free”.
“Manipur was a problem and now you have the Myanmar problem…” he said.
Tracing the origins of the Manipur conflict, the Army chief said that it all started with a rumour that an Anglo-Kuki war centenary gate was being burnt. “It was not being burnt. I have gone on ground and confirmed it with everyone.”
Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024, General Dwivedi said that the figure of the internally displaced in the northeastern state had once reached 60,000, but due to the “perseverance” of security forces, the number has come down to 40,000. He also expressed concerns about society being weaponised because of the loot of arms during the conflict.
He further said that several women-led as well as underground organisations had come up for defensive purposes. “The battlelines are getting hardened,” he said.
Terming the resolution of the conflict to be a “whole of nation” approach, he said that as far as the Army and Assam Rifles were concerned, the forces had deployed approximately 126 columns combined, along with other stakeholders, which were already operating in the state.
The forces are trying to restore the trust and that it would take its own time, he added. “When social cracks or social fracturing takes place, it takes its own time (to bring back normalcy).”
He further said that the forces had recovered approximately 25 percent of the weapons looted and that more local arms had been seized.
The Army chief said that he also met ex-servicemen, whom he called the “last bastion of national integration and social harmony”. The Army is working closely with them as well as the central administration to bring about a solution, General Dwivedi added.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Army has found no evidence of drones dropping bombs in Manipur, say top defence officials