By Patricia Mukhim
Meghalaya’s Home Minister, HDR Lyngdoh made the most preposterous statement to the media on Wednesday. He said that the Government would welcome the help of ANVC, a militant outfit under ceasefire agreement with Government of India. There is such a thing as political brain and that brain is supposed to guide the thinking of those who hold the reins of governance. Evidently that is in short supply in Meghalaya. Politicians love to play to the gallery and earn their brownie points sitting in Shillong. They never for a moment consult their foot soldiers – the state police who are at the receiving end of militants’ bullets, for their wise counsel. Militancy many be the result of a political imbroglio or governance deficit, but, tackling it requires the security forces – not politicians who cannot distinguish between an AK 47 and an SLR!
There is no doubt that a lot of reconfiguration is required to deal with militancy in its different avatar. The GNLA while founded by an ex-cop is militarily under the direction of an ex-ANVC rebel. Hence the strains are likely to be more virulent and the cocktail deadly. The first thought that comes to mind is why would the ANVC wish to strike at the GNLA’s jugular and thereby paralyse their former colleague, Sohan D Shira? There is a catch here somewhere that we fail to decipher. The Home Minister is either very naïve or too clever by half. None of the two traits are good. News reports claim that the ANVC had met Additional DGP SK Jain and the Principal Secretary Home, Mr KS Kropha. Although the two have not said anything, the fact that the Home Minister has publicly announced that the ANVC offer is acceptable almost seems like an unholy nexus is about to be sanctified by the Government. Has everyone gone bonkers or what? Is the ANVC not an anti-state force? So can the State use one anti-state force to fight another?
We have all heard of the Salwa Judum, a state sponsored armed militia in Chattisgarh trained to fight the Maoists. Over a period of time the Salwa Judum became a terror force that made the lives of ordinary citizens unlivable. Recently the Supreme Court had ruled that the tribals appointed as Special Police Officers (SPOs) should be disarmed and the Salwa Judum disbanded. If someone from Meghalaya were to move the Supreme Court on the preposterous proposition of using an over-ground armed militia to fight an underground armed group, the Apex Court, would, I am sure, take a stringent view of the matter. Then what happens to Meghalaya’s loud-mouthed Home Minister? Should he not lose his job? And considering that the ANVC has a ceasefire agreement with the Centre, is the Union Home Ministry game on using the outfit to finish off another virulent outfit the GNLA?
Many in the police feel that at the operational level, if the assistance of the ANVC is sought for to facilitate information flow to the Department if only to make counter insurgency more effective, it might have been a more acceptable proposition. But for the Home Minister to state upfront that the ANVC would be used to fight the GNLA is like saying that he does not have enough faith and confidence in his own police force. Since the ANVC is in ceasefire mode, the cadres have to live in designated camps. As per the ground rules they are not supposed to be carrying arms around or acquire new weaponry. But with no one to check if the ANVC is adhering to the ground rules, chances are that the outfit continues to buy arms and indulge in extortion. Not that ANVC does not have enough money! The Union Home Ministry pampers all the armed groups to a point where they have become obese. Just two days ago the ANVC were paid a cheque of Rs 17 lakh for their maintenance. Obviously this money is not evenly distributed so the younger cadres are joining the GNLA which is promising them a more adventurous life in the jungle. Besides, the GNLA military commander, Sohan D Shira a former ANVC guy is much more appealing because of his legendary bravado.
One point of order that cannot be missed here is that the highest sovereign function of the state is to provide security to its citizens. For this, the state has at its disposal the police and the military. So how can the sovereign State of Meghalaya outsource to a non-state actor, the ANVC the sovereign duty of protecting the life and liberty of its citizens? Isn’t the very idea problematic if not completely ambivalent? The other question that needs to be asked at this point is, why is the ANVC is so keen to help this government in its counter insurgency mission? What’s the trade off here? Is the ANVC a Congress party stooge now? But are some Congress leaders not surreptitiously promoting the GNLA? What is ANVC going to be paid for agreeing to take the bullets, if indeed that is their mission as stated by the Home Minister? Let’s not dupe ourselves that the ANVC has had a change of heart. No way! Wanding Marak is too marinated in the ways of the jungle to be smoking the peace pipe so soon. So we ought to figure out and get to the root of this insidious deal.
Now let us suppose the Government goes ahead and uses ANVC to fight the GNLA. Who will coordinate this outrageous mission in the jungle? Who’s going to kill whom? What uniform will the ANVC wear? As it is, enough damage has been done to the morale of the police force in Garo Hills. Many of the ‘boys’ get regular feelers from the GNLA asking them to join the cadre. A police force that is demoralized by the lack of attention from the Government about its welfare and general well being is bound to weigh the pros and cons of crossing from state to non-state territory. Considering that some policemen who have absconded from their posts are finally found in GNLA camps does not bode well for the state police. It is doubtful that our own forces can be used effectively to tame the GNLA. Obviously there is need for other counter strategies.
Nagaland Police known to be the best commandos have been used to fight the Maoists in Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. It’s not just about them being better in guerilla warfare but it’s also about deploying a neutral force. Maybe it’s time to change tack here as well. It is always difficult for a force, any force, to be fighting its own kith and kin. That’s why an element of neutrality is injected by deploying a police force from a different state. In tribal areas where ethnic bonds are particularly strong, the fraternity is not easily broken. One wonders why we have used the same old strategies in Garo Hills. In that region the terrain is the worst enemy. How do the police conquer that terrain? But doesn’t the state have the wherewithal to overcome that difficulty? If the state does not have the means then who will have it?
Before I conclude I would like to pose this question. Mr SK Jain (Addl DGP, Special Branch) is an officer who knows Garo Hills like the back of his hand. Did he also endorse the weird idea of using one militant group against another? Will he still be around to see the outcome of this dangerous idea let loose by none other than the State Home Minister? Who will bear the brunt of this Quixotic decision of HDR Lyngdoh? Can someone make him see sense?