Sangaiyumpham Fiasco |
Courtesy: The Sangai Express 19th September, 2007 |
It was a co-incidence that the Sangaiyumpham incident occurred even as the attention of the international community was turned towards the fast unto death agitation launched by Irom Sharmila Chanu demanding the lifting of the Armed Force Special Powers Act. This cannot be good PR for the security personnel under any circumstances and while we are of the opinion that the men in uniform should be allowed to carry out their official duty, it remains to be answered whether the search and the attempted arrest by the AR men while in civvies can be termed as official duty or not. The reason why we have attached so much importance to the sartorial preference of the AR men while conducting their duty is because of many reasons, some of which have been cited above. The AR authority should not let the matter fester nor should it go on a witch hunt, but what is needed is a sincere look inwards and study whether their men over stepped the line or not. More than anyone else, the security personnel and their top brass will agree that fighting insurgency is a sensitive issue for it is not a conventional war, and this is the prime reason, why the personnel should be sensitive to the sentiments of the local population or else, the Sangaiyumpham fiasco, may well be the swan song to the authority they are supposed to wield as well as the respect they are supposed to command. |
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