Encounter: Violence And Accountability

By :- Atom Sunil Singh *

In the wake of the incident of shootout at B.T Road, Imphal on 23rd July, 2009, a discussion on "Encounter: Violence and Accountability" was held at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 12 August, 2009 at 3.30 p.m..

It was organized by Manipuri Students of JNU. The discussion was initiated by Bidhan S. Laishram (Lecturer, Delhi University) and Manisha Sethi (Lecturer, Jamia Millia Islamia) and responded by Rituparn Gowsami (Centre for Historical Studies, JNU), Gideon Shadang (Centre for Political Studies, JNU), K. Naresh Sharma (Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU) and Malem Ningthouja (Campaign for Peace and Democracy, Manipur). The session was chaired and moderated by Dr. Bhagat Oinam, Chairperson, Centre for Philosophy, JNU.

The discussion was attended by a large number of teachers, research scholars and students from various universities in Delhi as well as Human Rights activists.

Initiating the discussion, Manisha Sethi said that the state has a clear understanding of who is "encounterable" and "unencounterable". Minority and backward sections of the society are more often located under the former category.

It is this demarcation that reveals, she argued, "encounter" as a politically motivated action or conduct of the state. For bringing an end to this action, she talked of exploring the possibility of establishing institution in the line of Peoples Tribunal Commission of Britain that has judicial power.

Bidhan S. Laishram talked about the domestication of rumor and consolidation of suspicion in the production and legitimization of the violent acts of the state. It is through these two aspects that the state has been able to monopolize "truth", he added.

Elaborating this aspect, he further pointed out the origin and institutionalization of suspicion through the concept of "link" that implicates a citizen as object of state's violence to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act which has been used as a paradigm to justify state violence over the citizens.

Any effort to counter such a monopoly and its concomitant violence, Laishram insisted, would entail a realization that state is a human construct of which we are a part.

While responding to the issues, Rituparn Gowsami deliberated on how the Indian State deploys repressive measures, of which "encounter killing" is a crucial instrument, not only in the North East but also in various parts of the country, particularly those areas marked by people's movements.

This irony of the democratic state was further highlighted by Malem Ninghtouja who drew attention of the gathering to the systematic and excessive militarization initiated by the Government of India in Manipur. Gideon Shadang brought out the figure of the "enemy" that was introduced in the body politics of the North East, particularly in Manipur and the need to clearly understand this idea of the 'enemy".

Saying that accountability contains two crucial components, namely, moral and procedural, K. Naresh Sharma explained how accountability safeguards have been systematically subverted over the years in Manipur, and how understanding of that process must form the basis for any effort to counter the subversion.

A participant from Kashmir, points out the tragedy and ironies of living under the shadow of militarization and gun. Another participant from Manipur reminded the gathering that we need to look at the responses and responsibilities the people and their own local government to the malaise affecting the state.

While the need to understand the difference between a military sense of the expression "encounter" and its inappropriate invocation in the context of the principles and practices of "law and order", the issues "the sociology of the enemy", question of the "other" and violence perpetrated in their names, process of recovery from the widespread violence in Manipur, particularly those acts of extortions and intimidation, were also raised and deliberated upon during the discussion.

In his concluding observation, Dr. Bhagat Oinam reminded the lawlessness of the law-enforcing agencies, the irresponsibility of the political leadership, and the need to evolve strategies to counter the culture of violence that has become a dominant feature in our society, particularly in Manipur.