Virus of insanity

Five Naga civilians were brutally gunned down by terrorists in Kangpokpi district on August 26 while travelling between Makui Ashang and Thanamba Naga villages along the strategically important IT Road. The killings, coming barely two days after clashes between Naga and Kuki groups in neighbouring Senapati district, are not an isolated outrage. They are another grim reminder that in Manipur, civilians continue to pay the price for an ethnic conflict they did not create.It may be recalled that on May 13, three tribal Thadou church leaders were killed in an ambush in Kangpokpi. On the same day, 18 Nagas, including women, children and pastors, were reportedly taken captive by a group from Leilon Vaiphei village. Two Catholic priests at Sapermeina were subsequently abducted by armed Kuki militants. In retaliation, Naga groups detained Kuki civilians. Community leaders, central agencies and security forces eventually helped secure the release of 14 Naga hostages, while Naga civil society organisations released 14 Kuki hostages on reciprocal humanitarian grounds. However, six Naga males including two church pastors were still held captive. On June 10, after a 24-hour joint search involving more than 450 personnel of the Manipur Police, Assam Rifles and CRPF, their remains were recovered near Kharam Vaiphei in Kangpokpi. Forensic findings reportedly indicated that they had been brutally executed and their bodies dismembered while in captivity. Against this backdrop, the latest killings cannot be dismissed as another unfortunate episode in a cycle of violence. They expose the frightening ease with which armed perpetrators can target civilians travelling on public roads. The responsibility now extends far beyond the perpetrators. Every community must confront violence committed in its name. Community identity cannot become a protective shield for criminals. No grievance, political demand, territorial claim or ethnic cause can confer moral legitimacy on the murder, abduction or torture of civilians. Those who provide shelter, intelligence, weapons, transport or logistical support to perpetrators are not innocent bystanders; they too must face the law. The same uncompromising scrutiny must apply to the State. Following the latest killings, the Manipur government decided to initiate legal action against cadres of armed groups under the Suspension of Operations agreement, or groups engaged in peace talks, if they are found carrying weapons outside designated camps. That is necessary-but enforcement cannot stop at announcements. If civilians can repeatedly be ambushed on strategically important roads, questions must be asked about intelligence gathering, surveillance, deployment and response mechanisms. The presence of security forces means little if citizens remain vulnerable between checkpoints. Security cannot be measured by the number of personnel deployed. Its real test is whether an ordinary citizen can travel without being hunted, abducted or killed. At the same time, officials and security personnel whose negligence, failure or dereliction of duty contributed to civilian vulnerability must also answer difficult questions. Manipur cannot continue with the familiar ritual: a killing, a condemnation, compensation, temporary outrage and then silence until the next corpse appears. That cycle has produced neither justice nor peace. The latest killings demand accountability more than condemnations or condolences. They demand an answer to who is accountable for creating and sustaining a climate in which innocent civilians can be murdered with such terrifying ease? Until that question is answered and acted upon people of Manipur and the roads will remain perpetual captives to communal hatred and cold blooded killers.