This for sure is one of the unpublished news articles in the world, though this may be there in police records. Happenings in villages never make to newspaper headlines even today, why should it see the daylight of journalism if it is in the early 1990's then? If not reported, news become sort of rumors and later become a rather obsolete rubbish. Only those people who have suffered remember, if the incidents involve suffering and pain.
So, take this as a fiction or a real incident. The time is one winter day somewhere in the early 90's. Indian Army patrol team led by a Major was passing through the jungle between Lunghar and my village (Sihai Khullen) Ukhrul District, Manipur, India. The team was heading to Khamasom Army post, which is about 10 kilometers beyond my village.
The patrol party got ambushed by Naga Revolutionaries near a stream where there used to be thick bamboo growth not far from the village. The villagers never knew the exact figure of casualty on either side. They were just made to believe that everyone except the Major on the side of the Indian Army survived the ambush. This story, however, is illogical in many ways.
Lets cut the illogical part and stick to facts that many of the old people in the village still remember about that fateful day. Not very long after the ambush, re-enforcement came and the army surrounded my village to initiate what the army called as combing operation and what the villagers tagged as torture. What makes them think that the revolutionaries might take shelter in the village after killing their enemies is something no human will ever understand.
Yes, they started dragging the villagers out of their homes and made them gather in the village playground on that chilly winter evening. Those who look suspicious and scared are grilled thoroughly. I don't know the established standard of the Indian army in labelling someone as suspicious. As for looking scared, who shouldn't be nervous considering the ground reality that slaps and rifle butt smacking rains down faster than blinking of the eyes.
At this kind of situation, you can never know the advantage of knowing Hindi, the jawans can beat you for either knowing it and for being ignorant. The reasons are; if you know Hindi, there are probabilities that you are a militant or are connected in some ways. If you don't know the language, they can hit you the same way for being a dumb ass. You are just the same human punch bag that they see you to be.
When all the villagers were gathered at the ground, sparing not even the village kids. The jawans forced the menfolk to strip down to their inner wears with the intention to sprinkle that biting winter water from the village pond using the same plastic pipe that the villagers used for water supply in the village.Normally, this is the the hour when no one will venture out without thick clothes on since winter used to be very cold in my village those days. Thanks to global warming, the climate is so different now.
Those who have their brothers or sisters in the militant organization get the maximum punishment as expected. It must be true that those army men get some vindictive satisfaction from beating the innocent villagers and relatives of the revolutionaries at times when they are unable to hunt down the revolutionaries who had killed their friends in fair or unfair warfare.
It was kind of a lucky day indeed for the villagers, as the police arrived before the army started pouring water on the menfolk. However, by then many of them have got their share of slaps, kicks and rifle butting.
Everyone was later thankful to the guy who ran from the village to inform the police about the firing and the combing operation happening in the village.
After the shooting, knowing that there is going to be mass beating and house search, this guy stripped semi naked and smeared his face with the hearth's ash. When the army came to his house, he started smiling and laughing from behind his ash smeared face. The jawans mistook him for a retard and left him alone. He dressed up and ran to Ukhrul to inform the police after he was sure that every human being including the army were by then at the village ground.
He is really loved in the village for his presence of mind...... I came to know about this incident from none but the sensible person who played the act of a lunatic to save the village and to fool the angry army jawans. Incidents of this sort invoke only anger adding more fuel for revenge. There are instances where the army torched down entire villages including the granaries.
Have all those inhuman acts meted out to the common people helped in solving the Indo-Naga conflict? I doubt. Whenever, I see the inscription "Assam Rifles: Friends of the Hill People" I can't help remembering the kicks I too have got as a share of being born in that trouble torn hills.
Things may be a lot different now? But, the question still remains: When will peace, which now is almost forgotten come back to the otherwise beautiful hills?
So, take this as a fiction or a real incident. The time is one winter day somewhere in the early 90's. Indian Army patrol team led by a Major was passing through the jungle between Lunghar and my village (Sihai Khullen) Ukhrul District, Manipur, India. The team was heading to Khamasom Army post, which is about 10 kilometers beyond my village.
The patrol party got ambushed by Naga Revolutionaries near a stream where there used to be thick bamboo growth not far from the village. The villagers never knew the exact figure of casualty on either side. They were just made to believe that everyone except the Major on the side of the Indian Army survived the ambush. This story, however, is illogical in many ways.
Lets cut the illogical part and stick to facts that many of the old people in the village still remember about that fateful day. Not very long after the ambush, re-enforcement came and the army surrounded my village to initiate what the army called as combing operation and what the villagers tagged as torture. What makes them think that the revolutionaries might take shelter in the village after killing their enemies is something no human will ever understand.
Yes, they started dragging the villagers out of their homes and made them gather in the village playground on that chilly winter evening. Those who look suspicious and scared are grilled thoroughly. I don't know the established standard of the Indian army in labelling someone as suspicious. As for looking scared, who shouldn't be nervous considering the ground reality that slaps and rifle butt smacking rains down faster than blinking of the eyes.
At this kind of situation, you can never know the advantage of knowing Hindi, the jawans can beat you for either knowing it and for being ignorant. The reasons are; if you know Hindi, there are probabilities that you are a militant or are connected in some ways. If you don't know the language, they can hit you the same way for being a dumb ass. You are just the same human punch bag that they see you to be.
When all the villagers were gathered at the ground, sparing not even the village kids. The jawans forced the menfolk to strip down to their inner wears with the intention to sprinkle that biting winter water from the village pond using the same plastic pipe that the villagers used for water supply in the village.Normally, this is the the hour when no one will venture out without thick clothes on since winter used to be very cold in my village those days. Thanks to global warming, the climate is so different now.
Those who have their brothers or sisters in the militant organization get the maximum punishment as expected. It must be true that those army men get some vindictive satisfaction from beating the innocent villagers and relatives of the revolutionaries at times when they are unable to hunt down the revolutionaries who had killed their friends in fair or unfair warfare.
It was kind of a lucky day indeed for the villagers, as the police arrived before the army started pouring water on the menfolk. However, by then many of them have got their share of slaps, kicks and rifle butting.
Everyone was later thankful to the guy who ran from the village to inform the police about the firing and the combing operation happening in the village.
After the shooting, knowing that there is going to be mass beating and house search, this guy stripped semi naked and smeared his face with the hearth's ash. When the army came to his house, he started smiling and laughing from behind his ash smeared face. The jawans mistook him for a retard and left him alone. He dressed up and ran to Ukhrul to inform the police after he was sure that every human being including the army were by then at the village ground.
He is really loved in the village for his presence of mind...... I came to know about this incident from none but the sensible person who played the act of a lunatic to save the village and to fool the angry army jawans. Incidents of this sort invoke only anger adding more fuel for revenge. There are instances where the army torched down entire villages including the granaries.Have all those inhuman acts meted out to the common people helped in solving the Indo-Naga conflict? I doubt. Whenever, I see the inscription "Assam Rifles: Friends of the Hill People" I can't help remembering the kicks I too have got as a share of being born in that trouble torn hills.
Things may be a lot different now? But, the question still remains: When will peace, which now is almost forgotten come back to the otherwise beautiful hills?
2 comments:
The secret of success is constancy to purpose.
thnx bro.
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