Another foolish and arbitrary act of the Assam Rifles (Indian Army) who call themselves as 'Friends of the hill people."
Amidst the kicks and punches and the groans of pain there were some weak sounds audible:
The hunters were from my village and were camping near Myanmar border. Winter is the best time for hunting in the hills. Hunters leave the village in groups and go camp in the forest for a week or two. They built temporary tents from wild banana leaves and plastic sheets as night shelters. It is not unusual to see multiple hunting camps in that part of the dense forest in winter.
When the hunters were about to have lunch that day, they suddenly heard the sound of guns being loaded from all sides. Then they saw uniformed indian army personnel pointing their guns and advancing towards them. All the way, the army jawans were shouting to them in Hindi, which the hunters couldn't make out. They were forced to lie down flat on the ground, frisked thoroughly and then were made to kneel. This was when blows started landing on them.
None in the group knew Hindi and were at their wits end when they didn't understand what on earth the army personnel were asking and what they were supposed to bark back as response. To their relief, there happened to be one Manipuri tribal in the patrol party and was called to interpret. The eldest of the hunters told him they are hunters and asked why they are being beaten? It was from the interpreter that the hunters came to know the Army issued no hunting notice to villages in view of Army Operation, which was not known to the hunting party from my village.
The leader of the patrol party was not convinced that the six rabbit like scared people were just hunters and not militants. They were all arrested and taken to Assam Rifles Post at Pushing, a place about 30 kilometers south of my village.
Fearing that they might be beaten and interrogated at the Army camp, the smartest in the group feigned madness and started acting strange before reaching the Army camp. All the hunters were worried not knowing what possibly might happen to them. On reaching the Army camp they were bundled into a small room and the door was locked from outside.
They were later paraded in front of the commanding officer, a well educated captain who instantly realized that his boys have arrested the wrong type of militants. The patrol leader was summoned and was asked what made him think those six hunters were militants? Maybe, the leader got a sound scolding, which we'll never know as none of the arrested persons knew Hindi. To the relief of the hunters, they were not beaten or interrogated further but, were fed well and were asked to stay in the camp for the night.
However, the arrest drama did not end there. The hunters were taken to Kamjong Assam Rifles Headquaters, approximately 60 kilometers further south from Pushing. The reason for taking them to Kamjong which was revealed later was to complete the proper procedure of arrest and release. The hunters were unnecessarily detained for a whole week at Kamjong camp. After a week, they were ferried to Ukhrul and let off there.
On coming back to the village, they were again summoned by the Assam Rifles camp commander of Khamasom to come and meet him. Khamasom is about 7 kilometers north east of my village. The hunters have to drag their asses all the way to Khamasom again even before recovering from the shock and trauma of being detained for a week. The commanding officer told the hunters to report to the army camp every day for a week as punishment for daring to go hunting when the Army was doing jungle operation.
Well, they did what they were asked to do for another week///\\\ The Army do anything that comes to their mind out there in the hills exploiting the ignorance and simplicity of the populace in the name of curbing militancy.
We'll never know the Army's intention of the arrest and torture of the hunters. It could be due to lack of common sense in deducing the difference between militants and commoners. As the army in that part is known for their cruelty at times of trouble, maybe they were simply venting out their anger and frustration on the hunters for:
If it was due to mistaken identity, it would be an exposure of sub-standard training given to the Indian army personnel. Even an untrained person would be able to tell the difference between militants and hunters.
"Maaro, maaro.." ('beat them' in Hindi) was all they could understand before they were kicked, punched and hit with rifle butts. No one heard their painful groans in that dense forest where they've camped for days on a hunting expedition. That fateful winter day of 1996 is a day none of the six hunters would ever forget in their lives, not for being so pleasant a day but for being the most horrific one.
Amidst the kicks and punches and the groans of pain there were some weak sounds audible:
- Iya Kappan, chaena kappa kachanae ('this is the end, this is the end' in the local dialect)
- Iya Oho miran (Oh my life)
- Oh Ai (Dear mom)
- Iya Onushasha (my children) etc..
The hunters were from my village and were camping near Myanmar border. Winter is the best time for hunting in the hills. Hunters leave the village in groups and go camp in the forest for a week or two. They built temporary tents from wild banana leaves and plastic sheets as night shelters. It is not unusual to see multiple hunting camps in that part of the dense forest in winter.
When the hunters were about to have lunch that day, they suddenly heard the sound of guns being loaded from all sides. Then they saw uniformed indian army personnel pointing their guns and advancing towards them. All the way, the army jawans were shouting to them in Hindi, which the hunters couldn't make out. They were forced to lie down flat on the ground, frisked thoroughly and then were made to kneel. This was when blows started landing on them.None in the group knew Hindi and were at their wits end when they didn't understand what on earth the army personnel were asking and what they were supposed to bark back as response. To their relief, there happened to be one Manipuri tribal in the patrol party and was called to interpret. The eldest of the hunters told him they are hunters and asked why they are being beaten? It was from the interpreter that the hunters came to know the Army issued no hunting notice to villages in view of Army Operation, which was not known to the hunting party from my village.
The leader of the patrol party was not convinced that the six rabbit like scared people were just hunters and not militants. They were all arrested and taken to Assam Rifles Post at Pushing, a place about 30 kilometers south of my village.
Fearing that they might be beaten and interrogated at the Army camp, the smartest in the group feigned madness and started acting strange before reaching the Army camp. All the hunters were worried not knowing what possibly might happen to them. On reaching the Army camp they were bundled into a small room and the door was locked from outside.
They were later paraded in front of the commanding officer, a well educated captain who instantly realized that his boys have arrested the wrong type of militants. The patrol leader was summoned and was asked what made him think those six hunters were militants? Maybe, the leader got a sound scolding, which we'll never know as none of the arrested persons knew Hindi. To the relief of the hunters, they were not beaten or interrogated further but, were fed well and were asked to stay in the camp for the night.
However, the arrest drama did not end there. The hunters were taken to Kamjong Assam Rifles Headquaters, approximately 60 kilometers further south from Pushing. The reason for taking them to Kamjong which was revealed later was to complete the proper procedure of arrest and release. The hunters were unnecessarily detained for a whole week at Kamjong camp. After a week, they were ferried to Ukhrul and let off there.
On coming back to the village, they were again summoned by the Assam Rifles camp commander of Khamasom to come and meet him. Khamasom is about 7 kilometers north east of my village. The hunters have to drag their asses all the way to Khamasom again even before recovering from the shock and trauma of being detained for a week. The commanding officer told the hunters to report to the army camp every day for a week as punishment for daring to go hunting when the Army was doing jungle operation.
Well, they did what they were asked to do for another week///\\\ The Army do anything that comes to their mind out there in the hills exploiting the ignorance and simplicity of the populace in the name of curbing militancy.
We'll never know the Army's intention of the arrest and torture of the hunters. It could be due to lack of common sense in deducing the difference between militants and commoners. As the army in that part is known for their cruelty at times of trouble, maybe they were simply venting out their anger and frustration on the hunters for:
- Being send for jungle operation by their superiors when they like to do was to stay at the camp sipping XXX Rum
- Their inability to track down the real militants
- Some of their colleagues being killed by the illusive militants
If it was due to mistaken identity, it would be an exposure of sub-standard training given to the Indian army personnel. Even an untrained person would be able to tell the difference between militants and hunters.
- Hunters in that part of the world wear only torn and worn out cloths. Militants wear camouflage uniforms
- Hunters wear rubber shoes or torn jungle boots. Militants wear uniform boots.
- Hunters carry single shot shotguns. Militants carry AK 47, M16 and other sophisticated weapons
- Hunters carry bamboo woven baskets. Militants carry backpacks and many etc..
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