India’s troubled Manipur votes amid tight security
INDIA: Thousands of troops patrolled streets in India’s remote
northeastern state of Manipur on Thursday as it began to vote for a new
assembly in elections locals hope will help end a much-reviled
anti-terror law.
The revolt-torn state is one of three governed by India’s ruling
Congress party voting for new assemblies this month in contests centred
mostly around local issues.
Although the polls are not seen as a mid-term referendum of the
central government’s performance, the outcome is expected to reflect on
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition at a time economic growth and
inflation are surging hand-in-hand.
The northern states of Punjab and Uttaranchal vote later this month,
while Manipur will go to the polls in three stages — on Thursday, Feb.
14 and Feb. 23 — to enable troops guarding the ballot to be moved around
the state.
Unlike in the past, no rebel group has called for a boycott of the
vote in Manipur but authorities fear violence due to rivalries between
tribespeople.
Home to 2.6 million people, mostly of Mongoloid descent, Manipur
shares a border with Myanmar and is closer to the Thai capital of
Bangkok than New Delhi which is 2,400 km (1,500 miles) away.
For decades, Manipuris have complained that their state has been
equally far from the consciousness of Indian rulers, accusing them of
neglecting local development and imposing the will of the central
government.
The feeling of alienation triggered an armed separatist revolt in the
1960s which disintegrated into several factions and has killed more than
20,000 people.
Even at normal times, tens of thousands of soldiers are deployed in
the state in what is considered one of the highest concentrations of
security forces in India. A tough anti-terror law imposed to crush the
rebels has become the focus of this month’s elections as it gives troops
sweeping powers and virtual immunity from prosecution.
Rights groups and locals say the law has been widely abused by
soldiers to rape, loot and kill innocents with impunity and have mounted
a campaign for its repeal by the new government.
Political analysts and critics said that Manipur’s outgoing
Congress-led coalition government achieved little while in power and
power and water supply, roads, healthcare, farming and development
remain woefully behind the rest of the country.
However, with the opposition divided among several national and
regional parties, this month’s election is not expected to throw up a
clear winner, resulting in a hung assembly and another coalition
government, they said.
Imphal, Thursday, Reuters |
