Veterans question Army's contrasting action during Manipur violence and in Kashmir

The Army veterans were reacting to the Army recently releasing 12 militants in Manipur and an Army major allegedly barging into a mosque in south Kashmir's Pulwama and forcing the worshippers to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.

SRINAGAR (Jammu and Kashmir): Three veterans of the Indian Army have questioned the Army's contrasting operations in Manipur and Kashmir. The Army veterans questioned whether the armed forces would have done in Kashmir what it was forced to do in Manipur. The statement comes in the backdrop of the Army releasing 12 militants in violence hit Manipur while an Army major allegedly barged into a mosque and forced the Muslim worshippers to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.

The army last week said that security forces freed 12 militants after being overwhelmed by a woman mob in Manipur. The militants belonged to the banned militant organisation Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup and were freed at a village in the Imphal East region. One of the militants was allegedly responsible for the 2015 killing of 18 soldiers.

The "mature" decision, according to the army, was made to prevent any "collateral damage" during the continuing battle in Manipur, which has resulted in at least 130 fatalities and more than 60,000 displaced residents. A veteran brigadier wondered how the army would have responded if it had been encircled by citizens calling for the release of militants in Kashmir.

"In Kashmir, the army doesn't even provide the bodies of killed terrorists to their relatives; instead, it buries them in designated graveyards in outlying districts. In Kashmir, one of the most highly militarised areas in the world, the army routinely used force and arrested demonstrators," he claimed. He further said, "If this incident had occurred in Kashmir, I'm certain the army would have reacted differently. Law and order have completely collapsed in Manipur over the past 50 days, and the Prime Minister deserves praise for maintaining silence during the crisis. By failing to act resolutely and impartially, there has been a clear abdication of duty and breach of responsibility to the Constitution."

Reacting to the development, retired lieutenant general H.S. Panag took to Twitter. "A sharp contrast with happenings in Manipur where mobs are forcing release of terrorists from an acquiescing military," Panag said. He also shared his tweet of 2017 after an Army major tied a civilian to the bonnet of his car as a human shield against stone pelters.

“Recall my anguished tweet of six years ago in light of our handling of the Manipur situation. Even back then, I said that the Army's time-tested rule/regulation—"minimum force for effect"—was the law of the nation. Use the Police/CRPF, which is their main task,” he said. The retired lieutenant general Panag had in 2017 said that the image of a 'stone pelter' tied in front of a jeep as a 'human shield', “will forever haunt the Indian Army and the nation”.

In 2017, Major Leetul Gogoi had tied a Kashmiri civilian, Farooq Ahmad Dar, to his jeep as a human shield against stone pelters in a village in central Kashmir's Budgam district. The grim memories of the incident were revived when an Army major allegedly barged inside a mosque at Zadoora village of south Kashmir's Pulwama and forced the worshippers to chant Jai Shri Ram' on Saturday Jun. 24.

Reacting to the incident, Retired Colonel Ashok Kumar Singh demanded a court martial against the accused Army officer. “That officer must face court martial... it is serious Breach Of Army discipline ,” Singh said in a statement. While the army has been tight-lipped over the incident, reports said that the accused officer had been "shifted" for his suspected involvement in the incident.