Manipur Violence: Challenges have not disappeared, it will take some time to settle, says CDS Anil Chauhan

Challenges in Manipur have not disappeared, said Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday, expressing hope that things will settle down in some time. “The situation now in the northeastern State is “not related to insurgency”. It is a clash between two ethnicities and a situation of law and order,” he said. Talking about the situation in Manipur, he said “The Army, Assam Rifles were deployed in Manipur before 2020. Since the challenges of the northern borders were far more, we were able to withdraw the Army. Since the insurgency situation had normalised, we were able to do that.” “We are helping the State government with the problem,” the CDS said. “I would like to say that the armed forces and Assam Rifles have done an excellent job there and may have saved a large number of lives. Though the challenges in Manipur have not disappeared, it will take some time. Hopefully, this will settle and the government there will be able to do the job with the help of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) etc,” he said. Chauhan was in Pune on Tuesday to review the passing out parade of the 144th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA). The death toll from clashes since ethnic rioting began on May 3 in Manipur has gone up to 80, according to officials. In his address to the cadets, Chauhan spoke out about the deployment of China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army) along the northern borders. “We see the war in Europe, the deployment of China’s PLA along the northern borders and geo-political crisis in neighbouring countries. These crises present a challenge to India, but the armed forces are firm to maintain the legitimacy of India’s claims and peace in the region,” he said. Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday met with a delegation of different civil society organisations in Imphal. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh was also present during the meeting. Shah on Monday arrived in Manipur on a four-day-long visit to the state, which has seen violence between ethnic communities. Five persons, including a Manipur Police Officer, were killed, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA’s house was vandalised and over 1,000 arms and ammunition were reportedly looted by a mob from armouries of Manipur Rifles and India Reserve Battalion on Sunday. With inputs from agencies

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