The Open Secret - Part 2

It was only few minutes after parting with ₹1000 at the entrance of Imphal that it struck me. Uniform people are called in for paramilitary action, since when do they concern themselves with traffic violations? “See, you have to understand that this is an Open Secret (A term that I heard so often that I cringe whenever I hear it now).” replied one our friends higher up in the chain.

“All these security forces deployed here don’t have authority to prosecute and jail the people caught. That power lies solely with the police. Here’s the twist. The police here are grossly inefficient. But let’s face it, they’re locals too. They have the same fear and mind-sets as do the rest of the people here. I remember when a few months ago we captured a few militants with arms and took them to the police station to file a complaint. All the policemen literally ran out in a matter of minutes to avoid filing an FIR. What should we do now? You tell me.”

“Where do they get the money from to maintain this?” I tried digging deeper. “Smuggling. Myanmar border is hardly few kilometres away. It is one of the richest drug routes in the world, The Golden Triangle. About 62 items can be legally traded across these borders. But if you put something illegal between this on the car, how can anyone find out? How many vehicles do you stop and check thoroughly? It’s impossible.” 

“Are you saying that this smuggling can never be stopped?”

“Of course not. Yes, it can never be completely stopped but it can obviously be controlled to a large extent. Also, what you need to understand is people here support this because it’s their only means of survival. Without any development in the region, how should people feed themselves?”

“What do the militants want? There has to be some reason that they have to have obviously?”

“Yes. Long back they did have a purpose. There was an ideological fight for secession from the Union of India given the history of accession of these states. But that era is over. I met a few UNLF members long ago and they said that this is not what they had thought of, it has just boiled down to goondaism now! Where will these states go without the central government funds? They will collapse. This is not a sustainable model.”

“Haven’t you raised these concerns to the officials? Central government maybe?”

“Yes we did. But until the state wants the AFSPA removed, nobody can do anything. The state likes this set up. They get to make free money. It is an Open Secret!”

This was a system unheard of (for me) outside of the mafia days in Mumbai. A plethora of security forces have been housed in this part of the country. To run such an “Openly Secret” establishment amongst them, the militants obviously have some greater leverage. I wanted to further my knowledge. How for example, do you explain the pervasiveness of this setup for decades together? If it was this open then why hasn’t anyone taken substantive action? If it is done so secretly, then how is it that everyone knows and accepts the micro (and macro) problems it creates? As I pondered over such questions on our way back to the camp, my friend pointed out as a matter of fact, “How many times has the North East come up in mainland media? This news does not sell and with well-oiled machinery, it can be completely ignored altogether in mainstream media. Did we even know about this before we came here? Hence, the lack of knowledge has led to lack of action.”

“Why don’t the forces here confront these UGs outright? Surely, it is not all that difficult to track them down in such a small area?”

“If forces openly confront them then it will only escalate into a law and order issue with deaths on the forces’ side. Even if caught, UGs will anyway claim bail the next day and go back to their hideouts. Look there (pointing to a hilltop about 10km away), do you see those buildings? That’s a UG camp. Forces can’t raid it, because they can’t. It’s an Open Secret” said yet another local who has been working his way up the ladder to make ends meet. 

Controlling my anger, I sat down to learn more about this Open Secret. By now, I had come to accept the term and what it stood for, an outright denial of multiple freedoms. “Why do people support them if they are extorted?” I picked his brain further.

“Because UGs are their bread and butter. What has the government done for them? Nothing. UGs give them jobs, UGs fight their inter-tribe wars, UGs look after them. People feel it’s their duty to pay this “tax” because of what they get in return and also because most of these people are related. An uncle, a brother, a father, an aunt, a cousin, someone or the other in their family is affiliated.”

“This is obviously a very straight forward issue that anyone can see. Why hasn’t the central government done anything or even the forces for that matter given that AFSPA gives a lot of powers to them?”

“The forces have made a huge difference. But, they are getting killed regularly. They’re ambushed, killed in broad daylight in a busy market, on mountains, everywhere. Nobody talks about it. Who is responsible? Ceasefire is only on paper. These forces work in such dangerous conditions! Government says don’t join militants but where should the people go otherwise? Where should they work, study, live? They’ve dangled the stick very well but where is the carrot?”

“It is so organized that a government employee, from the highest offices, from the DGP I’m told, to the lowest position, whoever has an account in a bank, gets “taxed” by the bank manager himself. The money is directly deducted from the salary accounts”

Pure white money coming from the government is siphoned off directly from the accounts. This was for me a new level of corruption. I have never heard of bank transactions being prone to such things. Obviously because it is visible on paper!

Another local leader (of sorts) we met shed some light on the drugs being smuggled around the area. “I have local labourers working under me here. From Jan-Mar they request leaves to go to opium fields for harvesting around their villages and sometimes across the border. Again, it’s an Open Secret.”

“How do the UGs work on a daily basis? This amount of efficiency is commendable in its own right.”

“Hmph!” the man let out a sigh before he began. “When a plan gets sanctioned from the government, it gets “taxed”, usually at the state level. This money goes to the higher echelons of both the militant and political groups. The amount in turn is used to maintain and run their organizations. The daily bribes, extortion etc., are used by the field operators of these organizations and a cut goes to their immediate bosses.”

It has always been said that anger kills you from the inside. I think I know how, it makes you boil in your guts, physically. By now, I had started experiencing it. Open Secret! This was just gross failure of governance and nothing else. Anti-establishment feelings had found its nest in my mind. After meeting this person with insider knowledge on the UGs, it raised its hood!

Part 3 - http://insidemychoaticbrain.blogspot.in/2015/06/the-open-secret-part-3.html