China could be instigating Manipur unrest: Ex-GoC-in-C

Guwahati: Foreign powers might be instigating unrest in Manipur and the northeast to destabilize India and divert the country’s focus from its growth trajectory, said Lt Gen (retd) Rana Pratap Kalita, Army commander and in-charge of the Eastern Command and Manipur, just about nine months back.

While China and Myanmar were initially not involved in Manipur, but that may not be the case now, said the only army officer from Northeast to officiate as Army chief and lead the Eastern Command GoC-in-C.

“Probably, the way the situation had panned out, there is a possibility of continued instigation. Anybody would like to fish in troubled waters,” the former top Army officer told TOI in an interview.

“We see all around us instabilities. So, these are the challenges we as a nation are facing,” he said.

He said there is a history of Chinese support to the insurgent groups right from the 1950's in India. “They trained the Naga groups and gave them weapons as well,” he said.

“China definitely has its interest in keeping the pot boiling within India but to what extent they are involved, is difficult to say without any evidence on ground,” General Kalita said.

He also pointed out that Bangladesh is now a cause for worry for the northeast after the recent turmoil there.

“One is migration of people because that has created a lot of instability in our northeast. And the second is revival of the insurgent camps within Bangladesh and support to these insurgent camps by the more radical elements in Bangladesh and as a proxy of ISI of Pakistan. It's a threat that remains. It's too early now and may play out in times to come,” he said.

Talking about Myanmar, he said that the eastern neighbour itself is having a lot of problems and along the Indo-Myanmar border, a major part of the border has gone out of the control of the Myanmar Army and that is where the ethnic armed groups are controlling.

He said majority of the insurgents’ groups from northeast, including the Imphal valley-based insurgent groups particularly, and even to an extent, NSCN (IM), have been fighting on the side of Myanmar, because they are being sheltered by the Myanmar Army, whereas some of the Kuki-Chin insurgent groups of Myanmar are siding with the ethnic armed groups.

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