NEW DELHI: Former Indian Army chief Gen (retd) M. M. Naravane has said that foreign interference in the Manipur violence cannot be ruled out and is “definitely there,” stressing that alleged Chinese aid to various insurgent groups has been continuing for many years.

TheWire quoted Gen Naravane as speaking on Sunday on the dangers of a “two-front war”, heavily advocating for diplomacy to resolve conflicts for India, which faces a “two-front threat” from Pakistan and China.

At the lecture, Gen Naravane was asked by multiple journalists about the situation in Manipur and whether it amounted to a national security threat.

“Coming on to Manipur, I had said right in the beginning that internal security is very important and if there is instability not only in our neighbouring country but in our border state then that instability is bad for overall national security,” he said. He added that decision-makers on the ground would know best.

“I’m sure that those who are in the chair, I mean responsible for taking whatever actions are due to be taken are doing their best and we should avoid trying to second guess them…the person on ground knows best what is to be done. But definitely, instability does not help us in the overall national security concept,” he said.

“The involvement of foreign agencies…not only do I say it cannot be ruled out but I will say it is definitely there, especially Chinese aid to the various insurgent groups. They have been helping them for so many years so they will continue helping [them],” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier in July, Manipur’s chief minister N. Biren Singh had appeared to hint at foreign hands in the ethnic violence that has roiled the state for three months now. Over 150 people have been killed, several are missing, tens of thousands are displaced and horrific crimes against women are being reported. Gen Naravane also said that it is necessary to distinguish between the “two-front threat” and a “two-front war”.

“What we have is a two-front threat, but do we want to fight a two-front war? No. And if you go back in history nobody who has fought a two-front war has ever won. Go back as much as you want. And that is why diplomacy will play a very major role in ensuring that one of the fronts is kept quiet,” he added.

While Gen Naravane cautioned against double-guessing the government on Manipur, an opposition parties’ delegation expressed “shock” at the evidence of “unprecedented violence” in the state, and the “brazen indifference” of Prime Minister Modi.

Opposition MPs on a visit to the state held both the central and state governments responsible for the breakdown in law and order ever since a violent ethnic conflict broke out on May 3, The Hindu said.

“It is established beyond doubt that the state machinery has completely failed to control the situation for the last almost three months,” they said, in a joint letter to Governor Anusiya Uikey.

The letter was penned by 21 parliamentarians from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties who visited relief camps at Churachandpur, Moirang and Imphal during their two-day tour of the state.

Members of the delegation said that they were “very shocked and sad to hear the stories of anxieties, uncertainties, pains and sorrows of the individuals affected by the unprecedented violence”.

They added that there was “anger and sense of alienation” unleashed by both sides since the beginning of the clashes“ amongst all communities, which must be addressed without delay.

They held both the central and the state governments responsible for the failure to protect the lives and properties of the people of the two communities. More than 60,000 people had been displaced in the last three months, the delegation noted.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2023