Chief of the Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Tuesday that the problems in Manipur had not gone away, but expressed hope that things would settle down in time, noting that the situation in the northeastern state was now not related to insurgency.
The death toll from clashes since ethnic unrest began on May 3 in Manipur has risen to 80, officials said. Chauhan was in Pune on Tuesday to review the parade of the 144th National Defense Academy (NDA) course.
When asked about the situation in Manipur, he told reporters that “Army, Assam Rifles were deployed in Manipur before 2020. Since the northern borders were much bigger, we were able to withdraw the army.” As the insurgency situation normalized, we were able to do that.” The situation in Manipur is “not insurgency related.”
“We are helping the state government with the problem,” CDS said.
“I would like to say that the armed forces and the Assam Rifles have done an excellent job there and could have saved a large number of lives. Although the challenges in Manipur have not gone away, it will take time. Hopefully it will be resolved and the government will be able to do work there with the help of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) etc,” he said.
In his address to the cadets, Chauhan talked about the deployment of China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army) along the northern border. “We see a war in Europe, the deployment of China’s PLA along the northern borders and a geopolitical crisis in neighboring countries. This crisis presents a challenge for India, but the armed forces are firm to maintain the legitimacy of India’s claims and peace in the region”.
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