Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Dear friends

With its close proximity to the infamous Golden Triangle and also as it shares an international border with Myanmar, Manipur has become a major transit route for illegal drug trade. A direct effect of this is that many of the State’s youth have fallen prey to the use of drugs which are slowly but surely killing them. It has been reported that an alarming 2% of the State’s population are active drug users and besides the strong presence of the drug trade in the State, this high number of drug users has also been attributed to a number of other factors such as unemployment, easy availability of drugs, socio – political unrest and general frustration of the youth.

One should also remember here that Manipur is a State which falls under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 1958, an Act which gives paramilitary and police forces sweeping powers while dealing with insurgency related issues. One of the provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in an area that is proclaimed as “disturbed” is that Army officers have legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal proceeding against anyone acting under that law. Nor is the government’s judgment on why an area is found to be disturbed subject to judicial review. There is also a provision for the protection of persons acting in good faith under this Act from prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings, except with the sanction of the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.

With such sweeping powers, it is of no surprise therefore that some personnel of the armed forces have tried to take advantage of the situation in a bid to fill their personal coffers. The drug trade being so lucrative, these people whose duty it is to protect the nation and thereby the local population are instead making millions through the systematic poisoning of the local youth. With the AFSPA in hand, these personnel are actively involved in the brisk drug trade going on in and through the State.

The bust of a member of the armed forces of the rank of a colonel no less who was transporting drugs in army vehicles earlier this year is a case which has brought this issue to the fore not only in the State but in the country as a whole. Colonel Ajay Choudhury of the Indian Army was caught red handed on the 25th of May by police commandoes with a cache of pseudo ephedrime tablets valued at Rs.30 crore. Not taking away the importance of this drug bust, it is believed by many that this is but the tip of the iceberg.

Another sensational case was the one in which armed police and paramilitary forces were caught escorting truckloads of marijuana to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and beyond. It is an open secret that many high ranking officials and politicians are involved in this drug trade as it has been surmised that these lackeys would not be having the political clout to pull off such high profile jobs without patronage of powerful higher ups.

This is the plight of the youth of Manipur - starved of development and employment and flooded by drugs which are sapping their strength, health and mental prowess. With the alleged involvement of these powerful politicians and officers, the question now is – who has the gall to bell the cat?

Dr. K. K. Jhunjhunwala