Imphal: When the Manipur police barged into journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhems home in Imphal on 13 May, his children seven, three, and nine months were paralysed with terror. Our oldest immediately turned to pacify our second child, who started to cry and couldnt hold her stool. Our third is still a baby, said Wangkhems wife, Ranjita. For me, this is no longer a shock. About five kilometres away, political activist Erendro Leichombams house was similarly stormed by a team of police officers, who allegedly assaulted his elderly mother and dragged Leichombam out of his room, without giving him a chance to change out of his nightclothes. Nothing could stop them. No amount of pleading. They acted like he was some major criminal. He didnt resist the arrest at all, said Leichombams mother, L. Landhoni. They hit me and pushed me aside, and I had difficulty breathing for 15 days after. Wangkhem and Leichombam were arrested after BJP functionaries complained about their Facebook posts, which said that cow dung and cow urine dont cure Covid-19. It was in the context of state BJP leader S. Tikendra Singhs death due to the illness.
The cure for Corona is not cow dung & cow urine. The cure is science & common sense. Professor ji RIP, Leichombam had written. Santhi Sanyung na yadrabo, oh!!! RIP # Rashikang Kangyet Hayeng nga chani, Wangkhem had written, which loosely translates to cow dung, cow urine didnt work. Their fate was sealed when the Imphal West District Magistrate, Th. Kirankumar, ordered their detention under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on 17 May on the grounds that their posts could endanger the maintenance of public order. For over 40 days, the two have been languishing in Imphals Sajiwa jail without trial. An appeal to the district magistrate and state government to revoke the charges were both rejected. With the routes for appeal narrowing, the families of the two are anxiously awaiting a response from the central government, failing which they will approach the Manipur High Court. What else is there to do or say? We will wait, and we will abide by the law. And hope that the law comes through for us, said Ranjita. The Manipur government claims it has nothing to do with the case. It was a district official who has taken action against them after finding merit in the case; there must be substance in it, Biswajit Singh, Manipurs Minister of Information and Public Relations, told ThePrint. The government has taken note of the entire issue; the file is pending with the CM. ThePrint reached DM Th. Kirankumar via calls and messages repeatedly, but there was no response till the time of publishing this report.
A deeper malaise The arrests are part of a deeper malaise in Manipur a crackdown on the freedom of expression has been palpable across the state. A report by website Article 14 found that in April 2020 alone, the Manipur government had filed 13 cases of sedition and other laws to curb criticism against its handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Manipur also leads the country when it comes to cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, with 1,786 cases filed between 2015 and 2019. In 2017, the state detained six people under the National Security Act, according to the latest figures with the National Crime Records Bureau. Apart from Wangkhem and Leichombam, the Manipur Police made at least two more detentions under NSA in June 2021 alone, documents accessed by ThePrint show. Everything is done on the whims of the chief minister (N. Biren Singh) and the ruling party, said Babloo Loitongbam, director of Human Rights Alert, a human rights organisation based in Imphal. The crackdown on freedom of speech has definitely had implications in terms of self-censorship. Theres only a handful of people who speak up without fear of retribution. A 2020 study by Open Technology Funds, a global non-profit organisation committed to advancing internet freedom, claimed Manipuri journalists continue to face threats from influential people and politicians. Members of the Manipuri press have long faced legal impediments and threats to their life and property. They continue to do so, the study said. The threats they face now come primarily from influential people and politicians, as well as non-state actors (such as underground groups). From time to time, members of the press also face state control and censorship. In March this year, the chief minister warned against misusing the freedom of speech, saying, In cases where security and public order is violated, the law will automatically take its course. Wangkhem and Leichombam are both considered outspoken critics of the BJP government in Manipur, and have had multiple cases filed against them as a result. Wangkhem was first slapped with NSA in 2018 after he questioned the birth anniversary celebrations of freedom fighter Rani Laxmi Bai in the state, and insulted both Chief Minister Biren Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a Facebook post. Wangkhem is a journalist with the Frontier Manipur, an independent news website that, in its mission statement, says it is unafraid of delivering facts to its readers, even if those in power want to either camouflage or hide the issues under the carpet. The Frontiers editor and executive editor, Dhiren Sadokpam and Paojel Chaoba, were both charged with sedition and detained under the UAPA in January this year after publishing a controversial opinion piece about militancy in Manipur on their website. Leichombam, who in 2016 founded the Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance with Irom Sharmila a world renowned human rights activist has also had a litany of cases against him. Last year, he was charged with sedition after he called BJP M
Ahh India, a place where you have some of the richest and most brilliant people in the world, and living across the street are people from the stone age. The perfect mosiac of the extreme have and have nots in the world.
