Northeast Desk, 27th July: Lieutenant General PC Nair, Director General of Assam Rifles, has addressed the ongoing concerns regarding the situation in Manipur, highlighting the spread of doctored videos and their potential to incite unrest.
Lt Gen Nair emphasized that many of the videos circulating on social media are not from the northeast region but from Myanmar and the Rohingya areas. He accused individuals with hidden agendas of manipulating these videos to create discord. “If videos are going around, these are doctored videos. I have about 30 to 40 videos circulating that don’t even belong to the northeast. They are from Myanmar, they are from other places, including the Rohingya region. Some people with hidden agendas are doctoring these videos to show them as security forces acting against people,” he stated.
He acknowledged that some videos do depict incidents in Manipur but are often edited to distort the full context. “In these videos that are being propagated, they only show part clippings which make the story very different. Unless you see the entire video, unless you see the complete facts, you will tend to get carried away by what is coming. And that is precisely what is happening,” he added.
Lt Gen Nair reiterated Assam Rifles’ neutral stance in Manipur since May 3 and dismissed reports suggesting bias as rumors and falsehoods. “From the first day, Assam Rifles has maintained a neutral stand in Manipur. All these narratives that have been coming are agenda-driven. It makes me laugh when I read some of these stupid reports stating that the Assam Rifles is favoring one community and not favoring the other. These are nothing but rumors and falsehoods,” he asserted.
On the broader security situation in the northeastern region, Lt Gen Nair pointed out the impact of issues in neighboring countries like Myanmar on the northeast, including the movement of insurgent groups and contraband. He noted that the situation in Manipur has had spillover effects on neighboring states.
“When you look at the security situation in the northeast, you also have to consider the situation in the neighboring countries. The northeast shares borders with Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, and Nepal. If something happens in any of these countries, particularly in the bordering areas, there will be an impact here due to common land borders and shared ethnicity. The larger problem lies in Myanmar, where the change in dispensation has led to a significant impact on the northeast in terms of the movement of insurgent groups, contraband, and weapons,” he explained.
Lt Gen Nair described the overall security situation as “quite okay” but acknowledged ongoing cases of insurgency and contraband movement. “In terms of insurgency, yes, there are cases, and in terms of the movement of contraband and militants to camps, these kinds of things have been happening for long periods,” he concluded.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, urging the public to rely on verified information and avoid being misled by manipulated content.
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