New Delhi:
The Army may have to explain to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh why it took five days to intervene in Assam's communal violence in which more than 40 people were killed. The Army says it had no choice but to wait for clearances. The Ministry of Home Affairs says that's incorrect, and is expected to complain formally about the lapse. Dr Singh represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.
The Criminal Procedure Code gives civilian authorities the right to request the armed forces to help restore law and order.
On July 19 the first reports of communal violence in lower Assam emerged. A day later, four former Bodo Liberation Tigers men were murdered.
The Assam government first requested the Army to step in on July 20 - when a letter was sent by the District Magistrate of Kokrajhar. Local army units, however, said they needed a formal clearance from the Ministry of Defence and the Army Headquarters. It followed up with a letter to the Ministry of Defence on July 21. On the 23rd, as violence spread to Dhubri another request was made. Yet no action was taken on either of the requests.
On July 24, the state administration sent another letter to the Ministry of Defence and informed the Ministry of Home Affairs that its written requests for assistance had either not been acknowledged or acted upon. Union Home Secretary R .K Singh then sent a strongly -worded letter to his counterpart, Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, reminding him of the legal obligations of the armed forces to assist civil authorities when required.
Late at night on July 24, Army deployments were cleared. Flag marches began on July 25 at 8 pm, with the Army moving through villages to prove that it was on hand to combat any violence and to protect those being targeted. By this time, over 30 people had been killed.
The Army says that over the years, it has developed a Standard Operating Procedure or SoP that requires sanction from the Defence Ministry before it agrees to a civilian authority's request for intervention. It's not clear when or how this process was introduced. The Ministry of Home Affairs wants it nullified and hopes Dr Singh will bring this up with Defence Minister AK Antony.
The Army also says that it's meant to be the last resort in helping control riots. It says paramilitary forces, for example, should be called in to deal with mobs. But because the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) applies in Assam, the army has a large presence in the state to check insurgency. Some of its units were just three hours away from the epicentre of the violence. The 11 Brigade of the Indian Army is positioned in Kokrajhar to look after lower Assam.
In contrast, the paramilitary would have taken much longer to get there because of the poor roads that criss-cross the region.
The Criminal Procedure Code gives civilian authorities the right to request the armed forces to help restore law and order.
On July 19 the first reports of communal violence in lower Assam emerged. A day later, four former Bodo Liberation Tigers men were murdered.
The Assam government first requested the Army to step in on July 20 - when a letter was sent by the District Magistrate of Kokrajhar. Local army units, however, said they needed a formal clearance from the Ministry of Defence and the Army Headquarters. It followed up with a letter to the Ministry of Defence on July 21. On the 23rd, as violence spread to Dhubri another request was made. Yet no action was taken on either of the requests.
On July 24, the state administration sent another letter to the Ministry of Defence and informed the Ministry of Home Affairs that its written requests for assistance had either not been acknowledged or acted upon. Union Home Secretary R .K Singh then sent a strongly -worded letter to his counterpart, Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, reminding him of the legal obligations of the armed forces to assist civil authorities when required.
Late at night on July 24, Army deployments were cleared. Flag marches began on July 25 at 8 pm, with the Army moving through villages to prove that it was on hand to combat any violence and to protect those being targeted. By this time, over 30 people had been killed.
The Army says that over the years, it has developed a Standard Operating Procedure or SoP that requires sanction from the Defence Ministry before it agrees to a civilian authority's request for intervention. It's not clear when or how this process was introduced. The Ministry of Home Affairs wants it nullified and hopes Dr Singh will bring this up with Defence Minister AK Antony.
The Army also says that it's meant to be the last resort in helping control riots. It says paramilitary forces, for example, should be called in to deal with mobs. But because the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) applies in Assam, the army has a large presence in the state to check insurgency. Some of its units were just three hours away from the epicentre of the violence. The 11 Brigade of the Indian Army is positioned in Kokrajhar to look after lower Assam.
In contrast, the paramilitary would have taken much longer to get there because of the poor roads that criss-cross the region.
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