At a time when Manipur is burning, voices like Colonel Sapam's serve as a healing balm.
These are voices that need to heard and their stories of peace and reconciliation must be retold -- over and over again.
It was 1994 and a young Indian Army captain, Shanti Kumar Sapam was posted to his home state of Manipur when deadly clashes broke out between Naga and Kuki tribes.
Captain Sapam was stationed in a remote village inhabited by Kukis on the banks of a beautiful river. On the other side was the Tangkhul village, much larger in size.
The task entrusted to Captain Sapam was to safeguard the Kuki village.
He spoke to the villagers on both side and explained to them that by burning somebody else's home, they were burning down a family's entire life savings.
There were no winners or losers in fights such as these.
To his jawans, he said: 'Hum sab Indian hai, udhar bhi Indian hai, idhar bhi Indian hai.'
He spoke. He reasoned. He told them to leave the past, move ahead and co-exist.
There was another Indian Army officer in charge of the Tangkhul village and the two officers worked together to bring peace between the warring tribes.
"Our aim was very clear that no harm should come to both the villages and sure enough, not a single bullet was fired," remembers Colonel Sapam, now retired and settled in Manipur.
The officer was then tasked to protect a Naga village surrounded by 32 hostile Kuki villages in the most sensitive area of Manipur. He once again went and spoke to each one of those 32 Kuki headmen -- urging them to move forward and not be caught in misgivings of the past.
"I told the Kukis that if anybody attacked my village, they would have to go through me and my troops," Colonel Sapam tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in a phone conversation, looking back at the measures taken to restore peace in an area of conflict.
This time too, not a single bullet was fired.
At a time when Manipur is burning, voices like Colpnel Sapam's serve as a healing balm. These are voices that need to heard and their stories of peace and reconciliation must be retold -- over and over again.
The first of a two-part interview.
What are you childhood memories of Manipur? What were the relations between Kukis, Nagas, Meiteis at the time you were growing up?
I started my education in Don Bosco School, Imphal. It was a Christian missionary school and my classmates were Kukis, Nagas, Meiteis and other non Manipuri children -- Punjabis, Marwaris... we all studied together and had a very good time.
I had Naga and Kuki friends; I still meet one school friend from the Thangkul tribe in Imphal. I was very friendly and have very fond memories. I respect them; they respect me. It was a very good time.
After passing Class 7, I got a merit based scholarship run by the Government of India and went to study at the Air Force School, Subroto Park, Delhi. I lived in the hostel.
My school was next to the officer's mess of the Western Air Command. Impressed by the IAF officers I used to see, I wanted to join the armed forces.
After Class 12, I cleared the entrance to the National Defence Academy, then went to the Indian Military Academy and got commissioned into the Assam Regiment.
My regiment is very much like my state of Manipur. I say so because my troops come from all over the North East -- there are Nagas, Kukis, Meiteis, Nepalis, Mizo, Khasi and are drawn from across Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and other North East states.
Ours is a very tough regiment and despite the situation in Manipur, there is harmony and goodwill among the jawans of the regiment.
Tell me about the bonding in your regiment. How are such strong ties forged? What makes it so deep-rooted, so institutionalised that men from different tribes live, eat and fight together?
That is the beauty of the Indian Army. Our training is such that we forget about religion, caste, creed and community. The training that we impart to our officers and jawans is not about religion and community; it is about the feeling of oneness.
The jawan is not a Meitei or a Naga or a Kuki soldier, he is a soldier of the Assam Regiment in the Indian Army.
He is a soldier of the Indian Army and that is his identity.
The regiment is very important for an infantry battalion. We live and die for 'regiment ki izzat.' The completion of the task given to the commanding officer under whose orders the jawans go into battle is what builds the 'izzat' of a regiment -- and that is the feeling that a jawan carries with him.
We work on one order and one aim. We don't talk about caste or religion.
You were posted in Manipur when there were clashes between Nagas and Kukis. How did you bring peace between the two warring tribes at that time?
The situation was very bad. The clash between Nagas and Kukis took place around November 1993 and I was posted to the area in 1994 to the Assam Rifles.
My first assignment was in a small village called Thingphai with about 10 houses. It was a remote area and was the last Kuki village on the banks of the Iril river. On the other side was a Tangkhul village called Lower Leison with around 100 houses.
Tangkhuls are Nagas. At that time, the clash was between Tangkhuls and Kukis, other Naga tribes were not involved.
The villagers of Lower Leison were planning to burn the small Kuki village and my duty was to safeguard it.
I was a captain at that time and was in command of my company.
I told my jawans 'Hum sab Indian hai, udhar bhi Indian hai, idhar bhi Indian hai.' I said that our task was to protect this Kuki village.
I went to the village across the river. Major Bagh Singh from another Assam Rifles battalion was deployed there with his company. I still remember his name because we worked together. He was senior to me, but we were both from the army and there was no difference between us.
Sometimes I would go and have lunch with him and sometimes he would come to our side.
I spoke to villagers on both sides. I explained that when you burn a home, you burn down the entire life savings of a family and they have to start from scratch all over again.
I used to tell them that all that had happened, the misunderstandings were a thing of the past and we had to look ahead. Nobody will be winner, nobody will be loser.
Our aim was very clear that no harm should come to both the villages and sure enough, not a single bullet was fired. Not a single person was disturbed by anybody.
How many days were you stationed in that village?
Four months. Three LMGs were mounted to safeguard the village from an attack. Since it was a smaller village, it was at greater risk and could have been burned any time.
I told them I was also a son of the soil. I said, 'You are also my people and they are also my people, but if anybody attacks this village, the task given to me was to protect this village'.
The situation returned to normalcy. I was moved after four months and was sent to another village after that.
The people from that village might still remember me, I think. Many years later, a man from the village came to visit me.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
