Meet Jai, the senior who left violence in India to pursue his dreams at UGA

Jai Singh Thounaojam is no ordinary UGA student. He comes from a small Northeastern state of India, which has recently ben plagued with insurgency and violence.

At UGA, the senior studies International Affairs and seeks to educate others on the reality of living in a torn region due to violent conflict. In this interview, Jai shares the impact of this struggle on his family, as well as his own life goals.

Jai on his study abroad trip to Italy

Where exactly in India are you from?

Imphal. It’s in a small state called Manipur. It’s kind of a troubled state. In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, actually there was an insurgency going on. Secessionist rebels wanted to break away from the country and form their own. The government of India didn’t take too kindly to that, so they instituted a law called the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. It was basically Marshal Law. 20,000-30,000 Indian troops got deployed to Manipur.

What was the impact of this law?

The law basically says that if you suspect someone to be an insurgent, you can kill them. There’s been 10,000 to 20,000 cases [murders] that are on the border of justification. The army guys, well, they aren’t as well paid as American troops. The salary is low so they want medals to get promotions. How do you get promoted? You kill insurgents for gallantry medals.

So sometimes what they do is they go into someone’s house, take them and beat the crap out of them in the field to try to make them to confess they’re an insurgent. Eventually the pain gets so bad that they confess they’re an insurgent so they kill them and plant a weapon on the body. It used to happen a lot like that, because at that time the judicial process was not good.

What impact did this have on your family specifically?

My grandfather has been in politics for 40 years and during the insurgency, the insurgents tried to get the support of politicians. They’d say, “Support our cause,” or whatever, but they were also not the best people. The earlier intention was they wanted to secede from the country and the people who started the insurgency were educated people, they were college graduates.

But along the way, they started recruiting uneducated people, so it became like a gang of thugs with assault rifles. For funding they used to take dues from the residents of the valley, kind of like extortion to fund their weapons and supplies. So when they asked my grandfather for support, he said no because at that point, they had started killing civilians as well. A month or two later, they tried to assassinate him. Thankfully the car he was in drove safely into a ditch.

What position did your grandfather hold in the government?

At that time, I think he was Deputy Chief Minister. It’s the rank right below governor. A governor would be Chief Minister. After the ambush, when my dad graduated – my dad was studying in the best college in India, Stephens College, like Oxford for India or Harvard for India – he joined the police force and there was a command task force unit formed to combat insurgency, so he was part of that. He nearly died on a couple of occasions. Three of his friends died in ambushes.

What did the police do to combat the insurgents?

At that time, the police force was really ill-equipped. They had weapons from World War II that kept jamming and the insurgents got their weapons from China and Burma. They had AK-47s and M16s and all those weapons. So they [the police] were heavily outgunned. Now the government has been pouring so much money into the Defense Department and the police department that they have the weapons to fight.

Jai’s parents enjoying the view at Loktok Lake just outside of Imphal

Is your dad still in the police force?

Yes, but I think my dad resigned recently because he’s planning to take after my granddad and join politics.

Do you also want to join politics eventually?

Yeah, probably. But for at least 10 years, I want to get experience in the international field – work for the United Nations Secretary maybe.

So up until 2013 when you left, has Imphal been peaceful?

Yeah, relatively peaceful – up until 2005 onwards, it’s been peaceful. The early 2000s were a bit dicey. There were still bomb blasts and all that in the city center.

Why did you choose America and the University of Georgia in particular?

I wanted to study International Relations and in India, but it’s not available as an undergraduate program. It’s only offered as a Masters or PhD program, and it’s also not considered very good. I know American universities have a good range of schools with that subject. I was actually supposed to go to the University of Washington out in Seattle, but I have an aunt living in Alpharetta, so I thought it would be good to have some family base nearby in case of an emergency.

What’s been the hardest thing about being here? Did you experience any culture shock?

Home food, because I find American food really bland – I’m used to spicy food. Other than that, nothing much. There was an initial culture shock for the first few months. It’s normal when you’re put into another culture for a brief period of time, to feel like you hate everything about the new culture. I got over it after a few weeks.

What’s been the easiest thing about America?

The language is easy because I grew up speaking English. I went to a boarding school established by the British in India, so it was an all-English school.

Will you go back to India once you have finished your schooling?

After I graduate, I plan on pursuing my Masters in Europe, probably the UK or the Netherlands. After that, I will try to get a job, probably in a field that will be far from home for a while. After I get some experience, I will go back home.

How often do you get to go back home?

I get to go back once or twice a year. Once in the summer and once in the winter. During the summer, I always take summer classes at least until the end of June, so I only get to spend a month at home.