Human rights abuses in Manipur

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Human rights abuses in Manipur
Location of Manipur (highlighted in red)
Location	Manipur, India
Date	Ongoing
Target	Civilians and combatants
Perpetrators	Indian security forces Separatist insurgents
Motive	Military clampdown

Human rights abuse has been an issue in Manipur, a state in northeastern India, since the 1960s due to an ongoing separatist conflict. Insurgent groups have been known to kidnap children to train them as child soldiers against the Indian government. Manipur was declared a disturbed area by the Indian government in 1958 with passage of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958. That designation remains in force today.

The United Nations describes this as a colonial-era law that breaches contemporary international human rights standards. It has asked the Indian government to revoke the act, saying it has no place in Indian democracy.^[1] A number of UN treaty bodies have pronounced it to be in violation of international law as well. According to the human rights organization Redress, Indian armed forces have used privileges conferred by the act to conduct killings, torture, cruelty, and enforced disappearances.

Background[]

Despite many attempts by the Indian government to facilitate development in the state, it failed to gain advantages for many reasons. Behind the poor condition of the state has been the lack of media attention, lack of public school infrastructure, lack of proper roads, lack of government participation etc.^{[citation needed]} There also have been attacks on engineers and government workers by separatist groups, contributing to the lack of development- though the violence is less than it was in the 1970s.^{[citation needed]} Another factor is the government lacking different perspectives. One such example is near .

The school in Pangzawl Village was still under construction while the children attended it. Thus, hampering the speed of education and putting the family into uncertainty. Many of Manipur's youth want change, but mismanagement hampers any development. Many of the youth have moved to other cities such as Delhi and Kolkata for better infrastructure.^{[citation needed]}

A separatist insurgency began in 1964, although a more violent phase did not begin until 1978. Caught in the crossfire, many civilians lost their lives. The armed forces, particularly the Assam Rifles, who are involved in many pointless killings of people. There also have been rapes, both documented and undocumented.^[2] The separatists demand a sovereign state, with grievances over lack of development, plundering of local resources and a general discontent in Manipur.^[2][3] Human Rights Watch argues that human rights violations by Indian security forces have only fueled the insurgency.^[4] It adds that the Indian Army has at times acted with impunity, as anti-terrorism laws in the state make prosecution of human rights violators difficult.^[5][6][7]

Currently,⁣^[when?] 34 groups, including non-violent ones, demand independence from India.^[2] In 1999, some of these groups coalesced into an alliance called the “Manipur People's Liberation Front.” Of these, the three most prominent are the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), and the PLA of Manipur. The UNLF is estimated to have 2500 active freedom fighting rebels, the PREPAK 1500, and the PLA 3000.^[2]

Armed Forces Act, 1958[]

Due to violence by peoples of Manipur and insurgent groups, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 was passed on 11 September 1958 by the Parliament of India. The legislation grants special powers” to the indian armed forces in regions which the act refers to as “disturbed areas”

The act has been in force in all seven northeastern states of India, currently embroiled in a decades-old violent insurgency including Manipur, for over fifty years. According to human rights organization Redress, the Indian armed forces have abused power through privileges conferred in the act by using it as a manipulative tool to conduct "killings, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearances."^[8] Yet there has been no strong proof of such actions, though the claims are base on a few incidents during the counter-insurgency season of the 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

The act's continued application in Manipur has led to numerous local protests, with the most notable being that of Irom Chanu Sharmila, a Manipuri civil rights activist. Sharmila has been on a longstanding hunger strike since 2 November 2002 in which she has demanded the Indian government repeal the act, which she blames for violence in Manipur and other parts of India's troubled northeast.^[9] Having refused food and water for more than 500 weeks, she has been called "the world's longest hunger striker".^[10] Her cause has gained international attention. The situation demands the strong presence of armies, as police forces aren't able to maintain law and order. Hence, the Indian parliament is still looking for a proper opportunity to lift the Act. There was another incident of a Manipuri man who was shot by a soldier of Assam Rifles in 2021. It didn't receive any national attention. But local media did cover it. The case was closed and the Assam Rifles gave compensation to the family.

Child soldiers[]

There have repeated reports of insurgent groups in Manipur kidnapping children to bolster their ranks with child soldiers.^[11][12][13] On 18 April 2012, for example, three teenage boys got kidnapped as they watched a local football match.^[14]

The Manipur Alliance for Child Recruitment denounced the kidnappings, stating "International Human Rights Law prohibited the recruitment of children below 18 years as child soldiers".^[11]

See also[]

• Insurgency in Northeast India
• Indian general election, 2014 (Manipur)
• Human rights abuses in Assam
• Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir

References[]