Abstract
In Manipur and India’s other northeastern states, human rights violations are being perpetrated by army, security personnel, and police forces during counterinsurgency operations since the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was enacted and enforced in 1958. The issue has become widely known since the 2000s when the anti-militarization movement became active in the area. In this chapter, Kimura focuses on two prominent cases of protests against human rights violations in the state of Manipur. Incidentally, in both, women played an important role in very different manners. Kimura discusses how the anti-militarization movement in Manipur has achieved certain success in reducing human rights violations perpetrated by the army, paramilitary forces, and police in the region through both “institutionalisation from below” and “institutionalisation from above.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
There are three armed organizations seeking autonomy or independence from India. The People’s Liberation Army was established in 1978 to liberate the Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas from the Indian state. The People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak was established in 1977 with the main goal of deporting “outsiders” from Manipur. The UNLF was established in 1964 to establish Manipur as an independent socialist country.
- 2.
International human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also repeatedly called for the repeal of the AFSPA. See Human Rights Watch (2008) and the website below. https://www.amnesty.org.in/show/entry/indian-government-must-repeal-afspa (Accessed on November 20, 2017).
- 3.
For example, in 2007, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged the GoI to repeal the AFSPA in its Concluding Observations on the report submitted by the state. UN Doc, CERD/C/IND/CO/19 (5 May 2007).
- 4.
The term “tribe” was introduced in India by British colonial officials to refer to the autochthonous ethnic communities in the hills. It has been criticized as having discriminatory connotations. With the rise of the indigenous movement in the international arena, there is an attempt to replace it with terms such as “indigenous peoples.” In India, however, those who are listed as “scheduled tribes” are entitled to reservations in university admission and government jobs, and the term is still widely used. In this paper, I have used the term with full acknowledgement that it is problematic.
- 5.
Interview with Laurembam Ngambi (President, Apunba Nupi Lup, Bishnupur District) in Bishnupur, Manipur. August 21, 2012.
- 6.
Ibid.
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
“Babloo Loitongbam: Three Decades of Building Human Rights Solidarity,” Website of Countercurrents. http://www/countercurrents.org/babloo220315.htm (accessed on January 29, 2018).
- 9.
Interview with Babloo Loitongbam, HRA at his residence-cum-office in Imphal. August, 2 2017.
- 10.
Interview with Renu Takhellambam, President of EEVFAM at HRA office, Imphal. August, 3 2017.
- 11.
Interview with Ranjeeta Sadokpam, a member of HRA in Delhi. August, 9 2017.
- 12.
Interview with Renu Takhellambam.
- 13.
Website of Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights. https://humanrightsmanipur.wordpress.com/ (accessed on January 26, 2018).
“Downloadable Memorandum on Recommendations on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,” published online on March 28, 2012 at E-Pao Net. http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=education.Human_Rights_Legal.Downloadable_Memorandum_submitted_by_CSCHR_to_UN_Special_Rapporteur_20120328 (accessed on January 26, 2018).
- 14.
UN Doc, A/HRC/23/47/Add.1.
- 15.
“Babloo Loitongbam: Three Decades of Building Human Rights Solidarity,” Website of Countercurrents. http://www/countercurrents.org/babloo220315.htm (accessed on January 29, 2018). Also, see “Introduction to Public Interest Litigation,” Karmayog website. http://www.karmayog.org/pil/pil_10720.htm (accessed on April 4, 2018).
- 16.
“Encounter killings by security forces in Manipur: Petition to the Supreme Court of India,” Network for Improved Policing in South Asia website. http://www.nipsa.in/getfile.php?filename=uploads/nl_updates_file/1002_NIPSA_Update_-__Encounter_Killings_By_Security_Forces_in_Man.pdf (accessed on January 29, 2018). Also, see “Babloo Loitongbam: Three Decades of Building Human Rights Solidarity,” Website of Countercurrents. http://www/countercurrents.org/babloo220315.htm (accessed on January 29, 2018).
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
“Internal disturbance in Manipur, not war-like situation,” published online on July 8, 2016, by Business Standard. http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/internal-disturbance-in-manipur-not-war-like-situation-sc-116070801142_1.html (accessed on January 31, 2018). Also, see “Manipur: In the waiting room of justice,” Website of Amnesty International (published on May 17, 2017.) https://oldsite.amnesty.org.in/show/blog/manipur-in-the-waiting-room-of-justice-1 (accessed on January 31, 2018).
- 19.
Ibid.
- 20.
Interview with Babloo Loitongbam, Human Rights Alert at his residence-cum-office in Imphal. August 2, 2017.
- 21.
Interview with Renu Takhellambam.
References
Butalia, Urvashi. 2004. The Body as Weapon. New Internationalist (371). http://newint.org/columns/viewfrom/2004/09/01/body-as-weapon/. Accessed 27 July 2014.
Chakravarti, Paromita. 2010. Reading Women’s Protest in Manipur: A Different Voice? Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 5 (3): 47–60.
Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN. 2012. Manipur: A Memorandum on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions. Imphal: Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN.
Human Rights Watch. 2008. “These Fellows Must Be Eliminated”: Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Iralu, Kaka D. 2000. Nagaland and India: The Blood and the Tears. Kohima: N. V. Press.
McDuie-La, Duncan. 2012. Violence Against Women in the Militarized Indian Frontier: Beyond “Indian Culture” in the Experiences of Ethnic Minority Women. Violence Against Women 18 (3): 322–345.
Manchanda, Rita. 2011. Northeast India. In Peacemaking in Asia and the Pacific: Women’s Participation, Perspectives and Priorities, ed. Kate Buchanan. Geneva: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogues.
Parrat, Saroj N. Arambam, and John Parrat. 2010. Collected Papers on the History and Culture of Manipur. Imphal: Patriotic Writers’ Forum (PAWF) Manipur.
Rehman, Teresa. 2008. Why I Screamed, Rape Us, Take our Flesh. Tehelka Magazine 5 (21).
———. 2009. Murder in Plain Sight. Tehelka Magazine 6 (31). http://www.tehelka.com/2009/08/murder-in-plain-sight/. Accessed 28 Mar 2018.
———. 2017. The Mothers of Manipur: Twelve Women Who Made History. New Delhi: Zubaan.
Talukdar, Sushanta. 2004a. Manipur’s Protest. Frontline 21 (17). http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2117/stories/20040827002903700.htm. Accessed 27 July 2014.
———. 2004b. Manipur on Fire. Frontline 21 (18). http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2118/stories/20040910007400400.htm. Accessed 27 July 2014.
———. 2010. Defining Act. Frontline 27 (20).
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank the members of EEVFAM, especially Renu Takhellambam and Edina Yaikhom, and Babloo Loitongbam, Ranjeeta Sadokpam, and Basantakumar Wareppam of HRA, for sharing their documents and time.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kimura, M. (2019). Protesting the AFSPA in the Indian Periphery: The Anti-Militarization Movement in Northeast India. In: Yamamoto, T., Ueda, T. (eds) Law and Democracy in Contemporary India. Human Rights Interventions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95837-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95837-8_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95836-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95837-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)