Umaiordarame at 08:01, 15 September 2025

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{{Short description|Aspect of the separatist insurgency in Manipur, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Human rights abuses in Manipur
| image = India Manipur locator map.svg
| caption = Location of Manipur (highlighted in red)
| location = [[Manipur]], India
| target = Civilians and combatants
| date = 1980s - Ongoing
| time =
| timezone =
| fatalities =
| injuries =
| perps = Indian security forces<br>Separatist insurgents
| displaced =
| motive = Separatism, Military clampdown
}}
[[Human rights]] abuse is an ongoing insurgency in [[Manipur]], a [[Northeast India|northeastern]] [[India|Indian]] state. The issue started in the 1960s due to [[Insurgency in Manipur|a separatist conflict]]. The Indian army, paramilitary, and police personnel are responsible for killings and torture within Manipur. Human rights violations by Indian security forces are said to have fueled the armed opposition groups in Manipur. Insurgent groups have kidnapped children to train them as child soldiers against the Indian government. Manipur was declared a “disturbed area” by the Indian government in 1980 in the [[Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act|Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Disturbed Area' status extended for one year in Manipur |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/disturbed-area-status-extended-for-one-year-in-manipur/story-K1z5QQFPU6s2Xn8q1pyzoM.html |website=Hindustan Times |access-date=3 January 2022 |language=en |date=1 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-09-15 |title=India: Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/09/15/india-army-killings-fuel-insurgency-manipur |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref>

The [[United Nations]] describes the 'Armed Forces Special Powers Act' as a colonial-era law that breaches contemporary international human rights standards. The UN asked the Indian government to revoke the act, saying it has no place in Indian democracy.<ref>{{Cite magazine|agency=PTI |date=March 23, 2009 |title=UN asks India to repeal AFSPA|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/un-asks-india-to-repeal-afspa-42464-2009-03-23|access-date=2021-08-09|magazine=India Today|language=en}}</ref> A number of UN treaty bodies have pronounced it to be in violation of international laws as well.

==Background==

Northeastern India is geographically and ethnically distinct from the remainder of the country, and separatist activity in the region began as early as 1954. The Manipur Insurgency began in 1964, which claimed the lives of 2,253 civilians between 1992 and 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/manipur/terrorist_outfits/Kykl.htm|title=Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup|work=SATP|access-date=30 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530192331/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/manipur/terrorist_outfits/Kykl.htm|archive-date=30 May 2015|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] has documented instances of arbitrary killings, torture, and rape by Indian security forces in the region.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/09/14/india-army-killings-fuel-insurgency-manipur |title=India: Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur | Human Rights Watch |publisher=Hrw.org |date=2008-09-15 |accessdate=4 March 2012}}</ref> Anti-terrorism laws in the state have shielded security forces from being prosecuted by local residents.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6935673.stm | work=BBC News | title=India's 'forgotten' war | date=8 August 2007 | access-date=4 March 2012 | first=Tanya | last=Datta}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110606110800/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2009083050140300.htm&date=2009/08/30/&prd=mag& Manipur]}}, The Hindu, 30 August 2009</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne080809murder_in.asp |title=India's Independent Weekly News Magazine |publisher=Tehelka |date= |accessdate=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322231847/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne080809murder_in.asp |archive-date=22 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Currently,⁣ 34 groups, including non-violent ones, demand independence from India.<ref name="southasiaanalysis.org">{{cite web |author=chandru |url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers13/paper1210.html |title=MANIPUR- in a strange whirlpool of Cross-Current Insurgency |publisher=Southasiaanalysis.org |date= |accessdate=4 March 2012 |url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308213202/http://southasiaanalysis.org/papers13/paper1210.html |archivedate=8 March 2012 }}</ref> 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 [[People's Liberation Army of Manipur|PLA of Manipur]]. The UNLF is estimated to have 2,500 active members, the PREPAK 1,500, and the PLA 3,000.<ref name="southasiaanalysis.org"/>

==Armed Forces Act of 1958==
{{Main|Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act}}

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, and is embroiled in a decades-old violent insurgency including Manipur, for over fifty years. According to human rights organization ''[[Redress (charitable organisation)|Redress]]'', the Indian armed forces have [[Abuse of power|abused power]] through privileges conferred in the act by using it as a manipulative tool to conduct "killings, torture, cruel, [[inhuman or degrading treatment|inhuman and degrading treatment]] and enforced disappearances."<ref name="redress">{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,REDRESS,,IND,,4e5630622,0.html|title=The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in Manipur and other States of the Northeast of India: Sanctioning repression in violation of India's human rights obligations|publisher=[[Redress (charitable organisation)|Redress]]|work=UNHCR|date=18 August 2011|accessdate=4 March 2012}}</ref>

The act's continued application in Manipur has led to local protests, having [[Irom Chanu Sharmila]], as one of a Manipuri civil rights activist. Sharmila has been on a longstanding [[hunger strike]] since 2 November 2000 demanding the Indian government to [[repeal]] the act. She blames for violence in Manipur and other parts of India's troubled northeast.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7932116.stm |title=Manipur Fasting Woman Re-arrested |date=9 March 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=8 May 2011}}</ref> 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.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

==Child soldiers==
There have been repeated reports of insurgent groups in Manipur kidnapping children to bolster their ranks with child soldiers.<ref name="e-pao1">{{cite web|url=http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=14..200412.apr12 |title=Manipur Alliance for Child Rights (MACR) denounces : 20th apr12 ~ E-Pao! Headlines |publisher=E-pao.net |date= |accessdate=2012-10-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/33008/child-soldiers-recruited-into-northeast-india-insurgencies/ |title=500 child soldiers are fighting in northeast India|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date= 24 March 2014|access-date=2017-09-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/manipur-ultras-recruiting-kids-as-soldiers/14/34014/ |title=Manipur ultras recruiting kids as soldiers? - Brown Nongmaithem |publisher=The Sunday Indian |date=2012-04-27 |accessdate=2012-10-21}}</ref> On 18 April 2012, for example, three teenage boys were kidnapped as they were watching a local football match.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

The Manipur Alliance for Child Recruitment has denounced any kidnappings, stating "International Human Rights Law prohibits the recruitment of children below 18 years as child soldiers".<ref name="e-pao1"/>

== 2023–2025 Manipur violence ==
{{main|2023–2025 Manipur violence}}

==See also==
* [[2023–2025 Manipur violence]]
* [[Insurgency in Manipur]]
* [[Insurgency in Northeast India]]
* [[Indian general election, 2014 (Manipur)]]
* [[Human rights abuses in Assam]]
* [[Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manipur human rights abuses}}
[[Category:Human rights abuses in India|Manipur]]
[[Category:Politics of Manipur]]

Human rights abuses in Manipur - Revision history

Umaiordarame at 08:01, 15 September 2025