Manipur massacres: A tale of insurgency

  16-Jul-2018 14:31:03

Manipur AfspaExtra Judicial



Recently, the Supreme Court of India directed a probe on extrajudicial killings in Manipur. The bench of Justice M.B. Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit said that they are not satisfied with the progress of CBI investigation. The court is hearing a PIL petition seeking a probe into as many as 1,528 cases of extra-judicial killings in Manipur.

Extra-judicial killings, as defined by United States Torture Victim Protection Act, is

“A deliberate killing not authorized by a previous judgement pronounced by a regular constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. Such term, however, does not include any such killing that, under international law, is carefully carried under the authority of a foreign nation”.

In simple words, this means killing beyond judicial process. This usually happens when an agency is given the powers of prosecution. Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Chhattisgarh are all affected by such types of killings. Besides India, this is also prevalent in other countries with poor track record of governance. The situation in Manipur came into the public sphere in 2009, when ‘Tehelka’ exposed the cold- blooded murders by police and security personnel that were earlier covered as encounters.

Manipur, the land of jewels, is one of the Seven Sisters. Located in a lush green corner of North East India, it is an oval shaped valley encircled by nine ranges of bluish green hills intertwined with cascading rapids, carpets of flowers and lazy lakes. Very less people know the fact that Polo, which is considered a royal game, has its roots in Manipur. This game’s ancestor ‘Pulu’ or ‘sagolkangjei’ (which literary means horse and stick) was played by the locals of Manipur. The famous Manipuri dance, which shows Krishna- Leela, has also originated from this place. Surrounded by Nagaland, Myanmar, Mizoram and Assam, this state has sub- tropical monsoon climate, which is the reason for its rich flora and fauna. Manipur population is very diverse, due to the various tribes living in the place. Meitei is the major tribe of Manipur. Other tribes include Kuki, Naga, Loi, Yaithibi, Gorkha, MeiteiPangal, Bamons, Bishnupriya Manipuri and many others. These tribes have their own festivals, making the state rich in festivals too! The state’s geographical topography is composed of hills and valleys (plains). Hills are mainly acquired by Naga and Kuki tribes, while Meitei people inhabits plains.

But this diversity also has a negative side. The state is in a state of insurgency. Right from independence, some groups are in constant agitation as they wanted the then Kingdom of Manipur as an independent country, not a part of India. Major tribe of the state, Meitei, wants a separate land, independent of India. Kuki, another tribe of the region, wants a part of Manipur as their new state. Naga tribe desires to annex a part of Manipur and want to include it in Greater Nagaland. But this is in contradiction with Meitei vision of integrated independent state. Hence, these tribes are in constant scuffles with each other. These conflicts have resulted in fifty years of insurgency, starting with the recognition of Manipur as a constituent state of Indian union on July 21, 1972.

Due to the unrest in Manipur, it was declared ‘disturbed’ in 1980. Manipur has witnessed ethnic conflict and it is plagued by militancy since its inception into the union of India in 1972. There are about 48 backlisted militant groups that are active in the State indulging in violence by killing innocent civilians and creating an environment of fear by indulging in extortion. Violence has become a way of life in Manipur and the state government does not possess the capacity nor resources to handle the situation. So, it now becomes the duty of the Union to protect the State from external aggression and internal disturbances. The already existing laws and the new ones often fail to deliver what it intends to, to curb disturbance.

Therefore, Union has given special powers to security personnel to maintain peace in the region. Various acts have been enforced to strengthen them and immune against prosecution, some of them are briefly described below:

Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), 1958: With the declaration of Manipur under the jurisdiction of AFSPA since 1958, the postulates for this declaration are that a public order situation exist in Manipur and as result the assistance of armed forces is required in aid of civil power. The result of implementation of such an act is that the personnel could use excessive force to maintain law and order even to the point of causing death. The Act has also granted immunity to the security personnel which shields them from prosecution.

Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973: The CrPC lays down procedures to be followed in criminal cases during the process of prosecution, enquiry, investigation, trial, etc. It also justifies the use of force to disperse an unlawful assembly and the use of force to the point of causing death. The provisions under CrPC has also allowed for causing death of a person arrested under conditions that the accused is punishable with death or life imprisonment. Such provisions have often been used to justify custodial torture and deaths.

Army Act, 1950: The Army Act of 1950 has defined an ‘enemy’ as armed mutineers, armed rebels, armed rioters, pirates, and any person in arms against whom it is the duty of any person subject to military law to act. A necessary criterion for enemy is that he/she must be armed. This Act also aided to the notion of impunity enjoyed by the armed forces because it gives the army the liberty to decide if an offence committed by the army personnel should be carried out by the criminal court or court martial for cases can be tried in both the courts.

Although these acts have given security personnel extreme powers, it is highly probable that these acts can be abused. They got accusations for killing many innocent civilians. A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court regarding 1528 cases of extra-judicial executions, against the army, Assam Rifles and Manipur Police. Supreme Court directed CBI’s SIT for a thorough probe in this matter. Its hearing was in February when SC said it is ‘not satisfied’ with the progress of SIT. It seems that even the reports were not approved by CBI Chief, for which SC shows its discontentment.

Excess of everything is bad. We have seen its direct implication in Manipur where people are denied of justice just because of excessive powers given to the State agencies. The savage acts like AFSPA should be abolished to protect Right to Life of the citizens. Militants and other unsocial elements should be punished, but not at the cost of innocent people. Armed forces should not be employed to kill its own countrymen. This develops a feeling of distrust for our army and judicial system. Let’s pray for the people associated with those 1528 cases. We can only hope that justice is served and peace return to this picturesque valley.


Written by:

Abhimanyu Mertiya