Rape on the mind, murder in the eyes

There have been reportedly more than 260 encounters in Manipur in 2009 alone
Sadiq Naqvi Delhi

The bloody cycle unleashed by the State and insurgents have consumed generations of young people in the insurgency-hit areas of the country.

Recently, educational institutions in Manipur - rendered invisible by the 'national media' reopened after four months. Children flocked to schools, hoping that there will be justice and peace.

On July 23, 2009, in a shootout in the busy marketplace of Imphal, two people were killed and five injured. Among the deceased was a pregnant woman, Rubina, and a 23-year-old youngster, Chungkham Sanjit. Cops say Sanjit belonged to a terrorist group, People's Liberation Army (PLA), and that he was killed in retaliatory fire by commandos.

The police version would have held sway, had Tehelka not published the shocking pictures, where a calm Sanjit is seen being huddled into a pharmacy by the commandos, who later emerged with his dead body. 

Manipur is among the seven sisters of the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, which are under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958.  There have been reportedly more than 260 encounters in Manipur in 2009 alone. All this is happening under the garb of protecting law and order.

After the encounter, anger spilled on to the streets. People demanded that those involved in this heinous crime be punished and their services terminated - and stop rampant extra-judicial killings. The seven commandos allegedly involved were suspended. A judicial inquiry was set up.

Many in the protests were booked under NSA and UAPA. More than a fourth of the people in jails have been booked under NSA. Even Apunba Lup, which was spearheading the peaceful agitation, was declared as a front of the terrorists.

A citizens' fact finding team which visited Manipur in November said, "AFSPA has created a culture of impunity for all security forces. Although the Manipur Police are accountable under the law, the prevailing culture of impunity affects them as well since the AFSPA has been in force in the Manipur valley ever since 1980 and in the hills even longer."

Massacres become a repetitive spectacle of stark injustice. The mysterious Chittisingpura massacre in Kashmir: who did it? Later, jawans of the Rajputana Rifles were found guilty of killing five innocent people who were then passed off as terrorists. Several cases in Kashmir and Manipur, like at Pathribal, and the gangrape and murder of Manorama at the hands of Assam Rifles, point to this impunity of the State.

Manorama's murder led to a 'nude protest' by mothers of Manipur outside the headquarters of Assam Rifles at Imphal, and a protracted agitation. In Kashmir, thousands have disappeared, and the police often, (also terrorists) shoot to kill.

Human rights groups accuse the security forces of taking to rape as a weapon in the insurgency-hit states. Recently, in Shopian, Kashmir, two young women, Neelofar and Aasiya Jan, were allegedly raped and murdered. Although, the CBI in its inquiry has denied rape, but numerous questions raised by the civil society and media are begging for answers. Even in 1992, in Shopian, 9 women including an 11-year-old girl were raped. Several rapes allegedly go unreported, as in the peak of insurgency and army actions. There are often no post-mortem reports, no FIRs, no chargesheets.

In 2009, of the 220 gallantry awards, 74 were won by Manipur police personnel. Even the 10 year-old-fast by Irom Sharmila against the AFSPA has not been able to break this deadlock of relentless violence and exploitation.