MANIPUR VIOLENCE:

INFRINGEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

WRITTEN BY: ADVOCATE TULIP DAS

UNIVERSITY LAW COLLEGE, GAUHATI UNIVERSITY

EDITED BY: JAIN DIVYA LALIT

5^TH YEAR BLS. LL.B.,

MGM LAW COLLEGE, NAVI MUMBAI

INTRODUCTION

Imphal, the state's capital, is located in northeastern India. Indian states Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south, and Assam to the west encircle it. Additionally, it shares boundaries with two areas of Myanmar: Chin State to the south and Sagaing Region to the east. The state has a 22,327 km2 area. Manipur was a princely state that joined India in 1949 as a Union Territory before becoming a full state in 1972.

Hills and valleys make up the different regions of Manipur. Imphal, the capital, is located in the valley. Two groups, the Meites and the Kukis, predominate in Manipur, with the Meites making up the majority (53% of the overall population and primarily comprising Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Hindus). They generally live in the valley area, which makes up 10% of Manipur's total land area. The Meites are seen as a developed community since they can easily access education, hospitals, and infrastructure because they live in the valley area.

The Meites, however, are not permitted to purchase land in steep areas. The Kukis, who make up 40% of the entire population and are primarily Christians with Scheduled Tribe status, are a minority. They have the ability to acquire and sell land throughout Manipur because they are mostly based in the hilly regions, which make up 90% of the state.

WHY IN NEWS?

Manipur's current violence is a complicated issue with a lengthy history. The recent skirmishes are simply the most recent episode in a long-running conflict that has afflicted the state for decades with insurgency and violence.

Meities have been pleading with the state and federal governments since 2013 to recognize them as Scheduled Tribes under the Indian Constitution, which would have given them rights comparable to those enjoyed by tribal communities, but no action has been taken. The Meities community should be taken into consideration for membership in the Scheduled Tribes, the Manipur High Court ordered on April 20, 2023.

Other tribes, including the Kukis, raised objections to it. The All Tribal Student Union of Manipur (ATSUM) organized a solidarity march on May 3, 2023, across each of the state's hill districts. Conflicts between the Meita and Kuki populations erupted in and around the Churachandpur district towards the end of March. In no time, ethnic and inter-communal violence swept over the entire state of Manipur.

HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED IN A NUMBER OF INSTANCES IN THIS CONTEXT:

Extrajudicial executions: Manipur's security forces have been charged with extrajudicial executions. These incidents involve the use of excessive force and what are frequently described as "fake encounters" where people are purportedly killed without following the proper legal procedures.

Arbitrary Arrest and Detention: There have been instances of the arbitrary arrest and detention of people who were thought to be involved in insurrections or other actions that posed a security danger. These arrests frequently take place without adequate justification or a fair trial, violating the right to due process.

Torture and ill-treatment: There have been instances of both security forces and terrorist groups torturing and mistreating those who were detained. This includes mistreatment of the body, mind, or emotions, which violates the right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhumane, or humiliating treatment. People have been displaced from their homes and their livelihoods have been disrupted in Manipur as a result of violence and war. This infringes on both the right to a job and money as well as the right to a secure home environment.

Freedom of expression and assembly: The conflict has occasionally led to limitations on these rights. Press freedom may be curtailed, and people may experience limitations on their capacity to assemble peacefully and express their viewpoints.

Impact on Children: The rights of children have also been impacted by the violence in Manipur. Children might be exploited or subjected to violence, denied access to education, or recruited by armed groups.

Lack of accountability: There is frequently a lack of a thorough investigation, accountability, and justice for abuses of human rights. The cycle of impunity is sustained by this absence of accountability.

RECENT INCIDENCES

Women are frequently vulnerable to many types of violence, including sexual violence, in conflict zones. In Manipur, reports of rape and other instances of gender-based violence have been made.

Olivia and Florence Hangshing, two young women from the Kangpokpi region of Manipur who worked at a car wash in Imphal, were allegedly kidnapped, gang-raped, and killed by a mob at their place of employment. A 37-year-old woman reported to police in Manipur that she was gang-raped by Kuki men while trying to flee a burning house with her two sons, niece, and sister-in-law amid mounting reports of sex crimes that occurred amid a grisly dance of death that included what now appears to be a barbaric scene.

A woman from the Churachandpur area of Manipur stated she was fleeing her home when a gang of men caught her, as her sister-in-law was jogging alongside her sons and nieces. Outrage has been expressed across the nation after a viral video from the Indian state of Manipur showed dozens of men harassing and abusing two women who were naked. The 26-second video depicts a gang of guys, some of whom appear to be as young as 15, grabbing and assaulting women from the Kuki-Zo ethnic subgroup before leading them to a barren field.

The north-eastern Indian state of Manipur has been the subject of reports of major human rights abuses and violations, including alleged sexual violence, extrajudicial executions, home destruction, forced relocation, torture, and ill-treatment. Following the most recent outbreak of interethnic warfare between the mostly Christian Kuki and predominantly Hindu Meitei ethnic groupings in May 2023, experts have noted a "inadequate humanitarian response" as a result of the grave humanitarian situation poor Manipur.

The warfare has also reportedly resulted within the displacement of tens of hundreds of humans from communities, the burning of heaps of houses and hundreds of churches, the destruction of agricultural land, the lack of plants and the lack of livelihoods. A 31-yr-antique man diagnosed as David Hmar was brutally tortured, brutally massacred and beheaded through a mob in the district. In traumatic photos, the top of the deceased was left installed on a bamboo spike after being beheaded. After the ugly murder, David's frame become burned to ashes, and those who lower back to the site located just a few bones. As a sign of respect for the deceased, nearby residents covered the remains with a Hmar tribal scarf.

The incident occurred on July 4^th. David was killed in Langza village of Churachandpur after he became stuck by way of a mob at the same time as trying to defend his village from looting. The incident reportedly happened around 4:30-5:00 a.m. when numerous humans with weapons barged into the village and commenced firing. Remarkably, criticism has been filed for this barbarity as properly, but no movement has been taken to this point.

The Manipur police informed the ultimate court that during the nearly 3-month duration from might also 3 to July 30, more than 6,500 police cases have been filed. Over 140 people have been killed and 60,000 have been displaced as a result of the violence thus far. In many areas of the state, the internet is still unavailable.

The federal BJP government's response was noticeably subdued as the violence increased. The Meitei-dominated state BJP government has been charged with being complicit in violence against the Kuki minority by enabling Meitei gangs to commit crimes with impunity.The administration received criticism from the Supreme Court for failing to handle the situation in Manipur. It is time for the government to truly intervene and take action because this is simply intolerable, Chief Justice Dhananjaya Chandrachud said.

REFERENCES:

1.https://primelegal.in/2023/08/02/manipur-violence-an-overview/

2.https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-12985-manipur-violence-tough-road-for-india.html

3.https://m.thewire.in/article/security/manipur-violence-reasons-failure-and-solution-q-and-a/amp

4.https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa20/6969/2023/en/