Human rights issues

in Northeast India

Human rights issues in northeast India

have been widely reported in the press and
by human rights activists.[1][2] Northeast
India refers to the easternmost region of
India consisting of the states of Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura,
as well as parts of northern West Bengal
(districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and
Koch Bihar).
 Northeast India

Location of Northeast states within India

Population 38,857,769

Area 262,230 km2
(101,250 sq mi)

Population density 148/km2 (380/sq mi)

Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

States and territories Arunachal Pradesh,

Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram,
 Nagaland, Sikkim,
Tripura

Largest cities (2008) Guwahati, Dimapur,

Agartala, Shillong,
Aizawl,

Official languages Assamese, Bengali,

Bodo, English, Garo,
Khasi, Kokborok, Meitei,
Mizo, Nepali, Pnar,
Sikkimese

Religion Christianity Buddhism

Background
An ongoing separatist struggle has
continued in the region since the late
1940s, making it the longest running
separatist struggle in South Asia. There
are multiple parties involved in the
struggles including different ethnic groups
and states, some of whom want total
independence from India while others call
for a restructuring of the states.[3]

There are existing territorial conflicts

within the Northeastern states, including
between Manipur and Nagaland, Nagaland
and Assam, Meghalaya and Assam, and
Mizoram and Assam. These are often
based on historical border disputes and
differing ethnic, tribal or cultural affinities.
There has been a number of insurgent
activities and regional movements in all
parts of the northeast, often unique in
character to each state. Military action by
the armed and paramilitary forces and
political action have led to the intensity of
these insurgencies fluctuating and to the
resolution of the insurgency in Mizoram.

Human rights abuses on the part of Indian

forces in the area are frequently traced to
immunity granted to Indian security forces
under the Armed Forces (Special Powers)
Act, 1958. The act has been criticized by
Human Rights Watch as a "tool of state
abuse, oppression and discrimination".[4]
The South Asian Human Rights
Documentation Centre argues that the
governments' call for increased force is
part of the problem.[5]

"This reasoning exemplifies the

vicious cycle which has been
instituted in the North East due
to the AFSPA. The use of the
AFSPA pushes the demand for
more autonomy, giving the
people of the North East more
reason to want to secede from a
state which enacts such powers
and the agitation which ensues
 continues to justify the use of the
AFSPA from the point of view of
the Indian Government."[6]

A report by the Institute for Defense

Studies and Analysis points to multiple
occurrences of violence by security forces
against civilians in Manipur since the
passage of the Act.[7] The report states
that residents believe that the provision for
immunity of security forces urge them to
act more brutally.[8]

Examples
Violence broke out between Bodo tribes
and Muslim migrant settlers in the
Kokrajhar district of Assam on 20 July
2012, leaving at least 45 people dead and
approximately 300,000 displaced in the
month of July. According to Human Rights
Watch, the fighting has led to a strict
curfew, with police being given "shoot at
sight" orders for curfew violators. Multiple
police shootings were reported after the
order was given.[9]

Allegations of sexual assault

Women are mostly raped during militant
attacks where men of the villages or towns
are gathered outside their homes and
women are forced to stay indoors.
Furthermore, most of the rapes go
unreported due to the social stigma and
fear of backlash.[10]

The Assam Police between 2006 and 2011

received over 7000 complaints of rape and
also 11,553 complaints of kidnappings
involving women committed mainly by
militants.[11]

See also
Insurgency in Northeast India

References
1. Bendangjungshi (2012). Confessing
Christ in the Naga Context: Towards a
Liberating Ecclesiology. LIT Verlag
Münster. p. 60. ISBN 978-3643900715.
2. Chakma, Suhas (2001). Marianne
Jensen (ed.). Racism Against
Indigenous Peoples. International
Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
p. 204. ISBN 978-8790730468.
3. Binalakshmi Nepram. Gender Based
Violence in Conflict Zones : Case
Study of India’s Northeast (PDF)
(Report). Centre for Equity and
Inclusion. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June
2012.
4. "Crisis in Kashmir" Council on Foreign
Relations
5. India: Repeal Armed Forces Special
Powers Act; 50th Anniversary of Law
Allowing Shoot-to-Kill, Other Serious
Abuses. Human Rights Watch
6. AFSPA South Asian HRDC
7. Institute for Defense Studies and
Analysis, 'Manipur and Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act 1958' "the
alleged rape and killing of Manjab
Manorama", "security forces have
destroyed homes", "arrests without
warrants", "widespread violations of
humane rights", "The cases of Naga
boys of Oinam village being tortured
before their mothers by Assam rifles
Jawans in July 1987; the killing of
Amine Devi and her child of Bishnupur
district on April 5, 1996 by a CRPF
party; the abduction, torture and killing
of 15-year-old Sanamacha of Angtha
village by an Assam Rifles party on
 12th February 1998; the shooting dead
of 10 civilians by an Assam Rifles
party in November 2000 are some of
the glaring examples that are still
fresh in the mind of Manipuris."
8. Institute for Defense Studies and
Analysis, 'Manipur and Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act 1958' Archived
12 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
9. Human Rights Watch, India: Rescind
"Shoot at Sight" Orders in Assam , 27
July 2012
 10. Nonibala Devi Yengkhom; Meihoubam
Rakesh (4 October 2002). "Fear of
rape: The experience of women in
Northeast India" . Article 2. Asian
Human Rights Commission. 1 (5).
ISSN 1811-7023 . Retrieved 21 June
2012.
11. "Over 7,000 complaints of rape in
Assam since 2006" . CNN-IBN. 26
March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.

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