In November 2000, Irom Sharmila, a civil rights activist from Manipur who was later recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, went on a hunger strike demanding the repeal of the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which was criticized by several national and international bodies. Their fight for the repeal of the AFSPA began after the killing of ten civilians in Manipur by the Assam Rifles (a paramilitary force) in Malom, an incident known as “Malom Massacre”.
The beginning of a protest: Irom Sharmila and Malom
“A hunger strike is not a suicide attempt.” “Irom Sharmila is being held by the government solely because of her inconvenient activism,” explains Aakar Patel, executive director of Amnesty InternationalIndia. “She is a prisoner of conscience and is using her freedom of expression to protest an unjust law.” And their shameful detention leaves a stain on India’s commitment to human rights that is becoming harder to remove every year.”
Source: web
November 2025 marks the unprecedented battle of Irom Sharmilawhich was completed 25 years after her arrest under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. The insurgency in northeast India is viewed by the Indian state as a major threat to internal security. Too often, without examining the historical and cultural context of the region, the state apparatuses have exploited and violated the rights of the people in the name of securing the peace and integrity of the nation.
AFSPA, militarization and systematic abuse
AFSPA has long been used in the region to criminalize dissent, encourage human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings. Militarization under AFSPA has created conditions for systematic abuses such as rape in custody, killings and harassment at checkpoints.
The Ima Mothers nude protest is one of the most powerful and shocking demonstrations against the Indian state that took place in Manipur’s capital, Imphal, in July 2004. The demonstration represented the voices of marginalized women from the Northeast who are often oppressed by the state and its machinery. It came after the rape, torture and murder of Thangjam Manorama, a 32-year-old woman, by personnel of the Assam Rifles. Manorama was abducted from her home on July 10, 2004 on suspicion of insurgent links. Hours later, her body was found on the side of the road, riddled with bullets and showing signs of brutal sexual assault. In response, twelve elderly women activists gathered outside the Assam Rifles headquarters, stripped naked and held a banner that read, “Indian Army is raping us.”
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act has long been used in the region to criminalize dissent, encourage human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings. Militarization under AFSPA has created conditions for systematic abuses such as rape in custody, killings and harassment at checkpoints.
The Frontier Manipur notes the ongoing public concern and relevance of the same brutal incident in 2021: “On July 15, 2004, 12 mothers of Manipur took the crucial step of disrobing in front of Kangla Fort, Imphal, the then headquarters of the Assam Rifles, in protest against the custodial rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama. Manorama was arrested by 17 Assam Rifles from her own house on the night of July 10-11, 2004 and her lifeless body was found at the foot of Ngariyan the next morning. The defiant act of Meira Paibi leaders sparked a massive public protest in Manipur against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA). The months-long ongoing civil disobedience movement was only calmed when the then Indian Prime Minister promised to “replace the AFSPA with a more humane act.”
Historical patterns of sexual violence (1980s and 1990s)
This incident was not the only one. The brutal subjugation of the people, especially women, in this turbulent region made the question of nationalist struggle rigid. In the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, this sexual and physical war occurred, which led to massive violations of basic human rights. The women of the then northeast region were even afraid to leave their homes.
Another such inhumane and brutal gang rape and murder case occurred in Lakhimpur district of Assam:
“On October 16, 1991, a 14-year-old girl, Bhanimai Dutta, became a victim. On that day, a group of army personnel suddenly cordoned off the residence of Mr. Mukuta Dutta, father of Bhanimai, picked up his son Babul Dutta and carried him to their vehicle while beating him mercilessly. When Mukuta Dutta and his wife rushed to the gate of their compound to stop the army personnel from killing Babul “When Mr Mukuta and his wife returned from the army vehicle in which they were detained, they saw the army men leaving the house in a hurry and lying on the bed covered in blood. The army men blocked the post-mortem of Miss Bhanimai Dutta for up to three days before the procedure.” You can find detailed reporting on this massive violence against women on the website Assam portal And Here.
One such incident of rape and killing also occurred earlier the same month on October 6, 1991, in a village near Gohpur in Sonitpur district.
“On that day, around 1:00 to 1:30 a.m., seven army men entered the nearby house of Mr. Moniram Barua. The group of seven army men dragged her into a nearby jungle at gunpoint and raped her one by one. After raping her repeatedly, the army men threw her unconscious body near a pond. Villagers who were at the spot pulled her out of the pond and took her to a hospital where she was declared dead.” The same report by Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti contains details of 28 other brutal rape cases committed by security personnel.
The ongoing impunity and the global context of the AFSPA
Even after all the rape cases that have occurred in the wake of the implementation of draconian laws such as the AFSPA, which is still being implemented in many districts of the Northeast region, the issue of human rights violations and measures to protect them has a long history of its own at the international level.
The sexual, physical and psychological war against women who subscribe to patriarchal norms in the region’s militarized environment makes them vulnerable. For this reason, there have been calls for the repeal of the AFSPA.
Some of the instruments, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), make it clear that every woman should have the right to prevent the exploitation of her body. This has been recognized in the form of obligations under Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Principle 9 of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Articles 7 and 8 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and Article 8 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The 1974 declaration goes so far as to extend protection to women and children in emergencies and armed conflicts.
India, which claims to be a major proponent of protecting women’s rights, is itself failing to protect them in many turbulent regions, which include not only the Northeast but also regions like Kashmir, Bastar and many others. Violence against women was committed by members of India’s armed forces and security agencies operating in the state. These perpetrators from the security forces are also immune from prosecution under the legal procedures.
The sexual, physical and psychological war against women who subscribe to patriarchal norms in the region’s militarized environment makes them vulnerable. For this reason, there have been calls for the repeal of the AFSPA. According to the latest available official data, the Armed Forces Special Power Act was applicable in 194 police stations in 37 districts in four states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. Even after decades of violence, marginalization and exploitation of civilians in the Northeast region by the state machinery, this draconian act is still being implemented in the region. Despite repeated calls from UN experts and national and international groups to revoke the AFSPA, the law continues to be enforced and continues to lead to human rights violations in the region.
Dristy Baishya is a second year student at Miranda House pursuing a BA in Sociology with Honors. Her interests lie in proletarian feminism, northeastern regionalism and culture, human rights, insurgencies, state politics and their negative impact on indigenous peoples. She identifies as a communist.
