Manipur Under AFSPA: Rape, Fake Encounter And Unending Wait For Justice

At her home in Yairipok, about 20 km from Imphal, Mumtaz Begum gives her best effort to lead a normal life. She weaves, tends to the garden and also her small poultry farm.

It has been 12 years since her husband died in a fake encounter. Begum바카라�s school teacher husband M.D. Azad Khan and four others from their village were killed by a combined para military forces unit. They were suspected of inv­olvement with an insurgent outfit.

Nobody filed an FIR, recalled Mumtaz Begum. 바카라�Everybody was afraid,바카라� she said. The mother of five, who was 36 then, was left with no means of livelihood.

Manipur is littered with stories like that of Begum, ever-since the entire state came under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. Young men, including boys would disappear, never to return home. Young women바카라�including the pregnant and the mothers바카라�have been raped and assaulted. Families often come to hear the news of death of their son or husband from the media, or through information rel­a­yed by neighbours, friends or relatives. The bodies would be left for the families to pick up. There are many more widows and ber­e­­aved mothers than officially acknowledged by the State, as numerous cases of killing by security forces go unreported in Manipur.

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People are allegedly picked up by paramilitary forces and police commandos on mere suspicion, then tortured, brutalised and shot dead in fake 바카라�encounters바카라�.

In 2012, the wives and mothers of fake enco­unter victims came together to document these atrocities and bring them to the notice of the Supreme Court of India, under a forum called Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families바카라� Association, now popularly called EEVFAM.

As many as 1,528 cases were filed in the Supreme Court in 2013. Till date, families of just five victims acknowledge they have rece­ived cash compensation.

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Much water has flown down Manipur바카라�s eme­rald-coloured hills since then. 바카라�No inquiry has been conducted into the circumstances of my husband바카라�s death till now,바카라� says Begum.

바카라�Justice?바카라� she asked, and paused thoughtf­u­lly. 바카라�That I don바카라�t know. I don바카라�t think justice will ever be delivered,바카라� she says. Acknow­le­d­g­ing that compensation, interim relief, inquiry and trial are necessary processes of natural law, Begum says, 바카라�Even these are yet to be carried out.바카라� She insists that only after there is legal clos­ure, can 바카라�the next step바카라�the final verdict be carried out, allowing us to accept the existence of justice바카라�.

Echoing her sentiments, Edina Ningthoujam, whose husband did not ret­urn home from work in January 2009, says she too waits for the court바카라�s verdict. Her husband Anand Ningthoujam, a construction contractor, was allegedly picked up by a combined unit of Assam Rifles and police. She read the news of his death in a local newspaper. Anand, who was only 29 years old then, was also suspected of inv­olvement with an insurgent group.

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About a year ago, Edina was informed that she would receive monetary compensation. 바카라�I바카라�m yet to receive it,바카라� she says. But this isn바카라�t what women like Edina want in the first place. She says, 바카라�There바카라�s no investigation into the case.바카라� She feels the compensation was announced only to dispose off the case without any inquiry.

What then would justice mean to her and the other families? 바카라�What we want and have been dem­anding is punishment,바카라� she says. For Edina, compensation can바카라�t be allowed to hasten closure of such cases.

Can life imprisonment or capital punishment of the accused be acc­eptable as punishment? 바카라�Yes, something of that sort,바카라� she says, adding, 바카라�For me, that would mean closure of the case.바카라�

Parts of Manipur have been under AFSPA since the early 1970s. By the 1980s, the whole state was brought under the act. Numerous protests and demands for its removal have been organised by civil society groups, including unique ones like Irom Sharmila바카라�s 16-year-long fast, demanding repeal of AFSPA, or the sensational 2004 nude protest by 12 bereaved mothers in front of the historic Kangla Fort바카라�then headquarters of Assam Rifles바카라�in the heart of the state capital, Imphal.

That protest was triggered by the alleged gang-rape and killing of Thangjam Manorama, a young woman, by paramilitary forces. Her mutilated body, bearing marks of sexual ass­ault, was recovered about 3 km from her home in Imphal East.

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Among the 12 mothers who stripped at the Kangla Fort was Ima Nganbi. She agreed their protest was sparked by Manorama바카라�s brutalisation, but insisted, 바카라�We did not come out only for Manorama.바카라� She reca­lled, 바카라�Actually, it was a spontaneous outburst against AFSPA.바카라�

Ngabi, one of the leaders of meira paibi (women torchbearers) has been vocal about removal of AFSPA. She recalled that since the early 1970s, all Manipur residents have been so terrorised under the act that nobody dares to speak out.

Many women have had their izzat (honour) destroyed through rape and sexual assault, Nganbi adds, pointing to the case of Rose, a young lady who committed suicide in 1974 after being raped by two paramilitary officers in Ukhrul. 바카라�So many women have been sexually assaulted or raped. We need to speak out, name the guilty,바카라� says Nganbi.

First implemented in the tribal hill areas, AFSPA was eventually enforced across the state by the 1980s. With the random killings, arrests and harassments that followed, daily life in Manipur was turned ups­ide down. 바카라�We couldn바카라�t even carry out routine activities. Every movement became suspicious,바카라� she adds.

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바카라�The sufferings became unbearable,바카라� she continues, adding that it바카라�s not possible for women, especially mothers to live in peace when daughters are raped and humiliated and sons dragged out of homes and tortured.

Picture of patience Mumtaz Begum at her home

Ever the optimist, Nganbi insists that irrespective of whether the target is a militant or a civilian, all arrests should follow proper legal procedure, and involve transparent questioning and inquiry. 바카라�They should be produced before court and punished if found guilty,바카라� she asserts. 바카라�Random killings, rape바카라�this is unacceptable,바카라� she insists. The same rule of law should also govern security or paramilitary personnel. 바카라�Punish the guilty, jail them,바카라� she says, adding, 바카라�There should be a regular court procedure leading up to a verdict in every case.바카라�

Because when there is no court procee­d­ing, no verdict and no punishment, sec­urity forces operate according to their whims, which makes civilians see them as enemies. 바카라�We assume that the government sends its armies to kill us,바카라� Nganbi says, adding that this can바카라�t be the norm in a democracy.

Manorama바카라�s case is among the 1,528 filed in the Supreme Court. Reportedly, her family has now been offered some token compensation, which, asserts Nganbi, is not a legal verdict.

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바카라�Compensation is a process, a part of the inv­estigation, not a judgment,바카라� she repeats. 바카라�Does it mean a case is concluded once compensation is paid? What about fixing responsibility and giving punishment? Have any rape accused ever been held guilty or punished?바카라� she asks.

Nganbi re-affirms that the numerous protests and acts of defiance by civil society are not merely for seeking monetary compensation. 바카라�We demand court verdicts,바카라� she says.

Hope sustains the struggles of Ima Nganbi, Mumtaz Begum and Edina Ningthoujam. 바카라�We will continue our fight for justice. We바카라�re not done yet,바카라� says Nganbi. 바카라�I바카라�m sure one day the judgment will come. It is our right to get justice, and it will happen.바카라�

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Oozing patience in her voice, Mumtaz Begum says, 바카라�I바카라�m waiting for the court바카라�s judgment.바카라� Edina Ningthoujam still hopes that her husband바카라�s death will be investigated.

The phaneks (Manipuri women바카라�s traditional attire) that the 12 mothers had stripped off from their bodies at the gates of Kangla Fort in 2004, will once again be brought out and worn, once there is a legal verdict. 바카라�We바카라�ll wear our phaneks when a judgment comes,바카라� said an emotional Nganbi.

The government may attempt to make the public forget these incidents by diverting or distracting their attention from AFSPA. But the women who have been widowed and bereaved by AFSPA are not forgetting it. They are not ready yet to make a closure.

바카라�We haven바카라�t forgotten anything. We바카라�ll not let them go free,바카라� says Ima Nganbi, emphatically.

(This appeared in the print edition as "Waiting for Judgement Day")

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Ninglun Hanghal is an Imphal-based freelance journalist