The Supreme Court set up a commission last month to investigate six cases of alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur. The Court’s decision was a response to a petition filed last year by the Extra-judicial Executions Victims Families Association ( EEVVFA) citing 4528 cases since 1979. These killings were allegedly done by the armed forces. The state is under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for decades. For years, individual families have had to put up with the indifference of the lower courts and the unflappability of the state government. The Manipur government stated that 30- odd insurgent groups threatened the security of the state and so the AFSPA was necessary. Probes into extra-judicial killings by the armed forces would destabilize the situation. The insurgents in Manipur have been mainly concerned with the land issue. Nagas, Kukis and Meities have different takes on the matter. The major Kuki faction has agreed to suspend operations. Naga groups like the NSCN ( IM) have extended their cease fire. So the main insurgents are the Meities in the plains. The surviving groups are functioning like gangs and are rebels without a cause. They are also engaged in fighting among themselves and have lost popular support.
If the government in Imphal grasps the nettle, it would be goodbye to insurgency in Manipur. The courts have taken note of the enormity of extra-judicial killings in the state. So should the state government. The recommendation of the Justice J.S. Verma panel has made sexual violence by the armed forces enjoying immunity under the AFSPA as punishable as the crimes committed by civilians. The fasting by Irom Sharmila and the trail left by the rape and murder of Manorama by security forces personnel have caused an impact on the public mind in Manipur.