What provokes the darkest dread here is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives the Indian army and paramilitary forces like the Assam Rifles, wide powers to detain people without trial on mere suspicion. This law has provided cover for men in uniform to torture, maim and kill people for decades now. The nationwide outrage, and the demand for the repeal of this draconian act, sparked by the brutal rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama Devi by Assam Rifles personnel four years ago, has not changed things; the Manipuri women who stripped naked in a courageous protest against Assam Rifles may have done so in vain. The security forces still act with impunity, custodial torture and deaths continue as before. The demand for the repeal of the AFSPA continues to resonate loudly throughout Manipur, as well, but people have little hope that it will happen. "When the prime minister came here after my sister’s death, he promised this act would go. But he did not live up to his promise. If he can go back on his word, what can we expect from the Indian state?" asks Thangjam Dolendra, brother of the slain Manorama.
"India does not care for us" is a sentiment that resounds through this town. "Can the security forces treat people of any other state in ‘mainland’ India as they treat us?" is the angst and hurt-filled question hurled at me by theatre personality and Padmashri awardee Heisnam Kanhailal. Yambem Laba, director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, cites the recent example of a middle-ranking army officer flagging down a convoy, to verify the state health minister’s credentials. "Can this happen anywhere else in India?" he asks. Brozendra Ningomba, editor of a popular local daily, is often detained and interrogated by army and paramilitary patrols on his way back home at night from office. While the rest of the country celebrates sixty years of freedom, for the people of Manipur, August 15 only translates into heightened security—and greater harassment.
