Manipur: Another Year in Strife

Sandipani Dash
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

Manipur was brought under the Armed Forces (Assam & Manipur) Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958, for another year with effect from December 1, 2008, "because of violent activities of various extremists/insurgent groups" as a result of which "the entire state of Manipur is in such a disturbed condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary." Manipur has been under the AFSPA since the late 1970s.


The insurgency in Manipur has, over the years, become increasingly homicidal, and trends in 2008 only demonstrate a further acceleration along this trajectory. While 388 deaths were caused by militancy in 2007, fatalities increased to 484 in 2008. The State, thus, remains most violent in India’s troubled Northeast, leaving behind the much larger Assam (384), and Nagaland (201). Manipur has just 8.52 per cent of the territory and 6.12 per cent of the population of the Northeast, but accounted for as much as 47 per cent of the terrorism related fatalities in the region in 2008.

Insurgency related Fatalities in Manipur: 2001 - 2008

Year	Civilians	SFs	Insurgents	Total
2001*	70	25	161	256
2002*	16	03	71	90
2003*	13	03	70	86
2004*	88	36	134	258
2005*	158	50	202	410
2006*	96	28	187	311
2007*	130	39	219	388
2008 (January-August)* (September-December)** Total	96 40 136	12 04 16	206 141 347	314 185 499

*Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India
** South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP)

The persistent violence in Manipur took an abrupt turn for the worse in year 2004, when terrorism related fatalities tripled, as compared to the preceding year. This steep escalation coincided with the alleged rape and custodial death of a female insurgent, Th. Manorama Devi, at the hands of Assam Rifles personnel on July 10, 2004. While year 2006 saw some improvement, violence has tended to escalate since the Manorma Devi incident. The State registered 388 fatalities in 584 insurgency-related incidents in 2007, according to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). MHA data indicates that year 2008 saw 465 such incidents, claiming the lives of 314 persons till August 31. According to the SATP database, another 185 persons, including 40 civilians, four Security Force (SF) personnel and 141 militants, were killed in the subsequent four months yielding a provisional total of 499 fatalities in the year, including 136 civilians, 16 SF personnel and 347 insurgents.

At least 24 major incidents of militant violence, involving deaths of three or more persons, took place in Manipur in 2008. The most significant among these included:

December 8: Five suspected People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) cadres were shot dead by Thoubal District Police at Langathel Thongkhong under Kakching Police Station.

November 26: Five workers in the Maphou dam site in Nongdam Tangkhul, at the tri-junction of Imphal East, Senapati and Ukhrul Districts, were killed by unidentified militants.

October 23: Five cadres of the Military Council (MC) faction of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and People’s United Liberation Front (PULF) were shot dead by SFs during an encounter at Heingang Heibimakhong Ching under Heingang Police Station in Imphal East District.

October 21: At least 18 persons were killed and over 30 persons injured when a bomb fitted to a motorcycle exploded near the high security Ragailong gate in Imphal. The KCP-MC claimed responsibility for bomb blast.

September 8: Five suspected PREPAK militants were shot dead by SFs during an encounter at Ngakrapat in the Bishnupur District.

June 11/12: Four militants belonging to the Azad faction of the PULF, including one ‘District commander’ Altab Ali alias Sana, were killed when a combined force of Imphal East District Police and troops of Assam Rifles neutralised a hideout of the outfit at the foothills of Urup Kangthak village under Irilbung Police Station.

March 18: Unidentified militants killed seven non-local labourers and injured two others. While five persons were killed at Thumbi foothill in the Kangla Sangomsang area of Imphal East District, two others were shot dead at Kakching in Thoubal District.

March 17: At least seven non-Manipuris were shot dead by unidentified militants at Mayang Imphal Hanglun in Imphal. The victims were sellers of tobacco products, which were ‘banned’ by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

February 22: Five Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) militants, including an old man and four child recruits, were abducted and subsequently killed by suspected militants of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) at an unspecified place along the road leading to Thangal Surung from Ekou Bazar under Saikul Police Station of Senapati District. One of the slain militants was identified as Hanpau Chongloi, KRA’s Public Relations Officer.

The escalation in violence is not only reflected in fatalities, but also in the number of bomb explosions triggered by various militant groups. According to the SATP database, 37 explosions were carried out throughout the State, including 27 in capital Imphal, in 2007, killing 14 and injuring another 66. This number went up to 60 explosions, with 35 in Imphal, in 2008, registering 28 fatalities and 60 injured. The worst of these was on October 21, 2008, when at least 18 persons were killed and over 30 injured, when a bomb fitted to a motorcycle was triggered by the KCP-MC near the high security Ragailong gate, close to the rear headquarters of the Assam Rifles and the Manipur Police Commando Complex, in capital Imphal.

The insurgency is spread over all nine Districts of the State including four in the Valley and five in Hill areas. As noted repeatedly in SAIR, the relentless hostility between the Hill tribes and the Valley dominated by a Hindu Meitei population, has provided sustained momentum to the extremist groups. In January 2006, more than 20 women were molested by the Valley-based United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and KCP militants at Parbung and Lungthulien under Tipaimukh Sub-division in the Churachandpur District. A Commission headed by S.P. Rajkhowa was subsequently set up to probe the incident. The Commission submitted its report to the Manipur Government on May 31, 2008. While findings of the report and the status of their implementation have so far evaded public knowledge, the Hill based Hmar People's Convention – Democracy (HPC-D), in July 2008, alleged that the UNLF and Military Council faction of the KCP frequently rape tribal girls and are trying to separate the smaller communities in the State. The Hill based groups also perpetrate violence in the Valley areas, often provoking extra-judicial vigilante action by local people. On December 16, 2008, for instance, the locals of Kwakta lynched a suspected Kuki National Front (KNF) cadre while he was trying to abduct two Muslim elders, identified as Mohammed Ahmad and Mohammed Itao of Kwakta village under Moirang Police Station in the Bishnupur District. Three days later, on December 19, the Military Council (MC) faction of the KNF served a threat of ‘capital punishment’ to seven persons residing at Kwakta village for their alleged involvement in drug smuggling and subsequent violence at same village, involving KNF cadres and villagers, resulting in the death of two persons and injury to four others.

The militants have not confined their influence to the remote corners of the State, but have displayed their full potential in the ‘fortified’ State capital, Imphal, by attacking the offices and residences of political authorities. On March 8, 2008, for instance, PREPAK militants drove up to the heavily guarded Manipur Assembly complex and exploded a bomb, though no fatalities were caused. Again, on April 24, at least five persons, including a woman, were injured when a remote controlled improvised explosive device (IED) fitted on a scooter was detonated by unidentified militants at the Babupara VIP colony near the Chief Minister's bungalow in Imphal. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Further, on May 8, unidentified militants lobbed a Chinese hand grenade at the residence of the State Health Minister Pheiroijam Parijat in Imphal. Later, on July 28, two bombs were hurled by militants at the residence of the State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Y. Erabot at Khurai Ahongei in the Imphal East District, causing damage to a vehicle and the residence. Similarly, on September 26, suspected militants lobbed a hand grenade at the residence of Legislator S. Kunjakishore alias Keba at Tera Sapam Leirak in the Imphal West District. Again on October 19, a grenade was exploded by suspected militants in front of the Chief Minister’s bungalow damaging a vehicle. On December 21, a Chinese hand grenade was exploded by militants belonging to the Lanheiba Meitei group of the MC faction of KCP at the south eastern side of the Governor’s House complex in Imphal, though no casualty was reported. Political authorities were targeted by militants in the areas beyond State capital Imphal as well. For example, on May 21, suspected militants exploded gas cylinders targeting the residence of the State Agriculture Minister N. Loken at Leimapokpam in the Bishnupur District.

Militant attacks are often related to the all pervasive extortion activities in Manipur. Places of worship, educational institutions, health centres, commercial establishments and related economic undertakings have been systematically brought under the extortion net, by almost all the outfits operating in the State. On March 30, 2008, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh stated that militant groups were extorting money out of donations given in the name of God at various temples. Educational institutions are also targeted by the extortionists. On September 12, 2008, the Kanan Devi Memorial School at Pangei in the Imphal East District was closed for an indefinite period due to a demand by the KCP for INR 500,000. Three days later, on September 25, extortion demands forced the closure of two Government colleges in Imphal. Hospitals have similarly been affected by the extortion networks. On January 18, for instance, two private hospitals, Langol View at Lamphel Sanakeithel and Imphal Hospital, in Imphal, were closed down due to extortion demands of INR 500,000 each served on them by a militant group.

Commercial establishments are, meanwhile, worst hit by the ongoing extortion drives. On August 28, hundreds of commercial establishments, including chemist shops, located on both sides of the Tiddim Road along National Highway – 150 from Keishampat to Kwakeithel in the Imphal West District remained closed to protest the unbearable monetary demands served on them by Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) cadres. Later, the shopkeepers along the Dingku Road of Imphal West District revealed that the businesses were divided into three categories by the militants – bigger shops were asked to pay INR 30,000, middle size shops INR 20,000 each, while the small ones were asked to pay INR 10,000. In a similar incident, on October 29, chemist shops in and around the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital at Lamphel in the Imphal West District remained closed for the day in protest against extortion threats. Extortion drives were backed with widespread intimidation of, assaults on and armed attacks against target groups of the population.

The militant groups also demonstrated their power, as has been the trend in previous years, by issuing numerous ‘decrees’. On January 31, 2008, the KYKL reiterated its ‘diktat’ of using Meetei Mayek language on signboards of shops, offices and institutions in the four valley Districts – Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur and Thoubal. Again, on April 23, the KYKL ‘banned’ the thabal chongba (dancing ceremony) at Khongjom in the Thoubal District. Similarly, on April 29, the KYKL and UNLF ordered a halt on the hike in the price of kerosene oil in local markets. The PLA ‘banned’ the export of rice or paddy outside Manipur with effect from December 12, to discourage the growing of cash crops. With the State’s ability to provide security to its citizens virtually non-existent, any refusal to fall in line with these diktats has proven fatal. On March 17, at least seven non-Manipuri traders selling tobacco products and mitha manna (betel leaf), which were ‘banned’ by the PLA, were shot dead by PLA militants at Mayang Imphal Hanglun in the capital.

Media in the State has also been forced to walk the tight rope between presenting an unbiased narrative and becoming a mouthpiece for the militant outfits, who use the Press to announce their ‘party programmes’. Both the English language and the vernacular media are told to carry verbatim Press Releases by the militants and a failure to do so is often accompanied by threats and/or actual reprisal attacks. On August 4, 2008, the Military Council (MC) faction of the KCP imposed an ‘indefinite ban’ on a widely-circulated popular Manipuri daily Poknapham, after the newspaper published a statement issued by the outfit in one of its inside pages and not on its front page, as demanded by the KCP-MC. Poknapham’s publication was suspended for at least a week. On November 17, a junior sub-editor of the English daily Imphal Free Press, Konsam Rishikanta, was killed by unidentified militants at Langol in the Imphal West District. The incident led to the suspension of publication of all newspapers in the State for over a week, as a mark of protest. In the end, however, no outfit apologized or promised not to repeat such attacks.

Manipur’s woes, emanating from ‘indigenous’ militant outfits, have been further aggravated by the overflow of militancy from neighbouring Nagaland – the oldest theatre of conflict in the northeastern region. Major parts of Manipur’s four Valley Districts – Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Chandel – remained affected by the activities of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) in 2008, as in earlier years. The NSCN-IM has not only carried out unceasing extortion and abduction activities in these Districts, but has intermittently engaged in fratricidal clashes with its rival Khaplang faction (NSCN-K). As all routes out of Manipur pass through one or the other of these Districts, the domination of the Naga groups over these areas, virtually translates into an undisturbed domination over the entire State of Manipur.

Counter-insurgency operations have primarily been led by the Army and the central para-military forces (CPMFs), with the State Police playing only a subsidiary and marginal role. The Army, in January 2008, claimed to have dislodged the UNLF from its last bastion inside the State, the New Samtal area spread over 1,000 square kilometres in the south-western Chandel District. Within the next three months, however, the UNLF cadres, who had simply vacated the villages and retreated into the forest areas, or had crossed over into the safety of adjoining Myanmar in the wake of counter-insurgency operations, had returned to the area, and started ambushing SF contingents. Till the month of December, ‘successes’ of the SFs in the area comprised of countering such ambushes and recovering arms and ammunition from the militants.

The Manipur Police’s irrelevance in the counter-insurgency operations has persisted despite the fact that the State boasts a Police-population ratio (Policemen per 100,000 populations) of 627, much higher than Nagaland (475), Assam (176) and the Indian average of 125. Manipur’s Policemen per 100 square kilometer area ratio of 73.2, is far in excess than Assam (66.4), Nagaland (62.2) and the national average of 45.

While the lack of adequate support from the State Police has been the bane of the SF operations in Manipur, the State has consistently failed to take advantage of the popular discontentment against the militants. In May 2008, the State Government, in response to an appeal by the people of Heirok in Thoubal District to arm them against militants, recruited 300 Special Police Officers (SPOs). However, in the face of a clampdown by the UNLF and KYKL militants, who clearly dominated the area, the entire programme was more or less abandoned. The UNLF and KYKL cadres stopped the people of Heirok from moving out from their villages and, on occasion, carried out attacks on them. Public transport services on the Heirok-Imphal and Heirok-Thoubal routes were suspended for days together as a result of militant action. There is no word on the part of the Government on the construction of barracks for the SPOs, nor has there been any move to deploy them. The Government has, moreover, failed to protect the people of Heirok from militant reprisals.

The only silver lining in Manipur has been the August 2005 Suspension of Operations (SoP) agreement between 19 Kuki militant groups and the Union Government. Although little progress has been achieved in terms of solving the problem of Kuki militancy in the Hill Districts, the agreement continues to hold. The three year-long ceasefire agreement, however, has not affected the abduction and extortion activities of these outfits. Three rounds of talks – two in New Delhi (on May 19 and August 22, 2008) and one in Imphal (on December 19, 2008) have been held. The Joint Monitoring Group (JMG), following the third round of meetings, issued "strong instructions" to 19 tribal militant groups to refrain from abduction and other unlawful activities and decided to finalise the process for issue of identity cards to around 1,745 militant cadres.

The neutralization of the all-pervasive threat of militancy in Manipur remained a chimera in 2008. Worse, the conflict dynamics in the State have become the more complex as a result of the intervention of a new player – the Left Wing extremist Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) – in the State. The PLA inked a three-point pact, on October 21, with the CPI-Maoist – the group already known to be active in over 220 Districts in 22 States across the country. Both outfits called for consolidation of "mutual understanding and friendship" to "overthrow the common enemy", the "reactionary regime of India". The actual ramifications of this agreement are yet to be manifested in Manipur, but there is little evidence that peace is a proximate possibility in the State.

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Manipur Timeline - Year 2009

January 2	Two suspected militants are shot dead by Police during an encounter in the Bishnupur District. One 9-mm pistol with some rounds of ammunition, two Chinese hand-grenades and seven extortion letters are recovered from the possession of the slain militants. 15 empty gas tankers on the way to Assam to collect cooking gas were turned back by some persons claiming to be NSCN-IM cadres at Maram in the Senapati District. However, the Chairman of the Cease-fire Monitoring Group (CFMG), General Mandhita, while speaking to the Manipur Government officials denied the involvement of the NSCN-IM in levying ‘tax’ of INR 1.5 million from the Sekmai Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Bottling Plant as well as LPG distributors.
January 3	A suspected People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cadre is shot dead by a combined force of the Thoubal District Police and Army during an encounter in the Haraorou-Iroilok area. While other militants manage to escape, one AK-56 rifle, one magazine with seven live rounds of AK ammunition, eleven fired cases of AK ammunition, one misfired shell of lethod bomb and one fired case of lethod bomb are recovered from the encounter site. A Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) cadre, P. Prem Kumar alias Iboucha, is arrested by the Assam Rifles personnel during a search operation between Yairipok and Top Chingtha in the Thoubal District.
January 4	Two suspected cadres of Military Council faction of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) are shot dead by unidentified militants at Koutruk Lairou under Lamsang Police Station in the Imphal West District. Two suspected People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) cadres are shot dead by a combined force of the Imphal West District Police and troops of the Maratha Light Infantry at Ishok under Wangoi Police Station. A Chinese hand grenade and one .32 pistol with two live rounds are recovered from the possession of the slain militants. A minor boy of three years sustained injuries when explosive experts of Manipur Police were defusing a hand grenade lobbed at the residence of the Commander of 2nd Battalion Home Guard by unidentified militants at Ghari Maning Leikai. Surrendered militants and their families numbering 37 households are evicted from the 2nd battalion commando complex in Imphal to build quarters for the State Police at the site. The report adds that altogether 84 militants are under the care of the State Government and 47 were given appointment forms and offer forms as trial riflemen in 2005. The remaining 37 have not got their offer or appointment forms but are employed as trial followers in the 4th IRB, a spokesperson of the surrendered militants said. An achievement report released by the Superintendent Police of Imphal West District, L. Kailun, states that 91 militants, including 37 cadres from KCP, 20 from PREPAK, one from PLA, eight from PULF, five from UNLF, seven from KYKL, nine from KRA, one from NNC and one from NSCN-IM, were shot dead and 343 others, including 91 cadres from KCP, one from Military Council faction of the KCP, 74 from PREPAK, 41 from PLA, 15 from PULF, 13 from UNLF, 48 from KYKL, four from KRA, five from NNC, 12 from NSCN-IM, two from NPC, five from KLA, six from NSCN-K, one from NNLA , two from KNA , six from KNF , one from UKLF , five from UNPC and one from ZDA, arrested by the District Police during counter-insurgency operations in 2008. The report said of the 343 arrested, 83 were detained under the National Security Act (NSA). 88 assorted weapons and 989 ammunitions were recovered from the arrested and slain militants, the report adds. In addition, the report further says INR 1, 95,280 were also recovered from these militants.
January 5	A KCP cadre, Islauddin, is arrested by Assam Rifles personnel from Moreh in the Chandel District.
January 6	A cadre of the General Secretary faction of the KCP, identified as Laishram Kiran alias Momo alias Anoppa, is arrested by a combined force of Imphal West District Police and Assam Rifles from near Krishna Premi oil pump at Moirangkhom. A gun of 7.62 calibre and four live rounds are recovered from his possession.
January 7	A cadre of the Umar Farooq faction of the People’s United Liberation Front (PULF), identified as Mohammed Jalaoruddin alias Sabir alias Anil, is arrested by the Thoubal District Police from near Ngariyan hills along Imphal-Yairipok road. 10 of the 37 surrendered militants whose homes within the commando complex at North AOC were demolished on January 4, refused to vacate the place where their old quarters stood and erected shacks there to shelter themselves.
January 8	Two women cadres belonging to the Military Council faction of the KCP, identified as Gurumayum Kunjarashi and Pebam Sophia alias Sanathoi, are arrested by the Imphal East District Police.
January 9	Sangai Express reports that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved recruitment of more than 1300 Special Police Officers (SPO) for deployment in the four valley Districts of Thoubal, Bishnupur, Imphal East and Imphal West. Subsequent to the approval, the State Government hands over the task of SPO recruitment to the State Director General of Police.

Source: www.satp.org