New Delhi: A Manipuri activist, Jhonson Slangbam, says the people of India have not seen the real picture of what is happening in Manipur.
There is growing rage against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which is seen as a draconian act in the entire state of Manipur.
The callousness of the Government towards the issue forced a young woman, Irom Sharmila, to wage a non-violent crusade against the act. Irom has been on a hunger-strike for the past six years.
The human rights abuses in the state culminated in a first of its kind protest from a group of elderly women in Imphal two years back.
The protests came in the wake of alleged torture, rape and killing of Manorama Devi, a young Manipuri activist, by personnel of Assam Rifles.
The Government was forced to form a review committee. Justice BP Jeevan Reddy Committee had already submitted its report on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
The 147-page report of the Justice BP Jeevan Reddy Committee - a copy of which is now with CNN-IBN - clearly advises the government to repeal the act. But Home Ministry sources indicate that the Government is in no mood to do so.
CNN-IBN has learnt that the Government is only willing to implement the review report in parts and is keen on including all provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and re-impose it in Manipur. After all, it needs to walk the tightrope when it comes to policing Manipur.
Manipuri activists caution that this will spark off a fresh round of protests on the streets of Imphal and the state will go up in flames again.
But like in the past, New Delhi has hardly paid any heed to such warnings. The big question is whether the Government has taken lessons from past mistakes.
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