1.

INTRODUCTION

Human Rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from
severe political, legal, and social abuses. The philosophy of human rights addresses
questions about the existence, content, nature, universality, justification, and legal status
of human rights. Human Rights may exist as a norm of national and international law
created by enactment and judicial decisions. Human rights might also exist independently
of legal enactment by being part of actual human moralities. Therefore, human rights
represent a critical and constructive element in the search for an effective response to the
multi-dimensional challenges of state fragility, and for the protection of the common
people from the clutches of both the states and the non-states violation of one’s life.

The word “insurgency” means an insurrection against an existing regime by a section of

aggrieved groups. The Dictionary of International Law defines “insurgents” as “rebels”,
“resistance”, “detachments or participants in a civil war” or “national liberation war” who
control certain territory in their country, wage struggles against colonialists, dictatorial
fascists and other anti-democratic regimes for self-determination of their people and have
been recognized as “insurgents” by other subjects of international law. “Insurgency” has
also been defined as a struggle between a non-state groups and ruling authorities in which
the former consciously employs political or some other resources and instruments of
violence to establish legitimacy for some aspect for controlling a system it considers
illegitimate. Hence, insurgency may break out against a particular regime, structures,
policies or biases of a regime. In all such possible cases, the prime objective of insurgents
would be to capture power and replace the ruling regime or to change the legitimate
system.

The character of an insurgency may partly determine the insurgent’s willingness to

perpetrate human rights violations. But, this “willingness” to commit human rights
violations, may also have a bearing on the likelihood of negotiations being initiated
between the state and the insurgency, and also on the likelihood on reaching certain
agreement. Most insurgent groups do not express a desire to topple the government
against which they are fighting. What insurgents often seek may be a measure of
autonomy; it may be secession, or an end to discrimination/repression. An insurgency
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leadership may be willing to enter negotiations, and perhaps willing to accept mediation,
but in the face of expressed government accusations of “insurgency” behavior on the part
of the insurgency, any mediator may not be able to overcome the government’s
reluctance to begin any peace discussions.

The works of Human Rights in such situation becomes inherently conflicting. It becomes
all the more challenging in situations of serious threats to internal security such as
insurgency which, besides posing a danger to the life and property of the people, aim at
undermining the authority of the state, subverting political institutions and destroying its
core values. Support and cooperation of the local population is a key component of an
effective strategy against insurgency.

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 2. INSURGENCY IN INDIA

India’s North East comprising the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura is the truest symbol of its pluralistic
character.1 While the States have a number of common features, such as distant location,
difficult terrain, permanently cloudy weather, vast natural resources and a predominantly
tribal way of life, they constitute a highly heterogeneous region with their uniquely
separate identities in terms of origin, growth and history of the various tribes in India.
The artificial barrier created by the British prevented national freedom movement from
penetrating into certain areas of the region. It was often claimed that the Inner Line
Regulation was devised to ensure the identity of the tribes and to prevent their
exploitation. Ironically, the tribal identity is not discussed therein. The hollowness of
such claims is proved by the fact that the British frequently interfered in the internal
affairs of the tribes and monopolized the trade.2

North East India, in particular, is the most volatile region where human rights violations
have taken a serious proportion. The arrival of illegal immigrants, refugees, ethnic
conflicts, degradation of forests and forest resources, large scale deployment of army and
paramilitary forces to tackle the problem of ‘insurgency’ are, to mention a few, largely
responsible for human rights violations in the region. The political and economic models
thrust from above have also been questioned and contested by the indigenous people, as
these models do, in some ways, impose upon their developmental, political and economic
rights. The agents and forces of globalization in the form of multinational products and
global culture have posed a serious challenge to the developmental and cultural rights of
the indigenous people.3

MAJOR FACTORS PROMOTING INSURGENCY

There are some major factors that have promoted insurgency in the Northeastern parts of
India viz., geographical isolation and cultural alienation, immigration, economic

1
R.Upadhyay, Northeast Violence: An Overall View, Mittal Publications, Delhi, 2005, p. 358
2
B.B. Kumar, “North-East India: Crisis of Perception and Credible Action”, Dialogue, October December,
2009, Volume 11, No 2, p. 80
3
S. N. Chaudhary, ed; op.cit., pp.134-135

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underdevelopment, the negligence of the central government, and corruption among local
politicians and elites. The insurgency in the North East had primarily been under the
charge of the armed forces, particularly the army because of the magnitude and
complexity of the threat it posed. The armed forces while tackling the situation posed by
the insurgency may sometime violate human rights regulation. Such situation like
violating human rights also creates a complicity in the region where the armed forces are
based. Thus, both insurgent and state terrorism are phenomenally increasing in the
northeastern parts of India. The versions and standpoints on violation of human rights are
highly polarized. The two parties (the insurgency and the state) blame each other for such
violations. Heavy casualties on human and material life happen almost on a daily basis.
Terrorism let loose by the insurgency and the armed forces has also exposed serious
democratic deficit leading to denial of human rights in this region.

A basic requirement of Human Rights in dealing with the insurgency is conceptual clarity
about the nature and magnitude of the problem and its role in solving it. In fact
insurgency is entirely different from any other form of violent criminal activity. Behind
every insurgency action is a cause, a political goal or some other reasons, which could
not be achieved/ articulated through conventional methods of protest and agitation.
Insurgency may also emerge as a product of despair resulting from the inability of its
propagators to launch and sustain a mass movement for achieving their political or
personal objectives. The roots of insurgency lies in misery and frustration arising from
neglected causes which they bring into public focus by symbolic acts of violence
invariably directed against innocent targets. The North East continues to simmer with the
violent activities of a number of insurgent groups motivated and guided for some political
or personal gains. The Northeastern states are confronting insurgent movements rooted in
ethnicity and sub-nationalism. Every insurgency movement has a distinct identity molded
by its geo-political and socio-economic context. Insurgency, therefore originated from the
mis-governance of the state, which are reflected in the unresponsiveness of the
administration to the demands and grievances of the people and the inaction of the state
establishment.

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Therefore, insurgency is an organized armed struggle, somewhat to capture the state
power. Their aim is therefore to control the population by subverting its loyalty to
established authority, i.e. the state. This is achieved through intelligent propaganda to
mobilize popular support for their cause alongside terror-inspiring violence designed to
demonstrate the inability of the government to provide security to its citizens. A
frustrating situation on the other hand, characterized by a lack of public support and
comparative superiority of the security forces, causes degeneration of insurgency into
terrorist acts of mindless and indiscriminate violence.

Insurgency is a complex phenomenon imbued with political, social, economic and

psychological factors. These challenges call for a comprehensive strategy based on
coordinated plans involving administrative, legal, military and diplomatic measures.
Viewing them merely as problems of law and order would result in losing our perspective
about the real issues. It becomes necessary for the Human Rights to read and heed the
signs, which should intervene effectively at the preparatory stages and prevent the growth
of the insurgency movement. This is possible only by a firm and impartial enforcement of
law immediately on sighting any symptom of a developing situation. The internal
security scenario in the country is dismal enough to warrant a reappraisal of the
strategies, methods and means employed by the governing agency in meeting these
challenges. Though the dependence on the armed forces in combating insurgency cannot
be denied but the Human Rights must play a major and vital role in de-escalating the
values of the loss of numerous valuable innocent lives. It may be noted that deployment
of the army clothed with special powers of surveillance, arrest, search and seizure while
bringing about impressive gains in material terms had made no headway in winning the
support and cooperation of the local people in regards to the battle with insurgency.

In serious situations of internal security, a comprehensive system of coordination has to

be worked out at the directional level. The search and cordon operations that are likely to
hurt the susceptibility of the local population and cause harassment to law-abiding
citizens should never be exclusively left to the armed forces, besides ensuring an efficient
utilization of available manpower that would minimize complaints by the common public
about excesses human rights violation committed by the armed forces. Fighting

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insurgency in a different aspects and controlling the violence does not necessarily mean
the end of these problems. Armed forces action can, at best, only contain them and create
conditions for a certain mutual settlement. This would be possible if the insurgencies are
effectively deprived of resources and support, constantly kept on the run under pressure
of attack, and made to realize that they have no chance of succeeding through violence.
While harassment to the general public cannot be totally avoided in any anti-terrorist
operation undertaken in an inhabited area, the extent of the collateral damage can
certainly be minimized by a thoughtful choice of response and careful planning and
control of operations. The armed forces should strive to defuse insurgency instead of
pursuing the unrealistic ambition of eliminating it.

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 3. ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE ARMY

Human rights abuses on the part of Indian forces in the area are frequently traced to
impunity granted to Indian security forces under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,
1958. The act has been criticized by Human Rights Watch as a "tool of state abuse,
oppression and discrimination". However the state goes on to say that repeal or withering
away of the act will encourage insurgency. Women are raped during crackdowns where
men of the villages or towns are gathered outside their homes and women are forced to
stay indoors. The majority of the perpetrators walk free under the immunity from
prosecution acquired under the AFSP Act, 1958 which has been imposed for several
decades. Furthermore most of the rapes go unreported due to the social stigma and fear of
backlash.4

The AFSPA was first introduced in Nagaland in April, 1958; this Act was first introduced
into Naga soil, in order to crush the Naga struggle that sought to defend their declared
independence which was declared on 14th August 1947. The political and historical
situation in which the Act was introduced was therefore war. Very soon, more than six
hundred Naga villages were burned to ashes and hundreds upon thousands of Nagas died
from bullets, bombs, starvation and disease. The Indian Government however,
desperately tried to project the war as a law and order break down. But it was very much
a war in which tiny Nagaland was desperately trying to defend its declared independence
while India tried its best to impose its declared independence on the Nagas. However,
hard India had tried to stamp out Naga nationalism and Naga Independence from the face
of the earth, it has failed so far. This is because the national identity of a nation is
indestructible and unchangeable. The ASPA which gave the Indian soldiers sweeping
powers like searching without search warrants, arresting without arrest warrants, and
even shooting to death on mere suspicion, is one of the most illegal Acts enacted in the
annals of human legal history.

In fact it is an Act that goes against and even abolishes the very concept and principles of
law. This is because here is an act that says a person can be shot to death on mere

4
“The impunity of AFSPA,” The Morung Express, 25th November 2000

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suspicion when the Law says “A person is innocent until proven guilty.” This extra
judicial law is sanctioned by Indian Law, protected by Indian Law and a perpetrator
/agent/instrument of this heinous law/ Act “except with the previous sanction of the
Central Government”. This Act in short is an act that amounts to state sponsored
terrorism. And the sponsor of this heinous law is the Government of India, through its
Parliament. According to the procedure, when a State Government has declared an area
to be disturbed, then AFSPA can come into operation. The Nagas were simply fighting
against the 53,000 invading soldiers (Army) that had come into their land, with the totally
false claim that Nagas were Indians and Nagaland was Indian Territory. Prior to this
spirited defense of their rights, all historical, political and cultural facts showing that
Nagas were not Indians and would not join the Indian Union of 1947 had been furnished
to both the departing British government and the incoming Indian government before
1947. This was done in the form of submitting six memorandums to the British
Government and ten memorandums to India right from 1st January 1929 to 14th August
1947. In all these peaceful endeavors, all that the Nagas had asked was that India and the
rest of the world leave the Nagas alone, so that they could politically and economically
develop themselves according to their own.

By implementing and exercising this heinous AFSPA, all that the Indian Government has
achieved is alienating not only the Nagas, but all the peoples of the whole North east
region. Consequently, in the records of human history, it will be recorded that the Indian
government used this most unlawful law to persecute and kill people for over half a
century. With its renewal on 20th October 2010, it remains to be seen how much further
the Government of India wishes to extend this black record to mark India’s democratic
face before the world for all times to come. As for the Nagas and Meiteis, as well as other
North Eastern peoples who have all suffered under this inhuman law, it will also be
recorded in the history that they had done all that they could do to oppose this law.5

The fundamental reason why the Assam Rifles are empowered to rape and kill people in
North East is not that there are armed insurgents there. It is mainly because the peoples

5
K. S. Subramanian, “Impunity under AFSPA of law-enforcement personnel guilty of sexual offences
against women is most pronounced in the Northeast”, infochangeindia.org, 23rd September, 2012,

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from the North East are refusing to give up their national rights, and today they are
joining hands to demand human rights. The Indian state cannot tolerate this fact of the
peoples uniting on a political basis and asserting their rights. This is the root cause of the
problem. The truth of the matter is that whosoever raise their voices consistently in
defense of rights and seek to build political unity on that basis become the target of the
Indian state and its armed forces; it does not matter whether those who are defending
right bear arms or do not bear arms. Even if you are a human rights organization which
does not engage itself in any armed struggle, still you will be targeted by the state, and all
kinds of rumours will be floated about how you have links with the underground.

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 4. CONDITION IN NORTHEAST STATES

1. Arunachal Pradesh

The issues of human rights in Arunachal Pradesh are primarily associated with the
presence of Chakma, Hajong and Tibetan refugees and the influx of illegal immigrants
both from the neighbouring countries as well as from within the country. As per the State
Police records, a total of 2,262 crimes were committed during 2006. These included 60
murders, 34 attempt to murder, 75 kidnapping and abduction, 93 crimes against women
including 37 rapes, 181 grievous hurt and nine under the Arms Act, among others.
Arunachal Pradesh remains the only State in the country with no prison. There were 18
convicts by the end of July 2006. They were kept in the prison of Assam, thereby
contributing to the problem of overcrowding. There was no separation of the judiciary
from the executive. As on 30 June 2006, there were a total of 5,220 cases pending with
the District and Subordinate Courts in the State. As per the state police records, 93 crime
against women including 37 rapes were registered during 2006. The National Family
Health Survey III (2005-2006) found that 38.8 per cent women were victims of domestic
violence in the State.6

Various organizations like the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) have
questioned and contested the presence of the refugees and the immigrants and have
linked them with the violation of the political, economic, social, cultural and
developmental rights of the indigenous people of the state. The slogan like the “loss of
culture is the loss of identity” and the “son of the soil” theory have been put forward to
protect the rights of the indigenous people. Today, there are more than a hundred
registered NGOs in the state, besides various voluntary organizations which work in one
way or the other for protection and promotion of the rights of the various tribes of the
state. These groups, through seminars, symposia, demonstrations and workshops have
been highlighting the issues of human rights in the states.

6
“Arunachal Pradesh”, www.achrweb.org, 25th may 2012

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2. Assam

Assam like Manipur and Nagaland is facing severe issues from insurgent activities. For
the past two and half decade both the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the
National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) have led violent campaigns keeping the
entire region on the tenterhooks. Although the people of Assam initially supported some
of the causes of both the ULFA and NDFB, soon the middle class Assamese started to
distance themselves from them and remained mildly critical to them. The successive
governments used that gap to push their own agenda. Keeping the door for negotiation
open, the state launched a major assault against the insurgents. The response was a
counterattack by the insurgents.7

The Human Rights situation in Assam has deteriorated rapidly after the Indian Army was
deployed in November 1990 to fight against secessionist insurgents. To contain the
insurgents and to diminish the support they enjoyed, especially in the rural areas, security
forces have indulged in extra-judicial executions, custodial deaths, torture and rape. On
the one hand, common villagers are intimidated and terrorized to reveal information
about insurgents and on the other hand insurgents are physically eliminated.

The security operations, conducted under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958,
give soldiers complete immunity against any legal interference; have reduced the region
to a killing field. And strangely, even though the security actions were initiated to reverse
growing insurgency, the subsequent period saw an increase in insurgent activities and
mushrooming of insurgent outfits. The situations, especially the human rights conditions,
are not well known outside the region. The national media, both government and non-
government controlled, have not given the region (Assam and the adjoining areas) the
due coverage.

The result was gross human rights violations which have been going on since 1991. The
relatives of the insurgent as well as the political leaders in the state are regularly
becoming the target of attack. During this period both sides have killed innocent persons

7
Mrinal Talukdar, “INDIA: Rule of Law is a phantom limb in India's Northeast”, Asia Human Rights
Commission, 21st January 2010, www.humanrights.asia

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making the ongoing civil war the ugliest in the region. This has also led to heavy
militarization. "Secret killing" is the term used in Assam for these killings. It means
nothing other than extrajudicial executions. It is regularly used since 1991, with the
state's approval particularly between 1996 and 2001. During this period, extrajudicial
execution was the state's "effective means" to take on the ULFA and the NDFB
leadership. The state's response was some sort of a 'tit for tat lesson' to the militants who
often targeted innocent people to show their presence. From the state's point of view the
killings were successful to contain the insurgents. But it came at a very high cost - of
gross human rights violations committed by both parties to the dispute.8

In order to avoid a popular protest against the present policy by the more articulate urban
population, the security operations have been confined mainly to the rural areas. The
local media, which are more sensitive to the situation, have come under government
attack. The groups involved in human rights activities too have come under repeated
attacks. Insurgency in the state of Assam rose in a political context, as has happened in
the other adjoining states. But the government has chosen to view it solely as a security
problem, and has adopted policies to root out insurgency militarily. Not only has it borne
no fruit, but it has aggravated the human rights situation drastically. Methods of Human
Rights Violations with the Beginning of Security Operations, human rights violations in
Assam and the adjoining region are due to a pre-meditated and systematic state policy to
contain insurgency. In particular, insurgent groups managed to increase their local
support and to step up fund raising activities by extortion and intimidation of
economically advanced groups.9

The Army operations started with extensive search-and-arrest operations in the villages.
Villagers were required to line up in a nearby field, usually in the dead of night, and
questioned. Some are taken to Army camps for further questioning, which generally
include torture. Many innocents have either lost their lives or have been maimed for life.
Villagers have been threatened, harassed, raped, assaulted and killed by soldiers
attempting to frighten them into identifying suspected insurgents. These exercises

8
Ibid.
9
“Human Rights Violations in Assam”, www.assam.org, 14th September 2012

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became more severe if insurgent activities occur in the neighborhood. As a result, in the
villages of Assam, any insurgent activity signals mass exodus of villagers for fear of
Army operations. Since insurgency has an ethnic component, members of particular
communities are targeted. Rapes generally take place during search-and-arrest operations.
They also occur, with security personnel, belonging to the Army, paramilitary or the state
police forces, forcibly entering a house and committing the crime. Almost all persons
picked up for questioning, whether belonging to any insurgent group or not, whether
combatant or non-combatant, are tortured for information. Some of the methods used
include: electric shocks to genitals, cigarette burns, pulling out of finger-nails, dunking
the head under water/urine repeatedly, hanging upside-down for prolonged period, etc. A
favorite method of beating is wrapping the victim in a quilt and hitting with a thick
bamboo stick. These beatings are difficult to prove as they leave no signs on the outside,
though they cause severe internal injury. Sometimes when the conditions of torture
victims deteriorate the victims are killed and the killing passed off as due to an
encounter.10

Meanwhile the media and public are getting quieter against extra judicial executions. It
appears that the civil society is forced to recognize killings as the order of the day. Some
have even started legitimizing such killings as 'required' in the state. In reality there are
only a miniscule number of people in the state who would want Assam to become a
separate country. With the militant groups are either on the run and the majority of its
leadership behind the bars, their role is limited to issuing press statements. This is
unfortunately used by the state to further trample basic human rights in the state. Already
in the name of many development projects the human rights are repeatedly violated by
the state. Many cases are documented where the state agencies are engaged in rights
violation in the name of development programmes.11

10
Ibid.
11
“Assam terror outfit disbands”, twocircles.net, 12th October 2014,

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3. Manipur

In Manipur, human rights abuses have been an ongoing issue. In the state, The Indian
Armed Forces have committed several human rights violations while suppressing a
separatist insurgency in the region according to the Manipur natives. The insurgency
groups have been known to kidnap and recruit children to work as child soldiers against
the Indian Government. Many times it has been concluded by many analysts that it is just
a strategy of insurgent groups for provoking the Manipur's natives against Indian Armies
by falsely claiming about the human rights abuses. As per the crime records, the majority
of human rights abuses has been committed by insurgent groups.12

Despite many attempts by Indian government to facilitate the development in the state,
the state had failed in gaining the advantages for many reasons. Because of the lack of
knowledge the people of Manipur are not aware of their right to insist for a separate
nation. On many occasions the government officials including Engineers and
Administrators posted in North-Eastern regions was killed and had been attacked by the
insurgent groups, hampering of adequate manpower required for the development of
infrastructure. Both the central and the state government of India are taking many
initiatives to take control of the situation.

The attacks on the Government officials and peoples from outside the region are still
carried out by Terrorist groups and had been said that it is firmly supported by local
peoples who is hampering the overall growth of the Human resources that is needed for
the development of the region. In 1964, a separatist insurgency began in Manipur,
although momentum to a more violent phase did not occur until 1978.13 The Separatists
demand a sovereign state separate from the Union of India, conceding their grievances
over lack of development, plundering of local resources and a general discontent in
Manipur. Human Rights Watch argues that human rights violations by Indian Security
Forces have only fuelled the insurgency. It adds that the Indian Army has at times acted
with impunity as anti-terrorism laws in the state make prosecution of human rights

12
“Another boy recruited as child soldier by Manipur rebels”, www.nagajournal.com, 21st October 2012
13
Chandru. "Manipur - in a strange whirlpool of Cross-Current Insurgency", www.southasiaanalysis.org,
4th March 2012

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violators difficult.14 But here the fight is based more on morals and ideologies rather than
a question of sovereignty.15

The failure of the political system in Manipur by successive governments gave

prominence to the government armed forces, who, in turn have been falling back upon
the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) for violating human
rights with impunity.

4. Meghalaya

Despite Shillong remaining the jewel in the crown for the region for more than a century,
Meghalaya is heavily backward as development remains city centric. Even basic facilities
do not reach the poor. Till now travelling between two important towns in the state,
Shillong and Tura, require a long circuitous route through Assam crossing almost 350
kilometers. The political class is absolutely not good. Yet there are no major militant
groups in the state and all smaller groups are too insignificant to be even called as
pressure groups. Shillong has very good civil society groups. The civil society
extensively uses the Right to Information Act as a powerful tool in their fight against
corruption and human right violations. The state is a storehouse of geological wealth and
in their quest for exploitation, human rights have been trampled and that is where the
civil society and the NGOs are working wonders. Their numbers are limited but they are
doing good job.16

The violation of human rights in the state are in the form of rape and sexual assault on
women and children in the State, custodial deaths following arbitrary detention of
persons and killing of civilians in Garo Hills by both the state and the non-state actors.
Meghalaya Peoples’ Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has also urged the State
government to address the violations of human rights in the State especially in Garo Hills
region. “We strongly condemn the political violence and human rights violations and
abuses committed in Garo Hills region as well as the ongoing impunity enjoyed by

14
"Insurgency In Manipur : KanglaOnline - Your Gateway", www.kanglaonline.com, 4th March 2012
15
“The heart of revolutionary movement in Manipur is corcom”- Kanglaonline, www.kanglaonline.com,
9th September 2014
16
“Insurgency in Manipur, politics and ideology”, The Hindu, 28th January 2010

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perpetrators,” MPHRC chief Dino Dympep said. According to Dympep, the present
situation requires the urgent intervention of the government to address these violations as
a matter of critical priority, including conducting impartial and independent
investigations with a view to bringing those responsible to justice.

5. Mizoram

Mizoram is the only state in the region where insurgency is crushed and its leaders
successfully integrated into the mainstream politics. Though the literacy rate in the state
is 91.85 % (2011), the question of human rights is of recent origin among the people of
Mizoram.17

It was only in 1966 when the ‘Mizo Independence’ movement broke out in Mizoram
under the leadership of the Late Mr.Laldenga, founder of Mizo National Front (MNF),
that the people of Mizoram began to recognize the meaning of human rights in a rather
practical way as a result of various types of human rights violation and atrocities
committed by the Indian army against the Mizo people. Before this, the terminology
‘Human Rights’ was never heard of as the Mizo people had never experienced such a
difficult and critical situation in terms of violation of their personal freedom in their
history.18

Keeping in view of the seriousness of the situation and the increasing level of strained
relations between the Indian Army and the public, Brig. Thenphunga Sailo AVSM, a
retired Indian Army Officer, along with some friends formed the Human Rights
Committee (HRC) in the month of June 1974 in Aizwal. Brig. Thenphunga was elected
as the Chairman of the newly formed Committee. The HRC in Mizoram then launched a
campaign against the prevailing atrocities and the public became a little more
enlightened. People greatly appreciated what the HRC was doing. Within a short period
of time, the movement spread throughout Mizoram and gained ground. However, the
following year (1975) saw the Committee converted into a political party and thereafter,
the People’s Conference (PC) was formed. Though the newly-formed party still claimed

17
“Concern over human rights violations in State”, The Shillong Times, 11th December 2015
18
S.N. Singh, op.cit.

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to champion the cause of human rights, the same was increasingly getting marginalized
on the PC’s agenda. By the time it won the State Assembly Election in 1978, the party
had firmly put human rights issue on the backburner. It is indeed ironic, but nevertheless,
true that the very P.C. Government was accused of committing serious human rights
violation after it launched a bitter and bloody anti-MNF operation using the State’s police
force designated as ‘Special Force’. Several MNF personnel and people sympathetic
towards the MNF were killed; and in the process, many innocent lives were taken.
However, despite this, the formation of the first HRC was a landmark in the history of
human rights movement in Mizoram.

By the time the Memorandum of Settlement (Peace Accord) was concluded on June 30,
1986 between the Union Government and the MNF that brought an end to the two-long
decade’s insurgency, the degree of concern for human rights declined to a significant
extent. In the post-Peace Accord period, nobody seems to have taken any interest or
courage to talk about human rights mainly because of the strong contention prevailing
among the people of Mizoram that the issue of human rights arises only during times of
war, turbulence or insurgency and there can be no violation under normal circumstances.

However, looking at the real situation, it is obvious that human rights violation is an
everyday phenomenon in Mizoram. It is an alarming fact that custodial deaths, rape
cases, broad daylight robberies, killings, abduction and kidnaps, etc. reports are received
from every nook and corner of the state on an everyday basis. Even after the
implementation of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 in India, the State
Government of Mizoram has not taken any initiative for the establishment and formation
of a Human Rights Commission nor Human Rights Courts in the state. Mizoram may be
one of the few places where human rights have been extremely neglected and violated
during the past decades.

6. Nagaland

By the 1980s, ultra-radical nationalists were pushed to the margins of the Naga political
space. Their capability to influence Naga politics was grossly eroded. Violence – 105
killed in 10 years (1981-90) – was the lowest in Nagaland’s history. The Naga issue

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began inching towards a sort of Chekhovian revolution.19 Since, 1997, there has been a
ceasefire between the Naga militants and the Government of India. Yet, rumour has it
that there would be soon a demand for a more powerful autonomous region than the
existing state of Nagaland.

The NSCN (IM) is negotiating with the Government of India for a greater "Nagalim"
encompassing all these areas. The realistic goal for both sides is an autonomous region
within India. But the problem is the geographic boundary. Since most of the cadres of
NSCN (IM) come from Manipur including their top leader Mr. Muviah, they want a large
portion of Manipur to be part of Nagalim. This is an unthinkable proposition in
neighbouring Manipur. They need some portion of Assam also, which is also not
realistic. However the NSCN (IM) has stopped talking of integrating the Burmese Naga
areas in their proposed Nagalim. On the ground, although there is peace in Nagaland and
no major killings or any act of violence is reported during the past decade, there is
occasional infighting reported between the various Naga militant groups in their zest for
territorial control. This has continued to keep the state in the news.

On 27th December 1994, a fight between the NSCN (K) guerillas and the light infantry
took place in Mokokchung town, Nagaland. One gunner was killed by the guerillas and
the Maratha light infantry took it vengeance on the people of the town. 9 were shot down,
4 innocent persons were roasted alive, 59 buildings were gutted down and 89 shops were
burnt down, 17 vehicles burnt down and 72 arrested.

Over 1,800 Nagas have been killed in some 3,000 fractional clashes since the beginning
of the ‘ceasefire’ (1997-2013). Contrast it with the violence during the 17 years preceding
the ‘ceasefire’ (1980-1996) that took a toll of some 940 Naga lives in 1,125 clashes
mostly with the security forces. The irony is underscored by the fact that while the
security forces and the NSCN(IM) have been at mutual ‘peace’ during the ‘ceasefire’,
twice as many Naga have died, killing one another in some 300 per cent escalation in
fratricidal violence. The vector of violence has turned inward with a vengeance, from

19
R. N. Ravi, “Nagaland: decent into chaos”, The Hindu, 23rd January 2014

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between the security forces and the Naga militias to the one among the Naga
themselves.20

The situation of human rights is very bad inside the state and the human rights
organizations are not strong enough to tackle the situation. There is a parallel government
in Nagaland and the extortion by Naga militant groups have now become the part of daily
life. Right from the top bureaucrat to petty traders, everyone has to pay 10 percent of
their income to the militant groups. In larger commercial centres like Dimapur, the
traders face annual extortion rates from at least three to four major groups. Nobody takes
the help of law as it is meaningless and counterproductive. Killing for nonpayment of
extortion money by the Naga groups is common. In fact the present state government in
Nagaland is indirectly installed by NSCN (IM) and that is why the state administration
takes no action against open lawlessness. The traders also charge exorbitant rate as they
reimburse themselves against the extortion completing the big cycle of benefit. With no
independent media in the state, the true picture of Nagaland is unknown to the rest of the
world. The existing media in the state is owned or controlled by local politicians who use
it to promote their own interests.

7. Sikkim

Sikkim is the only insurgency-free State in North East apart from Meghalaya.386 It
became the most peaceful state in the region.21 In Sikkim, women enjoy relatively greater
freedom than in other parts of the region. There has been no reported case of gender
discrimination, inequality, sexual harassment, infanticide or dowry related death in
Sikkim.

Higher Maternal Mortality is the acute problem of Sikkim’s women. Sikkim comes close
to being a model state of India in terms of development interventions, social harmony and
political process of its integration into the national mainstream. Communities, cultures,
religions and customs of different hues intermingle freely here in Sikkim, to constitute a
homogeneous blend. Cultural and economic forces boosted by the information

20
R. N. Ravi, op.cit.
21
Ashay Anand, “Sikkim: An Insurgency Free State”, IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science

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technology and development activities are reshaping the way of life of the Sikkimese. It
has however proved to be resilient, accepting the benefits of progress while retaining
their ethnic identity.

8. Tripura

It is a classic example of how the indigenous community in a state was swamped by

migrating Bengalis from East Pakistan and the migrants eventually becoming the
majority in the state. Insurgency in Tripura has never taken a very serious proposition as
each time the government won over the rebel tribal leaders who were persuaded to join
mainstream politics. Armed conflict in Tripura has been a problem since the end of 1970
as an aftermath of Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.

Tripura is ahead in the region in terms of health and education as well as infrastructure.
Instances of violent incidents of human rights violations are low due to the considerable
reduction in the number of armed conflicts in the state. Yet, living conditions of the
native indigenous community is still an area of concern as not much effort or study has
been conducted on this aspect. But the fact remains that native language, Kokborok, is on
the verge of being extinct.

Tripura has in many ways been quietly leading by example: its human development
indicators are among the best in the country and it is now the first state in the North East
to do away with the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFPSA. The Armed Forces
(Special Powers Act), 1958, and the Armed Forces (J&K) Special Powers Act, 1990,
have been in force in parts of North East India since 1958 and in Jammu and Kashmir
since 1990 respectively. These laws give sweeping powers to soldiers, including the
powers to shoot to kill in certain situations and to arrest people without warrants. They
also provide virtual immunity to soldiers from prosecution. They have helped in covering
up grave human rights violations, such as extrajudicial executions, enforced
disappearances, rapes and torture. APSPA came into force in Tripura on February 16,
1997. The next year, the state was briefly brought under the Disturbed Areas Act. This
was nearly two decades after insurgency actually started in Tripura around 1979, and
since then several armed militias had carried out strikes.

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The state increased the number of police stations and made the army unneeded that
ensured that eventually AFSPA could be withdrawn. This is a strategy that the other
states could easily adopt to phase out the role of the army and thereby do away with one
of the most abusive Acts in the country.22

Kishalay Bhattacharjee, “Tripura has shown us how to get rid of one of India’s most abusive laws –
22

AFSPA”, www.scroll.in, 30th May, 2015,

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 5. HUMAN RIGHT AND INSURGENCY

All laws relating to internal security are of necessity restrictive of human rights. In
situations of insurgency that threaten the very rule of law, the rights of the individual are
curtailed in the over-all interest of the society. Though some restrictions in such
situations are legally justified, and some inconvenience to the general public cannot be
avoided, a violation of human rights through fake encounters, torture in custody,
unexplained disappearances, mysterious discovery of dead-bodies, etc. can never be
defended, by the very nature of their actions, forfeited their human rights, including the
right to life.

The National Security Act, 1980 providing for preventive detention upto two years is a
powerful weapon available to the armed forces to deal with the violators of public order.
It is unfortunate that the powers granted by this act are being increasingly abused by
invoking them against ordinary criminals difficult to punish under normal laws because
of the inadequacies of the criminal justice system and the criminalisation of politics. The
act's constitutional validity even during peacetime has been described by some sections
as an anachronism. As such actions do not pass the judicial test the act is losing its
deterrence, besides becoming a convenient target of criticism by human rights groups.
The Vienna Declaration passed after the World Conference on Human Rights in June
1993 has, by recognizing terrorism as the greatest violator of human rights and
emphasizing the observance of human rights in a „just and balanced‟ manner, placed the
issue in the right perspective. Though the attempts of human rights activists to extend the
issue to absurd limits must be resisted, the security establishment is duty-bound to
enquire into every complaint of violation of human rights and decide the quantum of
punishment of each case. Transparency in the conduct of such inquiries and the wide
publicity of their outcome would help the security establishment in gaining credibility
with the public.

The practice of security forces of keeping captured terrorists in custody for the purpose of
interrogation, in violation of the provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,
1958 must be resisted. The armed forces should evolve a system of joint interrogation of
arrested persons after obtaining a regular police remand. Unchecked interrogation by
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untrained and inexperienced personnel of the security forces is a major cause of custodial
deaths, which are then „regularized‟ by staging encounters. The act has been criticized by
Human Rights Watch as a "tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination".

The role of media in situations of insurgency is far more important and sensitive than its
peacetime function of informing, educating and entertaining the public. The modern
insurgency is the creation of the mass media, in the sense that the sensational and
dramatic reporting of his acts has the effect of glorifying violence and according prestige
and status disproportionate to his actual power. Unfortunately, most journalists often
accept them on their own evaluation and project them as freedom fighters or social
reformers. While showing tolerance for detached appraisal and criticism of its actions, the
state/authority must help media realize its social responsibility and demand a fair,
balanced and dispassionate reporting of insurgency incidents. Instead of imposing
restrictions on reporting, journalists should be persuaded to evolve their own code of
conduct to which they must adhere. The state/authority should not hesitate taking legal
action against inflammatory and subversive reporting to curb the dangerous tendency.

It is unfortunate that human rights, the cornerstone of the rule of law, have sometime
become controversial in the context of insurgency. The respect for human rights is being
interpreted by many as a lack of sympathy for the victims and softness towards
perpetrators of violence. An important aim in this study is to ascertain if this activity is
what governments most often label “terrorism”. The government is expected to engage
with the category of insurgency which is most likely to commit human rights violations
against its “own” population. Such a government could insist that this category of
insurgency could not possibly have the allegiance of the population for which the rebels
claim to be fighting. Therefore, the government would have a basis for rejecting a
mediated negotiation with a group representing no one but themselves. Thus, the desired
final outcome may be an offer from outside to mediate insurgent conflicts that are
accepted by governments. But, conflicts with insurgencies having committed Human
Rights violations will likely be less receptive to mediation with the government. The
qualitative features of the insurgency’s acts of targeted violence; whether those acts were
perpetrated endemic, substantial, or only intermittent, against non-combatants.

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 6. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARENESS AMONG NORTHEAST
PEOPLE

The important dimension of human rights is the spread of awareness among the people
about these rights. Majority of the people do not know as to what constitutes human
rights; how these rights are violated, who abuses these rights and what instruments and
mechanisms do exist for the enforcement of such rights. Our Constitution provides an
elaborate scheme of provisions as enshrined in the Preamble, Fundamental Rights and the
Directive Principles of State Policy which are aimed at ensuring and guaranteeing the
rights of the people. Besides, there exist various laws and statutory provisions. Despite,
the basic rights of the people-right to life, liberty, equality and dignity-are encroached
upon in one form or the other, particularly by the state agencies. This happens primarily
because people at large are ignorant about such constitutional and legal provisions.

Today, to a large extent, human rights violations take place in the form of excessive use
or abuse of power by the state and its agencies, police, army, paramilitary forces and
other law enforcing organs. Increase in custodial death, killings in encounters (many
times fake ones), rape of women by police, army and paramilitary forces, particularly in
the militancy inflicted areas like the north east are the indicators of gross violation of
human rights by the state agencies. Existence and prevalence of bonded labour,
untouchability, child labour, dowry system, sati pradha, increase in religious intolerance,
caste riots, etc. do suggest that mere constitutional and legal provisions are not sufficient
for meeting and addressing the problems and challenges of human rights. There is a need
to evolve a comprehensive system or strategy to develop and spread human rights culture
through human rights education.

Awareness relating to rights is very important for empowering the people to seek policies
of good governance from the government. The strategy for inculcating human rights
culture among the people needs to be based on a numerous factors such as legal, political,
judicial and institutional. The United Nation General Assembly defined human rights
education as a life -long process by which people at all levels of development and in all

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strata of society learn respect for the dignity of others and the means and the methods of
ensuring that respect in all societies.

In North East the issues of the human rights was largely unknown or unheard especially
in the late 50s when violation of the human rights was rampant. Violations continued
even till the 80s despite Human Rights Movement having already started in the early 80s.
The state or the security forces were largely seen as perpetrators of human rights abuse
and most victims failed to get justice due to lack of legal support. With the level of
awareness on human rights issues turning out to be more of a battle between government
agencies and civil rights groups, instead of being a yardstick to adhere to respect for both
the law and the rights of citizens; the issues has thrown a challenge before the civil
societies and governments to demarcate the boundary between basic human rights and
civil rights and the need to ensure that violators are punished as per the law of the land
without fear and favour.23

While in the North East it is important to spread awareness on human rights, it is also
equally important to see it from the very core of the issue, that is –human dignity. Human
rights are not a magic bullet. Their invocation does not transform a campaign from a
losing one to a winning one. Deciding which norm should be counted as human rights is
a matter of concern. And there is a continuing pressure to expand lists of human rights to
include new area. Many political movements would like to see their main concerns
categorized as matters of human rights, since this would publicize, promote and
legitimate their concerns at the international level. A broader understanding is necessary
so that human rights issues are relevant for all contexts as it would also seeks to enlighten
not only about rights but more importantly, the responsibilities.

The right to humane governance which means corruption-free governance with focus on
serving the common interests of the general public rather than the special interests of the
elite corpus of bureaucrats and elected representatives is one right of the North East
people which is found to be violated most glaringly and massively. Mis-governance is
seen to be the common curse of the entire North East. Its sign is visible in the economic

23
“Broad Aspects of Human Rights”, Nagaland Post, 10th December 2011

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backwardness of the region and poor standards of public services. In an area blessed by
nature with abundance of water sources, there are many areas where people are facing
shortage of drinking water. Universalisation of elementary education, a fundamental right
of the people is a distant dream despite all claims made by the Government on this score.
The Government schools lack elementary infrastructure, teachers are irregular, and
dropout rates are high. The children of the common people who cannot afford to send
them out for education against reserved seats end-up as semi literate after schooling. For
want of any other opportunity to earn a living they take the only available career option
of joining the undergrounds that pay them reasonably well. Public distribution system, a
key activity of a welfare state has also been in a state of confusion in the North East with
the bulk of the allotted quota reaching the influential people for diversion into illegal
channels including smuggling into Bangladesh. The public health-care services built with
generous financial grant from the government of India for creating a reasonably good
infrastructure are almost non-existent.

An analysis of the complaints handled by the National Human Rights Commission was
173 in 1993-94 (September 1993 to March 1994) which rose to 2790 in 1994-95, grew
exponentially and reached the peak of 71,517 in 2000-01. It has now stabilized around
70,000. The number of complaints entertained in 2003-04 was 72,907. Uttar Pradesh has
the dubious distinction of holding the top position in terms of number of complaints
received by the Commission since 1995-96 accounting for more than 50% of the total.
Bihar has been the runner-up since 1996-97 but has been pushed to 3rd position by Delhi
which has moved from its consistently 3rd position since 1996-97 to 2nd in 2003-04.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana have been competing for the 4th
and 5th positions.

In the year 2003-04, Uttar Pradesh with 40,661 of a total of 72,907 complaints (55.8%)
was at the top followed by Delhi (4636 – 6.4%), Bihar (4541 – 6.3 %), Haryana (2965 –
4.1%) and Maharashtra (2792 – 3.9%). While States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal have
been making sizeable contribution to the total number of complaints, the share of
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala has been relatively much smaller.

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Regarding the complaints received from North East in the year 1994-1995 was 89 of a
total of 2790 complaints (0.46%), in 2000-2001, complaints received was 328 of a total
of 71,517 complaints (0.46%). During 2001-2002, 341 of a total of 69,039 complaints
(0.49%), in 2002-2003, 323 of a total of 68,713 complaints (0.49%) and in 2003-04,
North East with 357 of a total of 72,907 complaints (0.49%). The States of the North East
are found to be occupying bottom positions.

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 7. CONCLUSION

A proposition investigated in this project work is that insurgency character helps to

determine whether mediation of the domestic conflict in which the insurgency is
engaged, will be tendered, and will help determine whether the offer of mediation will be
accepted not only by the insurgency, but also by the government side in the conflict.
Human Rights approach is to bring a strong normative framework emphasizing principles
of equality, non-discrimination and concern for the most vulnerable, and a social justice
agenda to policy priorities. It would bring new approaches to analyze the focuses on
institutionalized discrimination, lack of political voice, institutional failures to guarantee
human rights including weak protection for civil and political rights as causes of poverty.
It also brings new dimensions to the analysis of economic and social policy against
human rights agendas for pursuing social justice.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 Joshi, S.C. (2007) (Rep.). Human Rights: Concepts, Issues and Laws, New Delhi,
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 Morsink, J. (1999). Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting, and
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