Manipur has had a long record of insurgency and inter-ethnic violence.The first armed opposition group in Manipur, the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), was founded in 1964, which declared that it wanted to gain independence from India and from Manipur as a new country.
Over time, many more groups formed in Manipur, each with different goals, and deriving support from diverse ethnic groups in Manipur. For example, in 1977 the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) was formed, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was formed in 1978 which Human Rights Watch states as having received arms and training from China.
In 1980, the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) was formed. These groups began a spree of bank robberies and attacks on police officers and government buildings. The state government appealed to the central government in New Delhi for support in combating this violence.
From 1980–2004, the Indian government referred to Manipur as a disturbed area. This term designated by the Ministry of Home Affairs or a state governor refers to a territory where extraordinary laws under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act can be used.
The laws allow the military to treat private and public spaces, in the same manner, detain individuals up to 24 hours with unlimited renewals, to perform warrantless searches, and to shoot and kill individuals that break laws, carry weapons, or gather in groups larger than four as well as giving legal immunity to the military.
Since 1980, the application of AFSPA has been at the heart of concerns about human rights violations in the region, such as arbitrary killings, torture, cruel, inhuman
and degrading treatment, and forced disappearances. Its continued application has led to numerous protests, notably the longstanding hunger strike by Irom Sharmila Chanu.
In 2004, the government lifted the disturbed status after a violent attack on a local woman. The rape of a manipuri woman, Thangjam Manorama Devi, by members
of the Assam Rifles paramilitary had led to wide protests including a nude protest by the Meira Paibis women association
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