Manipuri Children: Left In The Lurch
By Shirish Khare
13 January, 2011
Countercurrents.org
Ongoing Violence Impacts Lives of Manipuri Kids: There is little in the name of health services in the violence affected Manipur. Even births are not being registered. There is no count of orphans. With an increased level of exploitation of children as well as trafficking, these children are fodder for fresh violence
Violence in Manipur driven by separatist groups and state actors has now been ongoing for decades - and children of Manipur are paying the price for this violence. They have been pushed to greater poverty, and malnutrition and away from opportunities of education and mental and emotional growth. The state can control extreme violence through certain measures, even though this results in a state of constant tension. However, in such a state of tension, healthcare, educational and social institutions crumble - and children are most affected.
Violence in Manipur driven by separatist groups and state actors has now been ongoing for decades - and children of Manipur are paying the price for this violence. They have been pushed to greater poverty, and malnutrition and away from opportunities of education and mental and emotional growth. The state can control extreme violence through certain measures, even though this results in a state of constant tension. However, in such a state of tension, healthcare, educational and social institutions crumble - and children are most affected.
CRY is one organizaiton that has stayed active on the ground in three of the most affected areas of Chandel, Thombal and Churachandpur. There has been an ongoing effort to form children's groups in these areas to build greater security for children. Largely communities of indigenous people, there is much mistrust and insecurity between members of different tribes and clans, resulting in another layer of tension in this society. Workshops have been organized in these communities to mitigate the impact of such tension on these children as well as to help them feel more secure and confident. Aseem Ghosh, a member of CRY said that "Children here live in a constant environment of fear, insecurity, uncertainty and violence, resulting in an absence in physical and emotional stability required for development of children. Thus, the primary purpose of these workshops is to provide and sustain a milieu of security, where they can be themselves. Second, these workshops also attempt to reduce tensions between clans and tribes through increased interactions among children. These workshops could be a path for the people of these communities to emerge out of the violence amongs tribes."
In addition, there is a growing potential and possibility of civic society groups taking a more pro-active role in protecting and nurturing children in this environment of violence. Some of these groups have attempted to pressurize central government institutions to take cognizance of the impact of decade long violence on the children and broader society of Manipur. One key demand that has been made requires that all extrajudicial agencies and armed forces ensure that children are not targeted during violence or actions. In addition, it has been demanded that the rules and programs of Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2000 and its amendments enacted in 2006 be complied with. In addition, there has been growing pressure on state and local agencies to ensure that health and educational infrastructure is strong and functional on the ground. It is necessary that rights and infrastructure based services be given greater primacy and priorities than security based needs.
Terrorism or separatist violence has resulted in 4383 deaths between 1992 and 2006. Manipur today is the third most violent place after J&K and Assam. The Indian government had enforced the Armed Forces Special Power Act to ostensibly quell violence owing to inter-tribal strife in 1950. This allowed Special Forces to directly attack citizens for the first time. Now this has become an integral part of operations of these forces. In such conditions, while the state has taken the right to attack its citizens without any accountability, services of the state are non-functional. There is little in the name of health services. Even births are not being registered. There is no count of orphans. And with there has been an increased level of exploitation of children as well as trafficking. These children are fodder for fresh violence.
NGOs estimate that more than 5000 women have been widowed and 10000 children orphaned through this violence. In December 2009 alone, security forces are supposed to have killed 305 people in encounters. In other gun related encounters (with non-state actors), another 139 people were killed during this time. Another 444 people were killed in other forms of violence. While 3348 cases of violence were filed between 2007 and November 2009, there were 635 cases of crime against women including 86 cases of molestation and 24 cases of murder. 198 cases of child trafficking were recorded from newspaper sources during this period. Over 10000 cases of exploitative child labour were surveyed at this time. Over 4 lakh children have not been able to access schools during this time. Thus, with civil society collapsed, there is a greater pressure on state agencies to re-establish civil institutions.
It is uncertain when Manipur will be free of armed forces. However, a recent Supreme Court order has asked the armed forces to vacate a school in Manipur - and that is a welcome sign. It is instructive that countless schools in Manipur are being used by the armed forces as rest houses. If the armed forces follows that Supreme Court order, that alone will free up numerous schools for children to engage in activities of childhood.
Shirish Khare is associated with the Communication Division, CRY - Child Rights and You, Mumbai
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