'They have come here to protect people, but the allegation is that they help the armed organisations attack and burn down the houses of the Meiteis.' 'Many people have lost faith in the central forces as they believe these forces are involved in the escalation of the problem.'
AFSPA confers special powers on the armed forces in areas deemed as disturbed.
Militants hurled a powerful grenade at the private house of Manipur Panchayati Raj Minister Mohammed Alaudin in East Imphal district, official sources said on Tuesday. No one was injured in the attack as the grenade failed to explode, they said.
AFSPA can be safely lifted from almost 90 per cent of Nagaland, argues Shekhar Gupta.
'As soon as the violence broke out, they should have stepped in and sent a message that the state is there to stop this violence.' 'Had they done it right there, the situation would not have gone out of control.'
The situation has improved marginally in Tripura and Mizoram in the past 24 hours.
The AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area), Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of eight police stations of districts in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam.
An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Myanmar, tremors of which shook the northeast, several parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and even Delhi and NCR on Wednesday.
A home ministry spokesperson, however, said the decision does not imply that the AFSPA has been completely withdrawn from the three insurgency-hit states but will continue to be in force in some areas of the three states.
The Supreme Court found enough grounds to order a CBI probe into 1,528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur between 2000 and 2012.
'If Manipur is divided on ethnic lines, similar demands will come in other states also.'
The issue at the core of it is the perceived fear among the locals of getting outnumbered and uprooted by 'others' and eventually losing their identity
The insurgents first set off a powerful bomb by using a remote-controlled device and then opened fire at the team led by executive engineer Milan Singh when they reached a place between Khudengthabi and Kwatha Lamkhai, about 110 km south east of Imphal at around 7.45 am, the sources said.
Security forces have arrested a People's Liberation Army terrorist of Manipur while he was trying to cross over the international border at Dawki in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
During a fresh round of talks with North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier in the day, the NPP leaders stuck to their demand for change in the leadership of the BJP-led coalition government, they said.
Eleven people were killed by gunmen in separate incidents of firing in Manipur's border town of Moreh where an indefinite curfew has been imposed since Saturday evening, official sources said on Sunday.
The fulcrum of victory or defeat of parties attempting to form a government is held by smaller players and those willing to defect.
'The government needs to think if a draconian, outdated and colonial law is needed in a democratic, multi religious, diverse country governed by a democratic government.'
The epicenter of the quake was Sonitpur and the quake occurred at 7.51 am at a depth of 17 kilometres, it said.
Manipur needs an integrated politico, military, socio-economic approach, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Nearly four lakh people have been affected across seven districts of Assam.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
Naga splinter groups impatient with stalled talks as well as rebel Manipuri groups who have a stake in disrupting upcoming elections to the state assembly, are believed to be regrouping in the borderlands of China's Yunnan province and Myanmar, taking advantage of the turmoil in the latter by using it as a transit corridor.
The BJP, which has two MLAs in the MDA government, backed the Cabinet decision.
All the apprehended are being handed over to National Investigation Agency for further investigation.
Celebrations erupted across Assam with opponents of the bill bursting crackers, distributing sweets and breaking into frenzied dancing on the streets.
Nine young men killed in police firing last August have become symbols of oppression of the tribals of Manipur.
'The provisions of the AFSPA must remain on the statute books given the increasingly violent and uncertain times.'
Much of the pre-2014 peace in our hotspots is diminished. Kashmir is on the boil and the Northeast is anarchic, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan came down heavily on Congress leaders for "persistently and willfully obstructing the House" and suspended them for 5 days. The members who have been punished include a president's son, ex-chief ministers' sons and an ex-CM's grandson. Rediff.com brings you the complete list.
