Manipur Song  (English)

A look at the consequences of violence on daily life in Manipur.

Subject Tags -Collective Action Conflict Exclusion Governance Military Resistance

Set in Manipur the film seeks to foreground a state that exists on the periphery of the Indian imagination. As with other North Eastern states, culturally and ethnically Manipur has remained estranged from the dominant Indian culture and has repeatedly sought to assert its identity through insurgency. In 1980-81 the Indian state countered by giving unprecedented powers to its army to deal with insurgency. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), gives complete immunity to the army and led to killings and rapes. The situation got so bad that in August 2004 a group of women disrobed in front of the army barracks holding banners saying Indian Army Rape Us.

The film looks at the consequences of this violence on ordinary people.