Imphal: Hundreds of students and residents joined a silent rally in Imphal on Sunday, August 16, to mark the 22nd death anniversary of anti-AFSPA activist Pebam Chittaranjan and renew demands for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).
The rally was organised by the Manipur Students’ Federation (MSF) as part of the 22nd Students’ Martyrdom Day. Participants marched towards the International Imphal Airport road, carrying placards opposing AFSPA and calling for an end to what they described as militarisation and human rights violations.
Chittaranjan, 28, died on August 16, 2004, a day after setting himself ablaze in Bishnupur in protest against the continuation of AFSPA in Manipur.
Tributes were paid at his memorial statue in Thanilkhun village in Bishnupur district and at the site where he carried out the self-immolation near Bishnupur Market.
Students taking part in the rally walked silently from Imphal College to the Takhellambam Leikai Youth Club. In a separate programme at Kwakeithel Thounaojam Leikai in Imphal West, residents observed a two-minute silence in memory of Chittaranjan.
Addressing the gathering, MSF leader Khaidem Rabikanta Khangamba criticised what he described as the use of militarisation and state violence to suppress public dissent.
Speakers also traced the origins of AFSPA to the British-era Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance of 1942 and linked the law to allegations of human rights violations over the decades.
They called for a shift away from a security-centric approach and urged authorities to pursue political measures grounded in human dignity, justice and the aspirations of the people.
AFSPA, enacted in 1958, remains in force in Manipur, although its application has been reduced in certain areas. The Centre and the state government continue to designate most parts of the state as “disturbed areas”, while some police station jurisdictions, particularly in parts of the Imphal Valley, have been excluded from its ambit.