An ongoing separatist struggle has continued in the region since the late 1940s, making it the longest running separatist struggle in South Asia. There are multiple parties involved in the struggles including different ethnic groups and states, some of whom want total independence from India while others call for a restructuring of the states. There has also been an abuse of Human rights on the pa
rt of Indian forces frequently in the North-East region which is traced from immunity granted to Indian security forces under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 which has been criticized by many Human Rights group which in its real sense is a "tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination". The provision for immunity of security forces urge them to act more brutally. Women are mostly r***d during crackdowns where men of the villages or towns are gathered outside their homes and women are forced to stay indoors. Furthermore most of the r**es go unreported due to the social stigma and fear of backlash. Indian Government imposed this inhuman law [AFSPA] in 1958 in different states of the North-East region, which gives the Indian Army all the powers to encroach upon the basic human rights of the common people i.e. disturb people anytime, anywhere; arrest without warrant; torture & kill anyone suspicious with full legal impunity for whatever heinous crimes army can commit upon the civilians; in the name of fighting insurgency in different parts of North-East states in India. The Assam Police between 2006 and 2011 received over 7000 complaints of r**e and also 11,553 complaints of kidnappings involving women.
