The Wire (Imphal) — Mobile internet services have been suspended and orders banning public assembly imposed in some areas of Manipur, a small Indian state bordering Myanmar, in the wake of a blockade of two national highways organized by a students’ group, and a street battle on August 6 with police in Imphal West in which about thirty students were injured.

The tribal students are seeking greater autonomy for the local area.

Vehicular movement and supplies from the state of Assam have been severely impacted by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur blockade of the Imphal-Dimapur highway (National Highway-2) and Imphal-Jiribam highway (National Highway-39).

An order issued by Manipur Special Secretary H. Gyan Prakash late on August 6 said mobile internet services would be suspended for five days since some “anti-social elements were using social media to transmit hate speeches.”

Pradyut Bordoloi, a lower house lawmaker based in Assam who is leading efforts to revive the electoral fortunes of the Congress party in northeast India, criticized the internet shutdown in a tweet, noting that border states like Manipur have had their internet services shut down by government authorities much too frequently.

Bordoloi noted in a later tweet that he has written to national Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking his intervention in the decision to shut down internet services across Manipur state.

The local authorities had taken the decision for the shutdown after a vehicle was set ablaze in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on the evening of August 6, according to information from the Press Trust of India. Hours later, another vehicle in the same district was torched by masked men.

Meanwhile, the district magistrates of Bishnupur and Churachandpur imposed that same evening “prohibitory orders” under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code–which ban public assemblies of more than three people under threat of arrest and prosecution–for a period of two months.

The Internet Freedom Foundation tweeted that it will file “right to information” requests to check the official order’s compliance with Supreme Court mandates. This organization, which monitors access to the right to internet services across India, has also urged the Manipur government to meet and to review the internet suspension decision.

“We also urge Secretary, Home of Manipur, to continuously monitor whether prolonged internet suspension for five days is necessary,” it stated.

All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur has been pressing for Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 to be tabled in the monsoon session of the local assembly. This bill would grant greater administrative and financial autonomy to the state’s hill region (comprising the five districts of Senapati, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, Chandel, and Ukhrul). The students’ group believes that this will help ensure development on par with the valley areas of the state, which include the state capital, Imphal.

Local schools and businesses have been forced to close due to the blockade of the highways, while passenger buses stayed off the roads. Gasoline supplies have also run low.

Police arrested five tribal student leaders on August 2, initially charging them with “conspiracy” for their role in organizing protests, but the students were released yesterday due to a lack of evidence against them.

This article was originally published in The Wire. Minor edits for style and content.

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