Manipur Conflict and NCRB Data: The Anomaly of Underreported Crimes Against Women UPSC NOTE

  Manipur Conflict and NCRB Data: The Anomaly of Underreported Crimes Against Women UPSC Relevance Prelims: Social Issues (Crimes against w...

 Manipur Conflict and NCRB Data: The Anomaly of Underreported Crimes Against Women

UPSC Relevance

• Prelims: Social Issues (Crimes against women); Indian Polity and Governance (Key Institutions - National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), National Commission for Women (NCW)); Internal Security (Ethnic conflicts, Manipur issue).

• Mains:

• General Studies Paper 1 (Society): Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism; Role of women and women's organization. Violence against women, especially in conflict zones, is a key topic.

• General Studies Paper 2 (Social Justice & Governance): Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections (Women).

• General Studies Paper 3 (Internal Security): Linkages between development and spread of extremism; Security challenges and their management in border areas.

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Key Highlights from the News

Detailed Explanation: Key Concepts

• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB):

• NCRB is a government agency operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Its primary function is to collect and analyze crime statistics based on FIRs registered by the police across the country.

• The Manipur Ethnic Conflict:

• This is an ethnic conflict that began in May 2023 between the Meitei community, who are the majority in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo tribal groups, who are the majority in the hill districts.

• The immediate cause of the conflict was the recommendation to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.

• Underreporting of Crimes against Women:

• Common Reasons: Social stigma, victim-blaming, distrust in the police.

• Specific Reasons in Conflict Situations:

1. Breakdown of Law and Order: Inability to reach police stations when law and order collapses.

2. Lack of Trust in Police: Victims fear filing complaints if they perceive the police belong to the opposing group.

3. Fear and Displacement: Displaced people prioritize saving their lives.

4. Sexual Violence as a Weapon of Conflict: In ethnic conflicts, sexual violence is used as a war tactic to humiliate and terrorize the opposing side and destroy their social fabric.

• The "Dark Figure" of Crime:

• This is a term used in criminology.

• It refers to the number of crimes that are not reported to the police and therefore do not appear in official statistics.

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