For many decades, an internal war has been brewing in Manipur with more than 40 insurgent groups demanding their right to self-determination and self-independence. The Government's response has been massive militarisation of the area and imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, (AFSPA) 1958, under which arbitrary killings, torture, massacres, forced disappearances, rape and molestations by the security forces have taken place over the years but unreported in media houses. Hitherto, much of the angst of people of the state and varying human rights violations and other excesses in the name of safeguarding India’s internal security may have gone unnoticed, unreported or sidelined before the 2004 Nude protest by 12 mothers; with their public demonstration, the Mothers of Manipur made the world sit up and took notice of the happenings in the remotest corner of the Indian state.