India

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of India has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In December 2006 India was one of 17 countries to abstain from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 61/84 which called for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. India has abstained on all previous UNGA resolutions supporting the treaty.

India sent Geneva-based delegates to the Seventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2006, as well as to the May 2006 and April 2007 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, all held in Geneva. It did not make any statements at these meetings.

In a June 2006 letter to Landmine Monitor, India said, “We have been participating in the meeting of the Ottawa Convention as an ‘Observer’ since we share the humanitarian concerns, even though we are not a party to it and have certain reservations on it…. [O]ur legitimate security concerns necessitate the use of antipersonnel mines…. India remains committed to the objective of eventual elimination of anti-personnel mines (APLs) through a non-discriminatory, universal and global ban on APLs that addresses the legitimate defence requirements of the states.”^[1]

India is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines.^[2] It has participated actively in that forum throughout 2006 and 2007. At the Third Review Conference in November 2006 India’s head of delegation declared, “India is wholly committed to the CCW Convention and the humanitarian principles that it embodies. We have ratified all five Protocols annexed to it, as also the amendment to Article I of the Convention. We have taken the necessary steps to fully implement our obligations under Amended Protocol II. We are equally committed to taking all requisite measures to implement other protocols, including Protocol V on ERW.”^[3] India submitted its annual Amended Protocol II Article 13 report in December 2006. It includes a Preamble stating, “India supports the UN vision of ‘a world free of the threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance where individuals and communities live in a safe environment conducive to development, and where mine survivors are fully integrated into their societies.’” ^[4]

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and United Service Institution (USI) jointly organized a seminar, Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War: Human Costs and International Responses, in New Delhi from 10 to 12 October 2006. Participants included representatives of the Indian Army and Ministry of External Affairs, the governments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Netherlands, Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, UN agencies, NGOs (including the ICBL), and others.^[5]

On 7 October 2006 the Indian Campaign to Ban Landmines organized a workshop for national media at the Press Club of India which included participation by retired Indian Ambassador Satnam Singh, the ICBL’s Diplomatic Advisor. On 17 October 2006 the Indian Institute of Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection (IIPDEP) and Geneva Call jointly organized a one-day regional workshop, Landmines Challenges to Humanity and the Environment: Towards a Mine Free World.^[6] Similar workshops were held in three other states in northeast India in 2006. The Society of All Round Development (SARD), with assistance from Mines Action Canada’s Youth Leadership, Education and Action Program, has been working to engage youth from India and the region on the landmine issue.^[7] SARD also compiled a booklet of landmine survivor stories, Invisible Death Traps.^[8]

Informal contacts continued through a well-placed channel to very high levels in the Indian Ministry of Defence as well as the Ministry of External Affairs to expand the country’s support for the Mine Ban Treaty. The proposal for a joint moratorium with Pakistan on the use of antipersonnel mines on their common border, as part of confidence-building measures, is being considered in the most senior echelons. The proposal has also received media coverage.^[9]

The ICBL advocated for political parties in Kashmir to issue a call to halt the use of landmines and all victim-activated weapons.^[10]

Production, Transfer and Stockpiling

India is one of a small number of countries still producing antipersonnel mines. India claims that all production is vested with government agencies.^[11] However, some of the production process appears to be carried out by commercial entities. In October 2006, when the Criminal Investigation Department in Kolkata arrested three brothers for stockpiling weapons, it was reported that two of them were sub-contractors who manufacture plastic shells for antipersonnel mines at their Behala factory and then supply the shells to the ordnance factory through a contractor. Officials seized 543 partially completed mines, among other weapons.^[12]

India informed Landmine Monitor in 2005 that it produced only detectable versions of NM-14 antipersonnel mines, and did not produce remotely-delivered mines.^[13] In the past, India produced two types of antipersonnel mines, both copies of US mines: low metal content (non-detectable) M14 blast mines and M16A1 bounding fragmentation mines. India has declared that, in accordance with its obligations under CCW Amended Protocol II, no low metal content mines have been produced since January 1997.^[14]

India has often claimed that it has never exported or imported antipersonnel mines. It has had a formal export moratorium of unlimited duration since 3 May 1996, and has stated that it favors an outright ban on transfer of antipersonnel mines even to States Parties of CCW Amended Protocol II.^[15] However, four Mine Ban Treaty States Parties have reported Indian-made mines in their stockpiles: Sudan, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Tanzania. India states that no transfer of landmines to these countries took place.^[16]

India has declined to reveal details of its national stockpile of antipersonnel mines, the great majority of which are believed to be Indian-manufactured M14 mines. Landmine Monitor has estimated India’s stockpile total at between four and five million antipersonnel mines, the sixth largest stockpile in the world. India has neither confirmed nor denied this estimate. The figure may no longer be accurate following the large number of landmines planted along the Pakistan border in 2001 and 2002, or in light of new production of mines.

Use

India has stated that “minefields are laid, if required, along the border areas as part of military operations,” and has repeatedly claimed, “There is no minefield or mined area in any part of India’s interiors. India has never used mines for maintenance of internal order, nor has it done so in carrying out counter-terrorism operations.”^[17] However, this does not appear to apply to counterinsurgency operations in Kashmir, where mines have been laid within the valley.

The Indian Army has defensive perimeters with landmines emplaced around camps and outposts in Kashmir. At least one report indicates such mined perimeters are still being laid.^[18] A senior army official told Landmine Monitor that the very fact that India has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty points to the truth that India still uses landmines to protect its border.^[19]

Landmine Monitor undertook a mission to Kashmir in November 2006 and visited Warsun village in Kupwara district. While the village is some 20 kilometers from the Line of Control, according to villagers in 1990 the army laid landmines in the fields used for grazing a few hundred meters above the village. Three villagers and a number of cattle have become victims of the mines. The mines have not been cleared despite the villagers’ requests. Military units stationed in the area have told them that they do not have the maps indicating the location of the mines.^[20]

India’s last major use of antipersonnel mines took place between December 2001 and July 2002, when the Indian Army deployed an estimated two million mines along its 2,880-kilometer northern and western border with Pakistan in Operation Parakarm.^[21]

Non-State Armed Groups

In August 2006 the Kuki National Organization (KNO) and its armed wings in Northeast India renounced use of antipersonnel landmines by signing the Deed of Commitment administered by Geneva Call. The Kuki ethnic group straddles the Burma-India border, residing predominantly in parts of Manipur state in India. The KNO thus became the second non-state armed group from India to commit to the mine ban after the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak/Muivah in October 2003. The Deed of Commitment requires that the organization refrain from mine use and cooperate in the clearance of mines in their areas of operation. In signing the Deed, KNO President P.S. Haokip stated, “The KNO has never used antipersonnel mines. Nevertheless, the Kuki people have endured the consequences of the laying of mines by other armed groups operating in Northeast India and Northwest Burma.”^[22]

The government of India reported in December 2006 that “militant groups continue to increasingly resort to the indiscriminate use of improvised explosive devices and mines.”^[23] There were reports of new use of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in many parts of India in 2006 and 2007, particularly in Manipur and other areas of northeast India.

Northeast India

There are more than 30 major and several small armed rebel groups in northeast India, some linked with ethnic groups, demanding independence, new states or greater autonomy. There has been armed conflict in the region since 1940, but recent years have witnessed an increase in the use of explosive devices by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the United National Liberation Front, the People’s Liberation Army in Manipur, and the All Tripura Tigers Front, primarily against state and central government armed forces.

In 2006-2007 there were reports of new use of antipersonnel landmines and IEDs in Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and Manipur states.

In Assam ULFA used command-detonated IEDs in attacks on infrastructure and security personnel, frequently causing civilian casualties. ULFA explosive attacks were frequently reported as “landmines,” but Landmine Monitor did not find any incidents involving victim-activated explosive devices, and there were no known cases of use of factory-made antipersonnel landmines. Two incidents in November and December 2006 may have involved antivehicle mines. ^[24]

In Tripura in April 2007 four tribal people were seriously injured by a landmine while travelling in the forest. The police alleged the mine was laid by the All Tripura Tiger Force; they suspect mines were laid to restrict the movement of police and paramilitary forces.^[25]

In Nagaland in June 2006 a member of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland was killed by a landmine outside an Indian Reserve Battalion camp near Athibung. The town has also been the site of armed conflict between Naga factions. It is not known who laid the mine.^[26]

In Manipur the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) was accused by the government, other rebel groups and the media during 2006 and 2007 of planting landmines in the hill districts of Tamenglong, Chandel and Churachandpur. The UNLF has not admitted to using landmines.

In March 2007 Kuki student groups issued a memorandum to the government of India alleging that from 2001 until March 2007 landmines laid by the UNLF had killed or injured 33 Kuki villagers in Chandel district.^[27]

Also in March 2007 Burmese Kuki living in the border area held a demonstration demanding a halt to the war and a ban on the use of landmines in their fellow Kuki-populated areas in Manipur. The UNLF had previously set up a liberated area within the Chandel district and laid mines affecting an unknown number of villages. In March the villagers were reported to have been forced by UNLF combatants, allegedly backed by Burmese troops, across the border into Burma.^[28]

In the February 2007 election of the Manipur Assembly, the Kuki Movement for Human Rights alleged that a cluster of 31 villages straddling the Chandel and Tengnoupal Assembly constituencies along the Burmese border could not vote because all paths leading to these villages and their paddy fields were mined. The vice chair of the group stated that the area had been mined by the militants to prevent security forces from raiding their hideouts along the border. A member of the Kuki Chiefs’ Association stated that landmines had been planted around houses, on roads, and in fields, particularly in Khengjoi block of Chandel district, and affected the lives of 6,000 people.^[29]

Giving credence to those charges, in February 2007 a 60-year-old Gamphajol farmer lost his left leg to a landmine when he tried to cut through a forest on his way back home. The previous month a youth from Aibol Jamkhomang village died when she stepped on a landmine while walking to a nearby paddy field.^[30]

In January 2007 it was reported that approximately 400 people from eight villages in the Kenjoi block of Chandel district moved to the Laijang Grouping Centre, a resettlement site outside Moreh on the Burma border.^[31] An executive committee member of the Hill Tribes Council was reported to say that the villagers had been living in the Laijang Grouping Centre because they could not return to their respective villages for fear of stepping on landmines laid by militants.^[32]

The KNO in a December 2006 statement alleged that the UNLF “plant indiscriminate landmines,” and that there had been “28 Kuki victims of landmines.”^[33] Also in December 2006, an explosive device, possibly a booby-trap, killed a 12-year-old Naga boy and seriously injured several other children in Tamenglong district, which is a Naga-inhabited area in Manipur state.^[34]

In November 2006 an evangelist in Chandel district was killed by a device referred to as a landmine.^[35] In October 2006 a woman walking on a track between Maukot and Semol lost a foot after stepping on an explosive device.^[36]

Central India

In 2006 and the first half of 2007 there was an increase in the scope and intensity of armed conflict by the Communist Party of India-Maoist and a few other smaller groups, often referred to collectively as “Naxalites.”^[37] There was a marked increase in the use of powerful, command-detonated IEDs in attacks on security personnel. While these were frequently reported as “landmines” in the media and specialized reports on the conflict, Landmine Monitor found that very few incidents involved victim-activated explosive devices, and there were no known cases of the use of factory-made antipersonnel landmines.^[38]

In March 2007, after a police camp in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh was overrun by Maoist militia, police were reportedly hampered in their recovery of the dead by landmines left by the attackers, and newly laid mines were found within the camp.^[39] In February 2007 in Dantewara district of Chhattisgarh, five members of a bomb disposal squad were killed when they apparently triggered an explosive booby-trap connected to a larger IED they were disarming.^[40] In June and July 2006 police in the Dantewara and Narayanpur districts of Chhattisgarh recovered pressure-activated explosive devices from Naxalites.^[41]

Kashmir

Non-state armed groups continued to use command-activated improvised explosive devices in Jammu and Kashmir in 2006 and 2007 to target convoys of Indian soldiers and paramilitaries, but which also caused civilian casualties. However, Landmine Monitor could not identify any specific cases of new use of antipersonnel landmines or victim-activated IEDs by any insurgent group in Kashmir in 2006 or early 2007. In June 2006 the Indian Army seized 13 antipersonnel landmines, among other weapons, from a cave in Kupwara district in Kashmir. In the same month it recovered five antipersonnel mines, among other weapons, from a cache near the Line of Control in Rajouri district. In both cases the weapons were alleged to belong to an insurgent group.^[42] Indian Army public statistics for arms seized in Kashmir since 1990 reported a near continual decline in seized antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from 2000 until April 2006, when it stopped putting updates on its website.^[43]

Landmine/IED Problem

India is contaminated with mines mainly as a result of mine-laying by government forces on and near the northwestern border with Pakistan during the 2000-2001 stand-off between the two countries. Antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were laid on cultivated land and pasture, around infrastructure and around some villages.^[44] India also contends with increased use of IEDs and mines by non-state armed groups in other parts of the country.^[45]

India claimed in February 2005 that it had recovered 99 percent of the mines laid on and near the India-Pakistan border.^[46] Although substantial border areas have been returned to civilian owners, other sources say at least some sections of the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir remain heavily mined.^[47] Reportedly, the Uri sector of Baramulla district has remained mined and fenced along the Line of Control since 1990. In the Karna sector of Kupwara district, mines were laid through villages cut in half by the Line of Control. Kupwara district was heavily affected by the 8 October 2005 earthquake and authorities are said to fear that mines planted in the area were moved by the earthquake.^[48]

Military authorities acknowledge that areas prone to infiltration by militants are still mined but say the areas are clearly marked. However, they also say heavy rainfall, snow, mudslides and avalanches can cause mines to move.^[49]

Mines continue to cause casualties and prevent cultivation of large amounts of agricultural land; local inhabitants complain that mines also take a toll of livestock. Unofficial estimates cited in the Indian media put the area still contaminated at 160 square kilometers of Jammu and 1,730 square kilometers of Kashmir. The speaker of Jammu and Kashmir’s legislative assembly said that more than 6,000 families and some 3,500 acres of agricultural land in his constituency alone are mine-affected.^[50]

Mine Action

India has no civilian mine action program. Its international point of contact for clearance activities is the Disarmament and International Affairs Division within the Ministry of External Affairs. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for mine clearance and assists civilians in clearing IEDs placed by non-state armed groups.^[51] Media reports indicate police also play an active part in clearing mines and IEDs in states dealing with insurgency.^[52]

In 2007 according to media reports, the army conducted “area specific” demining operations in Jammu and Kashmir, spurred by working groups established by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revive agriculture and promote economic development of border areas as part of confidence building measures with Pakistan.^[53] The working groups called for immediate demining of the area by the army.^[54]

In April 2007 police started demining operations in states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, two of the provinces worst affected by Maoist rebel attacks. The police received training in demining from the army and paramilitary forces.^[55] Earlier in 2007 officials in Chhattisgarh disclosed the state government had drawn up plans to form special units to clear mines planted by Maoist rebels in such areas as Bastar. The state government planned to focus demining operations particularly on the Abhiumad region, which forms about 10 percent of Bastar. Media reports said the state government planned to recruit retired army officers with expertise in explosives for these units. The state government reportedly made several requests to the army’s Central Command headquarters in Lucknow to send landmine experts to help about 10,000 paramilitary forces in Bastar.^[56]

Following demining operations which allowed the opening in April 2005 of the road between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar in Kashmir for the first time since partition in 1947, it was expected that another route across the Line of Control, between Rawalakot and Poonch would be opened after clearance of mines on the Indian side.^[57]

Indian Army units have sustained heavy casualties in the course of demining operations, notably since mine-laying on the Pakistan border started in December 2001.^[58] A parliamentary Public Accounts Committee report of December 2006 criticized the army for importing 1.04 billion rupees (some US$25 million) worth of demining equipment delivered between June 2003 and June 2004 after most border minefields had already been cleared.^[59]

The US Department of State, in its 2006 report on human rights, cites “credible reports” that in the course of demining operations security forces “sometimes used civilians as human shields.” Such abuses occurred mainly in Kupwara and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir, it said.^[60]

Mine Risk Education

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) completed its handover of mine risk education (MRE) to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) in 2006, phasing out programs as targeted areas were reached. However, ICRC initially monitored and supported MRE activities in Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu. The IRCS collected information about new mine incidents occurring in the border areas, helped mine casualties with regard to compensation procedures, and informed them about survivor assistance services available.^[61] Its plan to extend these activities to Jammu and Kashmir in the second half of 2006 did not occur. However, the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) chapter in Kashmir proposed to conduct MRE in the mine-affected villages of Uri and Karnah later in 2007; two staff received MRE orientation earlier in the year. Participation from Kashmir University students is planned, with the students to be trained to provide MRE in the mine affected villages.^[62]

Indian Army spokesman Col. A.K. Mathur stated that MRE is a regular feature in border villages and is conducted along with medical and other activities under Operation Sadhbavana. Reportedly, information is disseminated regarding the presence of minefields, precautions to be taken when encountering a mine, and how to report mines to authorities.^[63]

The Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection continued organizing basic one-day MRE workshops for an average of 60 participants. Three such workshops were arranged from February 2006 to February 2007 in Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir in cooperation with the Landmine Survivors Association.^[64]

Landmine/ERW/IED Casualties

Landmine Monitor media analysis found at least 524 new casualties of explosive devices in 2006, including 311 people killed and 213 injured. Victim-activated devices, primarily antipersonnel landmines, were responsible for 107 new casualties, according to English-language media reports in India; 41 people were killed (including at least seven children and 12 soldiers), while 66 were injured (including six children and 37 soldiers).  This is a significant increase from 2005, when five people were killed and 10 injured by victim-activated devices.^[65]  Civilians were 54 percent (58) of recorded casualties.  Males were 76 percent (81) and females were 16 percent (17) of total casualties; the gender of nine children was not specified.  Children were about 12 percent (13) of total casualties.  Most casualties occurred in Jammu and Kashmir (50), followed by Maharashta (12), Uttar Pradesh (10), Kuki in Manipur on the Burma border and Chhattisgarh (nine each), Orissa (eight), Assam (seven) and Nagaland in Manipur (two).  Antipersonnel mines appeared to cause most casualties (49), followed by antivehicle mines (42); ERW killed two boys in Jammu and Kashmir and 10 children (four killed and six injured) were involved in a single dismantling incident in Uttar Pradesh; victim-activated IEDs caused four casualties (two killed, two injured).  Another 317 casualties (170 killed, 147 injured) were also identified in 2006, but most appear to have resulted from command-detonated devices or other explosive items.^[66] 

Casualties continued to occur in 2007, with at least 14 casualties (three killed, 11 injured) from victim-activated devices reported in news media and by local NGO sources.^[67] Many more casualties were either reported only in local media, or were unreported due to the incidents occurring in remote areas. There is no comprehensive data collection mechanism for casualties from mines/IEDs and other explosive devices in India. Within the health system, there is no distinction made between those injured by mines/IEDs and those injured by other means.^[68] In addition to incomplete data collection, government and media reports do not distinguish between victim-activated devices and those detonated by other means, or provide ambiguous information.

Statistics provided by the Indian Army do not differentiate between mine/ERW casualties and those due to other weapons. They include casualties resulting from deliberate attacks on civilians and do not differentiate between victim-activated devices.^[69]

The cumulative number of casualties from explosive devices in India is not known.  A 2003-2004 survey by the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection (IIPDEP) identified at least 1,295 civilian casualties (325 killed and 970 injured) in the border states of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir; 168 were children.^[70] According to government sources, between 1989 and 1999 there were 10,709 casualties (1,489 killed, 9,220 injured) in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.^[71] Reportedly, 2,000 landmine casualties were recorded in villages of Mendhar sub-district in Poonch.^[72]

Survivor Assistance

India provides free medical care for all citizens. In rural areas the quality and availability of services can be problematic and there is usually no first-aid in remote border areas. State hospitals have the capacity to treat mine/IED casualties, including amputation surgery. Conflict, internal displacement and lack of medical equipment and staff impede service provision. Furthermore, many government disability programs did not receive allocated funding to meet service provision targets.^[73] Only 10 percent of Indians have health insurance, and more than 25 percent fall below the poverty line because of hospital expenses.^[74]

In the northeastern states NGOs provide direct assistance to survivors or lobby the authorities to do so. Despite extensive and good health infrastructure in Manipur, the mine-affected areas are not easily accessible.^[75] In September 2006 the Manipur government agreed to provide ex gratia financial assistance to mine/IED casualties within a month.^[76] Several NGOs in Jammu and Kashmir assist the population with medical care, rehabilitation, education and training.^[77]

Military mine casualties are referred to Pune for specialized treatment and artificial limbs. Civilian mine survivors living in remote border villages have no access to physiotherapy or prosthetic services. District rehabilitation centers in India aim to provide center-based and community-based rehabilitation to people with disabilities in remote areas, and raise awareness about disability and available services. In April 2006 the federal government ceased support for the program, which was transferred to local authorities. Five composite regional centers provide comprehensive rehabilitation services.^[78] These centers are supplemented by 128 district disability rehabilitation centers. In 2007 another 15 district-level centers were scheduled to become operational. Some mine/IED survivors receive assistance or compensation via these centers. The impact of government programs is limited and funding has only been provided to a small number of government organizations.^[79]

India is not known to have any psychosocial support programs for survivors. Limited economic reintegration opportunities are provided by the federal government and the district disability rehabilitation centers. The social welfare departments of states in northeastern India implement schemes for economic reintegration of people with disabilities. Scholarships are available for vocational training programs depending on type and level of disability.^[80] The labor departments of state governments facilitate access to employment.^[81]

India has legislation to protect people with disabilities, but it is not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir and practical benefits of the legislation have been minimal.^[82] On 10 February 2006, the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment presented the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities.^[83] A 2006 review of the 1995 Persons with Disabilities Act recommended amendments that include: clarifying the disability definition, canceling difficult-to-obtain eligibility certificates for benefits, and simplifying the responsibilities of federal and state coordinating committees.^[84]

The government provides special railway fares, education allowances and scholarships, customs exemptions, as well as rehabilitation training to assist the disabled; however, several NGOs reported a lack of implementation.^[85]

On 30 March 2007 India signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities but not its Optional Protocol which allows monitoring of the implementation of the Convention.

Survivor Assistance Strategic Framework

India does not have a national strategy for survivor assistance. The Disability Division of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is responsible for people with disabilities, including mine/IED survivors. The ministry provides support for rehabilitation issues in accordance with the 2006 National Programme for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, which is a partnership between central government and state authorities in cooperation with national institutes and other stakeholders. It also provides scholarships for people with disabilities. More people with disabilities are expected to benefit from these programs when the amendment to eliminate the 40 percent disability certification is passed. The ministry also monitors the overall performance of the disability sector. Every year, the ministry holds a national meeting to review the implementation status of legislation and discuss best practices. In 2006 it was recommended to organize additional meetings to better monitor implementation of provisions under the law.^[86]

The Rehabilitation Council of India is responsible for regulating training policies and programs for disability professionals; it maintains a central rehabilitation register for all disability professionals and promotes research.^[87]

At least 27,165 people with disabilities received services during 2006, including 20 mine/ERW survivors who received physical rehabilitation. Within this total, two centers supported by the ICRC provided physical rehabilitation services to 619 people (15 survivors) and distributed 19 wheelchairs and 45 crutches.^[88] Rehabilitation centers provided physical rehabilitation to at least 10,480 people.^[89] The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation assisted 595 people with micro-credits.^[90] The Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India distributed mobility devices to 15,365 people through 50 rehabilitation camps in northeast India in 2005-2006.^[91] The Sultan-ul-Arifeen Artificial Limb Centre (formerly Bagvan Mahaveer Viklang Sahita Samiti) assisted 74 people with physical rehabilitation (five survivors).^[92] The Indian Army provided physical rehabilitation to 32 people.^[93]

The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences is a government-funded joint venture of the northeastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Most mine/IED casualties from Manipur receive treatment at the institute, but also receive initial treatment at Churachandpur and Bishenpur district hospitals and the Jawaharlal Nehru State Hospital, which is the primary referral center in the area.^[94]

In 2006, ICRC continued providing materials, components, equipment and on-the-job training to the prosthetic/orthopedic department of the Jammu Government Medical College and the Bone and Joint Hospital in Srinagar.^[95]

The Indian Army opened a prosthetic repair center in Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2005,^[96] stating that it “would continue to provide artificial limbs to all affected and deserving persons, free of cost.”^[97] In October 2006 the Indian Army organized the distribution of artificial limbs in Mansbal, Kashmir, in collaboration with the NGO Pritam Spiritual Centre.^[98]

The state and district rehabilitation centers conducted 35 rehabilitation camps in 2006.^[99] The Sultan-ul-Arifeen Artificial Limb Centre in Srinagar provides prostheses free of charge.^[100]

At the central government level the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation provided economic reintegration opportunities for people with disabilities. The corporation promotes economic empowerment through micro-credit schemes and vocational training to people with at least 40 percent disability in rural areas whose annual incomes are low.^[101]

Other NGOs assisting people with disabilities in India include Handicap International and Ortho Prosthetics Care and Rehabilitation.^[102]