Sharmila grew up and lives in Manipur, one of the Seven Sister States in India's northeast, and has suffered from Insurgency for decades; from 2005 to 2015 about 5,500 people died from political violence.[12] In 1958, the Indian government passed a law, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 that applies to just the seven states and grants security forces the power to search properties without a warrant, and to arrest people, and to use deadly force if there is "reasonable suspicion" that a person is acting against the state; a similar Act applies to Jammu & Kashmir.[12]