- For the uninitiated, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) is a Parliamentary act that grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces and the state and paramilitary forces in areas classified as disturbed areas. This particular act is in the news for all the wrong reasons, especially where it is in force i.e. Northeastern states since the insurgency-related issues bog the region big-time. Of course, the situation in the Northeastern states has been controlled over the last few years courtesy of socio-economic and socio-welfare measures with an eye to bringing the people of the region into the mainstream. The Union Government has invested tremendous resources vis-à-vis time, funds, measures, and initiatives to achieve the same. But the challenges persist.
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- However, AFSPA continues to be in force in some of the disturbed districts owing to the insurgencies raising ugly heads now and then. Nonetheless, AFSPA obfuscates accountability on the forces since the provisions of the act shield them in no uncertain terms. Take for instance the absence of accountability in a grim Nagaland case that resulted in the killing of 13 innocent civilians by the army personnel. Needless to mention, the Nagaland case shows how the AFSPA law is hurting the Northeast. And it beggars belief. It is time to consider a full repeal of AFSPA because the act enables such unwelcome outcomes. Recently, the SC quashed FIRs and set aside all proceedings against 30 army personnel involved in a botched operation in Dec 2021.
- This comes after the Union home ministry refused sanction for prosecution. The moot point to ponder over here is whether such a state of exception is still justified in the Northeast. In Nagaland, the mass insurgency has retreated as GOI has brought militants to accord, and the state govt, like most others in the region, is in alliance with the Centre. In Manipur, the extreme ethnic violence and segregation speak terribly for AFSPA’s effectiveness. Whatever its accomplishments in the past, today AFSPA appears to be delivering less public order, and more public alienation. In the instant case, an SIT constituted by the state govt probed how intelligence input about the presence of NSCN K-YA and ULFA militants ended up in a 21 Para Security Force team.
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- The team opened fire on villagers returning from work in a coal mine. It connected indiscriminate and disproportionate firing to failures to follow the standard operating procedure and the rules of engagement. An army inquiry found it to be a case of mistaken identity. What has been the course correction since then? Unknown. The court said the concerned wing of the armed forces would be at liberty to take or not to take any disciplinary proceedings against its officers. If such suspension of accountability and victims’ rights are called unconscionable, we can see why. AFSPA can cover up any wrongdoing, you see. The notion of a person no longer covered by legal or civil rights is anathema to any democracy, including the famed Indian democracy. AFSPA should go.
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