So much has been written, commented and debated on the repressive colonial Armed Forces Special Powers Act,1958 whose origin was the Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance of 1942, promulgated on August 15,1942 by the British colonial rulers to suppress the Quit India Movement. After Independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to retain the Act, which was first brought in as an ordnance and then notified as an Act in 1958. AFSPA provides for special powers for the armed forces that can be imposed by the Centre or the Governor of a state on any state or parts of it. Today, the AFSPA has again come to national and international focus on account of the horrific massacres at Oting village Mon district Nagaland on December 4. The Act, which has been called draconian, gives sweeping powers to the armed forces. It allows them to open fire’, even causing death, against any person in contravention to the law or carrying arms and ammunition. It gives them powers to arrest individuals without warrants, on the basis of “reasonable suspicion”, and also search premises without warrants. Whether such a blanket power has made security forces into thinking any action of theirs can be justified, may be debated but there is no doubt that under this law, they have continued to harass, kill or maim innocent civilians. While the Act gives powers to security forces to open fire, this cannot be done without prior warning given to the suspect. However, as per information, the 21 Para commando unit operated without knowledge or permission of the authorities. As per the AFSPA, no security personnel involved in any crime as per definition of CrPC, can be held accountable while carrying out such operations, unless the centre accords sanction for prosecution. This has very rarely happened and a rarity in the quest for justice is injustice. After the December 4 massacre, the state government ordered the constitution of the Special Investigation Team(SIT) to probe the killings. The SIT is headed by an officer in the rank of IGP. People have expectations that the SIT will unearth the truth and expose all those involved in the chain of command. The Army has also set up its Court of Inquiry headed by an officer in the rank of Maj.General. Nagaland and Mizoram faced the brunt of AFSPA in the 1950s, including air raids and bombings by the Indian military. Allegations have been made against security forces of mass killings and rape. It was in Manipur that the fallout has been perhaps best documented. It came about following the Malom massacre in 2000, and the killing and alleged rape of Thangjam Manorama that led to the subsequent repeal of AFSPA from the Imphal municipal area. Today, demand for repeal of the draconian or black Act is being raised and heard throughout the north east. The BJP and the Congress at the Centre have not lend their support to these demands. This means that the mainstream national parties feel, as the colonial government did, that using lathis and rifles is in the interest of the rulers to rule over the people. Therefore, the AFSPA needs to be repealed and abrogated to prevent such recurrence. Also, it must be clear that the army has no business in maintenance of law and order. If AFSPA could be removed from parts of Imphal, it is time to remove it from wherever it is in force.
Leave a Reply