A draconian colonial law

One issue that has been a common denominator for both BJP and Congress, at least in Nagaland, has been the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Power) Act 1958. This particular Act was first imposed a few years after Indian impendence to the then Naga Hills. Since then and till today and for 65 years, the black Act has been in effect continuously. The union ministry of home affairs on September 26, 2023 further extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months, beginning October 1,2023. According to a notification published on September 26 , the AFSPA has been extended in whole of eight districts and in the areas of 21 police stations in five other districts of Nagaland for another six months. The eight districts in Nagaland where the AFSPA will be in force are: Dimapur, Niuland, Chümoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek and Peren. Police Stations that will come under AFSPA include- Kohima North P.S.. Kohima South P.S.; Khuzama P.S.; Zubza and Kezocha Police Stations; Mokokchung -1, Mangkolemba, Longtho, Tuli, Longchem and Anaki ‘C’ police stations. Under Longleng- Yanglok police station; under Wokha district- Bhandari, Changpang and Ralan police stations and under Zunheboto district- Ghatashi, Pughoboto, Satakha, Suruhuto, Zunheboto and Aghunato police stations. The Act provides unbridled power to the armed forces and the Central Armed Police Forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of law; arrest and search any premises without a warrant and protection from prosecution and legal suits without the Central government’s sanction. Tripura revoked the Act in 2015 and for Meghalaya (which was under the AFSPA for 27 years), the home ministry revoked the black law from April 1, 2018. While the BJP spares no effort to convince the people of north east that it is and will do more than that Congress; yet when it comes to the infamous and draconian Armed Forces(Special Powers)Act the BJP is all for it. This Act was based on a 1942 British ordinance intended to suppress the Indian Independence movement during the Second World War. Independent India’s rulers saw fit to enact the colonial law in 1958 and to impose it on Nagas. Nagas have been suffering under this law for 65 years in the guise of tackling insurgency. Today all Naga groups are under cease fire agreements and negotiations await inking of an agreement. However AFSPA is still in force in Nagaland though it has been lifted in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and large parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The Congress-led UPA-I attempted to review the Act in 2004 and the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee formed submitted its recommendations in 2005 but it never saw the light of day. Nagas were again given a rude and painful reminder on December 4,2021 when 13 innocent civilians in Mon district were gunned down in cold blood by the Army’s elite 21 Para Special Forces. No action has been taken against the 21 Para Special Forces because the black law AFSPA insulates and protects the guilty army men. The uproar over the cold blooded killing has all but died down as justice appears to have been compromised. This black law has never been imposed in other parts of India, even in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Bihar etc where Maoists have killed several hundred paramilitary forces and continue hold sway over rural areas under gunpoint.