Apropos to an article “I see no evil” written by Khumlamo Patton, published in Nagaland Post on 4th March stirred my attention in total disbelief to have found a Naga brethren who thinks AFSPA is no evil, even after living for generations under military aggression. Though everyone is free to express his/her opinion, to claim that “AFSPA is not as draconian as is framed to be” is preposterous and absurd. I do not know the writer, but I wonder whether he has lived long enough to witnessed the horrendous abuse and torture that Nagas has suffered under the army who are empowered to do as they like by this very draconian law.
If one is a careful reader of news or history, it takes no genius to concur that AFSPA is an extraordinary abusive law that do not find relevance in any modern and civilized world. Though, the Act was legislated as a counter insurgency measures, many innocent citizens have been unduly harassed, abused or killed. Not very long time ago, a residence of a friend of mine was raided in the middle of the night on the pretext of searching illegal weapons. In that episode, even his young daughters sleeping peacefully in their pajamas were paraded before the treacherous and vile eyes of the army personnel. I wonder whether the writer has encountered such situations where friends or relatives have to undergo such horrendous ordeal.
According to Patton, abuse of authority is negligible as “social media is overtly proactive and accountable.” Is this an assertion that the military is accountable to the social media? Are they even remotely connected? Just few years back, some Naga youths were arrested in the middle of Kohima town, taken to the AR camp and beaten black and blue, all for nothing. Did social media managed to do anything? Are the guilty punished? No, because the army enjoys immunity under the law, and are at liberty to arrest or assault anyone on mere suspicion. If this is not evil then we must be either blind or have no sense at all.
It could be true that “environment with weak security parameters is bound to give rise to law and order problems”, however, Nagas had lived and survived for thousands of years without the presence of the Indian army, and I am sure the Naga society would do well without such draconian laws. What a society need is a humane law not vile Acts.
Finally, to even imagine that security as a topic should be outside the preview of opinions and questions is to undermine the basic structure of the constitution or to mock the core values of democracy. When we talk of security, the first question that comes to mind is security for whom? If security is for the people, then citizens have every right to question or demand the kind of security they need, not necessarily the one that is imposed upon them in autocratic manner. Even though, honoring the provisions of AFSPA might be a duty for Mr. Patton, for me and for many Nagas it is not. And we shall continue to resist and object to anything that is arbitrary, abusive and undemocratic.
Thejavizo, Kohima,
(thejavizo@mail.com)