AFSPA, drugs woes déjà vu valley CSOs
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 09, 2021 -

If at all the Union government yields to the growing demand for repealing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 from the north-eastern states, then is would be nothing less than a miracle.

Similarly, people of Manipur wouldn't believe their eyes in case the law enforcement agencies manage to arrest and punish a handful of kingpins or drug lords in connection with the many sensational cases of seizing large quantities of narcotic drugs.

Among the states in the northeast region, people of Manipur probably have been at the receiving end of the pro-military AFSPA and the menace of substance abuse but with no signs of solution to both the problems.

It is also an undeniable fact that the state's masses have been most vocal and proactively involved in the movement to see the end of the controversial Act as well as to prevent the youngsters from falling prey to drug addiction.

For instance, Irom Sharmila Chanu carried out indefinite fasting for overa decade to demand repeal of AFSPA, imposition of which emboldened the security forces to misuse the powers and resulted in many controversial cases of shoot-outs.

While Sharmila has given up her struggle some years back and settled for a married life, mainly due to indifference of the establishment and diminishing support of the masses; aftermath of the Mon district incident which has triggered renewed calls for repealing AFSPA from the entire region, she must be relieved that the current uprising by the northeast denizens has vindicated that her campaign was not for any particular community but for all the vulnerable sections of the population.

However, Sharmila would be rejoicing that the anti-AFSPA sentiment at the juncture is no more limited to the civil societies, and human rights and student organisations but the political class from across the country have joined the chorus to review the government's policy of giving extraordinary power to the security forces operating in disturbed areas.

Unlike the lonely campaign that she waged while in judicial custody and with moral support from a handful of valley-basedcivil societies, the demand for doing away with the Act had already echoed prominently in the Parliament in addition to the Nagaland cabinet resolving to implore the Union government for scrapping the law which is increasingly being construed as discrimination against the northeast denizens.

Thus, of all the individuals and organisations pitching for repeal of AFSPA, Sharmila has every reason to not only feel elated that her campaign was justifiable but also treasure the rare consensus among the northeast masses that the Act is anti-thesis to democratic principles.

Similar to Sharmila, who had given up the worldly pleasures to take up cudgel for abuse of human rights, there are various organisations which have been carrying forth the campaign to eradicate the socio-ethnic malaise of drug abuse and trading but with little success on account of failure by the government authorities to ensure exemplary punishment to thedrug dealers coupled with lack of public support and enthusiasm to end the scourge.

The largest ever drug haul in northeast on Monday, when heroin and psychotropic methamphetamine tablets worth over Rs 508 crore were seized by a combined team of Assam Rifles and Manipur police, indicates that narcotics drug business is thriving in the state.

Though one Myanmarese national has been arrested in connection with the drug haul, it is unlikely that the lone individual could be owner of the over 200 kilograms of drugs seized.

Therefore, it would be wishful thinking for the government authorities and their agencies to either uphold the public's demand to repeal AFSPA or put behind bars the real drug kingpins unless there is harmonious exhibition of unity, grit and resilience to expose administrative injustices and lapses instead of perceivingperiodical movements spearheaded by the Imphal-based organisations to highlight public grievances and ills afflicting the society as concerns of a specific community.