Army rule in the name of law : AFSPA in the North East
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 06 2015 -

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is back in the news again.

Courtesy the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

To set the record straight, the Army rule has never been out of the consciousness of the people in the North East region, but it is nonetheless interesting to note that the Union Home Minister has assured a team of AAPSU that the Centre would study the feasibility of rolling back the infamous Act from Arunachal Pradesh.

Top this off with the report that the matter would be discussed with Union Minister of State for Home, Kirren Rijiju, a native of Arunachal Pradesh, and it should be obvious that the Centre may favourably look into the demand raised by the student body.

Early days yet but it is important for Delhi to realise that the said Act has not been able to neutralise the militants of the region.

Manipur is a fitting example. After the whole of Manipur came under the ambit of the said Act in 1980, the number of militant organisations has only increased.

The continuation of the Act has only alienated the people and this is something which can be easily gauged from the number of staged encounters as well as mysterious disappearances of people down the decades.

Defies logic but it is stupefying that despite the hard evidences available, Delhi has never deemed it necessary to study the efficacy or effectiveness of the military Act.

There will always be powerful and influential people who will oppose any move to lift or abolish the said Act, but this should not be any reason to continue imposing AFSPA in some parts of the country.

Far from maintaining law and order or neutralising the militant organisations, it will only give more weight to the claim that the people here are a discriminated lot.

Why hasn’t Delhi studied the factors that are still encouraging Irom Chanu Sharmila to continue with her fast.

Fifteen years is a long time by any standard and it is a wonder that the policy framers of the country have deemed it better to overlook this fact.

When has an Act like AFSPA been able to protect the sovereignty of the country ?

When has AFSPA been able to contain the movements of the militants ?

The list of excesses committed by the men in uniform under the immunity and impunity granted by AFSPA has only increased with each passing year and it is hard to digest why Delhi has not bothered to study the efficacy of the said Act.

Or is it a case of allowing the Army or security personnel to play around with the dignity of the people here ?

It was not for nothing why former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had to fly down here and announce the formation of the Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission after the dastardly murder of Th Manorama in 2004.

That the recommendations of the Commission have been kept in cold storage is a reality and Delhi has never bothered to explain why this has been done so.

A democratic Government bowing down the pressures of the military and this says something profound about the Centre.

Rajnath Singh is today talking about Arunachal Pradesh, but it would do good for all to remember that there is Sharmila in Manipur who has been fasting since 2000 demanding the revocation of AFSPA.