Veroli Zhimo
The ongoing ‘March against AFSPA’ in Nagaland is rooted in the lived experiences of violence perpetrated against the Naga people under the garb of an antiquated colonial legislation.
Following the Oting killings in early December last year, several Nagas, young and old have recounted their own accounts of being brutalised and scarred, of the mental and emotional bondage they experience on a daily basis. There have been countless vigils for those innocent civilians of Oting as well as those who bore the brunt of atrocities under AFPSA over the decades.
The experiences of living under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 have also been recounted in books like ‘Nagaland and India: The Blood and the Tears’ by Kaka Iralu.
Across all spectrums, much has been said about how AFSPA provides impunity from any legal proceeding for acts that are against the very tenets of human life and dignity. And the debate over the rationale behind continuing with such a draconian law continues, but are the powers that be listening?
The nation would do well to recognise that ‘March against AFSPA’ is a peaceful people’s movement; one that was conceived to democratically convey resentment over an unjust law that institutionalises human rights violations and strengthens structural violence against the people.
Any law that becomes a symbol of State oppression instead of protecting citizen’s interests has to go.
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