Kavi Swu
Nagaland, Dimapur
As a popular saying goes “time heals all wounds” but doesn't it look like time has come to a pause in the hills of Nagaland?
And my dear Nagas, are we in our quest to modernize/koreanize/westernize ourselves or in the words of Ananya Vajpeyi “............to rebuild their cities, resurrect their economy, and reintegrate their now divided nation........” forgetting about the harsh fact/reality that forever looms large over our head or to use a popular cliché like “the sword of Damocles” ready to chop off our head any time ?
I am talking about the Armed Forces Special Act of 1958 or more popularly known by its acronym AFSPA. What does it contain and why is it so hated?
It states that Any commissioned officer, warrant officer, non commissioned officer or any other person of equivalent rank in the armed forces may, in a disturbed area have these powers:
1) The operative clauses of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 allow extrajudicial executions under section 4(a)
2) destruction of properties and firing upon any absconder without any warning under section 4(b)
3) arrest without warrant under section 4(c)
4) search and seizure without warrant under section 4(d)
And the most amazing of all, Section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act states, “No prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of powers conferred by this Act.”
AFSPA has divided India into two- one governed by the rule of law and the other where anything goes , one India where the citizens have rights, freedom, protection and treated as equal under the rule of the land while, the other India under AFSPA has none of these, what does it signify? I am puzzled as to the criterion on what the implementation of the AFSPA is based on? Aren’t the same conditions that have made the implementation of AFSPA acceptable in the North East by the security agencies not present in some of the mainland Naxalite –affected states as well? After the rape and murder of Thangjom Manorama by the security forces (the word “security” in the term “security forces” is so very ironic in the North East context because, all they ever do, is make us insecure in our own homes/land) the Justice Jevan Reddy Committee was constituted by the GOI to review the AFSPA and it strongly recommended the repealing of AFSPA and putting in its place the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967 which is applicable in the rest of India but, its an altogether different matter that it is still there and, the question is why???
And again, when India presented its second periodic report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1991, members of the UNHRC asked numerous questions about the validity of the AFSPA. They questioned the constitutionality of the AFSPA under Indian law and asked how it could be justified in light of Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR. On 23 March 2009, UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay asked India to repeal the AFSPA. She termed the law as "dated and colonial-era law that breach contemporary international human rights standards " but looks like it has fallen on deaf ears .
Nagaland has been under the writ of AFSPA for 55 (fifty five) years and before that under the Assam Disturbed Act, 1955 and the The Assam Maintenance of Public Order Act,1953 under which it has always been under the writ of the military for all sakes and purposes.During the heights of the freedom movement , The military under the protection of these acts has killed, tortured, raped, pillaged, burned their granaries, houses, properties and abused the common public and grouped the Naga villages together under concentration-like camps.
Lets also take the case of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002 (POTA). Once the Act became law, many reports surfaced of the law being grossly abused. Claims emerged that POTA legislation contributed to corruption within the Indian police and judicial system, and human rights and civil liberty groups fought against it. And on October 7, 2004, just two years after its inaction, the Union Cabinet approved the repeal of POTA. Isnt this something to ponder on?
India sheds its Gandhian tears for Palestine, Afghanistan (under the Taliban regime) , Bangladesh (while under Pakistan) and so on while, its own people (so they claim) are treated as “cattle class” as, one of their minister would say. How can India still pride itself as the so-called world’s largest democracy? Isn’t it a joke, a farce, a mockery, a sham to claim itself as the land of Equality, Fraternity, Liberty and Justice for all as nobly written down in its Constitution? Makes me wonder am i an Indian citizen or am i not? And, the even sadder fact is that, people in the mainland doesn’t care hoot about the fact that, what they call a part of their country has continuously lived under the shadow of these dreaded Acts for more than half a century. Doesn’t it put to shame their claim to a democratic country and their cherished claim of “unity in diversity”? The Germans may have murdered millions of Jews but they weren’t so damn hypocritical about it (not in any way belittling the horror of the Holocaust).
Some might say, “Well its scary but, in these modern times, we will never be subjected to these kinds of barbaric laws or the content of the Act will never be put into force” then, if it is so, why inspite of the recommendation of the Justice Reddy Committee, is the AFSPA still in continuation in our part of the world?? If there is a law, that states that it is right to take the life of someone you hate most , but nobody practises it knowing it isn’t right, is this law still morally right even though it is not put into practise? The issue is not in the enforcement or non-enforcement of the law but in its existence as a part of our daily life. Kuknalim
