All you need to know about AFSPA : Armed forces special power act

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 is the act that gives the armed forces of India the special powers to function in areas termed as ‘disturbed’ by the Governor of the state or the Central government. The act was formed in 1958 for the first time to include the North-Eastern states of India, also known as the seven sisters.

It was amended in 1983 to include the states of Punjab and Chandigarh in the act, which was later revoked in 1997, after 14 years of its application. In 1990, it was applied to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This act has come under heavy criticism in many places because of the possible violations of human rights which act in some cases in these disturbed areas.

Click here to read: Lecturette Series- Rise in onion prices making us cry!!!

Also read: SSB Lecturette Series: Indo Bangladesh Land boundary agreement
Read: SSB Awareness series: A scandal of Diesel engine

AFSPA was passed in 1958 with the increasing demand of the Nagas for a separate nation of Nagaland. They went to the extent of boycotting the elections and public governmental bodies. Due to the tense situation, the government intensified the police forces and their action towards this revolt. But in the wake of the police being unable to contain the rebellion by the Nagas, the Naga Nationalist Council formed a parallel government called the “federal government of Nagaland”. Under the provisions of the act, Assam Rifles were deployed in the region to contain this. This was further extended to all the states of North-East India owing to the increasing terrorist and insurgency activities in this region. In 2015, the AFSPA for these regions got extended by another year to completely ensure the end of insurgency operations in the area.

AFSPA was introduced in Punjab and Chandigarh in the year 1983 with the amendments which gave the armed forces the special powers to stop any vehicle to search if it were under the eye of suspicion of the forces. Secondly, it gave the armed forces personnel the power to break any lock to which they did not have access to in the disturbed areas. It was again amended in 1990 where Jammu and Kashmir was brought under the purview of the act. This amendment gave the armed forces the right to fire upon a person violating orders after due warning in a disturbed area, enter any premise under the suspicion of terrorist activities there, destroy any suspected hideouts or arms buildings and arrest any person without a warrant or questioning. The ethically problematic part is the fact that the armed force officers are not accountable for their actions to the people of this area as they would be working under the power of this act. Through the second amendment, the central government also started having the right to classify an area as disturbed, and there is no scope for legal justification as to why a place is classified as disturbed.

Click here to read: SSB Lecturette Series - NOTA is good or bad?

Also read: SSB Lecturette Series - All you need to know about NITI Aaayog

The afore-mentioned salient points does make any person question the act and how it is a violation of human rights in multiple ways. Moreover, it gives the government and the armed forces supreme power in these disturbed areas and above the rule of law in some sense. This is evident in the findings of the high profile Santosh Hegde Commission under the past Supreme Court judge, Santosh Hegde, which stated that out of all the people killed by the armed forces in Manipur, most of them were innocent. This is probably the reason that the social activist Irom Sharmila, also called the ‘Iron Lady of Manipur’, has been on a hunger strike since 14 years for the repeal of this act. The United Nations have questioned our government’s stand on AFSPA currently and many organisations and NGO’s have termed it as medieval and draconian.

 Now, this act according to me is not correct as every person should be accountable for their actions at some point of time or the other. If this doesn’t happen, then our constitution fails itself. But is the act totally illogical? Are all the powers of this act been abused by the armed forces? The truth is that we cannot say that the powers given by this act have been abused by the forces. These issues have arose due to suspicious activities in these areas already infested with terrorism and insurgency. The grant of some of the powers to the armed forces is totally logical in a region which is in a situation of being tangled with terrorism. But in my opinion, there should be a check on this by a sense of accountability of both the government and the forces that should be brought in for the activities or operations that the armed forces conduct in these areas. This would help the act to fulfil its intent of being an act to safeguard national security as it was meant to be in the first place, rather than being a violating and oppressive law. 

About the Author : Albin Jose did his schooling from Noida and completed his B.Tech from IIT Madras and currently working with an education based-firm in Mumbai. In free time, he like to read and go on treks in and around Mumbai. Through his articles he want to spread awareness among the aspirants.