Afspa armed forces special power act, peacekeeping. Will the next government repeal afspa from manipur. Due to overwhelming situation of violence by peoples of manipur and insurgent groups, the armed forces special powers act, 1958 was passed on 11 september 1958 by the parliament of india. The armed forces assam and manipur special powers act was signed into law in. But here in the case of the afspa in manipur, this principle appears. An act to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon members of the armed forces in disturbed areas in the state of 1 arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur, meghalaya, mizoram, nagaland and tripura. Manipur and armed forces special powers act 1958 617 it is alleged that security forces have destroyed homes and other structures presuming them to be used by insurgents under provisions of section 4b of afspa. The afspa or the armed forces special powers act is an act passed by the parliament which gives special powers to the armed forces in the disturbed areas. Here is what you need to know about the act that has seen a lot of controversy. Armed forces special powers act afspa is a parliamentary act that grants special powers to the indian armed forces and the state and paramilitary forces in areas classified as disturbed areas. Successive governments have refused to take a call against this repressive colonial act because the defence ministry would refuse to deploy the army if the. Interview with pradipphanjoubam, editor of imphal free press,in the times of india. A mong the many matters being debated in the ongoing lok sabha elections is the armed forces special powers act afspa, 1958. Modi govt extends afspa in 3 districts of arunachal pradesh.
Since 1980, the whole of manipur has been a disturbed area under the act. Armed forces special powers act afspa, irom chanu sharmila, hope for peace. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 in manipur and. Be it enacted by parliament in the ninth year of the republic of india as. Assam and the union territory of manipur in response to armed political. Act is the various pros and cons of it and how afspa has turned into a mockery of the law. Jul 19, 20 the report has highlighted the rampant misuse of the armed forces special powers act afspa in manipur.
As per section 3 of the afspa, it can be invoked in places where the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary. Legislatively sanctioned extralegal powers to security forces, afspa has been used in manipur and kashmir as an instrument of repression and provides blanket immunity to the armed forces. Although the contest over afspa is often reduced to a standard, tired one between security and liberty, the law raises serious constitutional concerns. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 introduction violence became the way of life in northeastern states of india. Armed forces special powers act afspa, 1958 is an act of the parliament of india that grant special powers to the indian armed forces the power to maintain public order in disturbed areas.
Apr 03, 2019 the state, which was formed on february 20, 1987, had inherited the controversial afspa enacted by parliament in 1958 and applied to the entire state of assam and the union territory of manipur. The armed forces assam and manipur special powers act 1958, also known as the disturbed area act, was extended to the then existing union territory of tripura through a home ministry notification of. Afspa in nagaland current affairs ias prelims exam, upsc. On 5 november 2000, she began a hunger strike in favour of abolishing the armed forces special powers act, 1958 that applies to the seven. Pdf deconstructing the idea of greater nagaland and the. Afspa extended to three districts of arunachal pradesh by mha. Fundamental rights form the core of our constitutional jurisprudence and are. The armed forces special powers act, when it was first promulgated was confined to certain disturbed areas in the hills of northeast india. A disturbed area is defined as one that is declared so by a notification under section 3 of the afspa.
Jun 10, 2015 manipur rights activists renewed their antiafspa campaign a day after the tripura government lifted the military law on may 27. Right now, apart from the state of jammu and kashmir, the armed forces special powers act is in force in 5 northeastern states, which are arunachala pradesh, assam, manipur, mizoram, and nagaland. Earlier, the afspa was effective in a 20 km area along the assammeghalaya border. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 afspa a law operative in.
The commission echoed a statement made by the jeevan reddy committee, a committee formed. Irom sharmila of manipur has been the longest nonviolent protest against the afspa. Spread of disturbed area parts of manipur were also declared disturbed areas under the act since its inception. Thangjam manorama, the unique naked protest of 12 meira paibi in front of kangla fort and the sustained peoples uprising against the armed forces special powers act, 1958 afspa, the prime minister of india promised the people of manipur that the law will be replaced by a more humane act in 2004. Manipur and armed forces special powers act 1958 idsa. According to the disturbed areas special courts act, 1976 once declared disturbed, the area has to maintain status quo for a minimum of 3 months. The terms of the act broadly remained the same as that of the armed forces special powers act assam and manipur of except for two sections, which provided additional powers to the armed forces. The laws provide sweeping powers to soldiers, including the. The armed forces special powers act the afspa is not the medicine for militancy and it is there to extract resources from manipur, irom sharmilas. Waikhom damodar singh now that the justice bp jeevan reddy committee has very rightly recommended for repealing withdrawing or rescinding of the afspa the armed forces special powers act 1958 from its operation in the northeast region, particularly in the state of manipur saying that the act is too bald and quite inadequate in several.
Mar 18, 2020 security forces engaged in counterinsurgency operation in assam favour the continuation of afspa in the whole state. Be it enacted by parliament in the ninth year of the. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 act 28 of 1958, 11th september, 1958. But there is a larger structural problem at the heart of the statute, namely its disruption of the place of military power under the constitution. Malem mangal laishram irom sharmila, the young lady from manipur who has been on fast for the last six years since the infamous malom massacre of 2000, demanding the repeal of the armed forces special powers act 1958 is the 21st century legacy of mahatma gandhis nonviolence. Sc order on manipur fake encounters is a step forward in long. Suisa and laishram achaw singh, vehemently opposed it. After arunachal pradesh, meghalaya, mizoram and nagaland came into being, the act was appropriately adapted to apply to these states as well.
Witness statement of arrest and torture in manipur cited in l. Irom chanu sharmila born 14 march 1972, also known as the iron lady of manipur or mengoubi the fair one is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the indian state of manipur, which is located on the northeastern side of india. Sc order on manipur fake encounters is a step forward in. Only activists like irom sharmila from manipur, who has been fasting for 12 years demanding that the act should be repealed, have kept the issue alive. Jan 20, 2012 the ruling congress has pledged to improve the law and order situation in manipur and withdraw the controversial armed forces special powers act afspa if voted to power in the assembly election. Pdf on jan 1, 2017, salvin paul and others published deconstructing the idea of greater. As a subscriber to afspa fsbp for about the last fiftyfour years, i can say that i have always been totally satisfied with the benefits and services i have received over all those years at home and abroad. Manipur except the imphal whole manipur state comes under afspa rules. An icon of civil rights ravinder assistant professor deptt. Afspa american foreign service protective association. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 afspa is a subject of severe criticism by human.
Recently the tripura state government has decided to withdraw the controversial act, citing significant reduction in the extent of terrorist activities. Republic of india the armed forces special powers act. Apr 01, 2021 tirap, changlang and longding districts in arunachal pradesh and the areas falling within the jurisdiction of the following four police stations in other districts of arunachal pradesh, bordering the state of assam, are declared as disturbed area under section 3 of the armed forces special powers act, 1958 up to september 30, 2021 with effect from april 1, 2021, unless withdrawn. The legislation grants special powers to the indian armed forces in regions which the act refers to as disturbed areas. Congress pledges to withdraw afspa in manipur the hindu. Recently the tripura state government has decided to withdraw the controversial act, citing significant reduction in the extent of terrorist activities in the state. The armed forces special powers act, introduced decades ago in indias northeastern states and kashmir to control militancy and turbulence, often has undemocratic sideeffects.
Rakesh shukla, why temperance will not work with afspa, in manipuronline. The armed forces special powers act of 1958 afspa is one of the more draconian legislations. Shielding the armed forces for actions under afspa, but at. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 act 28 of 1958, 11th september, 1958 an act to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon members of the armed forces in disturbed areas in the state of 1 arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur, meghalaya, mizoram, nagaland and tripura. Modi govt extends afspa in 3 districts of arunachal. Forces assam and manipur special powers ordinance was promulgated by. She started her fast to protest against afspa in november 2000 and continues to be forcefed in jail. Due to the disturbance and insurgency in the state, the government of india promulgated the armed forces special powers act 1958 in manipur state. The act was withdrawn from tripura in may 2015 and with its withdrawal from meghalaya this year, the number of states in india under afspa is only 6. What is armed forces special powers act, and where is it in. Armed forces special powers act afspa upsc exam preparation. The armed forces special powers act, 1958 afspa is a sweeping legislation to send the army to a disturbed area in aid of the civil power section 3, empowering it to destroy armsdumps. Judicial commission appointed by sc on afspa highlighted.
College, narwana abstract the paper illustrates the epic and heroic political fast of irom sharmila chanu, and. Armed forces special powers act afspaarmed forces special powers act are those laws introduced by the parliament of india which grants special powers to the army to act on their own terms in the areas. In practice the afspa also facilitates violation of the right to be free. The objective to implement the afspa act is to maintain law and order in the disturbed areas. She started her epic battle against the armed forces special powers act, 1958 afspa since 2, november, 2000, demanding the government of india to withdraw the act, which she blames for violence in manipur and other parts of northeast india. Keywords afspa, army, emergency, impunity, india, insurgency, manipur. The armed forces special powers act hereinafter the act or afsp act has been in force in several parts of india, including the state of manipur in the northeast of the country, for more than fifty years.
The armed forces special powers act will now be referred as afspa or the act is a great blow to the abovementioned interpretation of fundamental rights as given in the case of maneka gandhi v union of india7. In addition the words the armed forces assam and manipur special powers act 1958 were substituted by armed forces special powers act 1958 getting the acronym of afspa,1958. Meghalaya and certain places of arunachal pradesh free from afspa. Armed forces assam and manipur special powers ordinance was promulgated by the president on 22nd may of 1958. Forces assam and manipur special powers act, 1958 should have. Afspa is basically introduced in a region to protect the state from internal disturbance which is again debatable enough when the internal affairs have become more disturbed owing to the presence of the afspa itself.
In addition, the words the armed forces assam and manipur special powers act, 1958 were substituted by armed forces special powers act, 1958, getting the acronym of afspa, 1958. The afspa has been in force in the northeast since 1958. This article talks about the functioning of the afspa and the negative side of it. The recent developments in manipur have once again brought into focus the question of application of the armed forces special powers act 1958 afspa in. It was first applied to the north eastern states of assam and manipur and was amended in. The afpsa was upheld by the supreme court in a 1998 decision, which viewed the law primarily through the lens of legislative competence that is, whether parliament had the power to enact the law and rightsbased concerns. To drive home the point, the peoples resurgence and justice alliance prja said that there were only four insurgent groups when the draconian afspa was introduced in manipur in. Apr 29, 2018 the draconian afspa was imposed and implemented on 11 september 1958 in assam and manipur and was amended in 1972 to extend to all other states of the northeast which were curved out of assam. Afspa and rule of law imphal times news from manipur. The centre revoked it in meghalaya on april 1, 2018. Human rights watch urges the government of india to repeal the armed forces special powers act 1958 and the armed forces jammu and kashmir special powers act 1990.
The armed forces special powers act, 1958 is effective in whole of nagaland, assam, manipur excluding seven assembly constituencies of imphal and parts of arunachal pradesh. Joining the chorus, over 3,000 manipuri children petitioned prime. The afspa was modelled on the british indian armed forces special powers ordinance, 1942, a colonial legislation put in place to subdue the quit india movement. It first came into existence in 1958 to deal with the naga rebellion in the states of assam and manipur. Armed forces special powers act afspa human rights watch. The real problem with afspa is how a normal law can bypass. The special powers of the armed forces assam and manipur act, 1958. Apr 23, 2018 the centre has announced that it revoked the armed forces special powers act afspa from meghalaya from april 1. Oct 06, 2016 tripura in tripura afspa was implemented in 1997 and withdrawn in 2015. In its new incarnation, the enabling legislation is called the armed.
State administration became incapable to maintain its internal disturbance. A note on the armed forces special powers act afspa at. The manipur cases must set a precedent for independent civilian investigations and prosecutions into all allegations of rights violations by security forces in areas where the afspa is in force. It is effective in the whole of nagaland, assam, manipur excluding seven assembly constituencies of imphal and parts of arunachal pradesh. Vide this act, the continue reading insights into editorial. Narita anggraini digital repository universitas jember. In manipur, afspa is in force in almost the entire state, except seven assembly constituencies of imphal.
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