Hundreds of people have died in clashes between police and protesters in the North East and Kashmir. The ongoing fight has devastated the most flourished lands in India. As citizens, how much do we care about the bloodshed? Are we even aware of what their plight is? Or has this become a regular thing for us!
What started as a small protest (which one coz there is so many, specific) became a three month long affair of violence and tension in the Kashmir Valley. It got further fuelled by the desecration of the Quran by protesters in New York. The fact that religion played a crucial part and exploited the issue to a great extent made matters worse and brought down the trust between the public and government. Looking at the present condition, dialogue is no longer the solution.
One proposal by the government to curb out the violence was to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from most parts of Kashmir. After the all-party meeting on Sept. 15th in New Delhi, the Centre decided to send a delegation of political parties to the State to meet all sections of the people and assess the ground situation. The meeting failed to arrive at any consensus on partial withdrawal or dilution of the AFSPA. But before we get into the details, let us first look at a brief introduction of AFSPA and why it was implemented.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958 (AFSPA) is one of the more harsh legislations that the Indian Parliament has passed in its 45 years of Parliamentary history. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared disturbed. Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to ‘maintain the public order.’
As a matter of fact, according to the Indian Constitution the AFSPA violates Article 21-Right to life; Protection against arrest and detention-Article 22; the military gets immunity as they are protected from arrest for anything within the line of official duty by Section 45 of The Indian Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Section 6 of the AFSPA provides them with absolute immunity for all atrocities committed under the AFSPA. So if a person wishes to file a suit against a member of the armed forces for abuses under the AFSPA, he/she must first seek the permission of the Central Government. It becomes difficult to state ones opinion about decision that will decide the fate of not just one but seven other states in North East India. Keeping in mind the historical background of Kashmir and the North-Eastern states and their struggle, many people have sacrificed their lives for this struggle. We need to respect that sentiment. The government needs to see the current problem in a larger picture.
If the AFSPA is not repealed, it must at least be altered to an extent that the civilians get back their rights. This means that the powers to ‘shoot to kill’ under section 4(a) must be revoked. Arrests must be made with warrants and no force should be allowed. Person arrested under the Act should be handed over to the police within twenty-four hours. Individuals who suffer abuses at the hands of the security forces may prosecute their abusers. Armed forces should not be allowed to arrest or carry out any procedure on suspicion alone. All their actions should have an objective basis so that they can be judicially reviewed.
