Recently,the killing of 14 civilians in a botched military operation in Nagaland has led to fresh calls for repealing The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)
A stringent law that allows the armed forces to use maximum force in an area declared as ‘disturbed’.
PROGRESS :
- The AFSPA was first enacted as an ordinance in the backdrop of Quit India Movement in 1942
- The then Viceroy Linlithgow promulgated the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance, 1942.
- This Ordinance practically gave the Armed Forces a “license to kill” when faced with internal disturbances
- The Indian government promulgated four ordinances in 1947 to deal with internal security issues and unrest arising due to partition in four provinces Bengal, Assam, East Bengal and the United Provinces
- These were replaced by a common legislation, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1948. This was meant to be in force for one year, but was repealed only in 1957.
- Thereafter, the President promulgated the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance in May 1958.
- This was subsequently replaced by an act of Parliament. Initially known as the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958
- It was subsequently adapted appropriately after the creation of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
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