Shürhozelie Leizietsü
The genesis of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) runs as follows: The Naga people rejected the first General Election in India in the year 1952. This was said to be according to the decision of the people as a whole demonstrated in 1951 Plebiscite. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India visited Kohima on 30th March, 1953. He came along with his counterpart. U Nu, the Prime Minister of Burma. Indira Gandhi also accompanied her father in this visit.
Thousands of Naga people gathered together and were waiting for the Prime Minister in the Kohima Local Ground. NNC leaders were there but many Nagas were there to see the Prime Minister. But before he arrived, the Deputy Commissioner of Kohima, Borkataki by name (an officer from Assam) told the Naga leaders that Nagas would be allowed to listen to Nehru but Nagas would not be allowed to say anything or submit any paper to Nehru. On hearing this, Naga leaders were not happy and, therefore, they told the crowd to go away saying, “What’s the use of staying back and listen to him if we are not allowed to speak or submit any paper.” The crowd then started walking away and not a single soul turned back in spite of someone requesting the people to come back over loud speaker saying, “Nehru will listen to you, please do not go away, please come back etc....” At the end, only few Government servants were standing in front of the dais and listened to the speech of the Prime Minister.
Whether the Prime Minister asked the local administrators what was the reason for Naga people going away before he arrived; whether any action was taken against the erring officer who committed the blunder and put the Prime Minister into such an embarrassment and shame when he was with his counterpart in Burma. In spite of blaming the erring officer, the Government of India took it to be a great insult to the honour of the Prime Minister and started sending army into Nagaland. In the event, almost all the villages including the granaries were burnt down, so many people were arrested and put behind bars. Many people were tortured and incapacitated. Above all, we have lost so many precious lives. People had gone through a horrible nightmare without any platform to speak for one another. It was madness all around.
This situation has prompted the Naga leaders to have consultation in order to save the people from this nightmare. As a result, the first Naga People’s Convention was held at Kohima on 22nd August, 1957. The Convention discussed the urgency to bring about peace and normalcy and also settlement of the Naga political problem.
Seeing the possibility of peace coming to Nagaland, the Government of India, in order to perpetuate ‘army dictatorial rule’ in the area, promulgated the AFSPA.
It was signed by the President of India, Rajendra Prasad, and published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part II, Sec. I dated the 5th April, 1958. “A Regulation to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon officers of the armed forces in disturbed areas in the Kohima and Mokokchung districts of the Naga Hills-Tuensang area.” The Act further says that “it shall remain in force for a period of one year.”
First it was promulgated for Kohima and Mokokchung districts of NHTA but now this Act has covered many areas particularly in the North East.
The Act itself is barbaric in nature. It is not for civilised societies. It is, therefore, a measure of thought of the Government of India towards the North East people.
When the Act is barbaric, people who involve in it are also barbaric in nature which will badly affect the moral standard of the Indian army as a whole.
In the midst of having these kinds of laws in the country in force, the talk of ‘special consideration’ for any particular group of people has no meaning.
The talk ‘India is the largest democracy in the world’ becomes a mockery.
This Act was opposed by the Nagas in particular from the very beginning for so many years; 63 years now. But to no avail.
The PRO Defence Kohima was reported about Oting incident as saying, “based on credible intelligence of likely movement of insurgents...” Naga people deserve to know who or what is that source of credible intelligence.”
If the regret of the Government of India as reported in the newspaper is genuine, the earlier the revocation of this black law, the better.
