Controversial Law AFSPA Explained In 10 Points

The British passed the Act in its original version in response to the Quit India Movement in 1942. After Independence, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru chose to retain the Act.

AFSPA was implemented in the Northeast states, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab during the insurgency years.

Punjab was the first to repeal it, followed by Tripura and Meghalaya. In Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and parts of Arunachal Pradesh, it still applies.

As per the AFSPA, after a state or portions of it are declared “disturbed” under Section 3, the Centre or the Governor of a state can impose exceptional powers for the armed forces on the state or parts of it.

According to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976, once a region is labelled “disturbed”, it must preserve status quo for a minimum of three months.

AFSPA allows security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without a warrant. It gives the military the ability to use force or even open fire after issuing a warning to someone who is found to be breaking the law.

AFSPA also provides security forces with some immunity in the event of a botched mission.

The move by the Centre to reduce the “disturbed” areas comes at a time when calls to repeal the Act have resurfaced in the aftermath of the death of 14 people in a botched anti-insurgency operation and retaliatory violence in Nagaland's Mon district on December 4, 2021.

In the recent assembly elections in Manipur, all parties pledged to address the demand for the Act to be repealed. Biren Singh, who was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Manipur for a second term, campaigned on the promise to address AFSPA.

Irom Sharmila, a Manipur activist, started a hunger strike against AFSPA in 2000 that went on for 16 years.