The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1957 and its Effect on the Lives of People

Profile of the author: I’m Aman Gaikwad, a B.A.LLB student from Pune University. My topics of interest are Sports law, Management and Information Technology.

INTRODUCTION

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”. They have the authority to prohibit a gathering of five or more people in an area, can use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law. If reasonable suspicion exists, the army can also arrest a person without a warrant; enter search premises without a warrant; and ban the possession of firearms. Any person arrested or taken into custody may be handed over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station along with a report detailing the circumstances that led to the arrest. According to the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976 once declared ‘disturbed’, the area has to maintain the status quo for a minimum of 3 months. A disturbed area is one that is declared by notification under section 3 of the AFSPA . An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religions, races, languages or religious group castes or communities. The central government, or the governor of the state or administrator of the union territory as a disturbed area . A suitable notification would have to be made in the official gazette. As per section 3, it can be invoked in places where “the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”. One such Act passed on 11 September 1958 was applicable to the Naga Hills, then part of Assam. In the following decades it spread, one by one, to the other Seven Sister States in India's northeast (at present, it is in force in the States of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area), Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and the areas falling within the jurisdiction of eight police stations of districts in Arunachal Pradesh bordering the State of Assam.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, —

1. “Armed forces” means the military forces and the air forces operating as land forces and includes any other armed forces of the Union so operating.
2. “Disturbed area” means an area that is for the time being declared by notification under section 3 to be a disturbed area.
3. All other words and expressions used herein, but not defined and defined in the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts.

Power to declare areas to be disturbed areas

In relation to any State or Union territory to which this Act extends, the Governor of that State or the Administrator of that Union territory or the Central Government, in either case, is of the opinion that the whole or any part of such State or Union territory, as the case may be, is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary, the Governor of that State or the Administrator of that Union territory or the Central Government, as the case may be, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare the whole or such part of such State or Union territory to be a disturbed area.

Arrested persons to be made over to the police.

Any individual captured and arrested under this Act will be made over to the official responsible for the closest police headquarters with the most un-conceivable deferral, along with a report of the conditions occasioning the capture. Protection to persons acting under Act.

No prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.

IMPACT OF AFSPA ON LIVES OF PEOPLE

MENTAL HEALTH

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition:

‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease and infirmity.’

Under the AFSPA, Indian armed force troopers are ensured by the law against court procedures for their activities. The law has brought about numerous passings, and the female family members of the casualties need to endure the worst part of military brutality as they battle with mental injury.

● Women were the ones to endure the worst part of military occupation, enduring the loss of their men and bearing the weight of financially accommodating the families without the men.

● The AFSPA law has influenced the ladies through immediate and primary types of savagery, affecting both the individual and the network. An absence of satisfactory directing focuses has brought about the ladies discovering elective methods of adapting to mental injury.

● The activity of intensity through the AFSPA law is inspected in primary, and direct types of brutality. The issue of supreme force as an exemption or the independence from discipline from criminal courts has been investigated and here and there even abused

EDUCATION

In 1997, Mizoram recorded the highest literacy (95 per cent) followed by Nagaland (84 per cent), Meghalaya (77 per cent), Manipur (76 per cent), Assam (75 per cent) and Tripura (73 per cent). The literacy rate (7+) was the lowest in the state of Arunachal Pradesh (60 per cent).

Naga women continue to be at the receiving end of both armed conflict and patriarchal dominance. The land is vital for the survival of both sexes: however, the ownership, acquisition, or transfer of land continues to remain in male hands. The land is used as a weapon of suppression and oppression. Change in land ownership patterns is necessary. Although 70 per cent of Naga women are dependent on land and forest for survival, they are deprived of access to land and also lack present-day technologies that will enable them to keep abreast of modern methods in cultivation. The increasing poverty and mortality rates speak volumes. Recent statistics depict male literacy (66.07 per cent) as higher than female literacy (55.72 per cent). There are 917 females to every 1,000 males in rural areas where agriculture is the backbone of the economy; however, in urban areas, there are only 759 women to every 1,000 males. In situations of armed conflicts, when women are deserted by their male spouses, the girls are forced to drop out of school to assist the family economically, while, traditionally, the son gets all the attention as heir apparent. Although the Naga women are a vital component of Naga society, they lack a collective voice to speak out against the systemic bias they face.

To date, Nagaland has not had a female MLA. The women continue to be disproportionately represented. The fate of Naga women remains bleak unless their exploitation in the context of armed conflicts and the continuous marginalization that they face does not end.

BUSINESS

• Agriculture is the basic and the main form of income for the people of Nagaland, Assam as they have both the fertile land which supports the agricultural sector and other primary income sectors.
• The subsequent fundamental source is the travel industry area. As these pieces of the nation are honoured with the resource of common excellence, it draws in the travel industry yet here and there because of the military activity in those areas people from other places or whom we can call the non-native sometimes fear to visit the place, which hereby reduces the prospect of earning for the native.
• And also not to forget the state income which is produced by the natives is way less than the amount which is spent for the military deported over there.
• Moreover, people who are eager to spread their business always search for peaceful, productive and well-connected areas. And we all know that the current situation of these areas is not so ideal for the above. As business owners will always have a fear of losing their products, materials, and even the workers.

MEDIA

1. According to Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari, while the government says the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has normalized it has stopped giving DAVP ads to three Kashmiri newspapers. He said the government’s move was tantamount to “demolishing the institution of freedom of expression… Is this normalcy?”
2. “We cannot have an act for 54 years, 65 years after our Independence. This constitutes discrimination and it is placed in the bedrock of law. We have to raise our voices against it,” said Hazarika.

References:

1. Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, No. 28, Acts of Parliament, 1958.
2. https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/08/armed-forces-special-power-act-right-to-kill/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_(Special_Powers)_Act

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