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The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has become one of the most controversial laws, both in India and the world. A few NGOs and human rights activists have described it as draconian, alleging that it gives the armed forces unrestricted power to ‘arrest’ without warrant, ‘destroy property’ and ‘shoot to kill’, besides providing them with complete immunity. The loud and continuous clamour against the Act has drawn the attention of various international organizations. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Christof Heyns, has recently called for the repeal of the law, stating: “AFSPA allows the state to override rights. Such a law has no role in a democracy and should be scrapped.” On the other hand, the armed forces hold that the AFSPA is necessary for tackling the growing menace of militancy and protecting their men from the unnecessary harassment caused by litigation. General V K Singh, the former chief of army staff and now a cabinet minister, has emphasized that the AFSPA is a ‘functional requirement’ of the armed forces. This is the first book in India not only to attempt a complete analysis of the various provisions of the AFSPA, but also to provide an insight into the legislative efforts of other democracies to meet the challenges of growing terrorism. It delves into cases of human rights violations in which members of the armed forces have been implicated, and at the same time, argues that it is equally important to safeguard the human rights of the members of the armed forces. In order to help find an amicable solution, the author makes a few recommendations for the consideration of the government and armed forces.
Armed Forced Special Powers Act was drafted in the year 1958 and as the title refers, provides special powers to the armed forces of the Indian union in areas where the central government may notify as disturbed. Presently the act applies to the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Ssam, Manipur, Eghalaya, Izoram, Agaland and Tripura. At the wake of rising insurgencies in the state of Jammu and Kashmir during the 1980s the act was extended and applied in the state full fledged. The history of the original idea behind this act dates back to the colonial period when the British wanted an effective tool to control acts against the British Raj specially the quit India movement. The same model has been applied in this act to control insurgencies and therefore avoid secession of any state from these disturbed areas. Though the human rights violations are the only highlighted issues regarding the act, there has not been much mention on the flip side to the growing cry for the withdrawal of the act such as exposure of the army officials to any acts committed by them being termed as violation of human rights and a legal suit can be initiated and no army unit will work in a condition where there is no legal protection for its personnel and the worst case scenario being a state of anarchy prevailing in these states where the army refuses to fight. So a balance of convenience for both the people in these areas and also the army personnel should be maintained through a less repressive act. Getting into the details of the act, it provides for any army personnel posted in a disturbed area to: 1. "Fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law" against "assembly of five or more persons" or possession of deadly weapons. 2. To arrest without a warrant and with the use of "necessary" force anyone who has committed certain offenses or is suspected of having done so. 3. To enter and search any premise in order to make such arrests. 4. No legal consequences will be met by these officers who act under the law. 5. For an area to be declared disturbed there must be a deterioration of law and order situation in the area and the governor has the power to request the help of the central government to assist the state in maintaining it. Now the power to determine a disturbed area is also vested with the central government. As a result of increasing pressure by the United Nations and protests carried out by local activists the Prime Minister has acknowledged that there are some 'legitimate grievances' against the act and assured that it will be surely dealt by the government. Upon this a five member committee headed by former justice Jeevan Reddy was constituted with a mandate of making recommendations to amend the provisions of the act to meet the government's obligation of preserving human rights or repeal the act and bring in a new act with the above mentioned feature which it acknowledged the present act lacked. The committee did come up with the recommendation to repeal the act but without mentioning any substantial benefits for the people. The government till now have not acted on the recommendations and it was also made clear that it had no intention on replacing or diluting Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, the act since an army unit cannot work under circumstances where its prone to legal action. It is also to be noted that the committee recognized that the act has been viewed as a symbol of repression by the union government. In numerous proceedings the courts have said that just because a statute has been abused by the officials under the act and it does not mean that the act should be repealed based only on that and the same applies to AFSPA. But the central government is slowly moving towards handing over the security issues of these states to locally raised forces. But it is uncertain how repressive will be their own security forces against them when it comes to eradicating cancerous insurgencies in the region.
In 1950, when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, that "American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally." In this new edition, the authors methodically explore that common ground, reflecting on the basics of the Profession of Arms, and the officer's special place and distinctive obligations within that profession and especially to the Constitution.
Key recommendations - A note on methodology. -- Background: People, the India-Pakistan dispute, political history, recent developments, and peace talks. - The people of Jammu and Kashmir - India-Pakistan dispute - Political history inside Jammu and Kashmir. -- Legal causes of abuses and impunity. Preventing arrest: Section 45 of the Criminal Procedure Code - Preventing prosecution: Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code - The Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act -- The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 -- Legal weaknesses in the Human Rights Protection Act -- Weaknesses in military court jurisdiction. -- The origins of impunity: failure of accountability in Jammu and Kashmir since the start of the conflict. A. Shootings at Gawakadal, Srinagar - B. Death of Mirwaiz Maulvi Mohammad Farooq - C. The Beijbehara killings - D. The killing of Jalil Andrabi - E. Chattisinghpora massacre and ensuing killings. -- Recent abuses and continuing impunity. A. Killings - B. "Disappearances"--C. Torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment - D. Arbitrary detentions. -- Militant abuses. Militant goups and Pakistan's role in the conflict. - A. Politically motivated killings, summary executions, and intimidation - B. Direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians - Militant attacks on schools and recruitment of children. -- Recommendations. To the government of India - To the state government of Jammu and Kashmir - To militant groups - To the government of Pakistan - To the United Nations - To the international community, in particular those states with significant influence on India, Pakistan, and militant groups. -- Acknowledgements.
The Indian Constitution is one of the world's longest and most important political texts. Its birth, over six decades ago, signalled the arrival of the first major post-colonial constitution and the world's largest and arguably most daring democratic experiment. Apart from greater domestic focus on the Constitution and the institutional role of the Supreme Court within India's democratic framework, recent years have also witnessed enormous comparative interest in India's constitutional experiment. The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution is a wide-ranging, analytical reflection on the major themes and debates that surround India's Constitution. The Handbook provides a comprehensive account of the developments and doctrinal features of India's Constitution, as well as articulating frameworks and methodological approaches through which studies of Indian constitutionalism, and constitutionalism more generally, might proceed. Its contributions range from rigorous, legal studies of provisions within the text to reflections upon historical trends and social practices. As such the Handbook is an essential reference point not merely for Indian and comparative constitutional scholars, but for students of Indian democracy more generally.
This book discusses the history of unrest and conflict in Northeast India from 1947 to the present day. A perceptive study on public policy and its delivery in the region, the volume highlights that a crisis of governance, security and development has emerged in the Northeast because of the way various government institutions and agencies have been functioning in the area. It uses case studies to illumine conflict dynamics in the two erstwhile princely states of Manipur and Tripura, along with in-depth discussions on Assam and Nagaland. Drawing upon major policy documents, on-the-ground experience and rare insight, the book examines centre–state relations, the armed forces, special acts, human rights and larger policy-level questions confronting the region. It also underlines the key role of the northeastern states in India’s ‘Look East’ policy. Cogent and authentic, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of security studies, peace and conflict studies, area studies, Indian politics and history, particularly those concerned with Northeast India.