{"id":85604,"date":"2026-09-26T17:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=85604"},"modified":"2026-09-26T17:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:29:55","slug":"armed-forces-special-powers-act-afspa-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-09-2026\/armed-forces-special-powers-act-afspa-3","title":{"rendered":"Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Internal Security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Centre has extended the<strong> Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958<\/strong>, in specified areas of <strong>Nagaland, Manipur and Arunacha<\/strong>l for another six months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is AFSPA?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958<\/strong> empowers the armed forces to operate in areas declared as \u201cdisturbed areas\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It grants <strong>special powers to security forces <\/strong>to maintain public order and combat insurgency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major Provisions:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Governor of a State,<\/strong> the Administrator of a Union Territory, or the Central Government may declare an area as a <strong>&#8220;disturbed area&#8221;.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It grants special powers to armed forces,<\/strong> including use of force (even causing death under specified conditions), arrest without warrant, search without warrant, and destruction of arms dumps or militant hideouts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No prosecution, suit, or legal proceeding<\/strong> can be initiated against armed forces personnel for actions taken under AFSPA without prior approval of the Central Government.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>AFSPA is currently enforced in parts of <strong>Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam,<\/strong> alongside the <strong>Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why has there been Insurgency in the North Eastern Region of India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Historical Factors: <\/strong>The region has a history of being distinct from the rest of India, both culturally and geographically and many indigenous communities have historically maintained a certain level of autonomy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The integration of the region into the Indian state led to challenges in addressing local aspirations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Marginalization: <\/strong>Some insurgent groups in the northeast have cited economic marginalization as a key grievance.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Borders and Connectivity: <\/strong>The region shares international borders with countries like Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and China. This has contributed to issues related to cross-border movements, smuggling, and the presence of insurgent groups operating from neighboring countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political Alienation: <\/strong>The sense of being politically marginalized and not adequately represented in decision-making processes has led to discontent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Migration and Demographic Changes: <\/strong>Migration patterns, including the influx of people from other regions leading to demographic changes and creating tensions over issues related to land, resources, and cultural identity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Government Responses: <\/strong>The counter-insurgency operations, has at times led to human rights concerns and further fueled grievances among local populations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments in Favour of AFSPA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Operational flexibility:<\/strong> AFSPA provides security forces with special powers in areas declared \u201cdisturbed\u201d, enabling them to respond quickly to armed insurgency and serious security threats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protection of personnel:<\/strong> It provides a legal framework for security personnel operating in difficult counter-insurgency environments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Prevention of escalation:<\/strong> Powers such as arrest without warrant and search enable security forces to act promptly against suspected insurgents and prevent escalations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Difficult operational environment:<\/strong> In conflict-affected areas, conventional policing mechanisms may face limitations, therefore,\u00a0 AFSPA enables the armed forces to support civil authorities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Temporary security measure: <\/strong>The Act is linked to the declaration of an area as \u201cdisturbed\u201d; therefore, its continuation can be reassessed when the security situation improves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments Against<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Concerns over human rights:<\/strong> Critics argue that the Act\u2019s wide operational powers can increase the risk of excessive or disproportionate use of force and violations of fundamental rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited accountability:<\/strong> Section 7 requires prior sanction of the Central Government for prosecution of personnel for acts done under the Act, which critics argue can make legal accountability difficult.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alienation of local population:<\/strong> Prolonged deployment can create mistrust between local communities and security forces, potentially undermining counter-insurgency efforts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Possibility of misuse:<\/strong> Broad powers of search, arrest and use of force may be misused if adequate operational oversight and safeguards are not maintained.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Impact on federalism:<\/strong> Law and order is primarily a State subject under the Seventh Schedule, continued use of AFSPA at times raise concerns about the balance between Union and State powers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Committees\u2019s Recommendations on AFSPA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005): <\/strong>Recommended the repeal of AFSPA and incorporation of its essential provisions into the <strong>Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967<\/strong>, along with stronger grievance redressal and accountability mechanisms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Santosh Hegde Commission (2013):<\/strong> It highlighted misuse of AFSPA provisions, and recommended greater accountability and periodic review of the Act.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2007): <\/strong>Recommended repeal of AFSPA, arguing that it had become a symbol of discrimination and alienation in affected regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/newsonair.gov.in\/centre-extends-afspa-in-disturbed-areas-of-manipur-nagaland-and-arunachal-for-another-6-months\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>AIR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\n<strong> <\/p>\n<p>Context<\/p>\n<p> <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>The Centre has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, in specified areas of Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal for another six months.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong> <\/p>\n<p>What is AFSPA?<\/p>\n<p><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 empowers the armed forces to operate in areas declared as \u201cdisturbed areas\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>It grants special powers to security forces to maintain public order and combat insurgency.\n <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-09-2026\/armed-forces-special-powers-act-afspa-3\"   class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85604"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85606,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85604\/revisions\/85606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}