Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s call for revocation of the special powers vested in the Army in J&K has its pros and cons, but any decision to this effect must come through only after a careful study of the ground reality
When Omar Abdullah took oath as the eleventh chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir on January 5, 2009, the people of the state looked up to him as someone who would steer the state away from its years of insurgency, strife and political brinkmanship. But after being in office for almost three years now, Omar seems to have developed a penchant for landing himself into heavy political weather. His latest salvo, calling for a partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in J&K, seems to have caught everyone off guard besides causing a flutter among the political dovecotes. Thanks to some hectic lobbying by Omar to have AFSPA repealed from some areas of the state, political polarity over the issue has ratcheted up both inside J&K and elsewhere in the country.
Omar’s proposal, it is said, has found favour from the Home Minister P. Chidambaram, though New Delhi is loath to taking any decision on the issue in haste. But what’s perplexing is why Omar chose to stake his credibility on such a sensitive issue? In the days since he has been beating the AFSPA drum, Omar has invited a barrage of acerbic comments and now finds himself painted into a corner over an issue that excites the most extremes of political reactions. Instead of finding open sympathisers to his cause, there are more carping critics who have taken umbrage at the manner in which he has whipped up his latest political stunt. Eyebrows have been raised over Omar’s choice in barrelling ahead with his demands straight to the Home Minister in Delhi before even taking his own security agencies and the Army into confidence.
Subsequent to his meeting with Chidambaram, Omar has also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Army Chief V.K. Singh on the AFSPA issue. Though the Army has been tight-lipped over the meeting, sources tell B&E that the two discussed the J&K government’s demand for withdrawal of the special law from parts of the border state. The meeting is said to have been inconclusive.
Critics of J&K’s chief minister say that his raking up the AFSPA issue is a well-thought out diversionary tactic intended to deflect blame from his recent political troubles. Omar has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, the latest being the custodial death of a political worker from his party who was picked up by the police from his official residence. Omar, though, claims that his demand for the repeal of AFSPA reflects popular public opinion. Could he be right? After all, even the three-member panel of interlocutors appointed by the central government to engage political actors in Jammu and Kashmir has reportedly called for the roll back of laws giving the armed forces special powers. And human rights activists have all along described AFSPA, which has existed in the troubled state since July 1990, as ‘a draconian law’ that has resulted in abuse and violation of human rights by the security forces.
According to the provisions of AFSPA, army personnel on duty in J&K or in the Northeast can make arrests without a warrant, or search the premises of a person without following the established procedure. Prosecution can be launched against erring army personnel but only after getting the central government’s sanction, which is not easy. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared ‘disturbed’. Even a non-commissioned officer has the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to “maintain public order”.
The Army is opposed to any change in the law on the grounds that it needs the protection of special laws when its men are deployed in anti-terrorist or anti-insurgency operations. In its opinion, it is not easy to achieve success in the fight against an invisible enemy in a difficult terrain without the protection of special laws. According to Sena Medal awardee and senior defence analyst Lt. Gen. (retd.) Satbir Singh, “Terrorism in the J&K region needs to be dealt with forcefully.” The Army, on its part, maintains that it always has the highest regard for human life because it itself loses men everyday. “We (the Army) have always applied the principle of minimum force but sometimes, extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures,” says Singh.
Omar’s proposal, it is said, has found favour from the Home Minister P. Chidambaram, though New Delhi is loath to taking any decision on the issue in haste. But what’s perplexing is why Omar chose to stake his credibility on such a sensitive issue? In the days since he has been beating the AFSPA drum, Omar has invited a barrage of acerbic comments and now finds himself painted into a corner over an issue that excites the most extremes of political reactions. Instead of finding open sympathisers to his cause, there are more carping critics who have taken umbrage at the manner in which he has whipped up his latest political stunt. Eyebrows have been raised over Omar’s choice in barrelling ahead with his demands straight to the Home Minister in Delhi before even taking his own security agencies and the Army into confidence.
Subsequent to his meeting with Chidambaram, Omar has also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Army Chief V.K. Singh on the AFSPA issue. Though the Army has been tight-lipped over the meeting, sources tell B&E that the two discussed the J&K government’s demand for withdrawal of the special law from parts of the border state. The meeting is said to have been inconclusive.
Critics of J&K’s chief minister say that his raking up the AFSPA issue is a well-thought out diversionary tactic intended to deflect blame from his recent political troubles. Omar has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, the latest being the custodial death of a political worker from his party who was picked up by the police from his official residence. Omar, though, claims that his demand for the repeal of AFSPA reflects popular public opinion. Could he be right? After all, even the three-member panel of interlocutors appointed by the central government to engage political actors in Jammu and Kashmir has reportedly called for the roll back of laws giving the armed forces special powers. And human rights activists have all along described AFSPA, which has existed in the troubled state since July 1990, as ‘a draconian law’ that has resulted in abuse and violation of human rights by the security forces.
According to the provisions of AFSPA, army personnel on duty in J&K or in the Northeast can make arrests without a warrant, or search the premises of a person without following the established procedure. Prosecution can be launched against erring army personnel but only after getting the central government’s sanction, which is not easy. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared ‘disturbed’. Even a non-commissioned officer has the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion that it is necessary to do so in order to “maintain public order”.
The Army is opposed to any change in the law on the grounds that it needs the protection of special laws when its men are deployed in anti-terrorist or anti-insurgency operations. In its opinion, it is not easy to achieve success in the fight against an invisible enemy in a difficult terrain without the protection of special laws. According to Sena Medal awardee and senior defence analyst Lt. Gen. (retd.) Satbir Singh, “Terrorism in the J&K region needs to be dealt with forcefully.” The Army, on its part, maintains that it always has the highest regard for human life because it itself loses men everyday. “We (the Army) have always applied the principle of minimum force but sometimes, extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures,” says Singh.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School
IndiaManagement Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
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