Is There Any Fresh Momentum for the Armed Forces Special Powers Act?

The ghastly killing of six innocent coalminers and another nine civilians and a soldier on December 4 in the Mon district of Nagaland has sent shockwaves through the Northeast and the rest of the country. The clamour for the withdrawal of the draconian Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act has grown, with the chief ministers of Nagaland and Meghalaya, both allied to the BJP, demanding that the Act be withdrawn.

The Oting village incident also raises a question mark on the fate of the still-to-be-made-public 2015 “framework agreement” signed between Naga insurgent groups and the Centre in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also in the spotlight is the state of the 1997 ceasefire between the Centre and the NSCN-IM, the principal Naga insurgent group. Much will depend on how the Modi government acts to prosecute the soldiers responsible for the Oting killings. A change of tack on security policies that undermine the elected government and state police will also be under the scanner.

We discuss these and more in this episode.

Guest: Rahul Karmakar, Guwahati-based Special Correspondent of The Hindu

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.

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