“Irom Sharmila is a god-given stooge in the hands of terrorists and anti-nationals.” At least according to an article in the RSS’ mouthpiece Organiser. Published last week, soon after the BJP’s victory in the Assam elections, the article is a garbled defence of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The article brings in JNU and Kanhaiya Kumar, and claims Human Rights organisations are in league with terrorists and so on.
It further claims that AFSPA and the protection it provides military personnel is essential for the armed forces to deal with insurgents, militants and terrorists in “disturbed areas”. On the other hand, both domestic and international human rights organisations have spoken out against the law, which was first used by the British to suppress the Quit India movement in 1942. There have been alleged violation of rights by the armed forces, including heinous crimes.
The RSS’ position comes as the BJP is trying to make inroads into the north-east, where AFSPA is in effect in many regions. The politics and rhetoric around the law is bound to cloud the debate around it. While one side is trying to paint the issue as a matter of nationalist pride, making it an army vs anti-nationals issue, others see it as the Indian state using the armed forces to suppress the fundamental rights of a large part of the population.