“The continued designation of our ancestral land as a ‘disturbed area’ under AFSPA for another six months beginning April 1, 2025, is a blatant affront to the dignity, rights, and democratic aspirations of the Naga people,” stated a joint press release issued by NSF president Medovi Rhi and assistant general secretary Kenilo Kent.
By Imna Longchar, TFM Nagaland Correspondent
The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Monday registered its strong resentment and condemnation against the extension of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in various districts and police station jurisdictions across the Naga homeland, as notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The continued designation of our ancestral land as a ‘disturbed area’ under AFSPA for another six months beginning April 1, 2025, is a blatant affront to the dignity, rights, and democratic aspirations of the Naga people,” stated a joint press release issued by NSF president Medovi Rhi and assistant general secretary Kenilo Kent.
NSF viewed the very extension as an unjust and regressive move that disregards the realities on the ground. It added that the Nagas have time and again demonstrated their desire for peace and political resolution through dialogue and non-violence, yet lamented that the Government of India continues to militarize Naga land and impose colonial-era laws that empower security forces with impunity to commit atrocities without accountability.
AFSPA has inflicted untold pain, trauma, and fear in the hearts of countless Naga families. From extra-judicial killings to unlawful detentions, from harassment to the erosion of civil liberties, its legacy, NSF said, is one of repression, not protection.
Its extension, the NSF stated, in this day and age, is not only an insult to the ongoing Indo-Naga political dialogue but also a deliberate provocation against the people’s collective call for peace and justice.
It further reiterated that the longstanding demand for the immediate and complete repeal of AFSPA from the Naga homeland cannot be fulfilled as long as laws of occupation and militarization continue to exist.
In this regard, the NSF has informed all its federating units and subordinate bodies to strictly enforce the Federation’s standing policy of total non-cooperation with the Indian armed forces until AFSPA is repealed in toto. At the same time, it urged every Naga students’ body to abstain from participating in any joint programs, civic action initiatives, or ceremonial events involving armed forces personnel.