The Mon firing incidents that snatched away the lives of 14 innocent civilians and injured several others have drawn international attention and shocked the nation’s conscience. Coincidentally, just when the world was observing 16 days of activism for elimination of violence against women which concluded on International Human Rights Day, instead of creating awareness on human rights, India showed the world how human-made laws can violate it. The incident was a blot on the world’s largest democracy and on humanity as well. Human rights violation is nothing new to areas with “disturbed” tag; cases of fake encounters and extra-judicial killings have been linked to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) that gives the armed forces the power to use extreme force, to the extent of arresting without search warrants and killing people on mere suspicion for maintenance of public order. Ironically, this repressive law, which continues to find shelter in India despite clamours to scrap it, has caused public disorder instead of order. The recent incident in Nagaland has opened old wounds of repression not only in the state but also in other north-eastern states that are under the ambit of AFSPA. It is more painful that it happened during peace time; when the Nagas are longing for a permanent settlement to the decades-old political issue. The fragile trust that has been built over several decades has been shaken by the incident. It’s a blunder that shouldn’t be repeated, and to ensure that, corrective measures should be taken up by listening to the cries of the Naga people, especially the Konyak community that has lost 14 of its sons.
One of the immediate measures that the state and central government can take is repealing of AFSPA. It is pointless to talk about human rights in the presence of this draconian law that gives the security forces the license to kill people. All the human rights the world talks about are rendered useless without right to life. So, this repressive law should be done away with. Most importantly, justice should be served to the victims of the Mon incident. The special investigation team should carry out an impartial probe into the incident and complete it at the earliest to defuse the current situation. Those found guilty, uniformed or not, should be punished according to the law of the land to send out a clear message to the citizens that they are safe. The government of India should set a strong precedent by serving justice, and on time. The Konyak community is not alone in this fight for justice; they have the support of the people of the state and beyond. Because it’s everyone’s business to protect human rights.