Topic: Indian Army

The families of 14 civilians who were shot and killed by the Indian forces in Nagaland earlier this month have said that they will not accept compensation from the governments until the soldiers involved in the civilian killings are punished and the draconian AFSPA is repealed.

Konyak Union, an influential tribal body in Nagaland, on Saturday demanded an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his "misleading statement" in Parliament on the killing of civilians by Indian forces last week.

Unless we turn to an empathetic and psychological approach for the reintegration of Kashmir and a more reformed outlook at our counter-terrorism strategies, we would be looking at several impotent aggressive measures that lack direct engagement. 

A day after Indian forces shot and killed 13 labourers in Nagaland’s Mon district, the Assam Rifles army unit killed another civilian following angry villagers surrounded the army camp and protested the cold-blood murder of civilians.

The longing demand for a sovereign ‘Nagalim’ has been an ongoing struggle since the 1950s. It was a secessionist movement climaxing into an armed conflict led by the Naga National Council (NNC). Over the years the movement has quelled or rather made to seem that way after the AFSPA was forcefully implemented on almost the entire region of the northeast including Nagaland, terming these areas as 'disturbed areas'. Since the 1950s, several events have changed the political landscape of Nagaland however, one element that has remained unchanged is the occupation by AFSPA.

The killing of 14 civilians by Indian security forces in Nagaland highlights the need for the Union government to immediately repeal the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.