oppn parties AFSPA Gone, Now Develop Tourism in North-East

News Snippets

  • Calcutta HC says Cricket Association of Bengal is not liable to pay tax on advertisement inisde Eden Gardens cricket ground as it is not a 'public place' because it does not have unrestricted access for the general public
  • Supreme Court admits a plea from a child of a single OBC mother who had applied for an OBC certificate for her son
  • Supreme Court approves applying strict preventive detention laws for 'cybercriminals'
  • SBI likely to shift part of operations of its Global Market Unit from Kolkata to Mumbai
  • FM nirmala Sitharaman calls for a "structured, process-driven approach to compliance" and asks top I-T officials to speed up refunds and simplify processes
  • Marine insurance costs surge as the oil corridor in Strait of Homruz becomes risky due to war
  • Stocks weaken on Monday on global cues: sensex sheds 511 points to 81896 and Nifty 140 points to 24971
  • Former left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi dies in London at 77. He played for India in 33 Test matches and for Bengal in domestic tournaments
  • Pant becomes the only keeper to score two centuries in the same Test in England
  • England Test: Rishabh Pant hits his second ton and KL Rahul a classy century to put India on top, England need 350 runs on the last day, with the ptich showing signs of wear and tear
  • DGCA orders an audit of the entire aviation ecosystem in the wake of recent snags in many flights after the AI Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad
  • 2 Pahalgam residents arrested by NIA for sheltering and aiding 3 terrorists who killed civilian tourists in pahalgam tell the agency that there were 3 LeT ultras from Pakistan that carried out the attack
  • India unlikely to agree to US demands for lower tariffs on agri products and GM food, trade deal faces fresh hurdles
  • Stocks likely to plummet today as traders will be worried about the effect of US strike on iran, oil price rise and possible inflation. Foreign funds may also withdraw in the volatile global situation
  • Oil prices likely to shoot up as US strikes at iran and the latter decides to close the Strait of Homruz
Rishabh Pant hits second century of the match, becomes only wicketkeeper to hit two tons in the same Test in England ////// England need 350 runs to win in 90 overs on the final day
oppn parties
AFSPA Gone, Now Develop Tourism in North-East

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2018-04-24 17:26:14

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
The Centre has decided to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) completely from Meghalaya and partly from Arunachal Pradesh. This is a welcome move which shows that the Indian state is not as repressive as it is made out to be. It also shows that the government is receptive to changes on the ground and takes prompt decisions to allay the concerns of the citizens.

There is no doubt that the draconian provisions in AFSPA and unlimited powers granted to the armed forces result in all kinds of excesses including rapes, fake encounters and worse. At another level, applying AFSPA is an admission that the political, administrative and the civil security machinery are incapable to dealing with the situation. If the act has been withdrawn from Meghalaya it also proves that the state has returned to normalcy.

The north-eastern states were hotbed of insurgency in the past. But things are improving at a fast pace with the youth now more interested in building their careers. Educational institutes in the south, west and north of India are full of students from the region. But these students face a lot of discrimination. This can have an adverse effect on their psyche. For full peace to return to the north-east, the people there must be made a part of the mainstream and not treated as ‘Chinese’ or ‘Nepalese’ elsewhere in India.

Further, the government must now look at the other states in the region like Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. In Nagaland, despite signing the peace agreement with a major dissident group, the government has not been able to implement the accord. Irom Sharmila has been fighting for the withdrawal of AFSPA from Manipur for a long time. The security position in these states has also improved. The government can review the situation and withdraw AFSPA from these states in a phased manner.

The north-east of India is a beautiful place, full of potential for tourism. But militancy, coupled with inner-line passes and restrictions for foreigners have meant that its potential has not been exploited. The government had recently said that it will withdraw restrictions on foreigners, except Chinese and Pakistani nationals, from travelling to the region. That will perhaps open the doors for investment in tourism infrastructure. For, barring Guwahati, no other city in the north-east has quality hotels of reputed brands. It will also bring employment opportunities and prosperity to the region.