AFSPA extended in Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh: What does the law mean? | Explained

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

tudents join members of the Manipuri Students' Federation (MSF) during a mass rally to mark the 22nd Students' Martyrdom Day, observing the self-immolation anniversary of late Athouba Pebam Chittaranjan against AFSPA. File | Photo Credit: PTI

The Story So Far : The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in parts of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months from October 1, 2026.

In Manipur, the entire State has been declared a “disturbed area” under AFSPA, barring the jurisdictions of 13 police stations in five Valley districts: Imphal, Lamphel, City, Singjamei, Patsoi, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingang, Irilbung, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol and Kakching.

The latest order comes against the backdrop of the ethnic conflict that erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023. Though AFSPA had progressively been withdrawn from several areas of the State before the conflict, MHA began restoring it in some areas after the security situation deteriorated.

In Nagaland, AFSPA will continue in nine districts: Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, Peren and Meluri, as well as areas under 21 police stations in five other districts: Kohima, Mokokchung, Longleng, Wokha and Zunheboto.

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Act has been extended in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts, and in areas under the Namsai, Mahadevpur and Chowkham police stations in Namsai district bordering Assam.

AFSPA was enacted in 1958 to give the armed forces special powers to operate in areas declared “disturbed” because of insurgency or serious internal security problems.

Once an area is notified as disturbed under Section 3 of the Act, security personnel operating there receive powers that ordinary police do not have. The law authorises the armed forces, subject to conditions specified in the Act, to use force, including lethal force, against persons acting in contravention of prohibitory orders; arrest without a warrant; and enter and search premises without a warrant.

It also provides legal protection to personnel acting under the Act. Prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings in respect of anything done or purported to be done under AFSPA require the previous sanction of the Central government.

It is these extraordinary powers and the protection against prosecution without the Centre’s sanction that make AFSPA contentious.

An important feature of AFSPA is that both the Central government and State governments have the power to declare an area disturbed under Section 3. This explains why the geographical application of the law has not always been determined solely by the MHA.

For decades, the Manipur government itself issued the disturbed-area notifications. Though AFSPA had been in operation in the State since 1981, MHA had largely left the periodic renewal of the notification to the State government, which changed after the May 3, 2023 ethnic violence.

The law first came into effect in 1958 to deal with the uprising in the Naga Hills, followed by the insurgency in Assam. It gives unbridled power to the armed forces and the Central Armed Police Forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of law, arrest and search any premises without a warrant and protection from prosecution and legal suits without the Central government’s sanction.

Currently, the Union Home Ministry issues periodic “disturbed area” notification to extend the AFSPA only for Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, where it is applicable in the districts of Tirap, Changlang, Longding and areas falling under Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations bordering Assam.

The notification for Assam is issued by the State governments. Tripura revoked the Act in 2015 and Meghalaya was under the AFSPA for 27 years, until it was revoked by the Ministry from April 1, 2018. The Act was implemented in a 20-km area along the border with Assam. Jammu and Kashmir has a separate J&K Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990.

AFSPA’s footprint in Manipur had been contracting before the current ethnic conflict. Its application was withdrawn from the Imphal municipal area in 2004. A much more substantial rollback began in 2022, when the security situation was considered to have improved.

Between April 1, 2022 and April 1, 2023, AFSPA was withdrawn from all police station areas in the Manipur Valley. The State government cited an improved security situation and a greater sense of security among the public.

AFSPA, however, continued in the hill regions, where disturbed-area notifications had been renewed periodically for decades. The trajectory therefore appeared to be towards a gradual reduction in AFSPA-covered territory. The violence beginning in May 2023 reversed that trend.

On November 14, 2024, the MHA reimposed AFSPA in Manipur in the jurisdictions of six police stations spread across five districts: Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West, Lamlai in Imphal East, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Moirang in Bishnupur and Leimakhong in Kangpokpi.

These were among the areas from which AFSPA had earlier been withdrawn.

The MHA said the notification was necessary to enable “well-coordinated operations by the security forces” and to contain the activities of insurgent groups.

The move was noteworthy not merely because AFSPA was returning to some places, but also because the notification came from the MHA rather than the Manipur government.

No. The State government sought a reversal almost immediately.

On November 15, 2024, the Manipur Cabinet under then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh decided to recommend that the Centre review and withdraw the November 14 notification in “public interest”. The State government conveyed the decision to the Union Home Secretary the following day.

The disagreement was unusual because the Centre and the State, both then governed by the BJP, took different positions on whether AFSPA should be restored in those six police station areas.

Political circumstances subsequently changed significantly. President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2025 and revoked on February 4, 2026.

Before the 2023 violence, the direction of government policy in Manipur had been towards progressively reducing the territory covered by AFSPA. By April 2023, all valley police station areas had been excluded.

ALSO WATCH Watch | What is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act?

The November 2024 notification marked a partial reversal when the Centre restored the law in six police station jurisdictions.

The latest arrangement still exempts 13 police stations in five valley districts, but keeps the rest of the State within the disturbed-area notification. This demonstrates how the security situation following the 2023 ethnic violence interrupted the earlier process of shrinking AFSPA’s geographical footprint.

In Nagaland, the continuation of AFSPA has historically been linked to the presence and movement of armed insurgent groups as well as the unresolved Naga political issue.

The Centre has held negotiations with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), or NSCN-IM, and Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs). In 2022, security officials had indicated that uncertainty over the conclusion of the Naga peace process was one reason AFSPA continued in some areas of Nagaland and neighbouring States.

In Arunachal Pradesh, its application has been concentrated largely in districts affected by insurgent movement and areas adjoining Assam. Tirap, Changlang and Longding have consequently continued under the Act, along with specified police station jurisdictions in Namsai district.

The present system is therefore no longer one in which AFSPA uniformly covers much of the Northeast. Its application has progressively been narrowed to particular States, districts and even individual police station jurisdictions based on periodic security assessments.

Yes. The geographical reach of AFSPA has considerably declined compared with the situation a few years ago.

Assam provides a significant example. Until March 31, 2022, AFSPA applied across Assam and Nagaland. Beginning April 1 that year, the Centre and State governments substantially reduced the areas designated as disturbed in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. The Disturbed Areas Notification is in force since 1990 in the whole of Assam.

AFSPA is currently restricted to Tinsukia, Charaideo and Sivasagar districts. The Assam government said security conditions had “significantly improved” over the past three years, but retained the Act in these three districts because ULFA (Independent) remains the State’s only major active militant group and uses routes through Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to access camps in Myanmar. The three districts are also considered vulnerable because of their location along the Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh borders.

The earlier reductions coincided with a decline in insurgency-related violence and the surrender or arrest of militants. Security officials also argued that where the deployment of the Army itself had declined, retaining the special statutory powers available under AFSPA had become increasingly difficult to justify.

The Centre had consequently presented the shrinking AFSPA footprint as part of the broader improvement in the Northeast’s security situation.

AFSPA was removed from whole of Tripura by the CPI-M led State Government in 2015.

Manipur is now the important exception to that trajectory. While AFSPA was being progressively withdrawn from the valley until 2023, the ethnic conflict that began that year led to its return to some previously exempted areas and has ensured that most of the State remains covered by the law.

Jammu and Kashmir has a separate J&K Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.