From Rowlatt To Afspa, The Fading Principles Of Mahatma Gandhi

ROWLATT ACT

Rowlatt Acts, (February 1919),was legislation passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. This act by giving atrocious power effectively authorized the government to imprison any person suspected of terrorism living in the Raj for up to two years without a trial, and gave the imperial authorities power to deal with all revolutionary activities.

AFSPA

Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA), empowers and give sweeping powers to the indian arm force to conduct operations and ARREST anyone without prior notice.

This act historically came into force in (ASSAM,MANIPUR), (PUNJAB,CHANDIGARH) and (CHATTISGARH) but repealed afterwards. Currently holds its ground in JAMMU KASHMIR and recently ordered again to continue for six more months in NAGALAND.

Why need AFSPA

The need of AFSPA is to empower the security forces to firm their stand of the ground on which the anti national and independence uprising are taking place.

BUT It's always been in a controversy that this act on the one hand upheld security of the nation .On the other, act as human rights and fundamental rights violation of the innocent people of the affected area.

Also we see critics calling it as the milliatry rule act but the thing that justifies this act is the ATTITUDE, the attitude of the people through which they try to muscle out the armed forces of that area often usingweapons ,trickery, stones, as a result of which there comes more necessity and JUSTIFICATION to this AFSPA rule.

The right path

It is ironical that exactly after 100 years of the Gandhi satyagrah against the british ROWLATT act, people are suffering from the same kind of law which is exactly for the same purpose that is of maintaining internal security but the real difference is that we have travelled far from the British raj to the Indian democracy (the rule of the people) and On the contrary the methods of showing disagreements also changed a lot.

From the method of non violent satyagrah in which the british police was also seen as someone's brother someone's son,we have ADVANCED to the methods of aggression,killing and brutality as a result (WE the people of india) loose someone's son and someone's brother.

Many of Gandhian philosophies and methods are faded with time and lost their relevence but astonishingly the principles of SATYAGRAH and AHIMSA can't be faded and always uphold their RELEVENCE andCORRECTITUDE enduring the difficulties of time .

If the people have shown their disagreement peacefully and with UNITY, compelling the government and the nation to hear their grievances, it could have significantly made the act of AFSPA dreadful and worthless .

-- Divvyam