AFSPA in the Northeast - The Long Rollback

AFSPA - the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 - lets soldiers deployed where the government declares a 'disturbed area' search premises, detain people and, in defined circumstances, use lethal force, with no prosecution possible unless the Centre sanctions it. Once blanketing the entire Northeast, the Act has been peeled back in stages: withdrawn outright from Tripura in 2015 and Meghalaya in 2018, and pared down across Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal. In June 2026 the Home Minister said more than 80% of the region is now AFSPA-free and predicted near-complete withdrawal from the Northeast, save one or two states, 'next year' - even as six-monthly disturbed-area notifications keep the law alive in the remaining pockets.