NSF slams AFSPA extension, calls for non-cooperation with armed forces

Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has strongly condemned the extension of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in various districts and police station jurisdictions across Nagaland, as notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 30, 2025.
In a press release, NSF president Medovi Rhi and assistant general secretary Kenilo Kent described the continued designation of Naga ancestral land as a “disturbed area” under AFSPA for another six months beginning April 1 as a blatant affront to the dignity, rights, and democratic aspirations of the Naga people. NSF said they viewed the extension as an unjust and regressive move that disregarded the realities on the ground.
The federation lamented that though the Naga people had time and again demonstrated their desire for peace and political resolution through dialogue and non-violence, the central government continued to militarise their land and impose colonial-era laws that empowered security forces to commit atrocities with impunity and without accountability. Maintaining that AFSPA had inflicted untold pain, trauma, and fear in the hearts of countless Naga families, they alleged that its legacy was one of repression, not protection — from extra-judicial killings to unlawful detentions, from harassment to the erosion of civil liberties.
According to NSF, its extension in this day and age was not only an insult to the ongoing Indo-Naga political dialogue but also a deliberate provocation against the people’s collective call for peace and justice.
Reiterating their longstanding demand for the immediate and complete repeal of AFSPA from Naga homeland, the NSF leaders affirmed that no true peace could prevail where laws of occupation and militarisation continued to exist.
In this regard, NSF directed all the federating units and subordinate bodies to strictly enforce the NSF’s standing policy of total non-cooperation with the Indian armed forces.
They also urged every Naga student body to abstain from participating in any joint programme, civic action initiative, or ceremonial events involving armed forces personnel until AFSPA was repealed in toto.
They elaborated that compliance with this policy was not just a protest, but a moral and political obligation to uphold the rights and future of our people.