From Sharmila to Dr Manmohan Singh

Imphal, Nov 3 : Irom Sharmila Chanu, who is set to complete her eleventh year of huger fast against the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act on November 5 , has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take into account her struggle for the cause of the people.


 The ‘Iron Lady’ of Manipur expressed her mind when former Vice Chancellor of  Aligarh University, M Rahman met her today afternoon at the security ward of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (Jnims) close to her Promopat residence in Imphal East.


 Rahman, who is a retired IAS officer and a key functionary of a Pune-based NGO Sarhad, said he would convey her message to the PM through appropriate persons.


 “There is no place for the draconian Act in this democratic country and I’m struggling since the last more than ten years against it . The Central leaders especially the Prime Minister should take note of the cause I have taken up,” Sharmila said.


 Reacting against the State Government’s failure to issue permission to a team of her supporters to meet her recently, Sharmila expressed deep disappointment against the Chief Minister, who also holds the Home portfolio.


 Participated by 25 activists , the  4,500 km long Srinagar to Imphal ‘Jan Karvan march’ campaign was flagged off by social activist Medha Patlkar in Srinagar on October 16 and it reached Imphal on October 27  after holding series of meetings and other activities in nine cities including   the national capital.


On October 29, the campaigners left Imphal without seeing her as the State Government denied permission for the meeting. The previous day they courted arrest during a hunger fast protest.


 “The CM should know that they (campaigners) came all the way from Kashmir to Imphal. They should be treated as human beings with sympathy. Instead, they were denied by the Government to meet me. I’m deeply hurt by the Government’s unwanted attitude towards them,” lamented Sharmila.


 Taking note of the angsuih of Sharmila, Rahman said, “You have responded in a Gandhian way. You have made a tremendous sacrifice for the cause of the people. We will work for repealing the Act. We will definitely convey your words to the PM through appropriate persons.”


Social worker Jeevan A Ninghou,who coordinated Rahman’s Manipur visit, said he would work for translating some letters  sent to Sharmila from her supporters in Kannada language to Manipuri. Ningthou, who also accompanied Rahman in Sharmila’s meeting, took the letters from her and assured to do the translation works very soon.


                                                                                   
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Sharmila, the light of Manipur

Irom Sharmila has been leading an unnatural life, out of choice and goaded by the Manipuri society, especially civil society groups. For nearly 11 years now, it has become a routine for her to remain housed in hospital, in judicial custody, with a tube dangling from her nostrils to force-feed her. Always flanked by cops rather than relatives and friends, she visits the court every fortnight in an ambulance and says “no” on being asked if she will end her fast.

Her resilience to carry forward the silent protest since November 2000 against a draconian law, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), has earned her the title Manipur's ‘Iron Lady.' She has put little known Manipur on the world map with probably the longest running hunger strike in recorded history. She has become an iconic figure for the entire Manipuri society; she is the torchlight-bearer of the people against a law that gives the security forces power to kill with impunity.

AFSPA is in force in the ‘disturbed areas' of Assam, Manipur (excluding the Imphal municipal council areas), Nagaland, parts of Arunachal Pradesh, 20 km in Meghalaya bordering Assam, a few police stations in Tripura, besides Jammu and Kashmir. Her hunger strike began following an incident in which the security forces allegedly sprayed bullets and killed 10 innocents at a bus stop in Malom town. Since then the incident has been known as the Malom massacre. The civil society groups are proud of Irom Sharmila for carrying on with her crusade on behalf of the people.

How long will she fast is anybody's guess? She is 39 years old and already past her youth. When she acknowledged to a journalist about her fondness for a man called Desmond Coutinho, a British national of Goan origin, whom she met only once in March this year following a yearlong exchange of letters, there was an element of disdain for her by those who used to shower her with praise and affection.

In one fell swoop, their pride in her has crashed. Why? Is this feeling out of desperation because all along, they supported her and probably in the process pinned their hopes on her “sacrifice”? Did they in the process start misreading “her” struggle as “our” struggle? Is this why her willingness to lead a normal life jolted them?

The civil society groups' struggle, however, appears a long-drawn affair. There has been no progress to replace the Act with a more humane law as was promised by the Union government in 2004. The reason being the security establishment, particularly the Army, is opposed to the idea of tinkering with the Act. Home Minister P. Chidambaram has also admitted the lack of consensus within the government on the issue.

No doubt, Manipur's young and old have had their own share of struggle and apathy. But does it mean that Sharmila has no right to lead a normal life? She has, of course, said she will marry only after the Act is repealed. Whether she is being tricked in this love affair as suspected by many

Babloo Loitongbam, human rights activist from Manipur and Sharmila's long associate from the Just Peace Foundation, refuses to comment on her personal life. “She can stop her fast whenever she wants, she can marry whoever she wants. There will be no interference from our side.”

But what about the Meira Paibis, who took up the cudgels against wrongdoings in the State? In July 2004, Meira Paibis made the headlines worldwide when they stripped themselves — the ultimate form of protest — in front of the Kangla Fort, against the excesses committed by the security forces on the people. Why did they not support Sharmila? Why did they not stand up for another woman's cause?

Interested parties see a conspiracy and burnt copies of the newspaper that published her interview and banned the newspaper in Manipur. Why? According to some civil rights activists, a relationship has surely developed between Sharmila and Desmond. But the venom is against the reportage. “In the backdrop of Anna Hazare's fast against corruption, the article was more about her love story than the cause for which she has been on a hunger strike for more than a decade. The write-up also tried to create differences between her and us. …why?…how can we intrude into her personal life when we are not even allowed to meet her?” asks a civil society activist.

But, how long will the civil society groups ride on Sharmila's shoulders? On the one hand, these groups strongly support freedom of the press and, on the other, they ban the newspaper in Manipur for publishing Sharmila's interview. Why this double standard?

Whatever the case, Sharmila should not be allowed to end up like Bobby Sands, the revolutionary spirit of freedom who represented the Irish nationalist aspirations and died on the 66th day of his hunger strike in May 1981. Or like Pedro Luis Boitel, a political revolutionary from Cuba, who died in jail in May 1972 following his fast unto death. Potti Sreeramulu, the Amarajeevi (immortal being), died in December 1952, following his fast for linguistic re-organisation of the States and achieving Andhra Pradesh. And, there are also others who have died — unsung heroes like Swami Nigamanand in June 2011 after fasting in his quest for stopping quarrying in the Ganga.

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New updates for Sharmila Irom

Supporting the cause of the Manipuri civil rights activist, who has been on fast for the past 11 years demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, several organisations came together here on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi to launch a nation-wide “Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign.”

The campaign began at Jantar Mantar with several people coming out in support of the cause. “It is the first time in 11 years that people from all over the country, including non-Manipuri organisations, have come together to support Irom Sharmila,” said Faisal Khan from the National Alliance of People's Movements.

The campaign will culminate on the International Human Rights Day on December 10. “That day, leading social activists will sit on a day-long fast and then march from India Gate to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to submit the signatures collected during the campaign,” said Ravi Nitesh, another member of movement.

The campaign was launched on Sunday in 21 States and around 300 signatures were collected in Delhi, he said. Signatures would be collected on banners and “signature sheets” distributed at different places by volunteer groups and supporters.

“The next step is to reach out to as many people as we can. We have student coordinators in all Delhi University colleges, who will distribute signature sheets till December,” said Mr. Nitesh. The campaign would also approach other public and private universities in the capital.

The campaign has laid down four main demands: initiating a dialogue with Ms. Sharmila, sending an all-party delegation for talks, sending members of the National Commission for Women to assess her condition and deputing a special team of doctors from New Delhi to examine her.

As part of the campaign, a caravan of supporters will travel from Srinagar to Imphal, covering 10 States, between October 16 and 26. A cycle rally will also be organised at State levels.

At present, the campaign is supported by over 50 organisations across the country and it is reaching out to people through different media, including streetplays and distribution of pamphlets.

Source: The Hindu