While everyone of us is aware of Anna
Hazare, the Gandhian who went on a fast for 12 days demanding a
stringent anti-corruption law, not many of us is aware of Irom Sharmila
Chanu, the young lady of a remote town in Manipur, who has been on fast
for the last 13 years.
Irom Sharmila Chanu was in the news
recently for being released from a prison hospital after finding no
evidence against her for the alleged charges of attempted suicide by
refusing to take food. She was protesting against army atrocities in her
home state Manipur by going on an indefinite-hunger strike. She was
being nose-fed by the Manipur State Government to keep her alive, all
these years. For these last 13 years, she has been on fast and she will
continue to do so, even after her release, till her demands are met.
Who is Irom Sharmila Chanu
Irom Sharmila Chanu is an Indian human
rights activist of Manipur. She is also known as the Iron Lady of
Manipur. In Manipur, everyone calls her Mengoubi, the fair one. She has
also been called “the world’s longest hunger striker” for her indefinite
fast. On the International Women’s Day this year, she was declared the
top woman icon of India by MSN Poll voters. In 2007, Sharmila was
awarded Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. This award is given to a person
who gives an outstanding support in the promotion of democracy, peace
and human rights. The Asian Human Rights Commission awarded her a
lifetime achievement award in 2010 for her non-violent struggle. She
also won the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize and the Sarva Gunah
Sampannah “Award for Peace and Harmony” .
What is her demand?
Iron Sharmila Chanu is demanding the
repeal of the Armed (Forces Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) as applicable in
the North Eastern India. This Act, modelled on a British India law, was
passed in Parliament in 1958 and subsequently its scope was extended to
the whole of north-east. It gives the Army unquestioned special powers
in areas declared as disturbed. However, there has been lot of criticism
against this Act because the unquestioned powers of the armed forces
have resulted in human rights violations in various regions, including
Manipur.
The Act allows an officer of the armed
forces powers to arrest without warrant anyone or even shoot a person
who is suspected to be acting against law and order in an area declared
as disturbed by the Governor in the north-east. The army enjoys immunity
and they cannot be prosecuted.
Sharmila began her fast on November 2, 2000
It was a Thursday. Like every other
Thursday, Sharmila started her fast religiously, little did she know it
will go on even today. Her religious fast turned out to be a fast
against army atrocities on innocent people. That day, November 2, 2000,
the army had killed 10 civilians at a bus stop in Malon, a town close to
Manipur’s capital city of Imphal. The killings included an 18-year old
1988 National Child Bravery Award winner. It was a sad incident for the
people of Manipur. The Army was blamed and police registered a case but
no arrests were made. In protect against this, Sharmila did not break
her Thursday fast that day. She continued her fast indefinitely. She
chose the Gandhian route. She was 28 years old then. It’s been more than
13 years now and she is continuing her fast…
“There was no other means to stop
further violations by the armed forces against innocent people. I
thought that peace rally and inquiry commissions would be meaningless.
Unless I do something to change the situation.” Sharmila
Arrest and release of Irom Sharmila Chanu
Sensing trouble, her indefinite fast was
charged as an “attempt at suicide” by the state government and she was
arrested three days later. Suicide is considered a criminal offence
under the Indian law but the maximum imprisonment is up to 1 year. She
has never been convicted. So she has been arrested and released off and
on from judicial custody ever since her fast began in 2000. She has
since been forcibly fed by a tube attached to her nose to keep her vital
organs alive and to keep her live.
On August 19, 2014, Sharmila was ordered
to be released from the prison hospital in Manipur. According to the
Manipur East Sessions Court, the authorities had failed to prove that
Sharmila had intended to commit suicide. The court also stated that her
hunger strike was a “political demand through a lawful means”.
After her release, she said that her
fast will go on till the Government meets her demand on repealing the
AFSPA. She also said that this time, she should not be forcibly fed
through pipes unless she is arrested again. S. Indira Devi, a
government-appointed lawyer involved in the case, said that Sharmila is a
free citizen and there has been no move from the state government to
challenge Sharmila’s release order.
‘We salute this Iron Lady of Manipur’
The National Human Rights Commission
declared that she was a “Prisoner of Conscience”. Her release will
definitely re-ignite the debate over the AFSPA, which is in force in the
northern state of Jammu and Kashmir and in the north-eastern states.
It is strange that she is largely out of
mainstream news and majority of Indians do not know her. Sharmila’s
13-year silent protest should not be ignored. She is still going strong.
She is a woman of strong will and determination and she is fighting for
a good cause. Her protest should not fade to the background. Let us
salute this Iron Lady of Manipur!!!
sourceby Rumani Saikia Phukan
sourceby Rumani Saikia Phukan
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