Fasting and protesting in Imphal

BARE and basic. That8217;s the first thought on entering this hospital room. It takes some believing that the 8216;8216;patient8217;14...

BARE and basic. That8217;s the first thought on entering this hospital room. It takes some believing that the 8216;8216;patient8217;8217; occupying this nondescript room, at the Jawaharlal Nehru government hospital8217;s security ward, is Manipur8217;s most high-profile prisoner 8212; a woman who is mentioned in the Guiness Book of World Records for the 8216;8216;longest protest on a social cause by a single individual anywhere in the world8217;8217;. A Nobel Peace Prize 2005 nominee. A woman whose death the Manipur government is too scared to think of.

But for 33-year-old Irom Sharmila Chanu 8212; who has been on a fast unto death since four-and-a-half years, demanding the lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA from the state, as well as the 8216;8216;Disturbed Area8217;8217; status 8212; these honours and recognitions don8217;t matter. Frail, she lies on her bed with a feeding tube dangling from her nose, but the eyes speak a different language 8212; one of unswerving pursuit of goals and the grit to get there, or perish in the effort.

SHARMILA was arrested a few days after she went on a hunger strike on November 2, 2000, on a charge of attempted suicide. On that day, armed forces gunned down 10 people at a bus stand near Imphal airport, claiming they were insurgents. The sentence for attempted suicide is one year, but everytime she is released, she is promptly rearrested on the same charge and kept at the hospital to be force fed.

Her stay at the hospital costs the state government about Rs 1 lakh every year. A high-level official with the State Home Department explains the government8217;s stand. 8216;8216;In Manipur, if an ant is killed in a road accident, there will be a blockade and widespread protests. Can you imagine what will happen if Irom Sharmila should die due to fasting? The entire state will burn for days.8217;8217;

IN an exclusive interview with The Sunday Express, Sharmila says the lakhs of taxpayers8217; money being spent to keep her alive, troubles her as well. 8216;8216;What can I say? While I8217;m an undertrial, I can8217;t make any choices. I8217;m not 8216;8216;suicide-eager8217;8217;; even I want to live and die like a normal person, be free and not a prisoner. But this hunger strike is the only way I can achieve my goal of getting AFSPA withdrawn from Manipur. I8217;m a revolutionary, a social

reformer, but only through peaceful means,8217;8217; she says in halting English, searching for words but refusing an interpreter.

In August 2004, following widespread outcry over the alleged rape and murder of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama by security personnel, the O Ibobi Singh government lifted the Disturbed Area status and consequently, the AFSPA from the municipal limits of Imphal, but Sharmila remained unmoved, saying her fast will continue till the entire state is free from the AFSPA.

	CASE FILE
	Matter of Life and Death 8226; l Sharmila was arrested few days after she went on a hunger strike on November 2, 2000, on a charge of attempted suicide 8226; The sentence for attempted suicide is one year, but everytime she is released, Sharmila is rearrested on the same charge 8226; Her stay at the hospital costs the state government about Rs 1 lakh every year

Despite repeated appeals from the state government, and a November 2004 assurance from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to 8216;8216;review the law, imposed to fight insurgency in the state8217;8217;, Sharmila8217;s stance remains unchanged. Mention of the O Ibobi Singh government gets Sharmila worked up. 8216;8216;The policy of keeping the AFSPA in force throughout the state, excepting Imphal, is not effective.

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Imphal is very protected, but the remote areas are open to human rights violations.8217;8217;

On the question of alleged widespread extortions by militants, and if that doesn8217;t pose a human rights violation as well, Sharmila says, 8216;8216;These extortion demands are the result of government policy and corruption.8217;8217;

SHE is forbidden visits from her close relatives. In fact, no one except the media is allowed to meet Sharmila. 8216;8216;I haven8217;t met my mother and brother for years. I miss them, but then, I no longer differentiate between the common people and blood relations; everyone is equally precious to me.8217;8217;

Although she looks weak, Sharmila says she keeps fit by practising yoga. The wall behind her head 8212; a massive collage of magazine and newspaper cuttings 8212; is about the only attractive trapping around. As one of the 1,000 women jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005, Sharmila smiles shyly that it the nomination makes her feel 8216;8216;a bit proud8217;8217;. 8216;8216;I would like to meet the other 999 women, share thoughts and experiences with them,8217;8217; says she. She has received widespread support from Naga women organisations to international human rights groups. Inspite of everything, the creative juices of this school dropout run strong 8212; she has completed two books of poems in Manipuri.