Fasting and protesting in Imphal

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 government’s stand. ‘‘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.’’

IN an exclusive interview with The Sunday Express, Sharmila says the lakhs of taxpayers’ money being spent to keep her alive, troubles her as well. ‘‘What can I say? While I’m an undertrial, I can’t make any choices. I’m not ‘‘suicide-eager’’; 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 But this hunger strike is the only way I can achieve my goal of getting AFSPA withdrawn from Manipur. I’m a revolutionary, a social

reformer, but only through peaceful means,’’ 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.

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

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

On the question of alleged widespread extortions by militants, and if that doesn’t pose a human rights violation as well, Sharmila says, ‘‘These extortion demands are the result of government policy and corruption.’’

SHE is forbidden visits from her close relatives. In fact, no one except the media is allowed to meet Sharmila. ‘‘I haven’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.’’

Although she looks weak, Sharmila says she keeps fit by practising yoga. The wall behind her head — a massive collage of magazine and newspaper cuttings — 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 ‘‘a bit proud’’. ‘‘I would like to meet the other 999 women, share thoughts and experiences with them,’’ 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 — she has completed two books of poems in Manipuri.