Irom Sharmila Chanu - A fighter greater than Anna Hazare

Irom Sharmila Chanu (born March 14, 1972), also known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur" or "Menghoubi" ("the fair one")is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur. Since 2 November 2000, she has been on hunger strike to demand that the Indian government repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), which she blames for violence in Manipur and other parts of India's northeast. Having refused food and water for more than ten years, she has been called "the world's longest hunger. Irom Sharmila Chanu has been fasting for 11 years. Unlike Anna Hazare, who was cajoled by millions to end his fast, she enjoys no public support or media coverage. Her cause is almost unknown outside her state. She is seeking the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from her state, Manipur. Irom has never had a Kiran Bedi to add melodrama to her agitation, but what she has had is the grit to try and persuade the government to repeal a law that empowers the security forces to arrest without a warrant, and shoot anyone at sight.

Irom Sharmila has not eaten for over ten years now. For this, she has been locked up in jail by the government under very dubious charges and is being forcibly nose fed. Since November 2000, Sharmila has been on a fast-unto-death, demanding the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA). AFSPA is a law that can come into force in any part of India declared as “disturbed”. The act allows anyone of any rank in the army or a paramilitary force under its operational command to shoot, arrest or search without warrant; and to kill on suspicion alone. Furthermore, there is little scope for judicial remedy. The whole of Sharmila’s state — Manipur — has continuously been under this law since 1980 (with minor exceptions in recent times).

It’s been five years since that day which changed her life. November 2, 2000 was just another Thursday. Till, that is, a convoy of Assam Rifles was bombed by insurgents near Malom in Manipur. In retaliation the men in uniform went berserk: 10 civilians were shot dead. You could say that neither the killings nor the brutal combing operation that followed were new to the people. Manipur had been ravaged by umpteen number of such incidents in the past. But for Sharmila, Malom was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. “There was no means to stop further violations by the armed forces,” she says. She began her epic fast.

From then to now, Sharmila’s frail body has become a battlefield. Within days of her fast, she was arrested on charges of ‘attempted suicide’ and put in jail. She refused bail; she refused to break her fast. For ten years now, she has been in custody, being forcibly nose-fed. Time and again, the courts have — rightly — released her. But she resumes her fast and is invariably re-arrested each time.

People in Manipur are upset with the media over the poor coverage for Irom's decade-old fast. Anna's 11-day fast had the media buzzing with 24/7 coverage, whereas Irom's marathon protest has largely been ignored. Although she has won international awards, Irom's cause has never managed to strike a chord with the vocal middle class. Very few know or care about what is happening in Manipur, and how people in the state are being constantly bullied by the armed forces.

Those living in other parts of India have got used to a free life, and just don't understand the pain of living under constant surveillance. Once in a while, the middle class conscience wakes us up and we rush to rallies or candlelight vigils to show that we stand with the just and the right. It has become fashionable to be seen at rallies wearing a Anna topi.