16-year fast of Iron Lady of Manipur comes to an end

Irom Sharmila started her hunger-strike on November 4, 2000 two days after 'Malom Massacre' where 10 people at a bus-stop near Imphal were shot dead by security forces

The “Iron Lady” of Manipur, Irom Sharmila Chanu, who had been on a hunger strike since November 2000 in protest against alleged atrocities by security forces on civilians in the northeastern state of Manipur, ended her 16-year fast on Tuesday.

All these years, Sharmila was kept under detention at a prison hospital in Imphal  (Manipur) and force-fed through a nasal tube. The 44-year-old has now expressed her willingness to enter politics and to get married soon.  

“I have been fasting for 16 years and have got nothing from it. I want to try a different agitation now. I want to join politics. I am the embodiment of revolution in Manipur. I want to become chief minister of Manipur to bring a positive change and end Afspa (Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a controversial anti-insurgent law) in the state,” Sharmila told mediapersons in Imphal on Tuesday.

Afspa, enacted in 1958, gives powers to the army and state and police forces to shoot to kill, search houses, and destroy any property likely to be used by insurgents in areas declared as “disturbed” by the Union home ministry. For many years, the state has been witnessing civilian resistance and protests against alleged cases of human rights violations by security forces.

The mood in Manipur is that AFSPA is the root cause behind army atrocities and that the act should be lifted from the state.

Sharmila was 28-years old when on November 2, 2000; ten people were shot dead by security forces at a bus stop at Malom, near Imphal town. The ‘Malom Massacre’ as it referred to, shocked the whole state of Manipur. Two days later, Sharmila decided to sit on hunger-strike demanding repeal of AFSPA, which she finally ended today.

Soon after she began her hunger-strike, Sharmila was arrested on the charges of attempt to suicide, which is still a crime in India though the Parliament is about to decriminalise it soon. She was released many times too but was rearrested immediately on the same charges and forced-fed through the nasal tube.

On July 26 this year, Sharmila surprised many when she announced she would end her fast on August 9 and enter politics.  The response to her decision from her supporters and the civil society of Manipur has been mixed. Many felt Sharmila, who had earlier vowed to eat only on the day AFSPA was repealed, should have continued with her iconic protest that had caught the attention of the whole world. Others have welcomed her decision to chart a new course by joining politics to carry forward her struggle.

Sharmila is a recipient of many awards and was declared as 'Prisoner of conscience' by Amnesty International in 2013.