TODAY -
Sharmila, the light of Manipur
The Hindu | Oct 22, 2011:
Irom Sharmila has been leading an unnatural life, out of choice and goaded by the Manipuri society, especially civil society groups. For nearly 11 years now, it has become a routine for her to remain housed in hospital, in judicial custody, with a tube dangling from her nostrils to force-feed her. Always flanked by cops rather than relatives and friends, she visits the court every fortnight in an ambulance and says “no” on being asked if she will end her fast.
AFSPA is in force in the ‘disturbed areas' of Assam, Manipur (excluding the Imphal municipal council areas), Nagaland, parts of Arunachal Pradesh, 20 km in Meghalaya bordering Assam, a few police stations in Tripura, besides Jammu and Kashmir. Her hunger strike began following an incident in which the security forces allegedly sprayed bullets and killed 10 innocents at a bus stop in Malom town. Since then the incident has been known as the Malom massacre. The civil society groups are proud of Irom Sharmila for carrying on with her crusade on behalf of the people.
Whatever the case, Sharmila should not be allowed to end up like Bobby Sands, the revolutionary spirit of freedom who represented the Irish nationalist aspirations and died on the 66th day of his hunger strike in May 1981. Or like Pedro Luis Boitel, a political revolutionary from Cuba, who died in jail in May 1972 following his fast unto death. Potti Sreeramulu, the Amarajeevi (immortal being), died in December 1952, following his fast for linguistic re-organisation of the States and achieving Andhra Pradesh. And, there are also others who have died — unsung heroes like Swami Nigamanand in June 2011 after fasting in his quest for stopping quarrying in the Ganga.
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* This Post is uploaded on October 23, 2011
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