Irom Sharmila of Manipur, a Symbol of Peace & Ahimsa

Khurai Doren *

Paintings on Spirit of Sharmila :: Neogene Artists

Who, in the land of Mahatama Gandhi, will not be moved at the disrespect and neglect of Manipur's daughter and Iron Lady, Irom Sharmila, who has been struggling to uphold human rights in the State through the Father of the Nation's path of Ahimsa and Satyagrah. Only those who have no regards for democracy, non-violance, harmony, tolerance and humanity he epitomised throughout the freedom struggle he led against the British rule in India.

Manipur is now ill-famed for incessant fake encounters with insurgents and wanton killings of innocent citizens perpetrated by security forces in the name of self defence. A horrendous incident, for instance, was the killing of 9 innocent civilians by security men, within the campus of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Imphal on the 6th June, 1995 when they, being enraged by gunshots allegedly by militants, randomly shot at the patient parties after the real culprits had already fled the spot.

There were vehement public outcries against the incidents from time to time. But so frequent was such incidents that they gradually lost the sting to excite the common people.

However, November 2 of 2000 marked a turning point with the emergence of Irom Sharmila in Manipur's history of struggle for human rights. On this day some security men suffered casualties in an encounter with a handful of rebels at Malom. They lost their sense of being public protector and were flung into furry, shot whomsoever they saw and mercilessly killed ten innocent civilians in their wanton spree.

Utterly shocked at the gruesome atrocious crime, the young girl Sharmila resolutely embarked on her fast unto death demanding repeal of the Arms forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), 1958 and restoration of human rights in Manipur as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Her relentless, non-violent struggle for the cause of human rights and peace, has now stretched into long ten years.

Irom Sharmila has thus become the personification of courage, sacrifice and non-violence while struggling for the noble cause of humanity, undoubtedly with no parallel in the long human history. She has been honoured with the Gwanju Award of South Korea, Maliyamma Award (2009) of the Maliyamma Foundation of Kerala and the Rabindra Nath Tagore Peace Award (2010) of the Indian Institute of Planning & Management.

No wonder, even the Mahatma would have been thrilled with this decade-long feat of the Iron Lady. But, behold! the Government of her own native State of Manipur has been treating her as nothing less than a nuisance and putting this great soul of Manipur in confinement on the charge of attempting to commit suicide. Even worse, to the Government of India, Sharmila is simply a non-entity and her struggle a non issue.

The AFSPA obviously provides extraordinary power to the security personnel, but none the less, it is not a supra-Constitional law which permits them to perpetrate random killings, rape women and violate the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution which insures dignity of the individual. It is only through the abuse of this Act that the srcuritymen incessently commit such crimes even in spite of the historic protest of Irom Sharmila.

The 17th Assam Rifles arrested a girl Th Manorama in the night of July 10, 2004 from her house being charged with insurgency but abadoned her after torture, rape and murder in open violation of human right. Had she been tried and punished duly under the law the armed forces would have been praised.

The AFSP Act was invoked in Manipur in 1978 to contain secessationist movements. But, the efficacy of the use, or overuse, of this law has been thoroughly belied in the sense that, in spite of repressive measures through the abuse of the draconian law, there have been increasing growth and multiplicity of the insurgent outfits resulting in increasingly unwieldy conflict situation. It is thus evident that the effect of the AFSPA is rather highly toxic, let alone remedial for insurgency.

Even top brass of the Indian Army have, after their retirement viewed that the revolt cannot be resolved with the use of arms. Despite, the Government still con-ditinues to ignore such truthful findings and opinions, and the Security forces carry on with fake encounters, killing of innocent people and raping of women more than before. A young pregant woman Rabina Devi and a youth Sanjit Singh who was 41 buying medicine for his ailing father was killed on 23rd July, 2009 by the Manipur Police in the heart of the Imphal Bazar during a fake encounter. The incident was vividly reported on by the Tehelka magazine with undoubtable photo evidence as subsequently confirmed by the CBI.

With or without the AFSPA, or any other law for that matter, it makes no sense when the laws are abused and unlawful acts are blatantly committed by law enforcing agencies.

True to great ideals of Mahatma Gandhi for a free India, the world's Greatest Democracy as so called now, the AFSPA should be rolled back without further delay. This should befittingly happen without further delay under the proud leadership of India's present conscience keeping President, Smt Pratiba Devi Singh Patil and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Let Irom Sharmila get a new lease of life to uphold human rights and the Mahatma's ideals.

Britain colonised and ruled India for about 2 centuries. But, they also brought about developments, and even social refoms. The British were civilised enough to do justice to Mahatma Gandhi. Whenever Gandhiji went on a fast in the jail they were extremely concerned if a political prisoner for demanding his nation's freedom was ever kept on fast unto death and released him graciously lest the whole world would hate the British as the most inhuman race in the history of humankind. With his matchless weapon of Ahimsa and Satyagraha disarmed and ultimately won the hearts of the Britishers and won freedom.

The Gandhian values now being steadfastly replicated by her has thus been openly devalued by both the Central and State Governments. It strikes the author very often that, India could have never ever got her independence from the British in spite of a thousand Gandhis' struggle if the Britishers happened to be endowed with similar perception and morality of independent India's ruling elite. It is lamentable that the mainland India's intellegentia of today do not simply have the liberal thoughts their colonial counterparts had more than 60 years ago.

Irom Sharmila, Manipurs' torch bearer of peace and human rights, continues to languish in confinement, being still misunderstood, misinterpreted and neglected. May God save her life and awaken India to her call without further delay, lest the chapter on her struggle for human rights becomes a blot on Indian history, condemned by the liberal world.

An unfortunate happening to the life of Sharmila, a true follower of the Mahatma, who has been on a decade-long fast only for the cause of human rights and peace shall certainly give birth to an India being despised and hated by the whole world. Both the State and Union Governments shall be demeaned with an ignoble name in Indian history.