Manipur in the backdrop of AFSPA and Irom Sharmila
- Part 2 -

Yumnam Rupachandra *

Irom Chanu Sharmila in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal on August 23 2016 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Rather a change has come over her. She had found someone she could love and willing to share her life and passion. She has discovered a new means to achieve her goal. Whether it will work is another issue. It is not clear after 16 years of denying herself the taste of good home cook meal and isolation, if she has found true enlightenment or she succumbs to the machination of the system.

15th year into her fast, the MHA changed the rule of engagement. It was not easy to meet Sharmila in her high security room in JNIMS hospital, formerly JN Hospital. But depending on the mood of the state government access were granted to media and selected individuals whom the state considered harmless.

But July 2015, MHA changed the rule and anyone who wants to meet Sharmila must deposit an amount of Rs. 1 lakh. Certain categories were said to be exempted. Sharmila protested the conditions imposed for meeting her calling it an attempt by the state to restrict her freedom of expression.

She also started receiving huge cash awards from organisations that were little heard of promoting such awards. What was to be Rs. 5 lakh nominal award turned into 51 lakhs. It also became apparent Sharmila was not that isolated and she had access to laptops and internet and she was in communications. Political parties and politicians have been meeting her and offering candidacy in place of AFSPA repeal.

While she accepted the awards through her Narratives of routine outings to courts, when the local media took chances to speak to her were changing. The symptoms of changes that led to the 9 August declaration was noticed and rift between her and her die hard supporters were being noticed. It was clear Sharmila had changed.

The narrative around Sharmila was no longer about AFSPA but about what she will do next, when she will quit or who was her new found friend, will he be there in her next court appearance etc? It was too stark to be a natural course of a struggle devoid of machination and conspiracy theory of whether Sharmila has been coerced with wealth and emotion blackmail did gain ground.

To be fair to Sharmila, her 16 years of fast has not gone wasted. She has done more for anti-AFSPA movement than any individuals. She must be given credit for bringing AFSPA into focus of International and national media.

She must also be given credit for arousing the consciousness of a section of Indian intellectuals and activist to a issue far removed from their environment. A nation wide 2 month long campaign was launched by "Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign" in support of her struggle. Symposium on her struggle was held at the Harvard University, John F Kennedy School of Government on "11 years hunger strike: Irony in the worlds largest democracy."

She took the anti AFSPA movement to International arena. Back home she inspired women group, many in their seventies and eighties to give her company outside her hospital jail, to start a rally hunger strike. The small tin roof shack outside the gate of JNIMS hospital which served as office of the "Sharmila Kanba Lup" or Save Sharmila Organisation was the place where Sharmila landed whenever the court released her only to rearrested as she continued her fast. Today the organisation has been disbanded.

Sharmila has been saved but not in the manner they wanted. Like Sharmila they wanted the Government of India to revoke the act so that Sharmila can once again eat and be saved.

As said before, this Act was enacted to tackle secessionism and insurgency. But 5 decades down the line this act has in fact help created more groups and Assam, Nagaland and Manipur and to some extent Tripura now has multiple groups with Manipur leading from the front with over two dozen groups. The question that is hanging huge but never considered in policy makers corridor is –Is AFSPA fighting insurgency or stoking it? and Is the army answer to the insurgencies?

Thought, with several pacts with many splinter groups and with what the centre considers as "mother of all insurgencies"- the NSCN(IM) and Pro-talk group of ULFA in place, there seems to be sense of normalcy returning to the region. But we know this is not true and incident like Paraolon in Chandel district of Manipur and recent Kokrajhar attack is a reminder that insurgency is not a closed chapter. With states police woefully under powered, the army is still going to be required by the states. And with army having its say AFSPA is not going to go away any sooner.

This brings us to the issue and question – are we truly a democratic nation? Is regular elections with increasing participation the only determinant of a true democracy?

Though India is run by a civilian government which is heavily inspired by principles of our founding father, the Mahatma Gandhi, 16 years of Sharmila's non-violent struggle and the state's response to it has exposed how the civilian government is dependent on the Army and in name of the National security the army can get away undermining even a Prime Minister of this country. How can than we say we are truly democratic if our army dictates the civilian government.

And then what about our media, the so called fourth pillar. Just as Manipur and rest of the North east states are far from the policymakers in Delhi, the national Media- the patriotic national media, are far from us. News coming out of the region is about the killings and bombing but never about why.

The national media which para-drops, in its ( NE's) many theatre of wars disappears along with the firefighters waiting for the local news media to break fresh wars for its Delhi bureau to command them to take flights.

The National electronic media with its agenda setting talk shows have just skimmed the surface even as North East has been categorised as non-TRP region. I am told Guwahati now only one "national TV Channel" reporter. Similar is the case with rest of the states where part time stringers who are placed on "per story payments" act as "fixers" and landing pad for the paratroopers. The print media seems to be doing better but the trend, I am afraid remains the same.

Assam & Manipur and rest of the states of NE share a unique relationship. Yet we are as strangers to one another as we are to many so called "mainland" communities. Because, Sharmila fasted for a cause that impacts all of us in the North east, there is need for all of us to understand one another. Historical engagements are rather used to support hostilities than to bring harmony.

History has that Assam and Manipur suffered similar fate in the Hands of the Burmese. We had our "Seven years devastation" and you had your "Maanor Din" –the dark days. It is also our shared history that Manipuri princess became one of your queen and landmarks like the "Manipuri Basti" are proof of those relationship. Yet today in days of "information technology" and far reaching mass media, we hardly understand each others pains and problems.

Can our media and keepers of our ways of life and culture – like the Asam Sahitya Sabha and their counterparts in different NE states do something about? I am told the Asam Sahitya Sabha is celebrating 2017 as its centenary year. May be you could engage with different literary bodies of the north East in this year long celebration-because Assam with its "big brotherly" position in the North East needs to take a lead in bringing about a collective change in how we think and face a great challenge that is about to come to all of us- the ACT East policy.

Sharmila may have ended her fast and those supporting her may have vanished. But because AFSPA remains with all its "draconian" facets to be used on its citizens, Indian citizens and people of North East still need to be on our toes. Every weapon is considered good when used against our foes but when it is turned on you, it is another case.

After 70 years of independence, India's march towards a mature democracy is tested by likes of Sharmila and this nations has no answer but to incarcerate voices like her and paint her anti national because she finds support of those fighting the very notion of the nation called India.

It is with this foreboding that I present this paper, for anyone speaking against this act – AFSPA, if not the from the position of a Prime Minister like Dr Manmohan Singh or former Home Minister P Chidambram, you are likely to called an anti national. Sharmila was anti national when she fasted but now that she has embraced Politics, she has join what is popularly called "mainstream." So be it.

However just as Manipur has contributed a mighty lot in national sports, let her 16 years of fast be a contribution to this nation in making it a stronger and more matured democracy. (0.23 % of 1.2 billion contributes 8 out of 118 Olympic 7% (nearly).

concluded....