Are Manipuris, Nagas and Kashmiris second class citizen of the country

IT (Imphal Times) Desk *

Campaign to support Irom Sharmila 11 year long Hunger-strike and repeal AFSPA at New Delhi :: Nov 5 2011

May be - the army have a strong and valid point to demand the continuation of the enforcement of the armed forces special powers act but why only in North eastern part of India and the state of Jammu and Kashmir?

The strong stand of the government of India over the issue of lifting the act which is presently being enforced only in certain parts of India clearly shows the biased attitude of the Indian government amongst its own citizens.

Bad or good, if the government felt it necessary for the act to be implemented, which the people often criticized as “draconian”, it should be enforced in the whole of the nation.

Why is the act required only in the North Eastern part of the country and in Jammu and Kashmir and not in any other part of the country?If the intention for enforcement of the Act is for maintenance of the law and order situations, why is the act not enforce in states like, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh where the problems of naxalites and armed maoist insurgents are going out of control.

Irom Chanu Sharmila has been demanding the complete and total repeal of the draconian act by undergoing a fast unto death protest for more than 12 years. The lady, who began her protest at her late 20s is now 41 and she is still continuing her protest without politicizing the issue.

When Anna Hazare went into a fast-unto-death protest the whole nation was shocked and the issue was at the forefront of discussion in the parliament house.

The Issue of Irom Chanu Sharmila, a young lady from Manipur has never been a matter of concern or consideration the parliamentarians and other think tank who had been elected on the faith that they will be representing the aspirations of the common people.

And the Army Chief General Bikram Singh, when he said that the issue of Armed forces Special powers Act should not be politicized, he could have made the statement only with contempt and as an insult to the intelligence of the people of Manipur- or else how does one interpret his silence on the issue of Maoist insurgents in the heartlands of India who are inflicting grave injury and killing ill-trained police and paramilitary forces by the dozens with impunity and at will?

Is it that only the insurgents and other armed revolutionaries from the North eastern India and Jammu and Kashmir can be hunted down using the immunity endowed by the Act prompting them to commit crimes not related to their line of work, but who still hides behind the safety and protection the law provides.

Had the protest undertaken by Irom Chanu Sharmila been politicized, the issue could have rocked the entire state of Manipur, rather the whole of the nation.

One thing we should understand is that it was the peace loving nature of Irom Chanu Sharmila and her expressed desire to refrain from any form of violence and confrontations in her strife for a peaceful society free from the fear psychosis and the atmosphere of distrust and anxiety the Act, through the Indian armed forces have created, that the people of the state still hope and wait for the positive response of the government towards the demand.

However, patience has a limit and this protracted peaceful movement might very possibly take a turn for the worse. Time and understanding is of the essence.

For now the whole of Manipur is waiting.