Activist Sharmila to end fast after 16 years

Imphal, July 26

Sixteen years after she began her fast, demanding that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act be repealed, Manipur's "Iron Lady" Irom Chanu Sharmila has decided to end her protest on August 9 and contest the Assembly elections as an Independent.

The iconic 44-year-old rights activist, who has been forcibly fed through a nasal tube since 2000, said she would join politics as she no longer believed that her fast would lead to the repeal of the "draconian" AFSPA. "I will end fast on August 9 and contest elections on an Independent," she told the media after coming out of a local court where she is facing trial for attempted suicide.

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Sharmila has refused food since November 2000 and is forcibly fed through a nasal tube at Imphal's Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital. A special ward acts as her prison. Assembly elections in Manipur are scheduled early next year.

Sharmila also expressed her desire to get married on coming out of the prison on August 9. The civil rights activist reportedly has a boyfriend, a British national of Indian origin.

On November 2, 2000, an Assam Rifles battalion allegedly killed 10 civilians in a village near Imphal. Three days later, Sharmila embarked on her fast, demanding revocation of AFSPA, which allows security personnel to kill on mere suspicion without the fear of trial.

Sharmila's non-violent resistance has become a nucleus for collective protest against AFSPA in the northeastern states. Her Gandhian-like struggle has won her several human rights awards, including the 2007 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which is given to "an outstanding person or group, active in the promotion and advocacy of peace, democracy and human rights".

International human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International have been demanding her unconditional release from prison.

A network of civil societies— NAPM, Gandhi Global Family, Asha Parivar, Jagriti Mahila Samiti, Yuva Koshish, Asian Centre of Social Studies and Mission Bhartiyam — have been running a "Save Sharmila Campaign" for several years.

Many books have been written about her life while a short documentary 'My Body, My Weapon' has also been made. Pune-based theatre artiste Ojas SV has in the past staged a mono-play titled 'Le Mashale' (Take the torch), based on her life.

Sharmila's collection of poems has been published in the Manipuri language. PTI