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Showing posts with label Irom Sharmila Chanu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irom Sharmila Chanu. Show all posts
July 26, 2016
'Iron Lady' Irom Sharmila Chanu to fight Manipur polls, ends fast after 16 years
July 30, 2014
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December 06, 2011
Irom Sharmila Chanu Completed 11 years of her indefinite hunger-strike..!
On November 3, 2011, when her fast against the Armed Forces Special Protection Act in force in Manipur completed 11 years, Irom Sharmila,
a Manipuri poet in northeast India,
penned a heartfelt appeal to her people, which was handed over to the media on November 30 as she was being produced before the chief judicial magistrate in Imphal.Presently she is confine in JN hospital, Imphal under high security and is forcefully being fed through the nose using a tube.
Sharmila began her protest after the Malom massacre where 10 civilians were gunned down by the Armed Forces on 2 November 2000. AFSPA provides special powers to arrest, detain and even kill civilians on suspicion. The people of Manipur have done whatever is humanely possible to register their protest against AFSPA -- naked protest by mothers, self immolation by student leaders, mass demonstration, petition to the Supreme Court, complaints to the United Nations etc.
On the other hand, Sharmila who has become the icon of the protest against this draconian law is treated as a petty criminal, charged for attempting to commit suicide. Even though the May 18 Foundation of Korea has awarded her the prestigious Gwangju Prize for Human Rights in 2007, the Government of India continues her detention in isolation as a high security prisoner for a decade. Her struggle lies not only in defending the most basic and fundamental human rights of her people, but also in questioning the very foundations of Indian democracy which venerates Mahatma Gandhi and his principles of ahimsa or non-violence.
Translated from Manupuri text by Chitra:
It is the day that left its mark on time. If only human beings were able to relate to nature and her form: the breeze, the birds in the skies, the insects chirping away. If only human beings were able to live without being petty or mean minded like the living beings around us, there would not have been the ongoing war to be better off than the other. There would not be a relentless drive to suppress the other person to get your way in life. But men seem to have only learnt from how animals in the jungle prey on weaker animals and their bloodthirsty instincts. The use of weapons of destruction like guns has led many a young lives to leave their homes and taking part in the theatre of war.
Many lives have been affected and a thousand marital ties are affected by the unending struggles. Men’s inability to trust nature and God’s creation has led to the quest for artificially manufactured things and the transient comfort they can give. This has encouraged the race for getting more and more money leading to violating what is due to other people. People have forgotten to be humble and only learnt how to forgo truth.
The state and nature of a society and its people are reflected in the nature of its political leadership. Over time immemorial, different communities have co-existed peacefully with one another in harmony. The people of the hill and the valley used to share the products of the land. If the produce of the land was low, the produce was still shared equally. The roots of the rush to acquire more land and other trappings of power and influence are an outcome of a weak and diluted leadership. While one cannot take along their belongings once they pass away, the practice of fighting over who gets to control which part of the land has led to divisions between communities and the call for breaking away. So long as leaders are more concerned in amassing wealth for themselves and counting their money, who is it that will lead the way? The leaders are the ones who should be the backbone of the society. It is their duty to revitalize people who are tired and worn out. It is their mandate to soothe down the minds and hearts of people.
I hear many things that leave me astounded. I hear these stories from the people around me. They tell me that they stand in line at petrol pumps. They say that they start queuing much before the day breaks till about 3 in the afternoon only to be told that the petrol stock has got over. They tell me that they feel sleepy and exhausted after their quest for petrol. And I think to myself: this petrol that is so necessary is something that is not of our state. Then I think about how our ancestors lived. They had limited world exposure but lived self sufficiently. They did not have to depend on other people. Would their way of life be inconvenient for them? Today, we seem to be getting lost in the gloss and glitter that exist around us. Is the quest for glitter making us lose our heads and in the process taking away our mind faculties? Will it not be possible to think that such gloss and glamour do not exist and then reorganize our lives accordingly? It is only when we know our own selves as we really are that we can begin to think of collective good. The ability to think of collective good can only contribute to the betterment of a society.
I do know and I do hear that among the daily wage earners who have been newly recruited, 54 of them came up with Rs 3 lakh each to give to a doctor who is related to the Chief Minister. The total amount, coming to a little over a Crore and a half was taken as ‘favour money’ but later, the joint government order mentioned that there could not be any demand for their job regularization. The trade for a government job has reached suffocation point and for this tiny state that is yet to be able to stand on its own, it only leads to disillusionment among the youth of today who are well educated and have the ability to contribute to the development of the state. People who are equipped with degrees are left out of gaining employment if they cannot get the amount that is required to guarantee a job. They remain wasted while the state and society stay in dire need of their attention. This state of affairs has only contributed to the malaise that is prevailing in Manipur today. It is this discontent that is the root cause of all that ails the state.
The pursuit of government jobs happen because someone with a government job is ensured financial security in the form of his pension and other entitlements. The race for government jobs means that people sell off their ancestral property and other holdings to collate the amount that is required. The subsequent efforts to recover the money spent for a government job results in government departments being crippled with corruption. The sense of duty has entirely disappeared in every sphere, be it the judiciary, health care system. That is why we get to see confrontations arising out of disgruntlement from the common men who are fed up with the way the system is operating.
The emergence of the select few who have power and money at their disposal have emboldened them and led to treading on the lives of the less fortunate. It has become common for them to exploit those who earn on a daily basis by taking way their basic human rights just as it has become normal to hear about crimes against women. The powerful and the wealthy are well connected to the leaders who are leading the pack of thieves and are hence not wanting for anything in their existence. But the rampant exploitation of the poor daily wage earners and the farmers who are at the end of the social and economic spectrum leaves them without the resources to live comfortably on one hand and leave them without the means to have their grievances addressed. Left without the backing of powerful, they face an uphill process when they attempt to air their life stories of unaddressed issues.
My beloved people!
Just as all living beings have faith are drawn to Mother nature as one to her bountiful lap, let us place faith in our mothers who have borne us. Our mothers who are like no one else, keeping guard in the dead of the night with a fire torch in hand. May the light in your torch lead us to a better society where love and harmony exists between different groups. May it bring together all the fragmented pieces. May Mother nature continue to bless us with her bountiful gifts to feed everyone.
May people have access to health care for every-one. May anger and disillusionment go away. May those who stone and set fire to vehicles that are carrying food and other supplies for their fellowmen leave behind their destructive nature. May the seething anger that leaves us half dead and half alive and caught between hunger and excess, May all that is uncalled for go away. May we be able to live in peace as nature does. May we strive to be selfless. May we be able to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice. May the movements that started with a vision to serve the people and all those who set out to work for the people by getting into governance find their way back to what they set out to do. May all their wrong doing and their pretensions of doing good turn into what is right. May all that is wrong, get resolved. May we be able to find the way to a better Manipur! May we be able to give up setting fire to the centers of learning. May we be able to save the pillars of our society from HIV/AIDS so they are able to stand together as one. May we be able to save lives. May a new beginning be heralded that brings justice to every one. May all that is evil and wrong be changed by truth.
The above text was handed over, to be distributed to all media outlets, as Irom Sharmila was being led towards the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Nov 30, 2011.
Related Article:
- Irom Sharmila Chanu's pics..
- Irom Sharmila Chanu Completed 11 Years Hunger Strike
- About Irom Sharmila Chanu..
Copyright © 2011 - ScrutinyByKHimaanshu
September 21, 2011
About Irom Sharmila Chanu..
Irom Sharmila Chanu & Anna Hazare both have the ability to fast indefinitely for what they perceive is right. The 38 years lady is fasting since November 02, 2000; yes you read it right she has been fasting for the past ELEVEN years and what a shame we barely know about it. She has been struggling in a small room in Imphal. Far away from the glare of studio lights of television channels and tangled wires of a hundred microphones, in the hilly haven of Manipur.
Our central government , political parties of all hue and colors, our electronic and print media , our intellectuals and conscience – so called keepers of our India and various NGOs, working in different sectors , all either ignored her or didn’t show concern . National Human Rights Commission [ NHRC ] and National Commission for Women [ NCW ] are interestingly silent too . SHAMEFUL..Isn’t it?
May be because she hails from Manipur -North East part of India? Or may be her life not precious enough? Is she a child of a lesser God? May be because she didn’t performed the stint in the Jantar Mantar-heart of the India’s capital New Dehli?
Chanu is demanding the Government of India to withdraw the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) from Manipur and other areas of India’s north-east. I guess her fast is the longest political protest of its kind in history and in any part of the world. She has not eaten anything, or drunk a single drop of water since NOVEMBER, 2000 and has been forcibly kept alive by nasogastric tubation.
She has not combed her hair, nor looked at the mirror and uses a dry cotton to clean her teeth. Her body is wasted inside, her menstrual cycles have stopped. She removes the nasogastric tube at the slightest opportunity available.On Tuesday, 19 September 2006, 09:46 GMT BBC had carried a report on this epic fast wherein it had declared the worsening condition of her health : “Doctors say her fasting is now having a direct impact on her body’s normal functioning – her bones have become brittle and she has developed other medical problems too."
In an interview she proudly said, “It is not a punishment, but my bounden duty towards the people of Manipur, the people of North-East, the people who are not considered to belong to the ‘mainland’ India.”
In 2000 barely two weeks before she began fasting Chanu(28 then) had joined the anti-AFSPA movement. She was a volunteer in the workshops and discussions organized by the 3-member Indian People’s Inquiry Committee (IPIC) headed by Justice H Suresh which went around hearing tales of injustice and violence from the victims. During the IPIC inquiry, she was shaken by the statement of a young girl who was raped by the security forces at Lamden village.She and two other women volunteers had privately talked to that girl.
On 1st November 2000, a rebellious group had bombed an army column which enraged them. The 8th Assam Rifles retaliated by gunning down 10 innocent civilians at a bus-stand in Malom. The local papers published brutal pictures of the bodies the next day, including one of a 62-year old woman, Leisangbam Ibetomi, and 18-year old Sinam Chandramani, a 1988 National Child Bravery Award winner.
This incident termed as the ‘Malom Massacre’. The army declared that the civilians were killed in an encounter with the dissatisfied who were about to bomb a parliamentary convoy. Though, the locals had a different tale to tell, which clearly went unheard.
‘Malom Massacre’ was nothing new for the people in Manipur as they had witnessed similar cold-blooded killings before when the security forces would go crazy and kill ordinary people,
“Chanu could not bear the sight of the blood spilled on the street. She observed her weekly fast on Thursdays since her childhood, she fasted on that critical Thursday and the same fast continues till date”, says her brother Irom Singhajit.
Chanu went to seek mother’s blessings on 4 November, 2000 because she wanted to do something for the people. She returned to the site of blood-bath and declared her resolution to fast-unto-death till AFSPA is withdrawn.
Chanu says, “I was shocked to see the dead bodies. There was no means to stop further violations by the armed forces. Fast is the most effective way because it is based on a spiritual fight. My fast is on behalf of the people of Manipur. This is not a personal battle, it is symbolic. It is a symbol of truth, love and peace”.
Armed Forces Special Powers ‘DRACONIAN ACT’, 1958 (AFSPA) yet continues to exist. It came into force in 1980, sadly according to official figures more than 25,000 people have been killed in Manipur alone.
In 2009, Manipur’s Director General of Police, Mr Joy Kumar Singh, openly stated in an interview that his officers had killed more than 260 persons in 11 months, insisting they were all ‘TERRORISTS’.
The Tehelka report reads – ‘Rather than curb insurgent groups, it has engendered a seething resentment across the land, and fostered new militancy’s.’
There were only four insurgent groups in Manipur, today there are more than 25 on the government’s own watch-list. This Act has practically given the military extraordinary powers to do their will as it prohibits any legal or judicial proceeding against any army personnel without the previous authorize of the Central Government.
It has rushed away from the people the right to protest, the right to legal redress against atrocities or right of any lawful democratic activity. Ordinary innocent persons can be easily labeled as ‘TERRORISTS’ and ‘SUSPECTS’ and taken into custody.
Most of the democratic activists who report about the immoderation by the Army or have demanded an end of the Army rule are picked up, tortured and killed. The North-Eastern States of India have been forced to live under an undeclared emergency or defacto military rule for past five decades.
The area is literally being ruled by three governments: the state government, the insurgent government and the army of the state, and the common people are sandwiched in between.
It has destroyed the lives of a generation of North-Eastern people by stealing away their freedom and creativity, curbed their prosperity and growth.
Chanu was arrested on third day after she started fasting, on charges of ‘attempt to suicide’ which is punishable by 309 section of the Indian Penal Code. The administration began force-feeding her nasally and confined her to the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Imphal.
The offence of ‘attempt to suicide’ is bailable and the maximum sentence cannot exceed one year. She refused to break her fast or seek bail.
She is released by the court on completion of one year and is re-arrested with 2-3 days of her release under same charges. This has become a yearly ritual and cycle still continues.
In 2006, after her release from ‘yearlong custody’ in October, her supporters literally smuggled her out of Imphal to Delhi by escaping the security personnel with the hope of making her ‘regional’ campaign into a ‘national’ one.
When she visited Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi at Rajghat and she told a journalist (The Telegraph,October 05, 2006), “I want to tell the people of India that if Mahatma Gandhi were alive today, he would have launched a movement against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. My appeal to the citizens of the country is to join the campaign against the army act,”
After that she was arrested by the police and shut in a ward of AIIMS with security personnel posted outside her door who would not allow anyone inside.
While Anna Hazare ji became the centre of media attention before he started the fast, and celebrities conveniently grabbed the opportunity to hog some more limelight and media sympathy, Shamefully Chanu’s struggle came to light only in 2004, when media covered the news of mothers and Manipuri women stripping themselves naked in front of Assam Rifles headquarters in Imphal and held banners proclaiming “Come Indian Army, Rape Us” in protest of the brutal rape and murder of young woman activist Thangjam Manorama Devi by Assam Rifles personnel.
Just because it is ‘not a part of mainland India’, women had to do a bare-all stint before catching the media eyeballs?
Chanu does not seem to be edging anywhere close to her demand, but she surely has lost much in the provisional. Her brother lost a government job because he chose to remain on her side, the family had to go bankrupt.
Irom Sakhi’s (Sharmila’s mother) sacrifice stands tall among all else. She has never met her daughter since she blessed her on the momentous day when she undertook her fast.
Irom Sakhi, with tears in her eyes told a correspondent: “It is just possible that my getting emotional on seeing her may weaken her resolve. And I do not want that my daughter lose in this battle, which is for the betterment of humanity.”
Chanu was nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize by a Guwahati-based woman’s organization. In 2010 she was again nominated by ‘Science and Rationalists’ Association of India and Humanist Association demanded that Irom Sharmila Chanu again for Nobel Peace Prize.
When she was awarded the Gwangju prize for Human Rights, 2007, she said “My struggle is not for the sake of fame or award.”
Nobel Laureate and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, has also supported Chanu’s cause and said “If Sharmila dies, Parliament is directly responsible. If she dies, courts and judiciary are responsible, the military is responsible… If she dies, the executive, the PM and President are responsible for doing nothing… If she dies, each one of you journalists is responsible because you did not do your duty…”
And what does our government have to say about this?
In response to the recommendations by the Jeevan Reddy Commission which was set up in 2004 after the Manorama protests, Pranab Mukherjee, then defence minister said that it is impossible to repeal the Act as the military cannot function without these powers. And thus we all choose to shut our eyes to the atrocities continuing in the North-East, in a part which does not belong to the Mainland India!
I am pained, angry and annoyed because I can’t do anything apart from writing this blog which will be read by a few readers.
If central government can talk to separatists of Hurriyat Conference of Jammu & Kashmir, if our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh can send letter to Anna ji , informing him that the resolution is passed by the parliament and request him to break his fast. WHY then it can talk to Irom Sharmila Chanu also?
12 days of Anna’s fast is too much but 11 years of Irom Sharmila’s fast is a lifetime, isn’t it?
Something should be done.. Chanu’s struggle does not just shield the human rights in Manipur, but it is redesigning the very foundations of democracy in India...
Shameful Indian:
-K Himaanshu Shukla
Related Article:
- Irom Sharmila Chanu's pics..
- Irom Sharmila Chanu Completed 11 Years Hunger Strike
- About Irom Sharmila Chanu..
Copyright © 2011 - ScrutinyByKHimaanshu
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