Articles

Irom Sharmila - Hope For Peace In The World : Sandeep Pandey

Posted Sat, 2009-12-12 12:16 by admin

Sometime back a former Vice-Chancellor of Meerut University asked me who I thought was the best example of a living Gandhian. I did not have to think for another moment. My answer is clear -Irom Chanu Sharmila. Majority of Indian citizens, especially not belonging to North East, would not have probably heard of her. She is a 36 years old hailing from Manipur and has been continuously on fast for eight long years. She hasn't taken a single morsel of food or a single drop of water on her own during this period.

Dr. Deepti Priya Mehrotra's speech on Nov 1st 2009

Posted Fri, 2009-11-06 12:03 by admin

Two weeks after the release of her sixth book Burning Bright: Irom Sharmila and the Struggle for Peace in Manipur, Dr. Deepti Priya Mehrotra a political scientist, journalist and activist passionately recounted her days with the living legend.

Dr. Merhotra spoke about the private and public struggle of Irom Sharmila at the School of Social Sciences – 1, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on the 26th of September, 2009. The special lecture was organised by Manipur Research Forum.

Irom Sharmila is a "sister and daughter of the world", a peace loving activist and a friend who is now close to her heart. Dr. Mehrotra was one of the many who became a friend of Irom Sharmila while she brought her struggle to Delhi.

She met Sharmila at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi during the winter of 2006-07. Dr. Mehrotra recalls there were a dozen policemen and intelligence personnel guarding the hospital room.

Irom Sharmila : Hunger for Justice

Posted Thu, 2009-10-29 08:13 by admin

Satya Sagar

On 2nd November 2009, poet and activist Irom Sharmila, will enter the 10th year of her hunger strike against the widespread repression unleashed against the people of Manipur by the Indian state.

Even in the land of Gandhi Sharmila’s protest, an unbroken nine year long fast, is a stupendous achievement and testimony to her commitment to non-violence in a conflict marked by wanton killings and needless bloodshed.

The specific demand evoked by her protest is for the repeal of one of the world’s most draconian ‘anti-terror’ laws anywhere- the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, introduced in parts of the Indian north-east since 1958.

Custodian of Truth, Lucid and Pure

Posted Thu, 2009-10-29 07:59 by admin

by Nilanjana Biswas (nilanjanabis@gmail.com )

"Nothing is impossible or unreachable
In that place where truth is lucid and pure
No excuse exists for untruth
Human wrongs are punished
Not excused or ignored
- Irom Sharmila Chanu

On the 2nd of November this year, in the north eastern state of Manipur, the young poet, Irom Sharmila Chanu, will enter her tenth year of unbroken hunger fast. To make sure that not even accidentally does a drop of water break the solemn vow she undertook nearly a decade ago, she uses dry cotton to clean her teeth. The fast is not a punishment, she says in a documentary interview: “I think it is my bounden duty at my best level”. Her eyes are closed. Each word is uttered slowly and carefully, as if fired in gold in the crucible of her enduring body.

Irom Sharmila’s vow to eat nothing, drink nothing, give up footwear and leave her hair unoiled and uncombed until the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is lifted from her home state is a simple and audacious act of protest. It was the Malom massacre of Nov 1, 2000, where ten innocent persons were gunned down by security forces in Malom village, Manipur, which convinced the young poet that she must act. The next day she announced her fast. While Irom Sharmila has staunchly stuck to her resolve, the State’s response has been unbelievably apathetic: ordering forcible feeding through a nose tube as well as periodic arrests for attempted suicide together with  a complete disregard of her demand for the repeal of the AFSPA.