The ongoing struggle of Manipur’s activist Irom Chanu Sharmila has been documented in a book which reveals unknown facets of her life. By K Bhardwaj
Way back in 2006 when Irom Sharmila, a Manipur-based social activist on hunger strike for 13 years against Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), was admitted to Ram Manohar lohia hospital on her visit to Delhi, publisher Meera Johri managed to meet her. After offering her a few books as token of appreciation for her struggle, Johri asked politely,
“People want to know about your fight. Why don’t you tell your storyIJ Why don’t you writeIJ” The frail lady with a rubber tube attached to her nose for feeding purpose, said “No!” After a pause, she looked back and added, “I will send a poem! It will be about my life and experiences.”
Sharmila kept her words. The poem reached Johri after three months. “I was shocked. It was over 1000 word poem. She kept her promise but nowhere in it had she mentioned the cause of her fight. But I wanted a backgrounder sort of book on the lone fighter,” commented Johri, CEO of publishing house Rajpal and Sons. “It is important for young people to know about Irom Sharmila, the longest hunger striker in the world and her cause,” she added. The book was released recently, on the completion of 55 years of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur. Authored by Minnie Vaid, it has backgrounder to the life of 41-year-old Irom Sharmila and reasons that led her go on a hunger strike since 2000 against the AFSPA. The book also has interviews of family members, friends and fellow activists, some illustrations and family photographs.
“I met her in August 2011 for an hour in Imphal in presence of judge. The interview was done in the courtroom since people can meet her only in court when she is taken for hearings fortnightly. Otherwise, she is confined to one room jail,” said Vaid, a writer and documentary maker.
During her research, Vaid spent a lot of time with Sharmila’s brother, mother and other activists. Sharmila and her mother had made a pact not to meet each other so that the commitment to the cause remain strong. “She only met her briefly sometime back when her mother was not well and they were in same hospital. Her mother is very emotional and wants to feed her daughter with her hands. But Sharmila’s family supports her cause totally and calls her daughter of Manipur,” Vaid told us.
“Throughout the interview, Sharmila used words like God’s will, my faith, my goal is correct. language was a barrier, she was not comfortable with English,” she recalled.
Vaid has been passionate to report and write on social issues and crusaders. “I admire people who fight against incredible odds. Even if Sharmila gives up today, people will respect her since she has done too much for the cause,” she said. Babloo loitongbam, founder and director of Human Rights Alert (HRA) in Manipur, and Sharmila worked together before she went onto fast until death strike. “We wanted to celebrate ten years of her struggle and placed posters in the state. When I informed her about it, she asked me not to portray her fight as a heroic act. She thought it would hurt the sincerity of her cause. She wanted to remain an ordinary individual crusading against the atrocities of army,” said the activist, who is baffled to understand the government’s apprehensions on removing the act. “In 2004, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that this act must be replaced with a more human-friendly system,” he added.
“She has been extremely simple but we also discovered she was in love with a British guy. They exchange love letters. We were surprised and failed to understand this aspect of her personality,” shared the activist.
Sharmila’s love life has been kept under wraps after it was strongly objected by her supporters. loitongbam also told us that the lady’s faith in her cause has increased after support from the country. “It has been evident through her writings and interviews that she has emerged stronger. In the beginning of her strike, she was skeptical she would die without being heard. But over the years, she has expressed her willingness to have food, get married and lead a simple life as any other woman of the state, once the act is repealed.”