By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
On 9 August 2016, Irom sharmila the iconic ‘Iron lady’ of Manipur broke her 16 years of fasting, to protest against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). It was 16 years ago when Irom took it upon herself to protest against AFSPA by emulating Gandhi’s method of non-violence. Respected by the common man including multiple Manipuri militant outfit, and feared by the administration (both central and state), Irom waged a battle that the world has never seen before. For 16 years she was confined to a room in a government hospital and refused to break her fast until AFSPA is repealed. It is her concern for human rights in general and the interest of the Manipuri people in particular that gave her the strength and courage to persevere against all odds.
Irom Sharmila’s 16 year fast has captured the imagination of many including state and non-state actors. Her 16 years endurance is beyond human capability or conscience. She is an inspiration not only to the Manipuri people but to all those fighting against injustice and oppression. Her brand of protest is peculiar and unique in a world that is overshadowed with hatred, violence and increasing radicalisation of society and government. Her protest speaks a universal language that is devoid of hate or vengeance. It merely seeks to correct the wrongs and undo the horrors of past actions. Her method has a language that resonates every year when she is re-arrested and re-charged with ‘an attempt to commit suicide’.
An activist par excellence, Irom Sharmila has done what no human (or activist) has ever done or could ever do. When she announced her decision to break the fast and plunge herself in politics it was a watershed moment not just for the people of Manipur but for all those who looked up to her. Seemingly very few from her own state supported her decision to break the fast while there are others who sympathized and supported her decision to do so. Everybody assumed that Sharmila’s endurance will go on (indefinitely) assuming that her renouncement to live her life and fast for a cause is the only thing left in her frail weak body. It is understandable for her supporters-turned -opponents to react the way they did. Irom sharmila had already exhausted her life doing what she did. They could never in their wildest dream imagine she would stop. And to do it before the elections was too much for them to handle.
Manipur’s politics following the trajectory of the Indian politics at large is dirty and corrupt. For someone who is seen as being apolitical and indifferent to politics, Irom’s decision to test the raging waters was extremely shocking. I am certain that her decision to break the fast was a conscious decision taken after considering all possibilities. It was not done overnight. It is true that after an arduous 16 years of fasting nothing has changed. The fast itself is becoming symbolic to the Manipuri people and to others.
The Indian state is never going to listen to her protest, content that she remains confined to a room in the hospital. There was no achievement to show and not a single stone was moved. The philosophy of non-violence had to give way to the practicality of action. AFSPA can only be repealed through the political route. Any protest including that of Irom Sharmila would go unheard so long as the Indian state considers AFSPA as an instrument to control and contain militancy, unrest and prevent secessionist or separatist movements in India’s North East, Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere.
Sharmila lost no time in forming the People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance. She grabbed further headlines for her decision to contest against Manipur’s most powerful politician and three times Chief Minister Ibobi Singh. She was probably drawing inspiration from Delhi Chief Minister’s Arvind Kejriwal’s decision (who she had met) who contested his first ever election against Sheila Dixit the then three times Chief Minister of Delhi. Kejriwal trounced Dikshit emphatically. Irom refused to join any of the mainstream political parties.
She went door to door asking for votes while maintaining that money and muscle power, which she has none, was used in the elections. As it turns out she lost in a dramatic fashion with only about 90 votes cast in her favour. Even NOTA managed to get more votes than Irom in Thoubal constituency. On the very same day, Irom made her announcement to quit politics which was as dramatic as when she decided to join it. The fact that Irom choose to contest against Ibobi had caused speculation if she would ever win. But it was unbelievable that she would lose the way she did.
The respect she commands failed to transfer into votes. Her supporters and people abandoned her. Some call it a ‘betrayal’. But who betrays who? The spirits with which she fights AFSPA disappeared after the election results. That she is disheartened and decided to quit is understandable when her own people let her down. It is too much to bear for a woman who has sacrificed everything for the cause of the Manipuri people. There are questions on why she lost. Would Manipuris have rejected her if she had joined mainstream parties? Or would her fortune change if she had contested from another constituency? Or will she lose any which way for the simple fact that the people of Manipur do not want her to get tarnished with the dirty game of politics?
I would not like to compare Irom’s failed political intervention with those of other activists such as Medha Patkar, Soni Sori etc who also failed politically. Irom’s activism is on a league that is difficult to replicate. Irom’s political innings is short-lived but her legacy lives on. She has won million of hearts even if she lost the elections and that is more important. She is an iconic figure. For the people of Manipur and others she will always be “Mengoubi” the fair one.