Describing herself as a “prisoner of conscience”, Irom Sharmila, 44, fasted in protest against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a law allowing security forces to exert excessive control throughout Manipur, a state in northeastern India.
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Taking the first in a series of steps towards a new life that will include politics and marriage, Sharmila said, “I am not a goddess, I want to be a human being”.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in effect in Indian-ruled Kashmir and in a number of north-eastern areas facing separatist insurgencies.
Imphal: Amid reports that some militant groups were unhappy with her for breaking her 16-year-long hunger strike against AFSPA, Irom Sharmila on Tuesday said let them clear their doubts with her blood.
Sharmila started a hunger strike in November 2000, following the killing of 10 civilians by security forces.
Subsequently she has received several prestigious worldwide honors, including a lifetime achievement award from the Asian Human Rights Commission. “I want to try a different agitation now”, Sharmila told the media outside the courtroom today.
The moment marked a historic transformation of Irom Shamila from a global icon of protest and the most recognisable face of resistance in the conflict-ridden State into a political leader.
She told reporters she had made a decision to “try a different [form of] agitation” because “I have been fasting for 16 years and I have not got anything from it yet”. The AFSPA gives sweeping powers to security forces.
“The Iron Lady of Manipur” continued to be force-fed until Tuesday afternoon, when a judge granted her release and – tube removed – she licked honey from her hand.
Ms Sharmila was granted bail on Tuesday after promising to end her fast. “The law forbids prosecution of soldiers without approval from the central government, which is rarely granted”. Asked whether she was a woman in love, Ms Sharmila replied, “It is natural”.
“I want to be the CM of Manipur”, she said, adding that she is not too educated though.
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“My fight so far has been all alone and so I have made a decision to wage a war against the (AFSPA) act democratically by becoming a lawmaker instead of continuing with my fast”, she told reporters at the time.
