[Assam] Thanks BBC for highlighting this ONE person stand for her nation. Is not force-feeding her violates International Human Rights norm? Do not the Indian Constitution and the democratic obligations then fail to meet the International standards?

[Bartta Bistar]

*Manipur woman's marathon fast *

*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5348414.stm*

*By Suvojit Bagchi *
BBC News, Manipur

   Sharmila says her battle is symbolic

*Guarded by armed policemen, a frail young woman lies on a bed in Jawaharlal
Nehru Hospital in Imphal, capital of the north-eastern Indian state of
Manipur. *

On hunger strike since 2000, Irom Sharmila Chanu is being force-fed through
a pipe in her nose on the orders of the state administration.

The 35-year-old is an iconic figure in Manipur's politics. She completes six
years of fasting in November, in what is perhaps the longest such political
protest ever recorded.

Sharmila is demanding the repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special
Powers Act or AFSPA, which gives sweeping powers to the army in the state.

Manipur, with a population of 30 million, has been administered by the
Indian army since 1980 and human rights organisations often describe the
army's powers as "draconian".

*Atrocity*

While the government maintains that the law is necessary to restore normalcy
in a state racked by a militant secessionist movement, civil society groups
allege gross human rights violations by the army.

 *My fast is on behalf of the people of Manipur. This is not a personal
battle *

Irom Sharmila Chanu

In fact, Sharmila's hunger strike started after one such alleged atrocity.

Her brother, Irom Singhajit Singh says she began her fast after soldiers of
the Assam Rifles paramilitary force allegedly killed 10 young Manipuri men
in Malom.

"The killings took place on 2 November, 2000. It was a Thursday. Sharmila
used to fast on Thursdays since she was a child. That day she was fasting
too. She has just continued with her fast," says Mr Singh.

Three days later, police arrested Sharmila on charges of trying to take her
life.

Later she was transferred to judicial custody and taken to hospital where
she remains to this day, force-fed a liquid diet through her nose.

>From her hospital bed, Sharmila says she will not budge under pressure.

There have been a number of protests against the law

"I will withdraw the fast as and when the government withdraws the Armed
Forces Special Powers Act unconditionally."

Hers is not a lone voice.

In 2004, Manipur erupted after the brutal rape and murder of a young woman
activist, Manorama Devi, allegedly by soldiers of the Assam Rifles.

After days of violent protests, the government withdrew the law from certain
areas of Manipur.

*'Symbolic battle'*

But Sharmila says she will relent only after the law is withdrawn from the
entire state.

 *She is doing her job - we are doing our duty*

Police chief AK Parashar

"My fast is on behalf of the people of Manipur. This is not a personal
battle - this is symbolic. It is a symbol of truth, love and peace," she
says.

As one would expect, the years of hunger strike have taken their toll on 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.

The government cannot afford a high-profile martyr for the Manipuri
nationalist movement. So they cannot let Sharmila die.

To keep her alive, she is fed a cocktail of vitamins, minerals, laxatives,
protein supplements and lentil soup through the nose with a rubber pipe.

The state director general of police, AK Parashar, says: "A young citizen of
the country cannot be allowed to die. We have an obligation to see that she
doesn't die an unnatural death.

"We are doing our best to keep the young lady alive. She is doing her job -
we are doing our duty."

The editor of a local daily newspaper, Irengabam Arun, feels the
administration has its own reasons to keep Sharmila alive.

"On the one hand, human rights activists across the world know about her and
on the other hand, if she dies, the armed forces act will be back on the
centre stage. The government cannot afford that," he says.

In Manipur, women have always been at the forefront of political and social
movements. And many say Sharmila is part of that legacy.

But some analysts say her protest may be losing its sting. And that she may
be fighting a losing battle.

Sharmila's health is failing fast

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which is operational in the
north-eastern states of India and Jammu and Kashmir, has been in force in
Manipur for 26 years now.

A committee formed by the government has suggested the act be scrapped, but
its report has been rejected.

"The AFSPA is to stay. It is difficult for the armed forces to function
without it", says India's Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
So Sharmila continues her unequal battle against the Indian state -
sacrificing, according to her brother, "what could have been the best years
of her young life".



Recommendation by BB.


PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING LINK TO SEE SHARMILA IN PICTURES

  *http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5348414.stm*
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