A One-Man Army
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Who Is
Sharmila-
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Irom
Sharmila Chanu (born 14 March 1972), also known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur"
or "Mengoubi"
("the fair one") is a civil rights activist, political activist, and
poet from the Indian state of Manipur.
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What is she doing?
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On 2 November 2000, she began a hunger strike which is still ongoing. Sharmila,
was 28 at the time, began to fast in protest of the killing, taking neither
food nor water..
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Having refused food and water for more than 500 weeks (almost 13years), she has
been called "the world's longest
hunger striker".
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Why
is she doing?
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On 2 November 2000, in Malom, a town in
the Imphal Valley of Manipur, ten civilians were shot and killed while waiting
at a bus stop. The incident, known as the "Malom Massacre",was
allegedly committed by the Assam Rifles (AFSPA), one of the Indian Paramilitary
forces operating in the state. The victims included Leisangbam Ibetombi, a
62-year old woman, and 18-year old Sinam Chandramani, a 1988 National Child
Bravery Award winner.
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The
Act she is up against-
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The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
(AFSPA), is an Act of the Parliament of India which was passed on 11 September
1958. It is a law with just six sections granting special powers to the armed
forces in what the act terms as "disturbed areas". The Act has
received criticism from several sections for alleged concerns about human
rights violations in the regions of its enforcement, where arbitrary killings,
torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearances have
alleged to have happened.
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If you wanted to know further-In 1951, the Naga National Council(NNC) reported that it conducted a
‘free and fair plebiscite’ in which about 99 per cent Nagas voted for a ‘Free
Sovereign Naga Nation’. There was a boycott of first general election of 1952
which later, extended to boycott of government schools and officials. In order to deal with the
situation, the Assam government imposed the Assam Maintenance of Public Order
(Autonomous District) Act in the Naga Hills in 1953 and intensified police
action against the rebels. When the situation worsened, Assam deployed the Assam
Rifles in the Naga Hills and enacted the Assam Disturbed Areas Act of 1955,
providing a legal framework for the paramilitary forces and the armed state
police to combat insurgency in the region. But the Assam Rifles and the state
armed police could not contain the Naga rebellion and the rebel Naga
Nationalist Council(NNC) formed a parallel government "The Federal
Government of Nagaland" on 22 March 1956. The Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance 1958 was
promulgated by the President Dr. Rajendra
Prasad on 22 May
1958. It was replaced by Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) special Powers Act,
1958 on 11 September 1958.
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The Recognition- On
International Women’s Day, 2014 she was voted the top woman icon of India by
MSN Poll.
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Sharmila was awarded the 2007
Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which is given to “an outstanding person or
group, active in the promotion and advocacy of Peace, Democracy and Human
RightsIn 2009, she was awarded the first Mayillama Award of the Mayilamma
Foundation “for achievement of her nonviolent struggle in Manipur”.
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In 2010, she won a lifetime
achievement award from the Asian Human Rights Commission. Later that year, she
won the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of the Indian Institute of Planning and
Management, which came with a cash award of 5,100,000 rupees, and the Sarva
Gunah Sampannah “Award for Peace and Harmony” from the Signature Training
Centre.
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Where we are- A nation driven by
politicians, film stars and cricketers has refused to offer the centre stage to
a commoner like her. I don’t know whether I support her movement or not, all I
know is that I CANNOT BE LIKE HER, deciding to go without water for more than a
decade…Still a question haunts me: DO I WANT TO BE LIKE HER? DO WE?-Arijit Ghosh
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