NOVEMBER 2, 2000 is the day she started fasting. It has been 11 years since then and she hasn't eaten a grain of food nor has she had a drop of water.
Irom Sharmila also called the Iron Lady of Manipur is protesting against the Armed Forces Secret Power Act, 1958 (AFSPA) which is equal to a military rule in Manipur (the north eastern zone of India).
The military has undisputed and unaccounted power to do anything they feel like doing.
The worst part of the Act is the fact that Human rights violations is permissible. When you say violations of human rights is not a problem then of course most of us can wonder what we are looking at.
“The AFSPA empowers the representative of the Central government, the governor to subsume the powers of the State government to declare “undefined” disturbed areas. It also empowers the non-commissioned officers of the armed forces to arrest without warrant, to destroy any structure that may be hiding absconders without any verification, to conduct search and seizure without warrant and to shoot even to the causing of death. No legal proceeding against abuse of such arbitrary powers can be initiated without the prior permission of the Central government. While introducing the AFSPA on 18 August 1958, the government accepted it as an emergency measure and it was supposed to have remained in operation only for one year.” (An analysis of Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 -- By The Asian Centre for Human Rights)
Manipur is under a military rule for more than 40 years now. To make it simple, it is like the emergency in India that was declared by Indira Gandhi in 1975. For two years, all of us know what India went through. These people in Manipur have been going through the same for some 40 years now.
Imagine your loved ones being shot in front of you, or say your sister or your daughter being raped and there is nothing you can do except watching. Imagine going to the authorities and they shoot you in return or throw you out or bash you up. Try and visualise the agony of a mother whose child is detained, tortured and thrown in some dark corner and forgotten about.
The woman has been fasting since years and none of us have the courage to stand up or her. Instead we prefer standing up for corruption. We prefer pointing fingers at others even though we ourselves are deep into it, covered from head to toe.
Once in a while, there is always a need to look inside your heart and question yourself whether what you are doing is right or are you just blindly copying or following someone.
Yes, we are all busy with our lives, all of us have to earn for a living but we always have time to stand up for a cause.
And by standing up for a cause I don't just mean I support, you need to show your support As we all know, actions speak more than words.
© 2011 Nasreen Ghani
1 comment:
> support her
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