Manipur does not have a Jantar Mantar, and Irom Sharmila is not Anna Hazare. She has been on indefinite hunger strike since 14 years, for a cause that is close to her heart. There is no television coverage and no politician worth his salt has bothered to offer her a glass of juice. The so called vigilant media has totally ignored her.
It is not easy to commit to an indefinite fast; it is even more difficult to remain committed to it for so long. The body begins to oppose it almost immediately. Ulcers appear on the palate. The knees give up. There are dreams of food cooked by loved ones. There is giddiness. There are sweat showers
But she has continued her fast steadfastly, unwavering in her resolve not to give up her fast until the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is repealed.
Her fast that began on November 4, 2000, and went on and on. The Manipur government became insecure as did the central government. However, they did not offer her orange juice, they force fed her through rubber tube introduced into her nose, and charged her with attempting to commit suicide. They slapped charges of attempt to suicide against her. She was kept under arrest. Every three weeks or so, she would be produced in a court that sent her back to a hospital in Imphal ironically, named after Jawaharlal Nehru.
In October 2006, Sharmila even came to Jantar Mantar after being sneaked into Delhi by a human rights organization. But nothing happened except that she was picked up by the Delhi Police with the same result.
To the Manipuri people she is a saint and saints are supposed to be saintly – free of all attachments. But a saint needs to be happy too, and Irom derives snatches of happiness in her overall sadness from the love of man called Desmond Coutinho, who professed his love for her in March 2011.
A court in Manipur on Tuesday ordered her release from her hospital prison, “The court has set her free,” lawyer Mani Khaidem said of Irom Sharmila.
Sharmila’s true happiness will remain a dream. But at least she is free. For now.
