Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 – Page 2

Sharmila, Media and Manipuris

By: Sanjib Meitei I am a staunch supporter of Irom Sharmila’s struggle against the draconian law Arm Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA). I too, always feel that mainland Indian media… Read more »

By: Sanjib Meitei

I am a staunch supporter of Irom Sharmila’s struggle against the draconian law Arm Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA). I too, always feel that mainland Indian media houses are biased while handling two Gandhians of modern India – one from a neglected and failed state called Manipur trying to make people and leaders in mainland India hear that people living here are yet to get democratic rights even though India is celebrating its 64th years of independence while the other Gandhian belongs to one of the most prosperous states of India taking up a cause called corruption which most of the people enjoy indulging it personally at various levels but problematic when others indulge it at his cost. The only similarity between the two Gandhian activists is that both of them resorted to indefinite hunger strike to press their demands. Unfortunately, the similarity ends here. Anna Hazare took the nation by storm. Central government had to bow down in front of Mr. Hazare. The whole India got to know the modern era Gandhi, Mr. Anna Hazare, whose struggle lasted for a few months and almost succeeded getting his goals. Not bad and he rightly deserves to get respect for bringing awareness among the ignorant people of the country (I hope so and I would love to live in a corruption free society). One thing is clear. The mighty Indian government is not intimidated by any person but it’s afraid of the mass who can vote
them out of power. The success of his war against corruption would not have been easy had the media houses not covered each of his moves. Credit should go to media also for making the issue reaches to common men and gain their support. For media, it was a win -win situation. They got their expected TRP besides supporting a patriotic cause.

The other Gandhian is more humble and her cause is relevant to only a fraction of Indian population although it is not less important than that of Mr. Hazare by any standard. Most of the people living in AFSPA free states never heard about the Act itself let alone support the cause. Before Mr. Hazare become famous, I came across only a very few editorials of Hindi/English dailies supporting her cause while many retired army officials and other prominent people opposed it openly saying the reasons which sound so theatrics and painful to us. Their reason for supporting AFSPA sounds more hypocrite now a days after hearing the reason for their reluctance to use the same yardstick to treat the people of Naxalite affected areas of India where the condition seem at least similar if not more worse than APSPA implemented states.

For the last 11 years, Irom Sharmila has been fighting a lone battle against the law enforcers of the biggest democratic country in the world begging our basic democratic rights other than right to vote. No media house is interested in highlighting the plight of the people of India living without democratic rights. Their reluctance may be partly due to lack of response from their audience regarding the issue and simple arithmetic is that in this big bad competitive world, money matters. For them, money is directly linked to the number of audience for each news article. I think I could understand (at least I tried to convince myself that) the reluctance of media houses to put Ms. Sharmila on headlines is nothing discriminatory but simply business related issue. During Mr. Hazare’s fast, she has been compared with Anna Hazare and as a result many people got to know her even though most of them are not interested in knowing her cause for the indefinite fast. Ignorant people even hurled insults to hercause. Some prominent columnists and so called social commentators like Mr. Santosh Desai questioned the legitimacy of her demand without trying to understand the illegitimacy of the Act. Well, it’s unfortunate to say the least. Many people seem to hate people getting basic democratic rights even though they are fully enjoying it.

As for people like Mr. Dersai, had you ever been slapped across your face just because your name sound like a name of an outlawed person by a jawan frisking you in a cold late evening when returning home after a long day at work or had one of your sisters or your wife had to go to labor in the middle of the street just because there was a combing operation going on to identify some suspected terrorists by security personals, then I think, your comments would have been
different

. It’s very hard to explain the importance of basic democratic rights which you never had to struggle for in your life. Let me give you an example. I came across the love and hate relationship between Mahatama Gandhi and then British Prime Minister Mr. Winston Churchill who is considered as one of the greatest statesman and war time leader in UK. Despite the latter’s statesmanship and leadership quality for leading UK during hard times, he was against Indian independence movement.
There were reports that he favored letting Mahatama Gandhi die as a result o f indefinite hunger strike so that British rule could be continued in India. It’s very easy to Churchill than being Gandhi. I think same is happening in India now. It is very easy to deny basic democratic rights but very difficult to acknowledge and support it for the sake of others. While trying very hard to convince myself the logical reason behind Sharmila’s cause not being on headlines with its deserved importance, there came the news regarding Ms. Sharmila’s confession for her love of a person who she believes that he is the one. My wife called me up and informed me that she just came across the news of Sharmila’s romantic tryst. I told her that it’s good thing to happen to our beloved Gandhian. After all, love makes life beautiful and in fact the world is beautiful when you are in love. I pray that the two beautiful people in this world live happily for the rest of their life. When I read the news, I was saddened by the fact that Sharmila is not happy with the way her close associates treated the man whom she loves. I feel that if AFSPA is draconian, then objecting to Sharmila’s choice of partner is much more draconian. As usual, the chaos begins the next day in Manipur. Some
people are demanding the editor of newspaper in question to come down to Manipur and apologies to the people of Manipur. Isn’t it too much?

There are two big problems

(i) the way telegraph India sensationalized the news which sounded rather insulting to the people who are suffering under AFSPA than any show of sympathy on Sharmila’s struggle per se and

(ii) the way on how people reacted to the situation by directly resorting to violence. Violent reaction on this issue demeans Sharmila’s genuine sacrifice and struggle.

It simply accelerates the deviation of the focus from the genuine issue and making it a romantic comedy. I think, our political leaders (if they genuinely felt for the plight of the people of Manipur), social activists and organizations can express their displeasure regarding the news which sounded like making a joke of Sharmila’s personal life instead of appreciating her struggle. If the news is baseless, I would appeal to social groups to sue the media house to teach them a lesson. Even if it is genuine news, we can still make our displeasure known to the media house on the way how they handled it. It should be made clear that even if the mainland media houses could not appreciate or help the genuine cause of our beloved lady’s sacrifice, they should not try to malign it by sensationalizing it by giving a negative light. The editors and reported should remember the old saying that “If you cannot help someone, then at least don’t do bad for the person”. You people have a big role to play in maintaining cultural harmony and national integrity. Instead of making the people of Manipur out of place by sensationalizing the news in a different light other than the people of Manipur expect, you can help the genuine cause of our Iron lady.

To me, I respect Mahatama Gandhi much more than Mr. Winston Churchill for the formers ideology of non violence and equality of rights even though the latter won a big war against non democratic groups. In the land of Gandhi, let us not follow Churchill’s footsteps.

The above article was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Sanjib Meitei, sanjibmeiteicha[at]rediffmail.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/sharmila-media-and-manipuris/

Devil’s Advocate: Deranged Man and Protestors (PART 2)

By: A Bimol Akoijam The deranged man reads the leaflet again and scratches his head, and looks up at the leader of the protestors, and says, “So, she has been… Read more »

By: A Bimol Akoijam

Previously on Devil’s Advocate: Deranged Man and Protestors

LP: What do you mean?

DM: If she decides to call off the fast or something happens to her, what will you do?

The leader shots back, “Then, you will see a civil war if anything happens to her! Government of India will be solely responsible …God forbid, if something bad happens to her!

DM: And Armed Forces Special Powers Act?

The leader and protestors look at each others.

Read Part 1

The deranged man reads the leaflet again and scratches his head, and looks up at the leader of the protestors, and says, “So, she has been fighting against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, uummm…I see”

“Yes, she has been fighting against this draconian Act”, replies the leader of the protestors.

DM: I know

LP: How do you know?

As their leader asks the question, looking at the clothing and disheveled hair of the deranged man who keeps on scratching his head, the other protestors smile.

DM: Oh, it’s written here…this leaflet that you have given me.

LP: Oh!….So?

The deranged man scratches his head again as he continues to read the leaflet all over again. Then he looks at the protestors and their leader.

DM: So? Ummm…do you support Sharmila because she is fighting against the Act?

LP: Yes, we support her because she is fighting against AFSPA

DM: You should have told me that. Instead, you said, you are supporting Sharmila because she is ON A FAST!

And the protestors again look at each others.

“Why is she against this Act?” asks the deranged man.

LP: It deprives us of our basic human rights like the “Right to Life”

DM: You mean, AFSPA deprives you of your “Right to Life”?

LP: yes

DM: How?

LP: It allows the army to shoot, even causing death, on the basis of mere suspicion! It’s there in the leaflet.

DM: yeah…I see that but this is wrong…

LP: That’s it…we have been wronged…

DM: No, I mean what you are writing here is wrong. You write here and also say that AFSPA deprives you of the “Right to Life”, but it does not!

LP: What!?

DM: Yes, AFSPA does not deny “Right to Life”!

LP: How can you say that? This Act gives power to security forces to shoot to kill even on the basis of suspicion, it’s unconstitutional…

DM: But that was what those who fought against the Act have said in the Supreme Court and the Court has given its judgment that says that the Act is constitutional and the soldier cannot shoot and take the life of a citizen arbitrarily. He must have reasonable ground to justify the suspicion because the Constitution still protects the citizen’s “Right to life” as the Constitution is not suspended while the Act is in operation.

The leader and protestors seem to get puzzled by this observation of the deranged man. And they look at each other. Looking at the leader, the deranged man continues, “Have you read the Supreme Court Judgment?”

The leader stares at the deranged man for while and then uneasily looks at his followers. Slowly turning towards the deranged man, he says, “Errr ahh err…well…errr…yes…long time back!”

As they hear their leader, the followers look at each other. There is an element of disbelief in their glances on what their leader has just said and their own experssions also seem to indicate that they haven’t probably read the judgment even though they have been protesting against this Act for years, repeatedly shouting all these while, the same slogans as they did before their challenge against the Act in Court was rejected by the Supreme Court in 1997.

DM: Then, why are you saying that AFSPA denies “Right to Life”?

The leader keeps quite for a while and looks at his followers, then says, “Well…I don’t agree…you know it is democracy, people have the right to disagree”!

DM: True, but under the democratic system, Judiciary is important, and the Highest Court has given its Judgment which has rejected the view that the Act denies “Right to Life”. Anyway, you must have a reason to disagree? Why do you disagree? What are your reasons behind your diagreement?

LP: Ummm err…leave the Judgment…reasons and all that…it’s all talks…those are all “theories”. We have to understand the “ground reality”!

One of the protestors says, “Yes, yes, “theories” are not important, we must know the “ground reality”!

DM: “Theories”? All talks? Aren’t you also only talking, your slogans and this leaflet?

LP: What!?

DM: Anyway, is “Right to Life” a theory or ground reality? Is there such a real thing called “Right to Life”, people do get killed in reality anyway, not only in Manipur. So is “Right to Life” a reality or a theory?

The leader seems to be taken aback by this question of the deranged man. Just as he seems to ponder over it, one of the protestors says in Meiteilon, “Tok-o yaare..angaobasiga waari touranu…kari kanndoino” (it’s ok, stop it, there is no point in talking with this mad man). Another chips in, “Masi mee-se ngaosinnaba oiramganee…Govt ki agent oiramgani…intelligence agency-sing-gee mee soidana oiramgani…ngaoragabu kamaina maana mee-gee judgment-kado paramdoi-no” (this man must be impersonating as a mad man…he must be an agent of the govt…a member of the intelligence agencies…how can a mad man read judgment and all that)!

Masi nupa-se moi-gee atoppa group-ki mee oiramgani…Iche Sharmila-da support touganu, AFSPA-ki fight-ta oina support tou kai-na ngashai haikhrido

Still another protestor looks at the deranged man suspiciously, then turns to his other colleagues and says, “Masi nupa-se moi-gee atoppa group-ki mee oiramgani…Iche Sharmila-da support touganu, AFSPA-ki fight-ta oina support tou kai-na ngashai haikhrido” (This guy must be from the other group, that’s why he was saying that we should fight against AFSPA, not support Sharmila)!

Then the deranged man interrupts them, looking at them and then at their leader, he says, “What are they saying?”

Looking at the deranged man, the leader replies, “Nothing”!

DM: They are saying something though?

Saying this he smiles at the leader. The leader also looks at him.

LP: It’s not important!

DM: Really? What they are saying is not important?

The leader seems to be flummoxed by this pointed question from the deranged man and he seems to ponder on the remarks of the other protestors for a while. Then looking at the deranged man, he continues.

LP: well…err…anyway…what were you asking?

DM: I was asking as to what your friends were saying just now?

LP: Leave that…before that, what were you asking?

DM: Oh that! Well, I was asking, is the “Right to Life” a theory or what you called a ground reality?

LP: Ummm errr..errr…

One of the protestors intervenes, “You must know ground reality”!

LP: Yes…you must know “ground reality”!

DM: That’s ok but you haven’t answered my question and you are trying to avoid…

Before the deranged man could complete, the leader says, “see, people have been killed…you know extra-judicial killings…you must know…”

Just as the leader was saying this, a protestor interrupts, “call Engel-lei, she is there…her husband was also killed in a fake encounter”. And he sends someone to call Engel-lei.

LP: Yes, you must know the “ground reality”…we have amongst us a victim of extra-judicial killing, a young girl in her early 20s whose husband was shot dead right in front of her by Manipur Police Commandos”!

DM: Oh..my God! That’s terrible!

The deranged man seems to be disturbed by this information of a young widow.

LP: See, you must know “ground reality” to understand AFSPA!

DM: But to the best of my knowledge, Manipur Police and its Commandos are not covered by AFSPA; they do not operate under the AFSPA!

The leader looks at the deranged man and then to his followers who also look at each other, as if the remark of the deranged man seems to have unsettled their “ground reality”!

TO BE CONTINUED…

Mr. Chidambaram, Time to revisit the strategy in Manipur

By: Bibhu Prasad Routray Barely 43 deaths of civilians, security forces and militants have been registered in Manipur in the first eight months of 2011. If these trends continue… Read more »

Source: Bibhu Prasad Routray

By: Bibhu Prasad Routray

Barely 43 deaths of civilians, security forces and militants have been registered in Manipur in the first eight months of 2011. If these trends continue for another four months, this State in India’s northeast would register less than 100 deaths in a year, for the first time since 1992. In fact, it would better last year’s total fatalities of 138, which was the lowest for the last 20 years. Home Minister P Chidambaram’s September 2009 statement that “Manipur remains resistant to counter-insurgency interventions”, is no longer valid.

Return to near normalcy is not because of a sudden dip in violence liable to be interpreted as a tactical retreat by the militants, much like what happened in theatres that are affected by Left-wing extremists. It is rather a progressive decline since 2008. The diminishing numbers (485 in 2008, 416 in 2009 and 138 in 2010) is a clear indication towards a decline in militant capacities, which has not only been imposed by the suspension of operations (SoO) agreements with over a dozen of militant formations, but also by the neutralisation of top ranking leaders of outfits including chairman of United National Liberation Front (UNLF), R K Meghen. Meghen led UNLF, the largest and the most powerful militant group of Manipur for last 35 years and was arrested in December 2010. Commander-in-chief of Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) Malengba was arrested on 5 May from Bangalore. Security forces operating in the State agree that such recurrent neutralisation has taken wind out of the sails of these armed groups.

Home Minister P Chidambaram’s September 2009 statement that “Manipur remains resistant to counter-insurgency interventions”, is no longer valid.

Manipur remains in the category of ‘problem areas’ for the Indian government. However, an analysis of the problems that have confronted the state and its population in recent times are mostly administrative and political in nature. The protracted Naga conflict in neighbouring Nagaland subjects the state to recurrent shutdowns. But shutdown also happens internally as well. The ongoing blockade of Highway No. 39 and No. 53 is the result of the unfulfilled demand for the establishment of the Sadar hills district, an internal issue between the Kukis and Nagas in Manipur. There isn’t much role for the Army personnel in such issues. Even problems like rampant militant extortion are better tackled by the Manipur police.

I would argue the same way I did in an article on activist Irom Sharmila in 2010. If militant violence created raison d’etre for the Army to move into Manipur and promulgation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act [AFSPA] in the State, the lack of violence necessitates that New Delhi reviews its position. The onset of relative peace in Manipur throws up an opportunity to embark upon much needed task of assigning the state police the lead role in counter-insurgency duties. It also opens up the possibility of withdrawing AFSPA from few other areas in the State, where the Army’s role can be tactically downgraded. Reassigning primacy to the Army and bringing back the AFSPA, in case the situation worsens, would not be too difficult a task. Opportunities certainly exist to make a new beginning for the State, instead of condemning it to hopelessness in perpetuity.

Bibhu Prasad Routray, a former deputy director in the National Security Council Secretariat, is a Singapore-based independent analyst. E-mail him at bibhuroutray[at]gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @BibhuRoutray

The above article was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Bibhu Prasad Routray.

View Bibhu’s Blog

Devil’s Advocate: Deranged Man and Protestors

Amidst the sultry tropical weather, a group of protestors repeatedly shout, “Save Sharmila!!!! One of the protestors passes on the leaflet that they have been distributing to people to a… Read more »

Amidst the sultry tropical weather, a group of protestors repeatedly shout, “Save Sharmila!!!!

One of the protestors passes on the leaflet that they have been distributing to people to a deranged man who happens to pass by. Shaken by what is written on the leaflet, the deranged man seeks to strike a conversation with the protestors. Initially, seeing the odd looks of the man, some of them laugh at him and teasingly calls out one guy, who happens to be one of the leaders of those protestors, to entertain the deranged man. He, along with a few, decides to take a break from the protracted protest, and have a conversation with the deranged man. As such, they need some rest as they have been shouting for a while and it will be some time before those who have gone in a police vehicle to summit a memorandum to the PM or his office, something that they have never failed to do so each time they organized such a protest during the last decade, return to the protest site.

As they sit down, one of them asks the deranged man, “So, what do you want to know”?

Deranged Man (Henceforth, DM): Why are you supporting Sharmila?

Leader of the protestors (Henceforth, LP): Because Iche Sharmila has been on a fast!

DM: Oh, you support her because she’s been fasting?

Yes, yes! Some of the protestors answer almost in unison!

The leader continues in all seriousness, “Yes, Iche Sharmila has been fasting for the last 11 years!”

DM: Oh I see! So you are supporting her because she is on a fast?

LP: Yes

DM: Why don’t you ask her to eat; In fact, still better, since you seem to love her so much, why don’t you offer her food, instead of protesting like this?

LP: You mad!? She’s on fast for 11 years!!!!

DM: That’s what…you shouldn’t have allowed her to go hungry for so long?

The deranged man continues, scratching his head as he glances at the leaflet and looks at those protestors.

LP: She has been forced-fed all these years… She won’t eat!

DM: Too bad!

LP: What!!!!?

Taken by surprise, the leader retorts back; the deranged man continues again.

DM: You people love her so much and protesting all these while in this weather and she refuses to eat! I don’t understand. Doesn’t she love you? If she loves you, I think she will start eating food!

The deranged man continues.

Hearing his remark, the protestors look at each other and some of them become visibly perturbed by the remark. One of them says in Meteilon (a dominant language which consists of a group of Manipuri dialects spoken by people in the valley of Manipur as their mother-tongue…like the Mandarin amongst the Chinese), “Masi angaobashi…mathong maram khangdaba…kaothatlu…fujillaga fadouni…mee ushittaba…makok yaodaba” (this mad man has no sense, kick him, it’s better to beat him up…brainless fellow)!

The leader looks at them and says, “Ngaikho… tapthakho…angaobaga maanaraga kei kandoino” (Wait…what you will get if we do that with a mad man”)!

DM: You angry?

LP: Of course not

Being a seasoned leader, with a touch of diplomacy, he smiles as he answers. Then, he looks at his followers with another smile.

DM: So, does she love you people?

LP: Yes, she loves us, why would she fast if she does not love us, the people of Manipur!?

DM: That’s all the more reason for her to call off the fast so that you don’t protest like this in such weather!

One among the protestors menacingly walks towards the deranged man and says, “Shut up!”

LP: Wait!

The leader stops the guy and then looks at the deranged man and continues,

See, she won’t eat until the Armed Forces Special Power Act is repealed by the Govt. Of India

DM: Oh, then you should be fighting against that Act, rather than SUPPORTING HER BECAUSE SHE IS ON FAST!

The leader thinks for a while and answers, “That’s what we are doing”!

DM: But you said, you people are SUPPORTING SHARMILA BECAUSE SHE IS ON A FAST! Didn’t you say that?

The leader looks at the deranged man and his followers. Then he continues.

LP: Yeah…err…but it’s the same thing!
DM: No! How can it be?

LP: What do you mean?

DM: If she decides to call off the fast or something happens to her, what will you do?

The leader shots back, “Then, you will see a civil war if anything happens to her! Government of India will be solely responsible …God forbid, if something bad happens to her!

DM: And Armed Forces Special Powers Act?

The leader and protestors look at each others.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958: Manipur Experience

The above booklet was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Malem Ninthouja with the following note.

Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958: Manipur Experience

Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958; Manipur Experience

Editor
Malem Ningthouja

Editorial Team
Ksh. Dayabati, Malem Ningthouja, Manishwar
Nongmaithem & Salam Sanayaima

Web-site
www.cpdm.info

E-Mail
cpdmanipur@gmail.com

The above booklet was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Malem Ninthouja with the following note.

Ahanbamaktada adomgi media house pu eekai khumnaba ootchari. CPDM gi chefongsinggi marakta houjik faobada khwaidagi circulation touba ngamba asi mathakta pnjariba compilation asi oiri. Eikhoina masi sendonggidamak puthokpa natchade. Hairiba chefong asi soft copy oina online da fanghanba pamjabadagi editor gi mafamda attach toujari. Masibu adomgi media da fongnaba haijari. Adomgi toubimalbu kaojaroi.

With regards

Malem Ningthouja

CPDM

Meeting Notes: Anna Hazare and Sharmila Irom

By Chitra Ahanthem It was 1997, the year India was marking her 50th year of Independence. There would have been many celebrations of this momentous occasion but only one… Read more »

By Chitra Ahanthem
It was 1997, the year India was marking her 50th year of Independence. There would have been many celebrations of this momentous occasion but only one unique observation of this historical timeline stays on with me: a NGO based in Mumbai was taking about 250 young people from India and across the world to places of India’s history and future in a train specially reserved for the purpose! The announcement was made on a popular cultural TV program (which we don’t see the likes of now) called Surabhi beamed on Doordarshan and various other newspapers. It was a happy moment when I got confirmation that I was to be one of the said young people on the train that would ultimately travel for 11 days across the country facilitating interactions with people who were inspiring: Mark Tully, Abdul Kalam (then with ISRO and who talked us then of the possibility of an Indian moon mission which did become a reality!), Bunker Roy of Tillonia (married to Aruna Roy and behind hugely successful rural enterprises, water harvesting, adult literacy among others in Tillonia in Rajashthan), Kiran Bedi (much before her controversial stint in Mizoram) and Anna Hazare who was known at that point of time mostly for his pioneering work in Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra.

The said rail yatra was mainly organized to instill in young people the essence of leadership, innovation and social development. The routine was that we would be traveling in the train non-stop till we reached the places we were meant to be and then getting back to the train for the night. So, there was an air of curiosity when we were told that we would have an overnight stay at Ralegan Siddhi to meet a Gandhian who had taken up rural conservation and community work. The villagers took us around the place and we were told how small canals had been dug up to generate water flow. But it was two things that impressed me greatly: a school for juvenile children and the practice of Shramdaan or volunteer work as a form of social charity. The school had classrooms but if the children so wanted, classes would be held under the shade of trees in the open. There were yoga classes for “anger management” while most constructions in the village: the small dams, solar panels, wells, places of worship were all built through Shramdaan.

In the evening, we sat in a community hall and then, in walked Anna who spoke of his “second life” (he was the lone survivor during an enemy attack during an India-Pakistan war). We talked then mostly of philosophy and working for social upliftment. Like many of my fellow yatris, we thought nothing much about questioning his rigid stand against alcoholics (they were beaten up, period) and I even piped in my two bit and told him how Nishabandi women in Manipur were also doing the same! It would take me some years to understand the concept of public health and harm reduction and see that the greater crime of punitive measures on substance abusers only marginalizes them and do nothing about addressing the dependency. Anna Hazare’s activism against corruption started later and one cannot say much of what happened in between. But personally, the posturing Anna that one sees on TV (wagging fingers and dictating terms) is a very different person from the Anna I met all those years ago. The Anna then actually asked us young people on what we thought he should incorporate more into his work in his village in terms of forest and water conservation etc. The Anna one gets to see now refuses any kind of disagreement with his thoughts and beliefs.

November 2000 and a young woman called Irom Sharmila decided to fast to protest after 10 civillians were gunned down at Malom. My first reaction then (and I am/ not ashamed to own up to this now) was that it would be some token fast. Some days later, there was the “fast against AFSPA till the act is taken off” context and I thought that hers was an illogical/irrational and totally crazy stand to take. I also shrugged it off as “some group must be behind her” motive. I totally bought the “AFSPA is necessary till there are insurgents” theory for quite a long time till my own readings on militarism and armed conflicts around the world and conflict resolution/reconciliation processes made me sit up and engage in some serious questioning.

The first meeting happened in March 2009 during her customary yearly release. It was total chaos: there was a meeting of over 50 odd woman journalists from all over the country happening in Imphal and they all wanted to meet her. And then, there was the usual local media attention too. The first meeting was more of a brief sighting especially since I did not believe I needed to add my own questions to the many that were being addressed to her.

The second meeting happened in a unique setting: something that I have only shared with a few friends but one that can be let out in the public domain now. January 2010 saw me with very high fever after a trip to Bangkok and my Uncle, a doctor asked me to get a swine flu test done. Since he was with Jawarlal Nehru hospital then, I went there. Those who follow news would be aware that I was tested positive for swine flu but much before that news broke, I was raising hell over the state of the isolation ward at the hospital. What I did not want to call attention to the media then was that while I was standing outside the isolation ward with the face mask on, waiting for hospital staff to find the keys to the room (they took about an hour and a half!) I saw a familiar figure some 10 metres away from me. It was Sharmila Irom! My heart plummeted inside me: here was this one person I wanted to talk with and I was supposedly at risk of an infection that I could pass on to her. I have a small face and the mask covered most of it and I saw Iche Sharmila looking quizzically at me. I rolled my eyes at her and hoped that she would not come near (I did not want to be responsible for her health!). When eventually, my test results came in positive, I wasn’t too worried about my own health (I did not take Tamiflu medication) or my family (they did not have any fever) but I obsessively kept an ear open for any news on Sharmila’s health!

In May 2010, I got third time lucky and I had a long meeting with Iche Sharmila. I was going along as a sort of translator for a journalist and writer. We talked mostly of non-political issues: of her books and poetry we talked at great length. And then she took both my hands and said solemnly, “remember when you were at this hospital with your mask on?” And then she laughed and told me, “you don’t know the amount of activity and consternation that happened here after you left!” There was no air of moral superiority following the status of icon-hood that has settled on her: I was face to face with a unique person yes but also a normal human being, a young woman kept in isolation but very aware of the world around her.

End-point:
Many people have pitched Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption and Sharmila Irom’s stand against AFSPA. But their stands are different and the battlefield totally apart from each other. My own interaction with both of them happened at different times and stages of their journey. But what stays on following my interactions with Iche Sharmila are the little ways in which she is so much a person than an icon. It is something that one does not get to see in other people who take on the mantle of greatness.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/meeting-notes-anna-hazare-and-sharmila-irom/

My father, the politician

By Shachi Gurumayum “Give *us* the future, we’ve had enough of your past. Give us back our country, to live in, to grow in, to love.” – Michael Collins It… Read more »

By Shachi Gurumayum

“Give *us* the future, we’ve had enough of your past. Give us back our country, to live in, to grow in, to love.” – Michael Collins

It started with an article I chanced upon en route from Beirut to Dubai. Hoping to keep busy on the plane, I picked up an early edition of Gulf News, dated Saturday August 20th 2011, and flicking through the pages, I was surprised to find an article entitled, “Manipur activist has been on fast for 10 years” written by Thingnam Anjulika Samom. Manipuris around the world will immediately know on whom the article was based but, for those new to this subject, the “activist” is Irom Sharmila Chanu who has been fasting, and is being force-fed by the authorities, for 10 years campaigning for the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 “which gives India’s armed forces the power to arrest, search, and destroy property without warrant as well as shoot, and even kill, on mere suspicion”. To see an article as such to be so prominently presented, perhaps catalysed by the well-covered hunger strike of Gandhian Anna Hazare, in a Dubai based newspaper surprised me but it raised a few questions; why is the Act still in place, why is it so difficult for our state government to repeal an Act that is obviously condemned en masse in Manipur, and why is Sharmila so unimportant compared to Anna? Is it because Manipuris are insignificant at only 0.2% of the Indian population, or because we are so meek and unable to raise our voice against the majority, or because our MPs do not present enough strength in the Indian parliament, or because our elected leaders are so weak and fragmented that they cannot fight for what is good for Manipur?

I do not have the answers to any of the questions above however I do have a few stories to tell of my own, stories that highlight the mindset of our fellow citizens. I had only arrived at one of India’s top colleges when one of the teachers told me in the face that “you northeast students do not work hard” – only to later find quite a few NE students in the top five to 10 of their respective classes – and over a decade later, in London, introducing myself to a key Indian manager of a UK organization, I was asked “if you guys are still creating trouble and fighting for independence” – I was dumbfounded and did not want to risk the business relationship we were establishing to answer back tersely to such a comment. The third story is around getting married to a non-Indian in Manipur. Knowing that my fiancée would need a Restricted Area Permit, we applied for the permit in July for a wedding scheduled on Christmas day, a day we considered auspicious. Rather unsurprisingly, the permit was only issued a few days before the wedding after my father and I had literally camped in the corridors of the Manipur Secretariat building for a full week. And, after I had personally complained to the Chief Secretary, and sent a fax to the Home Secretary in Delhi that I was treated with more respect in a foreign country than my own country and asked them how they expected Manipuris to feel Indian when we were being treated as step-children. The treatment and support meted out by my own fellow Manipuri bureaucrats were no example setters either.

The above stories appear to only blame others however I believe we also ought to ask ourselves what we are doing wrong that is sending such messages. Why are we perceived as less hard working, as less culturally advanced, as politically weak and so forth? I saw Manipuri students in Delhi and elsewhere who were only too happy to waste their parents’ hard-earned money but a majority of my friends and contemporaries were diligent students who wanted to achieve success, peace and stability in life. A culture that developed its own language and script can by no means be any less advanced than the others in India. A state with tens of ethnic groups and dialects should, if anything, be a global anthropologist’s dream. Yet, why do we come across as weak and insecure? My feeling is that this is because we are a divided lot; we are too busy defending our individual identities that we have forgotten the higher goal of defending our state. There will always be those who question and fight for the loss of sovereignty of a kingdom that had never been dominated until the British empire came along, the creation of states in a union that divided ethnic groups into separate states and districts, and the subjugation of minorities within each of the states. But, in the context of today’s India, why could we not take a pragmatic approach and find a social and political solution that would strengthen us? Are we so weak that we cannot find strength in whatever little number we have?

As a student growing up in a Manipur ravaged by bandhs, strikes and violence, I wondered why our people could not sit down together and peacefully work out solutions to our problems. I would hear my father talk about the need for change and I would often retort back by asking him, then a fast rising engineer within the Public Works Department, what he was doing to do this. His answer was that he was changing the system from the inside in whatever way he could but that it was only limited to his sphere of influence, which I must say was rather limited. So, it came as no surprise to me that, a year or so ago, he declared that he and a few like-minded Manipuris were creating a party for the people of Manipur and for Manipur, above everything else. Until then, I had only known him as the Roorkee (IIT Roorkee now) educated, state-selection-exam topping, tough but fair, driven and ambitious engineer who wanted to make things happen, and happen quickly. Until then, I had known him as the ever eager engineer who collapsed of malaria purposefully touring the deep interiors of Tipaimukh and Jiribam, the father who competed with me to be the first one to get a doctorate by writing his thesis in his mid-fifties, and the husband who sacrificed a lot of family time by visiting every remotely located project as often as possible to ensure progress and delivery. And, the one who retired at the pinnacle of his career as the PWD Chief Engineer without the black spots of corruption normally associated with his line of work. To start a political party has been an inspirational move from my father and he truly is my hero! You may consider this article as promotional but I genuinely believe that Manipur needs change and that Manipur desperately needs good people at her service.

Having heard a lot of stories about how politicians in Manipur get elected, from spending crores of rupees to adopting every means possible to get elected, I was not sure if my father had the financial strength and popularity to win in such a ‘competitive’ landscape. Now, having had the luxury of time to ponder and consider the impact, I believe the time is right for Manipur to see a leader who is willing to take the risk of challenging the status quo, and one who is willing to shake, even if not entirely uproot, the tree so that the rotten fruits drop off. For how long can we Manipuris continue to live in such abject ignorance of the things that are happening around us? For how long can we bear the destruction of our motherland by a select few selfish power-hungry individuals? And, for how long can we tolerate the fact that, despite 60 plus years of being India, we seem to be so far behind the rest of the country? Why is it that no state-minded political party has had much success in the state? Why is it that we allow ourselves to be fooled with a few short-term sugar-coated development initiatives and charities whilst losing our long-term right to peace, success, employment for ourselves and our children, and continued prosperity of our state which God has blessed in so many ways? Why can we not elect a government that will govern rightly keeping the people of Manipur top of everything else?

Why can we not develop an outsourcing village with uninterrupted power and good infrastructure where large multinationals could set up bases thus creating jobs for our people? Why can we not set up a sustainable and highly productive agricultural system that will not only provide our basic staple crops but also surplus fruits and vegetables that could be exported? Why can we not securely maintain the two National Highways we have so that we cannot be made to dance at the whim of any self-obsessed organization that decides to blockade either one of the two? Why can we not have integration where Biharis, Kukis, Marwaris, Meiteis, Nagas, Nepalis, Pangals, and all the other ethnic groups think of Manipur at the same time they think of themselves? Why can we not establish a successful textile industry like Kashmiri carpets and shawls through our renowned muga weaving skills? Why, when we have the only floating national park in the world, can we not turn ourselves into a tourist and relaxation paradise for all those hard-working, exhausted, citizens in the big metropolitan cities of India? Being at the epicenter of a trade route between the fast rising eastern countries such as China and the rest of India, why can we not provide good infrastructure to act as a trading hub in the region? Why can we not achieve the same level of success as Singapore and why can’t we learn from them? Are we really so incapable? Why are our roads always full of potholes? Why are we so focused on banning Hindi movies instead of channeling our energy and resources on making Manipuri films, videos, songs, literature, and art better resourced and more present? Have we been so dumbed down through years of corruption and politicking? Why can’t all our elected members stand up in parliament and demand what is rightfully ours and what is good for us? Have we lost the entrepreneurial spirit that makes every Manipuri a fast learner and adapter wherever he or she goes? Have we lost the fighting spirit that produced such elegant martial art forms as Thang-Ta and Sarik-Sarak? What happened to the artistic and creative instincts that led to such beautiful and colourful art forms as the Meitei jagoi, Kabui and Naga dances, and so on? Are we Manipuris ready for change? Perhaps, I am asking the wrong questions, and I know he does not have all the answers but I surely will be continuing to ask these questions to my father, the engineer turned politician.

Shachi Gurumayum is the son of Dr. G. Tonsana Sharma, President of Manipur Democratic People’s Front that will make a political attempt to bring good governance to Manipur in the upcoming elections.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/my-father-the-politician/

HAD GANDHIJI BEEN BORN IN THE LAND OF SHARMILA …. ?

By: Seram Neken “If Irom Chanu Sharmila fasted for corruption and if Septuagenarian Anna Hazare protested against AFSPA, the matters would have been different. If Sharmila hails from mainland India… Read more »

By: Seram Neken

“If Irom Chanu Sharmila fasted for corruption and if Septuagenarian Anna Hazare protested against AFSPA, the matters would have been different. If Sharmila hails from mainland India and if Hazare is a native of Manipur, the vice versa of what is being strongly addressed by the government might have happened. This time, Sharmila expressed her whole-hearted moral support to Anna Hazare’s protest following the latter’s invitation. Had the invitation for joining the protest come from Sharmila to Anna Hazare, would the latter have responded readily ? ”

Great personalities are created where there is respect for human values. The dignity the British attached to Gandhiji as a freedom fighter helped him gain the fame worldwide and glorify his non-violence. Had MK Gandhi been born in a place like Manipur or had he undergone his protests against a government such as that of today’s Manipur, Gandhijis non-violence would not have gained its fame and he would not have been recognized as the father of the nation. Indifference of the rulers might have jeopardized his cause half-way or he might have ended his life in the bullets of mindless security people of this land.

The strikers whom politicians, media persons and the intellectuals are attentive to or glorify most, are considered as strong revolutionaries fighting for the people’s cause. If Irom Chanu Sharmila fasted for corruption and if Septuagenarian Anna Hazare protested against AFSPA, the matters would have been different. If Sharmila hails from mainland India and if Hazare is a native of Manipur, the vice versa of what is being addressed by the government might have happened. Let us examine the importance of the two causes between corruption and human rights, and let us compare the personalities of Sharmila and Hazare. Personality cult seems to out-do the issues. Sharmila has readily extended her support to the cause of Hazare’s protest following the latter’s invitation to join him. However, the nation has not responded to the call of Irom Chanu Sharmila for over ten years.

Sharmila has now become a symbol of peace, in the true sense of the term. She has earned the reputation of having the strongest will and heart for protection of human rights around the globe. She is not a mere striker, but a model of truth and justice. Gandhijis non-violence has been glorified by her personality in the twenty first century. It is not politically motivated and her demands represent the general will of the hapless people residing amidst the draconian laws of democratic India. In spite of neglects and indifference of the rulers for more than a decade, she never goes back. It is natural that Anna Hazare invited Sharmila to join his crusade against corruption. It is more natural that the Iron Lady expressed her moral support to the cause, but declined to join the fast in New Delhi for the Hazare cause. She rather blamed the nation for its indifference to the cause of human right violations.

The national media is highly discriminatory as did the government and political parties at the national level in regard to the dual cases of Sharmila and Hazare. Both strikers have been fighting for the social good, both have been following the non-violent means of fasting. However, Sharmila has almost crossed a decade of fasting, while Hazare’s appearance on the scene is quite recent as compared to the former. However, the national media have been disproportionately viewing the two protests. Intensity of the protests and the causes themselves have to be considered in balance while reporting to the people and drawing government’s attention.

Meanwhile, Dr. Manmohan Singh has written a nice letter to the septuagenarian protester with the highest concern for the latter’s health. In the letter, the Prime Minister says : “Over the last few days, I have watched with increasing concern of your health. Despite the differences between the government and your team, I don’t think that anybody is or should be in any doubt about the deep and abiding concern which I and our government share about your health, arising from your continuing fast. I have no hesitation in saying that we need your views and actions in the service of the nation, from a robust physical condition and not in the context of frail and failing health……..” The emotional care of the leader of the nation towards a Gandhian as shown in the letter is indeed envious and courteous, and highly expected of a leadership where the father of the nation was born. It is really lamentable that during the last more than a decade of Sharmila’s fasting, not a single courtesy of such kind has been exhibited towards her from the end of a nation’s leadership. Barring independent writers, political motivators and select media personalities, the nation has been keeping mum on her cause and protest. Now that Anna Hazare and his cause have gained widespread media coverage and government attention in a comparatively short duration, has reflected some kind of nostalgia in the hearts of the so called Indian citizens residing in the far border hilly state of Manipur. Let us uphold human rights while fighting against corruption at all levels.

(The writer is a freelance journalist)

The article was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Seram Neken.

If Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay Were a Manipuri?

var addthis_product=’wpp-252′;var addthis_options=”Google+1″By : Bimol Akoijam In a seminar held at Manipur University recently, a gentleman who happens to be a ‘mayang’ (outsider) dares to say that…

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A Meitei’s Dream

Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh June 10 2011 Last night I went to sleep in Bradford City. I dreamt about my mama and green rice fields of Khurukhul, their tall blades… Read more »

Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh June 10 2011

Last night I went to sleep in Bradford City. I dreamt about my mama and green rice fields of Khurukhul, their tall blades fluttering in the gentle breeze, giving the green grasshoppers
a free joyful rollercoaster ride.

I had a spendid dinner in the comfort zone of our house, cooked by my wife who is a Cordon Bleu cook. I had Black label with soda while my wife had Glenmorangie on the rocks.

The starter was cauliflower and white stilton soup and the main course was cod fish wrapped in Parma ham, with roasted peppers, tomatoes and aubergines. A glass of red wine – Sauvignon Blanc enhanced the enjoyment. For dessert we had bread and butter pudding with rum and prunes.

I went to bed thinking of my childhood and growing up and career. In the mist and shadow of sleep I saw my native land, Manipur.

I swam in the dirty Nambul River in spate and dived in from the suspension bridge connecting Uripok with Sagolband. I strolled and played among the rows of tamarind trees along the dusty Uripok road. I went with the Uripok scout Party led by Moirangthem Gojendra to the Baruni Hill for the safety of boys and their girlfriends on the day Baruni ching Kaba – annual pilgrimage to the Baruni hill of our ancestors.

I heard the crow crowing at the break of dawn. I went to swim with friends in the ponds at Lamphel Pat under the shadow of the Langol Hills. I watched the cows grazing at Lamphel where sometime, I plucked a rare purple Konbirei (Manipuri Iris)

The epic tale of pride and passion overwhelmed me with shouts of liberty. I smiled at my tempestuous glee. But alas! I woke up in the middle of the night and recollection at hand brought me to despair. It was the political reality in Manipur.

Events seem to be flashing by at a gallop rather than the gentle hand-canter of yore

The political reality is that liberty is not going to come to Manipur in the foreseeable future and that the survival of our grand children depend on nothing but the hideous hope that one day peace will prevail.

In the erstwhile sovereign state of Manipur human rights and individual liberties were protected. But since India has forcibly annexed Manipur there has always been a risk that Manipur would defend itself by armed resistance, hurting its own people both in the short term and long term while hoping that the world’s “policeman” whether in the form of the USA or the UN may arrive to sort things out.

There will always be a government in Delhi that will not let Manipur regain its sovereignty and the government will function in the same way as the one it replaced. Because there are procedures of running a democratic government and they do not change.

“To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do.” P.J.Proudhon.

“No government is ever in favour of freedom of the individual. It invariably seeks to limit that freedom, if not by overt denial, then by seeking to constantly widen its own functions. All
governments, of course, are against liberty…”–H.L. Menckenso.

But in Manipur there is an incremental feeling of loss of liberty by incrementally eroding peoples’ right to freedom because of the Delhi Government and the dictates of the insurgents.

Though there is no country in the world where the people in it are equally happy but in Manipur all the people are equally unhappy.

For Manipuris, the idea of an independent Manipur is an immensely noble idea and is nobler for those insurgents who have been sacrificing theirs and their families’ life. Manipur is not like Kashmir that wants to join Pakistan.

As life takes unexpected turns we don’t always get what we hope for and a meaningless hope comes to pick us up only to break us at the end.

The revolutionary movement or insurgencies began many decades ago. It is not going forward, if not backwards. The leader of a major group UNLF, RK Meghen is now in police custody. So is the leader of ULFA.

There is no revolutionary activity in Manipur. The agitation against the AFSPA is now in cold storage as there are no seditious activities apart from commercial activities like extortion, kidnapping and shooting of innocents, as the remnants of insurgency in the failed state of Manipur.

Still, New Delhi will not remove the AFSPA and is waiting for Irom Sharmila to succumb to her force feed.

Everyday, many insurgent cadres are arrested by the security forces and their arms seized, decimating the already minuscule insurgent strength. The Manipuris are in a state of inertia with no prospect of peace in sight.

Nobody in Manipur is safe and the education of school children is affected. There are so many young widows with their children in abject misery. So many grand projects remain unfinished because of corruption and undergrounds’ share of the funds.

A revolution (Latin revolutio, “a turn around”) is a fundamental change that takes place in a relatively short period of time. Its use to refer to political change dates from the scientific revolution occasioned by Copernicus’ famous De Revolutionbus Orbium Coelestium.

Aristotle described two types of political revolution: 1. complete change from one constitution to another and 2. modification of an existing constitution.

A revolution does not mean it has to be violent. And it can’t go on for ever. There will come a time in every Manipuri’s life when they get sick of trying to go for a change.

The progress to civilisation in Manipur has been delayed year by year. Restricted area permits discourage tourism in Manipur as well as non-resident Manipuri Indians. Tourism is the only Industry which will be viable for Manipur, giving employment to thousands.

The prevailing corruption and lawlessness in Manipur have shied away any mayang investor in Manipur’s economy while many qualified Manipuris seek jobs in mayang India and abroad, adding to other various causes of economic downturn in Manipur.

The question is how long will this political reality survive? In revolutionary terms, how long the Meitei revolutionaries who have been fighting for the independence of Manipur would go on while the civilian population who are fed up to the back teeth, will continue to live under the Indian military rule. Manipuris have no liberty unlike the rest of Indians.

Isn’t time for the revolutionaries to wear their hearts on the sleeves? Isn’t time for them to do some arithmetic and reassess the evolutionary survival chances of all Manipuris? The revolutionaries may come and go, while the public in Manipur remain in fear of when the next bullet is coming for them.

On the Plebiscite front, shouldn’t it be circumspect to find out its feasibility or infeasibility before the GOI takes further police action. Like all democratic methods, plebiscite requires
certain conditions for its successful operation. It has to be viewed from a background of
political, economical and psychological factors. Won’t it be prudent to have a gallop poll of a
cross section of 1,000 people in the plain and another 500 in the hills to test the temperature?

Likewise, for the Manipuri Nagas who are clamouring for secession from Manipur, isn’t time for them to revaluate the chances of their succeeding? They also can’t go on for ever. It will only delay their economic progress.

They have now devolution with limited power to exercise over their own welfare as a devolved sovereignty in an ethno-federated Manipur, though it is intended to work at the level of adherence to governmental institutions. The combination of devolution and local sovereignty preserves both majoritarian democracy and individual liberty. This allows liberty to exist independently and simultaneously.

As independence or secession is not a commodity that one can buy, how long will the people of Manipur wait in misery while the insurgents themselves are sacrificing their lives in hiding? How long will the Manipuri Naga people wait while their own people are living in abject poverty?

It has been many years since Meitei insurgencies began. Manipuri Naga secessionist activities
have taken much longer. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. There are only dark clouds on Manipur.

An insurgency can go on for decades as defeat is an unacceptable dishonour. However, in the interest of insurgents and the Delhi regime it can be brought to an end with an honourable compromise acceptable to both sides.

Lead kindly light amidst the encircling gloom. Lead thou me on. The night is dark and I am far from home. Lead thou me on.

The writer is based in the UK
Email: imsingh@onetel.com]
Website: www.drimsingh.co.uk

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/4H6kiuBQE7o/

Why support ‘Nobel Peace Prize for Irom Sharmila’ as part of International Women’s Week’?

By: Shanjoy Mairembam First think ‘Irom Sharmila’ as an Indian, as a woman, as a human; then, acknowledge the fact that she’s been fasting for the last 10yrs in practical… Read more »

By: Shanjoy Mairembam

First think ‘Irom Sharmila’ as an Indian, as a woman, as a human; then, acknowledge the fact that she’s been fasting for the last 10yrs in practical Gandhian style of non-violence asking Indian Govt to treat every Indians same within India and follow the democratic principles what India itself preaches to the whole world; also acknowledge that Iranian Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi met and supported her during the delhi visit; also, realise that Sharmila is no lesser suitable than Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner ‘Aung San Suu Kyi’ as woman role model towards humanity; NOW Reason yourselves – Doesn’t ‘Irom Sharmila’ deserve to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize; being the only Lady who is in history a living example/follower of Gandhian non-violence approach?

Dear Friends!
As part of celebrating ‘International Women’s Day’, let us share the info about ‘Irom Sharmila’ who is an Indian woman from Manipur State (located at north-eastern border of India, sharing international border with Myanmar/Burma). She has been a strong follower ‘MK Gandhi – Father of Nation in India’ not just theoretically but in practice. She has been on ‘FASTING’ for the last 10yrs (a whole decade) in Gandhian approach. Her simple request is “To remove the unlawful Act named ‘ Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958′ which gives uncontrolled legal rights for army officers/soldiers to shoot/kill anyone without having to go through any form of reasoning/justification in the areas (i.e. North-East Indian states) wherein the ACT is in force since 4-5 decades by now”. Please promote her cause and support her nomination for Nobel Peace Prize. Please make Indian govt realise its own mistake by the global audience and help the humanity.

What does her request means? –
The Govt of India ought to treat every Indians in the North-East Indian states same as other Indians in other parts of India, because North-East Indians (having mongoloid facial look similar to Chinese, Japanese, Koreans) are not some sort of foreigners who should have a separate set of laws to be followed while within India. It’s worth reminding newly that “India became ‘Republic’ as a country by combining a diverse and numerous kingdoms in the past prior to 1950”. So, the terminologies such as country ‘India’ and the people ‘Indians’ were created / realised practically only form 26th Jan 1950 onwards. Thus, the term ‘Indians’ are similar to the term ‘Americans referring to everyone settled legally within USA (i.e. French, Germans, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilians, Spanish, British etc) ‘.

So, Indian Govt and its constitution is absolutely WRONG to treat Indians in North-East part of India as some sort of aliens/foreigners by enacting/enforcing some unethical/inhumanly laws which should never be used on India’s own people. In fact, the AFSPA is the modified version of the ‘Rawlatt Act’ used by the then British Empire to curve/control the then Indian freedom struggle. So, Isn’t it wrong for Indian govt to treat North-East Indians as if some sort of colonised people in the 21st Century via some ACTs which are not recommended for use in other parts of India, when India claimed itself to be the greatest ‘Democratic & Republic country’ globally’? Either Indian govt should declare publicly/globally that there is a WAR going on in the North-East Indian states for such radical acts to be justified, or, clarify under the Indian constitutional framework (or International legal framework) how a part of democratic and republic India can have such radical laws in-force for 4-5 decades by now. In fact, such gross mistakes of Indian govt will tear down the whole concept of oneness ‘the Indian’ and the country ‘India’, since such acts discriminates among Indians and breaks down ‘unity in diversity’.

Being a responsible Indian citizen and being a responsible human being, we ought to open up the closed eyes & ears of Indian Govt to follow the democratic norms/laws which it preaches to the whole world first within India itself. Indian Govt and people of India need to refresh the lessons of ‘what does Diversity actually mean?’ because, ‘diversity’ seems to mean different things to different people and understanding ‘what should Diversity mean to Indians’ will help National Integration and prosperity of India as a country.

Author: Shanjoy Mairembam, London (UK)
shan_mairembam (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk

http://www.causes.com/causes/559021-nobel-peace-prize-for-irom-sharmila

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