Emotional ‘Iron Lady’ Irom Sharmila Ends the World’s Longest Fast

Irom Sharmila awaits the release order from the court as she has applied for bail to end the 16-year-long fast.

(Photo: The Quint)

‘Iron Lady’ Irom Sharmila announced that she has ended her fast of 16 long years demanding repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), on Tuesday.

With a little taste of honey, she broke down while ending the world’s longest fast.

Watch Irom Sharmilla end her fast in the video below.

Appearing in court on Tuesday, Sharmila furnished a bail bond in the court, which the court said will be granted to her after examination.

She has spoken about her will to contest for the Chief Minister’s office in 2017.

I have been fasting for this past 16 years, I haven’t got anything from it yet. I am ending my fast today. I want to try a different agitation now. I will contest against the chief minister of Manipur in the upcoming state elections. I am being viewed as this strange woman, people say politics is dirty but so is society. I am cut off from everyone. I want to contest against this state government in the elections. Why can’t people see me as a normal person? I want to break my fast, the charges against me are bailable and I appeal the court set me free. I will repeal AFSPA once I win the elections.

Irom Sharmila has been released on Rs 10,000 personal bond, her lawyer said. However, according to media reports, the official release order is awaited.

In the evening, she was taken back to hospital as authorities became concerned with her health.

Doctors are not allowing her to eat normal solid food immediately. One doctor said: “As she has been staying away from normal solid food for over 16 years, we have to take a step by step approach. It will take some days for her to resume normal food.”

Irom Sharmila speaks to the media. (Photo: Anjana Dutta)

Addressing the media, she announced that she will be ending her fast on Tuesday.

From today onwards, I have ended my fast. I want to join politics as I’ve been called the Iron lady of Manipur and I want to live up to that name. I want to contest against the state. I strongly feel that the AFSPA should end, so I decided to fight against this Act but I don’t understand why some radical groups are against me wanting to get into politics. People can’t be convinced right now. If they really don’t want to … then let them kill me. Like people killed Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus Christ.

Humbly saying that she doesn’t know much about politics or academics, she called for 20 independent candidates to join her in the upcoming elections of Manipur.

Irom Sharmila also vowed to meet her mother only when she gets AFSPA is repealed in the state.

Her mother later said she wouldn’t meet Sharmila until AFSPA was repealed.

When a reporter referred to her as the goddess of Manipur, she said:

I don’t like that. I am a human being. Why should they try to isolate me. I want sharing as a human being. Like Denmark, the happiest country in the world. They have equal rights.

In a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said:

Ohh Mr Prime Minister, you remain indulged in violence. You need to govern with fatherly affection, without discrimination. 

Also Read
Irom Sharmila’s Mother Refuses to Meet Her Until AFSPA is Repealed

(Photo: The Quint)

Personal Sacrifice

In her 16 years of fast, none of the Prime Ministers met Sharmila, despite her express request.

The gruelling exercise of giving up consumption of food and water, and a great deal of personal sacrifice by Sharmila, did not move the government on AFSPA.

To make matters worse, she was charged with attempting suicide in 2006 for undertaking a fast until death at Jantar Mantar.

Anubha Bhonsale, author of Mother, Where’s My Country? describes the struggle of the unique protest in her book written after years of tracking Sharmila’s protest.

Also Read: Irom Sharmila’s New Beginnings: The ‘Iron Lady’ in Flesh and Blood

Raksha swirled the beaker one more time and began to slowly pour the thin white gruel down the funnel, into the mouth of the tube and into Sharmila’s stomach, bypassing tongue, tastebuds, teeth and everything that makes life worth living. There is an empty taste that hunger leaves in the mouth. For Sharmila hunger and eating had been detached, eating had become this scientific, precise, measured thing that involved assimilating nutrients and vitamins through beakers and tubes. 

Excerpt from Anubha Bhonsle’s <i>Mother, Where’s My Country</i>

A once big family of Irom Sharmila has been paying the price for being even associated with her. In an interview with The Quint, Bhonsle said that most of the siblings have willingly forfeited contact.

Anti-AFSPA Narrative Set By Sharmila Continues

The Quint spoke to students from Manipur to record their reaction to Sharmila’s decision. While they appear supportive of her decision, the anger against AFSPA is here to stay.

Also Read
How Irom Sharmila Changed the Narrative of AFSPA in Manipur

Several commissions have proven that the Act Sharmila is fighting against abets human rights abuse. However, in the 16 years of her fast, only one enquiry has been conducted.

(With inputs from IANS)