The most under
developed area of India is the north eastern part. The seven northeastern
states are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and
Tripura. The developmental projects are not at all reaching there as it is to
the other parts of India. And naturally the people there are very much skeptical
about the central governments developmental interests to them. During the course
of time a number of insurgent groups have evolved in each of the states and they
demand for independence also.
Christian population
is also seemingly high in comparison to the other parts of India. My five
colleagues are working there as missionary and they tell me the sad stories of
the poor people there. My colleagues have no telephone access over the hills
and no proper transport. They come down to the nearest city every month once to
check the emails and for telephonic contacts.
The difference
of approaches from the different governments from center towards the north
eastern states and the attention they receive form the population from the
other parts of India can be studies through the twelve year fast of Irom
Sharmila and the response of government.
Fasting is not
something new to Indians as we fought for freedom under the leadership of
Mahatma Gandhi through fasts and peaceful protests. The right to fast comes
under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. Irom Sharmila follows the footsteps
of what all our freedom fighters did. It deals with right to expression.
Who is Irom
Sharmila? She has been on a fast unto death since 2000, demanding the repeal of
the Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA. She is a poet, civil activist and
a political activist. So then why she is against AFSPA? Ms Sharmila's protest
was spurred by the Malom massacre on November 2, 2000, in which 10 innocent
people were shot dead by the personnel of Assam Rifles. They were waiting at
the bus shed in Malom on the outskirts of Imphal. (The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA),
was passed on September 11, 1958, by the Parliament of India. It entitles certain states
as ‘disturbed states’ and so the armed forces are given extraordinary powers
and legal immunity. Apart from the northeastern states, Jammu Kashmir also comes
under the purview of this AFSPA.)
She started
the fast in November 2, 2000 and recently completed 12 years of long fast
making her the longest fasting person on this earth. She is frequently fed
forcefully by the police as she remains in the judicial custody of police. The tragedy is that she doesn’t get the due
attention from the authorities and no one addresses the issue she raises. Thank
Facebook and Twitter she is known to the world outside of Manipur. Recently India
witnessed a number of fast where Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and some others received
even global attention as I read the reports of it even in Swiss newspapers.
I find that
Irom Sharmila is fighting for a fundamental human rights cause and it is a high
time for a national and international intervention. She was given a lot of
awards by different groups but now she declines all the awards demanding that
it is not awards what she wants but she needs a solution for the problem. She is
right in her thinking and needed respect.
I entend my support
for the cause for which she fights. Let you be also one among those few who have
a human heart.
