Irom Chanu Sharmila, popularly known as the “Iron Lady of Manipur”, speaks to the editors of The New Bengal Gazette Sumit Singh & Syed Abubakr over the Manipur strife and Biren Singh’s resignation as the state’s chief minister.
Sharmila is an Indian civil rights and political activist. In November 2000, she began a hunger strike for abolishing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. After 16 years, she ended her fast in 2016, after being nasally force-fed for over 500 weeks in custody. Therefore, she has been viewed as the world’s longest hunger striker. Amnesty International has declared her as a prisoner of conscience.
Question: It’s been 21 months since the ethnic violence engulfed the state of Manipur. Till date, it has claimed over 250 lives and has displaced several thousands from the northeastern province. Why do you think it has prolonged for nearly 2 years?
Answer: Manipur is a state of India. Manipur is an integral part of India. Something unwanted happened in the state and when we expected the central government’s intervention with the right approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned a blind eye and didn’t bother to pay attention to what’s going on here. He hasn’t visited Manipur.
The PM seems to think that what is going on in Manipur is not important and he also seems to believe that it is not an integral part of India. He keeps going abroad on foreign trips, to temples, and wherever he wants. But he refuses to come to Manipur.
Manipur, a state full of ethnic diversity, is witnessing a conflict. It has been two years. Biren Singh could have solved the problem. But he turned out to be an absolute failure. He failed the state. He failed us. He has resigned now only because of Centre’s pressure.
The priority before the government is to decide who will replace Biren Singh as the Chief Minister. The priority is not to solve the Manipur strife that has gone on for too long now. The bottomline is- Prime Minister Narendra Modi also deserves to quit. He must quit if he thinks about Manipur seriously. He doesn’t bother about what’s going on here because Manipur has only two Lok Sabha seats.
I feel Manipur is in trouble. Thousands of people have been displaced. Our people are forced to live in relief camps. I don’t know if the centre is doing anything to bring them back to Manipur. I feel sorry for the victims of the Manipur conflict and for the people of my state.
Question: Who do you think is at fault here- the Modi government at the Centre or the Biren Singh-led state government in Manipur?
Answer: I think it’s connected. The BJP government led by Biren Singh was in Manipur. Now that he has resigned, whoever will replace him will be from the BJP. It will be the same. I think it’s about power and money.
Manipur is surrounded by several hills, it’s a very small state. Unemployment rate is very high. Lakhs of people are without jobs. There’s no industry and there’s widespread poverty. It is one of the poorest states of India. Farmers of Manipur are under distress. They can’t grow their crops. The entire agricultural production cycle is disturbed. It’s now a question of their survival.
There is a lack of trust between communities in Manipur. Congress MP from Manipur Bimol Akoijam has brought up these issues to the Parliament with full details but the government doesn’t pay attention.
Now, as far as the political solution is concerned, Manipur had always been a Kingdom with multiple Monarchs ruling it till 1949. People still believe in the King’s rule there. So, it would still be a democracy if the titular King of Manipur is given the charge to lead the state. This might solve the problem to some extent.
Question: What do you think is the way forward for the state? Do you think any sign of normalcy and peace being restored sooner or later, now that the chief minister has quit?
Answer: Manipur is an integral part of India. It’s battling with the crisis of conflict, security and survival. The Centre had reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in six police station areas of the state in November last year. It was not needed. We are a democratic state and not a British-ruled colony.
People living in Manipur are vulnerable. If the central government thinks seriously and considers Manipur as an integral part of India, then it must look into the issues of unemployment, poverty, education of children, health among the concerns for security and peace. Life has become really difficult for the Manipuris.
Centre’s intervention, with motherly affection, can work to bring peace in the state. All it needs is willingness to restore peace. Manipur will survive. Manipur will be cooperative. If the government puts Manipur on its priority list, normalcy will be back very soon.
Question: You had, for sixteen years, held fast and protested demanding abolition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Last year, AFSPA came back to the state, though in very few regions. How do you see that move?
Answer: The rule of the people and their elected representatives have to prevail. Rule of the Army can’t prevail in a democracy. That has never worked and it won’t work even now. It’s not the right approach in a democracy. They can never impose this on any mainstream cities in India. They can impose AFSPA only to the Northeastern states, and in Jammu & Kashmir. That’s the real discrimination.
Question: What is your one message to the people of Manipur, to those who are in the violence torn state fighting for their survival, and to those who got displaced but are yet to return back to their homeland?
Answer: We are human beings. We are like birds. No one has a permanent settlement here. We live in this world moving and shifting from one place to another while we live our life. Nothing is permanent. Given that we live amid so much uncertainty, we need to understand our dependency. We have mutual dependence on each other, and we also have mutual responsibility. We all should try to be harmonious with each other while we live our life that is very short. It’s time to forget the boundaries and differences that we have among us. Let go of this identity attachment.
We are Manipuris. We are just human beings. We can’t live alone. With that approach of cooperation and harmony, and with our talent, we can attain peace and we should aim to do that.
