Iron forged in hunger

In 16 years, Irom Sharmila has realised that there are no takers for a peaceful, even if extremely distressing, protest in the land of the Mahatma. The Indian State, however, may still not have realised the enormity of the message that she has delivered in her apparent act of surrender: don’t expect to be heard if you abide by the law of the land. Sharmila has announced she will be ending her fast next month as she does not now expect her suffering to cut any ice with the government on her demand for repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur.

Though set in entirely different political milieus, Manipur has a parallel narrative in Kashmir. While one has struggled to be heard on the national stage, the other is rarely off that stage, if not the international. A major difference has been the violence in the streets. Sharmila’s timing of the announcement brings out the irony even more, with the Kashmir debate revolving around the justification of State violence in the face of violent protests by the Valley youth. If the protests in Kashmir are not the way, then Sharmila's voice should have received more attention.

The end of her fast, however, may be the beginning of a new challenge for the Central Government. A fatigue had set in about her fast, and had depleted her ability to draw attention. It was, nonetheless, building her up all this while. And that weight is what she has now threatened to bring to bear upon the “system” by contesting elections. Her politics will not be conventional. The last person to take the ballot route from activism was Arvind Kejriwal, and the mainstream can do anything but ignore him. Sharmila’s unprecedented fast has earned her a place in the hearts of people cutting across the hugely diverse Manipuri society. All demands cannot be met just because someone has raised them, through violent or peaceful means, but no citizen should ever get the sense that his or her country does not have the time to hear out. Possibility of a dialogue must never be totally denied — by the protester or by the State.