What did Irom Sharmila really achieve? 90 votes?
The young man asks me - “Bhaiya, I understand Irom Sharmila did a lot of great things but didn’t you see how the people reciprocated?” “What was the result of her long protest, which was so selfless and all for the people?” “Did she manage to get the AFSPA removed?” I had no words to respond to that.
I was rather perplexed in sheer amazement at the display of such nihilism on the part of such a young man and it took me some time to gather my thoughts but nonetheless, to defend my argument, I replied. I replied by saying - “See, it doesn’t matter what the protest achieved, the very fact that people across the country knew that someone was going to such extremes to protest against a repressive state apparatus serves the purpose of such a protest”.
After all, it was an act comparable to what Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt had done by throwing that puny bomb at the Central Assembly in Delhi, in order to make the British realise that “It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear”. Through this act, the people around the world had come to know of the British atrocities. In this case the atrocities of a much resented state apparatus, at least among a certain section of the people.
A cup or rather a cheap glass of chai with the right people can encourage a good frequency of intellectual talk. The chai was great and so was the conversation and yet I was not convinced with my own answer.
To think about it, what did the people of Manipur actually do? How did they reciprocate to the selfless commitment of Irom Sharmila? 90 votes? Was that it? Was that all she deserved? There is this woman who has dedicated her best years to a selfless cause for her people amidst all the backlash from an extremely repressive state apparatus - she stood for her people. She stood for the people of Manipur and this is how the people pay her back.
I had been teaching a course in Human Rights for a year, to post graduate students at a University in Punjab. AFSPA being one of the most prominent contemporary human rights concerns, was very frequent in the conversations with my students.
I remember starting my class on AFSPA with the famous photograph of the nude march staged by mothers in front of the Kangla Palace in Imphal to protest against the judicial probe, they demanding for a public trial, for the alleged rape and murder of Manorama Devi. This was a photograph that inspired both awe and shock in my students who had never witnessed or even heard of such extreme protest forms.
It’s been over a decade now but I still remember, this photograph with the banner ‘Indian Army Rape Us’. As a child, this was a photograph of absolute horror. I couldn’t express my feelings then and I am not sure if I will be able to do it now but I will only say - such was the dilapidation of the human spirit that the women cared little in exposing their nude form, in a country where such is regarded sacred.
I would like to believe that many of my students who saw this photograph for the first time might have had such emotional outburst, for, that is what I intended the photograph to do.
Our discussions would then move on to the need for something so extreme like the AFSPA. Some of the young minds would strongly insist on doing away with something so repressive like the AFSPA. Yet, there would be the others who would argue with the integration argument and “What about the rights of our soldiers”? I never had answers to such questions. I believe these are questions that cannot have an answer - at least if you try to be apolitical, which I again believe is one of the most important aspects of moulding young minds.
Amidst all this heated argumentation, in a slow and steady fashion, I would steer my discussions to Irom Sharmila, who had, yet again been engaged in an unusual form of tussle with the Government. A good number of my students barring a handful had little or no knowledge of this great personality.
For me, Irom Sharmila is an idol of inspiration and resilience of the Manipuri people. I always asserted that to my students and they mostly agreed but I am not sure if it was because they actually understood me or was it just because of the power relation between a student and teacher. I always wanted to believe that - it was because my students understood me but I have especially started doubting that after this brief conversation over the glass of chai.
Well, I guess it’s not that simple after all. Politics is much like the game of chess where strategy is way more important than charisma. Someone who is an activist might not be a good political strategist. Manipur is a state where family relations are very strong and for Irom Sharmila to fight against a three times incumbent chief minister, outside her locality was her foremost mistake. To go against a seasoned politician on his own turf, without little or no preparation is like going against Russia in Russia in winter. You can expect nothing but an inevitable defeat.
It is a very sad reality but India is a country where elections are a mere game of money and power. The People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), the party that was founded by Irom Sharmila had fielded only 3 candidates and were on a shoestring budget for their pre-poll campaign. These are not exactly the ingredients of a successful political escapade, at least in India.
As an individual I am deeply saddened by the fact that a paramount symbol of sacrifice for the Manipuri people had received merely 90 votes. I might sound a little delusional when I say this but I also don’t think that the people of Manipur could be blamed for it. After all, she is a great activist but that doesn’t convert to being a great political strategist.
This piece of writing is a product of a certain dilemma that I believe any concerned individual will go through and yet it cannot be resolved, for there is nothing certain about the minds of people. Irom Sharmila is definitely more than those 90 votes but politics was simply not her game. The very fact that people across the country came to know about the repressive AFSPA is her greatest achievement. As far as I am concerned, to set an example for young minds to stand up to atrocities I will definitely draw reference to her as a symbol of resilience - for this is something that nobody can take away from her.
I was rather perplexed in sheer amazement at the display of such nihilism on the part of such a young man and it took me some time to gather my thoughts but nonetheless, to defend my argument, I replied. I replied by saying - “See, it doesn’t matter what the protest achieved, the very fact that people across the country knew that someone was going to such extremes to protest against a repressive state apparatus serves the purpose of such a protest”.
After all, it was an act comparable to what Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt had done by throwing that puny bomb at the Central Assembly in Delhi, in order to make the British realise that “It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear”. Through this act, the people around the world had come to know of the British atrocities. In this case the atrocities of a much resented state apparatus, at least among a certain section of the people.
A cup or rather a cheap glass of chai with the right people can encourage a good frequency of intellectual talk. The chai was great and so was the conversation and yet I was not convinced with my own answer.
To think about it, what did the people of Manipur actually do? How did they reciprocate to the selfless commitment of Irom Sharmila? 90 votes? Was that it? Was that all she deserved? There is this woman who has dedicated her best years to a selfless cause for her people amidst all the backlash from an extremely repressive state apparatus - she stood for her people. She stood for the people of Manipur and this is how the people pay her back.
I had been teaching a course in Human Rights for a year, to post graduate students at a University in Punjab. AFSPA being one of the most prominent contemporary human rights concerns, was very frequent in the conversations with my students.
I remember starting my class on AFSPA with the famous photograph of the nude march staged by mothers in front of the Kangla Palace in Imphal to protest against the judicial probe, they demanding for a public trial, for the alleged rape and murder of Manorama Devi. This was a photograph that inspired both awe and shock in my students who had never witnessed or even heard of such extreme protest forms.
It’s been over a decade now but I still remember, this photograph with the banner ‘Indian Army Rape Us’. As a child, this was a photograph of absolute horror. I couldn’t express my feelings then and I am not sure if I will be able to do it now but I will only say - such was the dilapidation of the human spirit that the women cared little in exposing their nude form, in a country where such is regarded sacred.
I would like to believe that many of my students who saw this photograph for the first time might have had such emotional outburst, for, that is what I intended the photograph to do.
Our discussions would then move on to the need for something so extreme like the AFSPA. Some of the young minds would strongly insist on doing away with something so repressive like the AFSPA. Yet, there would be the others who would argue with the integration argument and “What about the rights of our soldiers”? I never had answers to such questions. I believe these are questions that cannot have an answer - at least if you try to be apolitical, which I again believe is one of the most important aspects of moulding young minds.
Amidst all this heated argumentation, in a slow and steady fashion, I would steer my discussions to Irom Sharmila, who had, yet again been engaged in an unusual form of tussle with the Government. A good number of my students barring a handful had little or no knowledge of this great personality.
For me, Irom Sharmila is an idol of inspiration and resilience of the Manipuri people. I always asserted that to my students and they mostly agreed but I am not sure if it was because they actually understood me or was it just because of the power relation between a student and teacher. I always wanted to believe that - it was because my students understood me but I have especially started doubting that after this brief conversation over the glass of chai.
Well, I guess it’s not that simple after all. Politics is much like the game of chess where strategy is way more important than charisma. Someone who is an activist might not be a good political strategist. Manipur is a state where family relations are very strong and for Irom Sharmila to fight against a three times incumbent chief minister, outside her locality was her foremost mistake. To go against a seasoned politician on his own turf, without little or no preparation is like going against Russia in Russia in winter. You can expect nothing but an inevitable defeat.
It is a very sad reality but India is a country where elections are a mere game of money and power. The People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), the party that was founded by Irom Sharmila had fielded only 3 candidates and were on a shoestring budget for their pre-poll campaign. These are not exactly the ingredients of a successful political escapade, at least in India.
As an individual I am deeply saddened by the fact that a paramount symbol of sacrifice for the Manipuri people had received merely 90 votes. I might sound a little delusional when I say this but I also don’t think that the people of Manipur could be blamed for it. After all, she is a great activist but that doesn’t convert to being a great political strategist.
This piece of writing is a product of a certain dilemma that I believe any concerned individual will go through and yet it cannot be resolved, for there is nothing certain about the minds of people. Irom Sharmila is definitely more than those 90 votes but politics was simply not her game. The very fact that people across the country came to know about the repressive AFSPA is her greatest achievement. As far as I am concerned, to set an example for young minds to stand up to atrocities I will definitely draw reference to her as a symbol of resilience - for this is something that nobody can take away from her.
Also published on: https://www.time8.in/what-did-irom-sharmila-really-achieve-90-votes/
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