Indian activist ends 16-year hunger strike to enter politics

August 10, 2016 10:04 AM

In 2000, Irom Sharmila began a hunger strike to protest the Malom Massacre and India's statutory immunity from judicial oversight for military and paramilitary personnel in "disturbed areas". After years of detention (attempted suicide is illegal in India), forced feeding, and recognition from human rights agencies, Sharmila ended her hunger strike with a lick of honey and a declaration that she will run for office to work against the Armed Forces Special Powers Acts.

The AFSPAs have their roots in a British law that was used to crack down on the Quit India Movement, the civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi in the 1940s. Subsequent Indian governments have used AFSPAs to quell separatist movements in Assam, Manipur, Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu, and Kashmir.

posted by Etrigan (2 comments total)

wow! Such excellent news! Good for her, and may she win. the North East has never thrived as well it could and its peoples have always suffered.

Also interesting to note is Gandhi's regular use of fasting as a means of protest.

Finally, it strikes me that there's been a spate of problems in former colonies with colonial era administrative rules, particularly with certain types of armed forces - recently in Kenya, the AP have come under fire for undue violence on citizens.

The problem isn’t rogue elements. It’s that the Administration Police division was created under colonialism with the specific purpose of beating Africans into submission.

Our countries will have to root out all forms of leftover colonial prejudice embedded in our administrative and legal systems before we're truly able to hold our heads up high.
posted by infini at 10:40 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Jesus, sixteen years being fed by drip and supporters are asking why she stopped...

What an act. I can only hope she is even more successful post-fast.
posted by smoke at 4:35 PM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]