16 Year Fast Comes To An End

Irom Sharmila’s morbidly inspiring 16-year-long fast comes to an end, unsettling many of her supporters. But while AFSPA endures, this is no surrender, more an affirmation of life—and love.

- Shougat Dasgupta

Early in the morning, at around 7 am, Irom Sharmila, a sprightly 44, all things considered, can be found walking outside a pale blue building in Imphal’s Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) hospital. She has been held here for most of the past 16 years, a thin nasal-gastric tube famously fastened to her nose so that she can receive the nutrients necessary to keep her alive. On this August morning, though, the clouds hanging low over the humpbacked hills in the distance, she is accompanied on her stroll by armed guards. It is out of the ordinary, local journalists and activists insist. Sharmila’s morning walk is the time to sneak in a few informal words, inquire after her health, offer support, and news. The authorities have clamped down, a guard says. Looking the other way while a journalist asks a question or two might result in a suspension, and the guards don’t intend to find out.

Sharmila is due to appear in court on August 9, at which point it is expected that she will do as she has announced, and give up one of the longest hunger strikes in history. It is a decision the central government will want her to stick to, hence the guards with guns. If the guards are nervous, taut with responsibility, Sharmila appears relaxed, turning to give a cheery wave before she is escorted through metal gates to her room in the ‘special’ ward.