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Civil rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu at her home in Bengaluru. (News18)
In an exclusive interview to News18, Irom Sharmila Chanu said that settling the conflict can only be possible if the government is serious and that ST status is definitely not the solution.
Civil rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, also known as the “Iron Lady of Manipur,” speaking to News18, said that she is “deeply saddened” with the current situation in the strife-torn state and is praying for peace.
Chanu also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Manipur to “understand the problem.”
The activist who had been on hunger strike for a record 16 years during which she was force-fed by food tubes, had been the face of a women’s movement in the state working for peace in the state.
When News18 contacted Chanu, who now stays in Bangalore, the “Iron Lady” was preparing lunch for her twins. It was in 2017 after her defeat in the elections that Manipur’s own girl left her state to start a new life down south with husband Desmond Couthino.
At around 2.30 PM Sharmila called up and said that she was available for the interview over the phone. She sounded the same, as in her struggle day with the feeding duct fixed to her nose leading history’s longest hunger strike, nonviolently.
Here are the excerpts from the interview
What was your first reaction on the present situation of Manipur?
Chanu: I first came to know about the situation form Marry Kom’s tweet and appeal to the Prime Minister. Though I do not keep track of Manipur much these days, but I am deeply saddened and have been praying for peace. Manipur has suffered enough in recent years and this one is completely unnecessary.
The present riot has its roots in the complexities of history since 1947. Settling this can only be possible if the government is serious. The intricacies and complication of the hill and the plain people needs to be understood and worked upon. The land Reformation Act, to my understanding is one of the key factor for this difference and intolerance.
Can provision of the ST status be a solution?
Chanu: ST status is definitely not the solution. The Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India should go to Manipur, meet the society, understand the reasons and seek solutions. Communication disseminated from Delhi can’t resolve things. Army never has been and shall not be the answers to the problems of Manipur in any context.
You have been center to one of the longest and most resilient struggle in Manipur. Is this even worse?
Chanu: The situation this time is worse than the AFSPA protest and the economic blockade times. This time it’s the conflict within. Animosity among own among the known has never been good for the society.
In times when Manipur was a princely state there was no ST or SC neither were any complexities in the society. No Land Reform Act. Constitution can be amended, there has been precedence.
Any plans to return to Manipur?
I left Manipur in 2017 and have decided never to return. My mother expired in 2018 and my elder brother expired couple of months back. I have left Manipur far behind and this is my life now. However as I am comfortable wearing trousers, I love wearing my traditional dress occasionally.
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