Starved of votes

For the first time in her 45 years, Irom Sharmila celebrated her birthday. On March 14, she was about 3,700km away from her home in Imphal, Manipur. Yet, she looked so much at home among friends and well-wishers in Attapadi, an impoverished tribal area in Kerala’s Palakkad district. Social worker Uma Preman, her host who runs the Santhi Gramam NGO there, produced a pink, iced cake. And, Sharmila was all smiles.

Yet, when alone, she looked weighed down. Naturally. Ninety votes for 16 years of self-imposed starvation. Sixteen years with a plastic tube that snaked through her nose into her gullet. Ninety votes for standing up to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Internationally, she became an icon of nonviolent protest. But, in Thoubal constituency—against Congress candidate and three-term chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh—Sharmila came up short. Really short. Ninety votes and Irom Sharmila. That doesn’t add up, does it?

In 2016, she called off her fast and announced that she would contest the Manipur assembly elections. And, she picked an opponent who was chief minister for 15 of the 16 years she was in custody. She powered her campaign with donations from friends and supporters, most of them non-Manipuris. The image of a lonely Sharmila cycling through her constituency, begging the support of the people for whom she had struggled, was an enduring one from this year’s campaigns. When the dust settled in the hills, she had 90 votes against Singh’s 18,649. In fact, 150 voters hit the NOTA button in Thoubal. Sharmila responded with five words: “Thank you for 90 votes.” Then, she announced her exit from electoral politics.

For those familiar with the political situation in Manipur, her loss is no surprise. Sharmila was never the spearhead of a movement. Her fast was neither flagged off nor backed by a political party or mass movement. Even before the fast, she was an activist. She cycled to newspaper offices to drop off press releases. Most Manipuris were not ready to join her then or later, because they did not want to appear on the Army’s radar. Simply put, there is a yawning gap between Sharmila and the average Manipuri voter.

Now, the politics part. While other parties lavished promises on the voters, Sharmila’s party—Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA)—was perceived as having a single-point agenda. Babloo Loitongbam, director of Human Rights Alert Manipur, and Sharmila’s long-time associate, said that PRJA members lacked electoral experience. “She does not understand politics. Better planning and preparation were needed to fight in an election, especially against the likes of Ibobi Singh,” said Loitongbam.

Sharmila’s support base was always small, and, contrary to popular belief, the number of her followers has not dropped drastically since she ended her hunger strike. However, it is true that some of her supporters were peeved with the news about a fiancé—Desmond Coutinho, a British citizen. But, the majority, like Loitongbam, stood by the view that she had a right to love and life.

To change the system, some pick up the gun. Some choose the ballot. Sharmila picked the latter and the electorate shot her in the head. Soon after the poll results were out, a shattered Sharmila called friend Basheer Madala, a journalist from Attapadi. She said that she needed some peace and quiet.

“I met Sharmila in 2011, when I visited her in the Imphal jail,” Basheer said. “We became close friends. She had told me earlier that she was interested in visiting Kerala. So, when she said she needed to relax for some time, I invited her to Santhi Gramam.”

The election results in Manipur, Basheer said, were a reflection of the power of money more than anything else. “While she was going from door to door trying to convince the people to back her, some candidates spent as much as 05 crore to buy votes,” he said.

Fighting alone: Sharmila during her election campaign in Manipur | Javed Parvesh

Sharmila seemed to agree. She told THE WEEK, “Manipuris seem to have forgotten their sense of rights, and the responsibilities of being a citizen in society. And, subsequently, by selling out their voting rights for money, they hamper real democracy in society.”

She emphasised that while there was no justification for AFSPA, many Manipuris had stopped highlighting the excesses of the act. “This is because, after my prolonged struggle, the unwanted happenings have now decreased,” she said. “And, the people have been calmed by this decrease. But, in truth, this draconian law is still affecting [everyone in the] system.”

About the much publicised incident where 30 women protested naked in her support, Sharmila said that it was an “unusual and unbelievable“ form of protest. “It shocked some people to the core of their hearts, and because of that the Centre removed some of the forces,” she said. “But, the government kept using other tactics to keep the law in force.”

Violence resulting from the Naga nationalist movement was one of the major reasons that led to AFSPA being enforced in Manipur. Sharmila said, “Naga nationalism is a very very big issue. The divide is deeply rooted. It is still going on mainly because there has been no true leadership in the Manipuri society for so long.”

On the personal front, she said her family, especially her mother, blessed, supported and inspired her when she started the strike in 2000. The month-long break in Kerala, she said, was for her to think about what to do and how to do it. She said she would not mind if Malayalis invited Coutinho to join her. As the conversation turned to the man, she became uncomfortable and defensive. “Yes, it is true that I have not seen him since December 25, 2014,” she said. “That was when he was arrested and the British consulate had to get involved to get him released. He is now in Ireland. But, I don’t want you to judge him like that.” Very much a fiancée’s response.

In Attapadi, her arrival generated considerable excitement. The two-hour trip from Coimbatore airport to Attapadi was interrupted by many welcome meetings organised by the Left parties. She is very much “Comrade Sharmila” to them. She disagrees with Malayalis calling her an icon and says that she does not want to be put on a pedestal. “I am just an ordinary woman fighting for social justice. I will continue my fight till AFSPA is repealed.”

As we take leave of her, a vegetarian sadya is in the making in the centre’s kitchen. Sharmila drinks from a tender coconut, proclaims it delicious and smiles heartily.

A WhatsApp forward making the rounds said, “Only 89 anti-nationals in Manipur are against AFSPA.” That’s being simplistic about Sharmila’s defeat, isn’t it?

WITH JAVED PARVESH IN IMPHAL