Photo Reporting From Jantar Mantar - A Manipuri Girl Brings Her Iconic Protest Against the Indian Army to the Country's Capital

Far away from Delhi, beyond the heart of mainstream India, forgotten in the eastern corner of the country lies a small Himalayan province called Manipur with a population of around 2.2 million people, less than even Delhi.

Manipur has been a problem state since its annexation to India in 1949. Insurgents have often resorted to violent means to demand for secession. In 1958, Indian government introduced a special law - The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) - that granted special powers to the Indian armed forces to arrest, detain, interrogate or even kill any person on mere suspicion. This act, operational in the north-eastern states of India and Jammu and Kashmir, has been in force in Manipur for 26 years now.

While the government maintains that the law is necessary to restore normalcy in a state racked by a militant secessionist movement, civil society groups allege gross human rights violations by the army.

On November 2, 2000, when the Indian army killed ten innocent civilians at Malon, near Imphal - Manipur's capital, Ms. Irom Sharmila Chanu, a 28-year-old poet, resolved to sit for hunger strike until the controversial law was completely scrapped. However, she was imprisoned on charges of 'attempting suicide' and was kept in a secured ward at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Imphal, Manipur's capital, for more than half a decade where she survived by forced nasal feeding.

On October 3, 2006, the local court at Imphal ordered her release following which she came to Delhi. Ms. Sharmila is presently holding a fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar - New Delhi's Tiananmen Square.

Here are some of the images taken in the late evening of October 5, 2006. Do not be dazzled by the bright lights. The effect was due to the excellent flashlight of this reporter's camera. The place was actually unlit and felt gloomy in darkness.

A Lonely Crusade

Ms.Sharmila was lying hidden under the blue blanket. She was being cared for by a volunteer, a young student, whose duties would later be taken over by other volunteers during the course of the night. Interestingly, the first thing that Ms. Sharmila did on arriving in Delhi was to visit the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who had introduced the concept of keeping fasts as a means of peaceful protest.

Ms. Sharmila says, "My fast is on behalf of the people of Manipur. This is not a personal battle - this is symbolic. It is a symbol of truth, love and peace."

A Manipuri Student Question His Fellow Indians

Mr. Sanaban Gunajit, 27, is a student from Manipur. He described himself as an Indian but wondered why India does not consider him an Indian. He asked that why his own country's armed forces exercise unrestrained power and inflict brutalities on his people in Manipur. Mr. Gunajit pointed out that most of the victims of the army's atrocities happen to be those who have nothing to do with the insurgent groups.

Will She Die?

Ms Sharmila will complete six years of fasting without food or water later this year. In custody, she was fed a cocktail of vitamins, minerals, laxatives, protein supplements and daal through the nose with a rubber pipe. According to doctors, her fasting is now having a direct impact on her body's normal functioning. Ms Sharmila's bones have become brittle while her body has developed various other problems.

Not Alone After All

A lady dressed in an ethnic Manipuri costume anxiously looks towards Ms Sharmila. Most of the visitors who were present during the duration of this reporter's visit hailed from her home state. Ms Sharmila is fondly referred to as Nura Tensingnabi, Iron Lady in Manipuri, by her admirers.

Sacrifices for a Cause

In Manipur, women have always been at the forefront of political and social movements. Ms Sharmila must be seen as a result of that trend. In an interview to BBC, her brother Mr Singhajit Singh had noted that she has sacrificed "what could have been the best years of her young life".

Repeal the Act

These posters displaying Ms Sharmila's picture also carry a list of some of the victims of arbitrary killing carried out by the Indian Army. One of the dead included the six-month-old Rajenlung who was killed in 2005.

A Concluding Note

It is understandable that some Indians, too sensitive about the sacredness of their venerable national institutions, would be repulsed by such serious allegations being leveled against the Indian Army. However, it is a duty for all the patriotic Indians to patiently and carefully listen to what people like Ms Sharmila have to say and follow it up by making amends if the allegations are found to be true.

Also, no one should miss out the greatness of this country when it so freely allows its angry citizens to register their protest right in the heart of the national capital.