March in Support of Manipur’s Iron Lady

Pune, May 14 : Describing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) as a draconian regulation, a group of cultural activists from the State of Kerala are undertaking a peace march to Imphal to express solidarity with Irom Sharmila, a poet who is also known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, who is on a political fast seeking withdrawal of AFSPA from Manipur and other areas of Northeast.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, team leader and cultural activist, C Chandran said, “We began our march under the aegis of the Hind Swaraj Peace March from Cherthala in Kerala on May 7 and intend to reach Imphal by the 27thof this month.”

Chandran added “We decided to undertake the march for two reasons, the primary reason is that the Union Defence Minister A K Antony hails from Kerala and secondly we wanted to take Sharmila's message to the Defence Minister.”

Chandran said the group comprising 20 members is travelling through the rail network, halting at Chennai, Bangalore and Vijayawada prior to their stop in Pune.

“During our breaks, we spread the message of peace and the struggle of Sharmila against AFSPA, apart from performing cultural programs narrating her struggle against the odds,” he outlined.

Chandran said that is unfortunate that the Indian government has turned a deaf ear towards the legitimate demand to withdraw the Act.

On the other hand the government protests and makes no bones of its dislike to military regimes in neighbouring countries contradicting its own position.

From here, the troupe would halt at Delhi and Calcutta for a similar interaction-cum-cultural show before proceeding to Imphal, its final destination, Chandran added.

About Irom Sharmila

Irom Sharmila Chanu is a civil rights activist, journalist and poet. Since November 2000, she’s on a political fast seeking withdrawal of AFSPA,1958, from Manipur and other areas of North- eastern India.

Ten years after it began, Sharmila's fast is unparallelled in the history of political protest.