[Assam] Another Good Piece from the Sentinel

[Chan Mahanta]

This is yet another well considered piece of editorial. I just can't 
quite figure out why , or how, the Sentinel opinions go like a yo-yo, 
from the well considered to outright propaganda on behalf of the same 
India that makes "--complete mockery of the democratic rights" of its 
people.

Emphases mine,

cm



  A Fast with a Difference
At a time when violence has entered almost every facet of the average 
citizen's life and the nation as a whole has been desensitized, Irom 
Sharmila's fast has given new significance and meaning to the form of 
protest perfected by the father of the nation. Six years ago, after 
security forces in Manipur gunned down 10 persons near Imphal, 
Sharmila began her fast demanding the scrapping of the notorious 
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA. The government has 
detained her on charges of attempting suicide and she has been 
force-fed all these years. The very fact that she succeeded in 
removing herself to Delhi and now continues her protest in the heart 
of the country's capital, has added a sort of mystique to the 
struggle being put up by this frail woman from Manipur against the 
might of the Indian state. By shifting the venue of her historic fast 
from 'remote' Imphal to the nation's capital, Sharmila has succeeded 
in taking the woes of the people of Manipur and the Northeast right 
up to the doors of those who are still under the misconception that 
the answer to the ills of the northeastern region lies primarily in 
abrogating the rights of the peripheral people and by arming the 
security forces with unlimited powers.
  Last week we had occasion to refer to Sharmila's fast in this 
column. We are writing about it once again because this is no 
ordinary fast, especially in a country when fasting as a form of 
protest has long since degenerated into a cheap gimmick. Irom 
Sharmila's fast has not only succeeded in once again galvanizing the 
people of Manipur in their fight against the Armed Forces (Special 
Powers) Act and the blatant violations of human rights that have been 
committed by the security forces, but it has also raised certain 
fundamental questions about the character of the Indian nation-state 
and its equations with the small ethnic nationalities struggling for 
political space within (and sometimes outside) the Indian Union. The 
very fact that the Indian state has tried to bypass a fast by a woman 
for six years against one of its most autocratic and draconian 
measures shows the inherent contradiction between the democratic 
principles enshrined in our Constitution and the priorities of a 
centralized nation-state. It is indeed a pity that in these 60 years 
of freedom, there has been no concerted move on the part of 
successive governments to resolve what may be called the basic 
inconsistency between the conception of a modern nation-state and the 
pervasive reality of the polyethnic and multinational character of 
our country. Otherwise, New Delhi would not have reacted as it has 
done in all these years to the popular outrage against a piece of 
legislation which makes a complete mockery of the democratic rights 
of the average citizen.
  Apart from raising certain central issues about the character and 
functioning of the Indian nation-state, Irom Sharmila's fast has 
brought into focus the lack of transparency and accountability of the 
Central government. When Manipur witnessed unprecedented waves of 
popular protest against the AFSPA two years ago following the rape 
and murder in army custody of Thangjam Manorama, Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh, in a much delayed move to assuage the feelings of the 
Manipuri people, promised them that he would consider replacing the 
AFSPA with a "more humane law that will address both the concerns of 
national security and the rights of the citizens." As part of this 
promise, the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee was set up to review the 
AFSPA and to recommend, if necessary, its replacement by a more 
humane Act. It is significant that in both the Prime Minister's 
assurance to the Apunba Lup delegation which met him towards the end 
of November 2004 and in defining the parameters of the Reddy 
Committee, there is a reference to a "more humane Act" which 
obviously means that the Centre has accepted the fact that the AFSPA 
is an inhuman Act and needs to be changed or replaced!
  Yet, it is more than a year now since the Reddy Committee submitted 
its report to the government and the UPA government does not have the 
courage even to throw open the report to public debate, not to speak 
of acting on the Committee's recommendations for a repeal of the 
AFSPA. If the Prime Minister of a country cannot renege his pledge to 
the people, then what can one expect but further alienation of the 
Northeast from 'mainstream' India? The Centre's refusal to act on the 
Jeevan Reddy Committee's findings not only reflects the inherent 
prejudices and coloured mindset that continue to guide New Delhi's 
approach towards this region, but, more importantly, it reveals the 
ever-increasing influence of the security forces on the 
decision-making process in relation to the Northeast. This was true 
even when this region was quite free of militant politics. One may 
recall that in response to the people's demand for a refinery in the 
State, Nehru wrote to the then Assam Governor Fazl Ali in June 1957 
that the refinery could not be set up in Assam because the "military 
opinion was dead against it." Today, with the northeastern region 
having been turned into a fully militarized zone, it is but natural 
for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to buckle under Army pressure 
when it comes to repealing draconian measures like the AFSPA. Thus, 
Sharmila's fast has highlighted some of the inherent contradictions 
of the Indian state. And all those who are concerned about the proper 
functioning of our democratic polity are indebted to her. Hers is a 
fast that is a narrative of the aberrations of Indian democracy.
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