Sharmila Chanu has been on a hunger strike to protest against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) for the past sixteen years. This act gives soldiers power to arrest anyone without a warrant or even power to shoot to kill in certain situations. This act is in effect in many Indian states which include Manipur and Indian-administered Kashmir.
Ms Chanu started her hunger strike sixteen years ago when 10 civilians were killed by Indian soldiers in Manipur. Since then, she has spent most of the time in judicial custody in Imphal, Manipur’s capitol, in a hospital and force fed through a tube in her nose most of which has been baby formula and medicines. To reaffirm her protest, she has appeared in Manipur High Court every two weeks.
She was released in August 2014 when the court rejected the claim that she was attempting to commit suicide but was arrested again after two days after she refused to end her protest. Her unusual hunger strike has won her worldwide attention with Amnesty International calling her a prisoner of conscience.
Source: Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist
Ms Chanu told the court last month that she will finally end her protest and start campaigning as an independent candidate for the upcoming assembly elections in the state of Manipur.
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