Irom Sharmila in court again

[asakiyume]

On June 4, Irom Sharmila will be in court in Delhi, which is to say, she'll be in a court that can capture the national eye (not so true of her appearances in court in Imphal, in the northeastern state of Manipur). The charge against her (attempted suicide, because of her hunger strike) is spurious, and worse, has the pernicious effect of distracting attention from her intention, which is to protest an unjust law--the Armed Forces Special Protection Act. People can be tempted to focus on getting her released, and yet, if she were just straight-up released, she'd very quickly die. The only way to truly save her is to work for the repeal of the AFSPA.


(image source)

Unfortunately, even in Manipur itself, there are those who benefit from the status quo. One journalist who has reported extensively on Manipur and AFSPA writes, "The political leadership, bureaucracy, Army and the insurgent groups all benefit from its biggest industry, AFSPA, and thus perpetuate its continuance" (Source).

How can things change? I don't know. But if it's so hard for the government in Delhi, the government in Manipur, and the army to disintangle from this law, then . . . maybe could the law be hollowed out from within? Could members of the armed forces be asked to make pledges to never violate civilian rights, and could there be rewards for honoring those pledges? Could development funds be tied to policies of inclusivity that assured that economic benefits extended to all ethnic groups and even to former insurgents? How do ordinary citizens in Manipur want things to go? What problems of daily life are most important to them? I cast about for ideas, but I'm not well informed about all the nuances of the situation on the ground, and it's not for me to suggest or conclude anything. I can only watch from the sidelines, biting my nails, and hoping.

Comments

[desmond coutinho (from livejournal.com)]

Walter Fernandez who wrote that piece I believe is a Jesuit. He has a portuguese sounding family name so he is probably from Goa or Mangalore Portuguese West India. He is a Jesuit. So it's another view. And it will be well analyzed researched and cogently argued. Jesuits are clever people. It's impossible to know whose side they are on or who they are working for or what they really think. That's their charism. I could have stopped with he is a Jesuit for any Roman Catholic.

But other views are important. I don't buy into PC or Mr Chidambaram's blaming everyone else. Chidambaram is Tamil Nadhu aristocracy. Westerners sometimes argue family background doesn't matter. But in India you have to understand family. PC is now tweeting joyfully about the repeal of the AFSPA from Tripura. The former PM Manmohan Singh is a northeasterner. He made a telling statement that as PM he is only one person what can he do. Sonia Gandhi runs the Congress Party. She did so for her son. Problem is people prefer her daughter. So long as its descendant of Pandit Nehru it can run the Congress Party and they will return to power at the next election. TII. The Army doesn't want to relinquish any power in Jammu & Kashmir which is a continuation of India's long standing Civil War or Partition. But if you point this out to Indians they become emotional.

If you want to know something equally important which is hard to find from any expert. One of the DONER ministers. (North East Region Development) is the retired Army 4 Star General V K Singh. His daughter married the son of the next in line to be India's 4 Star. When he was in charge of the Army General V K Singh blocked the promotion of a junior and a rival Bikram Singh. But after he retired he stood for the BJP and the Congress party which was in power at the time overruled his decision that his rival was guilty of war crimes and was unfit for high office and promoted him in their last days of power as his successor.

Getting to the point the Indian Army is not as political as the Thai or Pakistani Army. They don't seize power. They never have. They put pressure on politicians which doesn't happen in the West but they don't plot coups. So V K Singh is a four star general who understands military life and what soldiers need. His enemy the current four star is supposed to take orders from him still. There is absolutely no way General Bikram Singh could defy an instruction from retired General V K Singh if he wanted AFSPA gone from Manipur. If he tried then he could be dismissed and then his daughter gets the promotion she has always coveted for her husband's daddy. It's another view.

Put another way Mr Modi is supposedly the strong man of India unlike his predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh. If he met with Sharmila things would change for her. PC has always snubbed Sharmila. The current token N E minister Kiren Rijiju has always snubbed Sharmila. I'd be surprised if any Northeasterners turned up to see her apart from the skeleton crew sent to keep her isolated. I doubt any scribe will ask her any real questions about what is going on in Imphal or her satyagraha.

My plan is very limited. I do not wish to interfere with the black economy of Manipur or of India. I have no desire to expose the hypocrisy of the NGOs there whether secular or religious. I just want one person's life spared. They make their money through the violence and through the conflict economy. They aren't business oriented. They act like spoitl children because for the most part that's what they are. Sociopathic children of rich families accustomed to privilege who live life with a sense of entitlement because of their birth. It's coming to the end now. If they let her live they can rape and murder the rest publish articles designed to maintain the status quo and let the criminals of the hook, attend conferences abroad for first class five star activists and win peace prizes. All I want is her and a boat on lough derg. We all get what we want. There's an easy way to go about this and a hard way. Up to them now.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Family and work connections--and ties of obligation--surely do come into play and are *very* hard to understand without being intimately familiar with a place.