Irom Sharmila: The Invisible Heroine

Welcome to India, the world's largest democracy! Here is a woman who has beenfasting for a cause for the past 15 years and nobody really cares. Yes, you heard it right - 15 years!

It is her conscience, her unwavering convictions that have made her the "Iron Lady of Manipur". Irom Sharmila is like droplets of water trickling into a solid rock. With her silent, resilient and persistent efforts, this frail woman has made a dent, and a solid one at that. This poetess, with her adamant devotion, is, according to me, one of the greatest women to have ever lived on earth.

Irom Sharmila Chanu's status as a heroine - and a victim of the Republic of India - started on 2 November, 2000, when armed forces killed 10 innocent civilians who were waiting for a bus in Malon, Manipur. The victims included an 18-year-old National Bravery Award winner.

In the ruthless world where people don't even care about their own flesh and blood, broken-hearted Irom Sharmila has been on a continuous hunger strike since that day to force the government to repeal AFSPA. Sensing trouble, and that too trouble created by a woman, the government charged her with "attempted suicide" and ensured that she stayed trapped between the judiciary and jail. She is forcibly fed to keep her alive, which is an obligation for government to avoid any perceived conflict. No one in successive central governments, no so-called human rights activists, no civil rights organisations ever stood for her in any meaningful way.

When I met with an accident and broke my jaw, it was the time I couldn't eat anything. I wrote to her to enquire how she managed to stay without food for so long. Her answer was as inspirational as she is: eternal faith.

With almost no media coverage and support from the "owners" of this country, her struggle against the draconian AFSPA is like a pigeon fighting against a flock of vultures, but her optimism is indestructible. There is no one I know who has suffered so much for an absolutely selfless cause.

A lower-middle class girl of Manipur may become 'Mengoubi' (a fair girl) or Iron Lady for us, but she never wanted to be this. She has a few aspirations for life, a loving boyfriend and a beautiful family. She wants to return to her life but only after ensuring peace and love for her motherland.

May she succeed!

This blog was also published in Huffington Post  on 13 Aug 2015

Broken Bird, Broken Bird

Broken Bird, Broken Bird-- Get well soon

Thee have to touch the sky, kiss the moon

Fleeting are these moments, give it a try

Thee not meant to crawl, get set & fly--

Broken Bird, this scourging noon, people gonna left thee alone

Don't despair, sing the song of hope & let them mourn

Broken Bird, feathers are growing again, thee lost nothing but fear of pain

Life is even more beautiful now; nothing to lose & gain-- 

I Know They Gonna Leave You, They Were Never There.

"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances."

-Aristotle

It comes with pain, it brings misery, it take-along solitude-- Ho, it's not that tragic accident, it's you! Let me tell you it's a transformation, an opportunity to meet your own consciousness. People die every day, death is the greatest virtue and only truth you're going to answer for your life. Accidents happen for a reason, it happens to conceive you that life is beautiful and it is even more beautiful than you ever thought before. Accidents make you fearless- no any amount of pain can hurt you anymore, no any amount of botherations can make you worrisome, no any amount of hatred going to belittle your love. 

Take a bow, you've beaten the death to take yours life away. You're blessed with an effortless destiny. Give your life a second chance, do not let yourself believe it had happened to you. Start living again, be your own superhero. Love everyone, put a heart in the crippling soul, make others realise that it is the only moment you can live forever. Laugh, make them laugh, soothe their aching-- you gonna feel eternal happiness. So that when death will come to hunt you again, you could die in peace and contentment.

I know they gonna leave you, they were never there. Those who are still here, they were always there. Do not cry, do not waste your precious tears for those who couldn't wait to put you on feet again. They have no spirit to feel your pain, they have no audacity to kiss your rolling tears, they had no spine to say that they still love you. Life is uncertain, unjustified, unpredictable- there's going to be another day, the day they never ever imagined of. Smile, you loved them unconditionally. Bless them anyway, they are meagre souls with necessitous hearts. 

You can't stop, you have to go on. Life brings the fortitude when you have no privilege to choose from. You may never going to forget the anguished times, but ages gonna fade your memories. Feed your soul with all the things you ever dreamed of. Believe yourself, thank almighty for everything you have today. 

Live, smile....