Irom Sharmila to end fast for polls, marriage

Sixteen years after starting her path-setting hungerstrike, demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Manipur’s “Iron Lady” Irom Chanu Sharmila has decided to end her fast on August 9 and contest the Assembly elections as an Independent candidate.

The 44-year-old rights activist, who has been forcibly fed through a nasal tube since 2000, said she would join politics as she no longer believes that her fast will lead to the repeal of the “draconian” AFSPA.

“I will end my fast on August 9 and contest elections on an Independent ticket,” Ms Sharmila told the media outside a local court where she is facing a trial for attempting suicide.

“I will join politics and my fight will continue,” she added.

Manipur Assembly polls are scheduled early next year. Ms Sharmila, known to have a boyfriend — a British national of Indian origin, also expressed her desire to get married after coming out of prison.

On the charge of attempting suicide by means of a fast unto death in 2006 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, she has been arrested, released and then re-arrested from time to time. The maximum punishment under Section 309 of IPC is a one-year jail term.