Irom Sharmila is no stranger to India, who with just her grit, strength and determination managed to accomplish what is known as the world’s longest hunger strike.
Sharmila began her fast in the year 2000 in protest of the draconian law of AFSPA or the Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958, which essentially allowed all armed forces to search through private properties, arrest people and even use deadly force all without a warrant and just a suspicion that a person might be acting against the nation.
I don’t really have to point out how ridiculous and frankly terrible rule it is, right?
She finally ended her more than a decade long fast this year on 9th August 2016.
Now, it was a surprise to many since she had been very set in her path that she would only end her fast when the AFSPA was repelled once and for all. However the act is still in Manipur.
What prompted her to end it and start her journey into politics was the realization that nothing would really change if she just kept on fasting.
One could think that this move was one of weakness, but I believe that she is right in this in someway. Because truthfully even if she died tomorrow doing this very fast, nothing would really change. The law would still be in place and the people of Manipur would still be living their lives in fear and terror.
Irom Sharmila has taken the brave step of forming her own political party People’s Resurgence And Justice Alliance or PRAJA and has expressed interest in wanting to become the Chief Minister of Manipur.
The Striking Resemblance Between Kejriwal And Sharmila
One cannot argue that Sharmila’s recent move is very reminiscent of another being, that of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal who created his own AAP or Aam Aadmi Party who then went on to win and become the Chief Minister of Delhi.
There is this new wave of common people in politics, and while it is refreshing to see the two party system getting some competition, however it also feels that these people are being a bit too idealistic.
Kejriwal too got into politics with this notion only that to beat the system, you have to be the system.
Which to an extent is a good ideology, but are the new age politicians really aware of exactly what they are getting into?
Bollywood To The Rescue, Not Really
Alright, so Bollywood has a plethora of various films which can perfectly strike that fire within every hotblooded Indian to get up and change their nation.
Yuva, Rang De Basanti and even Nayak are perfect examples of this, but according to me, they are a bit too idealistic.
We love to watch them and get all fired up over doing something and that now we will bring about change in India.
But these movies do not really show the actual reality, wherein you cannot really accomplish your goals with mere passion alone.
Kejriwal as a politician is a fine example of what not to do and exactly how difficult it can actually be to even attempt to bring change.
And as much as we admire and respect Anna Hazare we have to be realistic here that just doing protests or anshans or even fasts does not really bring in the results that we want.
Our Hope For Irom Sharmila
As blog we can only support her good intention and courage for taking this step, but I hope we all especially Sharmila, knows that its definitely not a bed of roses.
Please Ms. Sharmila take some pointers from Kejriwal and his current position.
He came into politics with a lot of bravery and determination to follow through with all his promises.
However he seems to have fallen into the hole of trying to up his opposition and in that has only lost many of his followers who elected him with such faith.
So be prepared for obstacles in your course, bureaucracy and people who might not be against you specifically, but will stop be a hindrance to you simple because they do not want anyone else to take away the power and authority they are enjoying at the moment.
Image Credits: Google Images
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2014/08/iron-lady-irom-sharmila/
http://edtimes.in/2016/08/why-deadline-politics-strategy-used-by-modi-kejriwal-is-a-trap-beware/
http://edtimes.in/2016/09/politics-over-people-delhi-suffers-as-politicians-holiday-abroad/
