Print & EmailBy Kunal Majumder
Illustration: Anand Naorem
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s visit eclipsed an epic moment in India’s history. On 4 November, 38-year-old Irom Sharmila marked a 10-year fast to protest the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that has been imposed in Manipur since 1961 and most of the Northeast since 1972. The State has ignored Sharmila’s vigil and the increasingly loud protests against AFSPA. By the government’s own admission, more than 20,000 people have ‘disappeared’ in Manipur since then. In Jammu & Kashmir, where AFSPA has been in force since 1990, activists claim that between 8,000 and 10,000 people have disappeared in the custody of army, paramilitary forces and the police. In 2009, the J&K government asked the Union home ministry for the prosecution of 458 cases of murder, torture and extreme violence by the armed forces. Irom Sharmila’s superhuman courage grows out of the despair of the thousands of Manipuri families that have been broken by these extra-judicial killings. Most of those who have disappeared are under 35, newly married and young fathers. Here we tell the stories of seven AFSPA widows from Imphal.
kunal@tehelka.com
Widow Of Nongmaithem Michael Singh, Who Was 35 When He Was Killed
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Widow Of Ningthoujam Anand, Who Was 31 When He Was Killed
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Widow Of K Iboyaima, Who Was 37 When He Was Killed
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Widow Of Khomkham Deban, Who Was 39 When He Was Killed
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Widow Of H Thangkhenmung Hangzo, Who Was 31 When He Was Killed
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Widow Of Hijam Sanjoy Singh, Who Was 28 When He Died
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Widow Of Muttom Herojit, Who Was 30 When He Was Killed
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An India bereft of her moral compass, faring no better than her ravaged sister