The controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in place in Manipur for the last 55 years. While the forces claim it is impossible to improve the security situation without it, its frequent abuse has led to the death and disappearance of many youths, it has led to rape of women by security force personnel. While Irom Sharmila's marathon fast has kept the focus on the issue, 55 years is enough time to take stock of what the imposition of AFSPA has yielded. Senior journalist and author of 'Highway 39' Sudeep Chakravarti joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Hi Sudeep. two questions. First a hypothetical question. AFSPA has to go. But is there a plan how it should go? Gradual phasing out? Absence of AFSPA is essential for peace in Manipur but do you fear some kind of a vacuum once it goes? Second question: Example of any specific counterinsurgency operation that AFSPA has helped? Asked by: Arijit Sen
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05:57 PM, May 23, 2013
Activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who has been on fast for more than 12 years demanding repeal of the 'draconian' Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Manipur, was re-arrested by state police, officials said on Thursday. ...
02:25 PM, Mar 14, 2013
BJP on Tuesday expressed its disagreement with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over repealing of Armed Forces Special Powers Act, saying the state should not speak against this law as it has already passed a similar legislation in its Assembly. ...
07:28 PM, Mar 05, 2013
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) should be repealed from the places where Army is not required. Omar said the issue of AFSPA is not on the "backburner", and if Irom Sharmila can fast in protest against AFSPA for 12 long years why can't he just speak against it. ...
05:09 PM, Mar 05, 2013
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has strongly come out in support of lifting the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). Omar, who was speaking in the state Assembly, also praised northeast activist Irom Sharmila's fight for the repeal of AFSPA. ...
04:07 PM, Mar 05, 2013
Activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who on Monday was charged with attempting suicide for her fast unto death here in 2006 while demanding repeal of controversial AFSPA, said she is following Mahatma Gandhi's principle of non-violence and should not be "discriminated" against. ...
06:00 PM, Mar 04, 2013
Will Irom Sharmila's fast bear fruit, will AFSPA be repealed? Pradip Phanjoubam, editor of Imphal Free Press joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. ...
05:37 PM, Mar 04, 2013
Demanding revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, (AFSPA) over 30 supporters of Manipur's "Iron Lady" Irom Sharmila Chanu gathered outside Patiala House Court Monday morning and raised slogans in support of her campaign. The renowned rights activist has been on an indefinite hunger strike since Nov 2, 2000 in Manipur, demanding the withdrawal of AFSPA from the state after witnessing the killing of 10 people by the army...
01:01 PM, Mar 04, 2013
A Delhi court has framed charges against anti-AFSPA activist Irom 'Chanu' Sharmila 'for attempting to commit suicide' under Section 309 of IPC on March 4, 2013. Sharmila has refused to plead guilty to the charges. ...
12:00 PM, Mar 04, 2013
Irom Sharmila, Manipur's "iron lady", appeared in New Delhi's Patiala Court on Monday in an attempt to suicide case. Sharmila has been on a fast-unto-death stir against the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). ...
11:00 AM, Mar 04, 2013
Social activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on a hunger strike for about 12 years demanding repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), will be produced before a Delhi court on Monday. ...
06:13 AM, Mar 04, 2013
Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila will be brought to New Delhi on Sunday for a court appearance. The court has summoned her in connection with her fast unto death stir against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. ...
08:12 AM, Mar 03, 2013
Filmmaker Barun Thokchom has captured a different angle of Sharmila's life as a poet in his film 'The Silent Poet'. ...
04:49 PM, Dec 07, 2012
Imphal: Irom Sharmila, Manipur's 'Iron Lady', on Monday completed 12 years of protest demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). On an indefinite fast, Sharmila, who is force-fed through the nose to keep her alive began her fast till death after ten persons, including a boy who received the national bravery award, were shot dead in an alleged encounter with Assam Rifles personnel at Malom near Imphal...
12:22 PM, Nov 05, 2012
Kolkata: The courageous tale of Irom Chanu Sharmila, the 'Iron Lady of Manipur', who has not eaten a morsel of food since the last eleven years has now been included in the collection of 'Ripley's Believe It or Not'. Under the banner of Just Peace Foundation (JPF), supporters of Irom had written to researchers at the US-based Ripley's franchise requesting them to include her case in their list of unusual...
02:44 AM, May 10, 2012
In a 2009 interview, historian Lokendra Arambam, former President of the Apunba Lup (a conglomerate of 32 civil society organisations in the state of Manipur) told me that when it comes to Manipur, "the government of India is interested in the land and not in the people." In 2006, just three years before Arambam's remark, Henry V Jardine, US Consulate General, Calcutta, returned from Manipur, which borders Myanmar, and sent...
12:26 PM, Jan 09, 2012
HYDERABAD: With the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA) being a bone of contention between civil rights groups and the governments, 'Saving Sharmila' campaign might not be an easy objective. But, a five-member team of civil society representatives, who were in the city on Monday, have named their campaign in honour of the iron lady of Manipur, Irom Sharmila. "We want to reach out to people and not just make...
09:37 AM, Nov 29, 2011
Kolkata: A mime play portraying 'Iron Lady' Irom Chanu Sharmila's 11-year-long hunger strike demanding repeal of the 'draconian' Armed Forces Special Powers Act has drawn applause at an international theatre festival in South Korea. The one-hour stage drama 'Mirel Masingkha' or 'The will of soul', based on Sharmila's lone struggle, was showcased at the Chuncheon Festival in the South Korean city of Gwangju last week in homage to the victims...
01:29 PM, Oct 13, 2011
CNN-IBN's Senior Editor Anubha Bhonsle talks about the amazing journey of the ten-year old fast of the Iron Lady of Manipur, Irom Sharmila against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).Anubha acknowledges and also laments the fact that Irom's cause came to hit the national headlines only after the 13-day fast of Anna Hazare to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed. She points out that either our indifference to...
07:08 PM, Sep 19, 2011
New Delhi: Manipur's iron lady Irom Sharmila, who is on fast for the past 11 years to demand the repeal of the AFPSA, spoke exclusively to CNN-IBN saying that once the government accepts her demands she will break her fast. Anubha Bhonsle: In this room of the Jawaharlal Nehru hospital as a prisoner, as someone who is in judicial custody, what would you like to say to the Prime Minister?...
06:59 PM, Sep 01, 2011
