The railway station was almost empty, which is a rare sight to be seen at the super busy terminal of Howrah. We were 15 students representing SIO on our mission to receive caravan delegates which had been travelling for 10 days all the way from Srinagar creating awareness for a cause. Opened our welcome banners, rehearsed our slogans and awaited.
It was a crowd, no sophisticated cadre, no artistic looking activists. Housewives, teachers, retired service men, students, eyes though innocent flickering with passion for a serious cause. ‘Sharmila tum aage badho / Hum tumhare sath hain’ (Sharmila, you go ahead / we all are with you) rented the cold air of desolate platform. No hired Volvo, not even a cab. We escorted them to a local bus to take them to the seminar venue.
Soldiers of Irom Sharmila reflect the same commitment to humanity that she herself exudes. Recently Anna Hazare was on a theatrical fast for a few days; the whole media telecast the circus 24/7. But how many hours and how many pages covered the fast that has been on for 10 years?
AFSPA, a draconian law, came into force in 1958, giving armed forces judicial immunity. They can arrest anyone, search any premises, even kill anyone without any warrant; yet they could not be tried in a court of law! For decades it is being misused in Kashmir and North East including Manipur. After a military atrocity Irom started her fast on Nov 2, 2000. She was a young woman of 28; now after the passage of ten years she is being forced-fed permanently under medical support. Her demand of withdrawal of AFSPA is yet to be fulfilled.
Later in the afternoon, SIO cadre again assembled at College Square just in front of the prestigious Calcutta University. Sarwar Hasan, SIOWB president overlooked the gathering, addressing to the public and two local media persons who took interest in the issue. Shadab Masoom, president SIO Kolkata led the rally that followed. Though exhausted, caravan delegates Faisal Khan Mahendra was full of energy explaining the demands. They would have missed their train to Imphal if they had not been alarmed.