Indian human rights activist Irom Sharmila ended a 16-year hunger strike on Tuesday (August 09) against an army law that she said led to atrocities in her northeastern state, and she vowed to press on with her fight by entering politics.
Known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, Sharmila has spent most of the last 16 years hospitalized and force-fed under judicial custody. Attempted suicide is an offence in India.
Sharmila, in tears, broke her fast in front of reporters by dripping honey into her mouth in Imphal city of Manipur state.
"I broke my fast and now I want to drink something," said Sharmila.
She said she wanted to live like a "normal human being" and pledged to contest state elections due next year.
"I am being the real embodiment of revolution, and I want to be the CM of Manipur to make a positive change in sudden time," said Sharmila.
The 44-year-old activist said she would continue to fight a law that gives security forces wide powers to search, enter property and shoot on sight in parts of remote Manipur state.
"I will use everything I have for the positive change of the society; the foremost thing will be the removal of this draconian law," said Sharmila.
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gives security forces, battling militancy in the troubled regions of Kashmir and the northeast, sweeping powers to search, arrest or shoot people.
She launched her hunger strike in 2000 after security forces killed 10 people near her home following a rebel attack on a military convoy.
Her long protest won her worldwide recognition and the rights group Amnesty International described her as a prisoner of conscience.
Manipur, an underdeveloped state with a population of 2.5 million, has struggled for decades with an insurgency even as other northeastern states have become more stable. Last year, 20 soldiers were killed in an attack there.
Sharmila's decision to end her protest against the law comes as the federal government has asked its forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests in the disputed Kashmir region, where the army has shoot-to-kill powers to fight militants.
Sharmila also plans to get married, she told supporters this year.
