There are times when state and citizen are so hopelessly locked in conflict that one of them will have to give in. In normal circumstances, the state prevails. But Irom Sharmila Chanu’s 14-year-long hunger strike is no ordinary circumstance. Whatever the state does — be it arresting and force-feeding her or ignoring her demand for an end to military impunity by repealing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 — the Manipuri activist, now 42, seems to triumph. It is a sign of the government’s defeat that it has been forced to arrest Ms. Sharmila again, two days after she was released by a court. The ostensible objective is to save her life, as she insists on continuing her indefinite fast even after her release. The authorities are on questionable legal ground in repeatedly detaining her — after the court found that she had done no crime and that the provision criminalising attempt to commit suicide is not applicable to political protests like hers — but they seem to have no choice, as she can be fed by nasal tube only in custody. The ‘Iron Lady of Manipur’ has come to symbolise the conscience of a country that probably recognises that AFSPA gives unconscionable protection to excesses committed by the Army in parts of India hit by political conflict, but is unable to abrogate, amend or dilute it. The state has been unable or unwilling to prevail over the Army, which stubbornly favours the retention of the indefensible law.
In 2005, the United Progressive Alliance regime recognised the need to amend or dilute AFSPA and appointed a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge B.P. Jeevan Reddy. The panel unambiguously recommended that AFSPA be repealed. It suggested amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act that could legally tackle insurgency and conflict in areas currently notified under AFSPA. This would end the feeling among the people of the States where the law is invoked that their territories are being selectively targeted. Ms. Sharmila’s protest has so far helped keep AFSPA in the limelight; the latest episode of her release and re-arrest shines light on the desirability of retaining Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) in the statute book. A Constitution Bench has upheld the section on the ground that the ‘right to live’ does not include the ‘right to die’, but courts have also suggested that the provision be repealed, as it is inhuman to prosecute those who attempt suicide due to depression instead of empowering them to lead fruitful lives. However, the state seems to need this provision to deal with political protesters resorting to hunger strikes. It is time the government repealed AFSPA and abrogated Section 309 to humanise the law further.