Irom Sharmila. Irom Sharmila.

On the day she began the 15th year of her fast to protest AFSPA in Manipur, Irom Sharmila Chanu said she firmly believed Prime Minister Narendra Modi would repeal the controversial law from the state.

“When I watched what happened in Godhra, I thought Modi is a very dangerous man. But in 2009, I dreamt that he was standing in front of me and smiling. And now, he has become PM. Since then, I have a firm conviction that this man will repeal AFSPA from Manipur, he is capable of doing it. That is my gut instinct, that is my conviction,” she said from a room in the special ward of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences that has been her home for over a decade.

“Why can’t it be possible. He (Modi) is from the birthplace of Gandhiji whose principles I follow. He will respect his leader’s principles,’’she added. On the day she completes 15 years of her protest, Gwangju awardees and rights activists Dr Binayak Sen and Lenin Raghuvanshi along with a host of other luminaries flocked to meet Sharmila.

“People see me as a separatist. But, I am struggling for India’s integrity. After the way the army has behaved, if the government does not repeal AFSPA, then Manipur will get automatically get separated from India,” she said.

She added, “The problem in Manipur right now is that we feel discriminated. Every now and then, Northeastern people are attacked, simply because our facial features and food are different. They can’t see us as equals.”

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