Has India ignored other Anna Hazares?

New Delhi, Apr 9: The nation started celebrating the victory of "aam admi" led by the Gandhian leader Anna Hazare. The 72-year-old crusader has won his battle with the government within five days. The entire nation came up on roads to support Hazare in his struggle to remove corruption. However, a tale of struggle still remains unheard and unnoticed. (

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People started calling Hazare a "freedom fighter" who brought victory to the nation as the government agreed to set up a joint committee panel to draft Jan Lokpal Bill and will table the bill in Parliament's monsoon session. (What is Lokpal Bill?)

Success touched Hazare's feet on the fifth day of his fast-unto-death struggle. But a 38-year-old lady - Irom Sharmila continues her hunger strike from last 10 years and unfortunately, merely receive any attention from the countrymen.

Sharmila, who is also known as "the Iron Lady", had her last voluntary meal on Nov 4, 2000. She started her agitation to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives the military powers such as the right to arrest suspected militants without a warrant and to shoot anyone suspected of being a rebel.

Armed Forces Special Powers Act is being implemented in the terrorism dominated states in India and the soldiers are bestowed with tremendous power to tackle the militants. Sharmila lives in Manipur, the north east state which faces enough trouble - both from the army and the militants. Experiencing the draw-backs of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Sharmila began her long-battle to protest the anti-terror law.

It seems that Irom Sharmila's struggle remained unheard or has not received much media attention as she is protesting from an ignored state of the country. If she would have held the hunger-strike from a metro city like Delhi, she might have won like Anna Hazare.

OneIndia News