00:03this is the moment she broke her 16 year long fast with a spoon of honey I have
00:08been struggling for justice that's Hiromchanu Sharmila the woman known for
00:13the longest hunger strike in the world for almost 16 years without a single
00:19drop of water through mouth known as the Iron Lady of Manipur Sharmila was
00:24force-fed through a nasogastric tube for nearly 16 years as she protested against
00:28the Armed Forces Special Powers Act her fight began after the Malom massacre in
00:33November 2000 when 10 civilians were killed at a bus stop near Imphal for
00:385757 days she refused to eat she said she would not take food under laughs power
00:43was repealed at the time our spa had been in force in Manipur for decades the law
00:48gave armed forces sweeping paths including arrest without warrant search
00:52without permission and use of force on suspicions three days after the killings
00:56Iran stopped eating she was arrested repeatedly because refusing food was
01:00then treated as an attempt to commit suicide under Indian law each time she
01:04was kept under detention and fed through a tube inserted through her nose into her
01:08stomach she survived on liquid nutrients but never ate on her own during the fast
01:12year after year the cycle continued she was released resumed her fast and was
01:16arrested again then in 2016 she reached a painful conclusion
01:20Charmila said fasting alone was no longer enough and she wanted to try politics
01:24instead on 9th August 2016 she broke her fast with a spoonful of honey I want to be
01:29the CM of Manipur in 2017 she contested the Manipur assembly election against Chief
01:35Minister Okram Ibobi Singh she got only 90 votes and lost her security deposit as
01:41passed still remains in force in parts of India including some areas of Manipur
01:45and in Om Sharmila's story whether it's a powerful symbol of peaceful
01:49resistance or a cautionary tale you decide
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