Imphal's Robita begins fast unto death against AFSPA

Days after activist Irom Sharmila Chanu ended her 16-year hunger strike, another Manipuri woman, Konthoujam Robita Leima, started an indefinite fast against AFSPA on Saturday.

Robita (32) said she was not only demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA), but also implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP), a special pass regime for outsiders to enter Manipur.

“I have decided to follow ‘eche’ (elder sister) in Sharmila’s footsteps. From today, I am starting my fast-unto-death agitation and appeal to citizens to support me. I also seek Sharmila’s blessings. She is my inspiration,” Robita, a mother of two, told DH over phone from Imphal.

At a press conference on Friday, Robita said that the flames of the agitation should be kept alive and carried forward. Meanwhile, a large section of civil society organisations and women’s groups have opposed Robita’s fast. She did not find support from her husband and in-laws too.

Robita, while talking to mediapersons on Saturday, charged that a few members of a civil society group tried to forcibly confine her in their office to stop her from commencing the fast.

“Robita wanted to fast at her NGO’s office, but the police did not permit that. She then started fasting in front of her residence at Kongba in Imphal East district. Police have been deployed at the location. She might be arrested too,” Robita’s legal counsel Tezkumar Singh told DH from Imphal.