Thursday, September 11, 2014

5 things the ‘Mary Kom’ movie doesn’t tell you about Manipur


10 September 2014, 03:16PM

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is awesome.

She’s one of the world’s best boxers, one of India’s few individual Olympic champions, and the owner of a left hook that deserves to have poetry written about it.

Now she will have her own movie, Mary Kom, where this phenomenon will be played by Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra.

Until recently, though, many in India didn’t know much about this Indian sporting legend, or about Manipur, where she grew up.

Manipur is one of India’s most troubled states. You’ll probably see a lot of sequences depicting Manipuri life in the new film. But here are five things the film won’t tell you about the state, which makes Mary Kom’s journey so much more extraordinary.

5) Human rights abuses

For decades, ordinary people in Manipur have had to face serious abuses both from armed separatist groups and security forces. Thousands of people have died in conflicts between different armed groups, and between armed groups and the state. Many separatist groups continue to practice extortion, while security forces are accused of other abuses, including intimidation, torture and arbitrary detention.

4) Fake encounter killings

Security forces have been accused of carrying out hundreds of fake encounter killings in Manipur. Last year, a Supreme Court appointed independent panel said six representative cases it had investigated were all fake encounters. In one case where a 12-year old boy was shot dead by soldiers, it said, “It is extremely difficult to believe that nearly 20 trained security personnel equipped with sophisticated weapons…could not have overpowered/disabled the victim.”

One of the most infamous cases of alleged fake encounters in Manipur is that of….

3) Manorama Devi

Thangjam Manorama Devi was taken from her home by Assam Rifles personnel one night in July 2004 for ‘questioning’. Her dead body was found the next morning a few kilometres away, bearing bullet wounds on her back and genitals, and signs of rape and other torture. In one of the most extraordinary protests that followed, a group of 30 women stripped naked before the Assam Rifles headquarters in Imphal’s historic Kangla fort carrying banners that read “Indian Army Rape Us”.

Yet more than a decade later, nobody has been arrested or charged in the case, because of…

2) The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

The AFSPA is one of India’s most infamous laws. It gives soldiers sweeping powers in areas where it is in force, including the power to shoot to kill in certain situations. It also gives soldiers effective immunity from prosecution by a civilian court. The AFSPA was used by the Army to block prosecutions of soldiers accused in the Manorama Devi case and in other cases in states in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, where an identical version of the Act is in force. The Justice Verma Committee said the law legitimized sexual violence, and many Indian and international human rights bodies have called for its repeal.

One of the most prominent Indian opponents of the AFSPA is Manipur’s “Iron Lady”…

1) Irom Sharmila

Irom Sharmila has been on a hunger strike for nearly 14 years now, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. She started her strike in November 2000, after the killing of 10 people in Malom, Manipur by soldiers of the Assam Rifles. Irom Sharmila was released recently after spending 13 years in detention on multiple charges of attempted suicide, but in a disappointing return to the Manipur government’s farcical tactics, she was re-arrested just two days later for the same “offence”.

It’s hard enough to make it as a sportsperson in India, let alone if you are woman making inroads in a largely male dominated sport. Add to that Manipur’s extremely difficult socio-political environment in which Mary grew up and one can begin to understand/appreciate what a colossal journey Mary has undertaken!

Wouldn’t a more peaceful and rights-respecting environment in Manipur help uncover many more gems - sporting or otherwise!

Demand the repeal of the AFSPA and the immediate release of Prisoner of Conscience, Irom Sharmila by calling 08688001010 today!

Source : http://www.amnesty.org.in/show/blog/5-things-the-mary-kom-movie-doesnt-tell-you-about-manipur/

Pic: Iecercle / Flickr CC https://www.flickr.com/photos/lecercle/3452836536

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