When the phone call came, I think my reaction shocked the organizers on the other side of the line. "Would you consider... I mean would you be willing... feel free to say no, Ok..." they asked hesitantly. "Would you take our exhibition to Imphal?"

"Yes! Of course!"

I almost jumped out of my own skin, and I'm sure the person on the other end must have dropped his phone. For me, it was the opportunity of a lifetime who gets to take an Exhibition on Peace to the northeast? I am no activist, nor a social worker.

I could hardly believe my luck. They of course had their own reservations. It is after all, very much considered 'Disturbed Area', with a known history of volatile violence, and though Imphal itself has not had a curfew on in a while now, the whole valley is still under military law, as is most of the north-east, and is often the centre of insurgent violence.

I have always wanted to go to the North East. It's always been a fascinating, beckoning, mysterious place, which eluded me for years. Inspite of many plans made in college with my North Eastern friends, it just didn't happen somehow. Now with the possibility of finally getting there, I started reading about it on the Internet.

The more I read, the more interested I got. And the more I read, the more ashamed I felt about how little I knew. It was strange to me that I went to the best educational institutes and still knew next to nothing about a huge part of my own country, and my own people. Is it the educational system, or was it me? Had I been blatantly ignorant all these years?

I started asking around, and I realized that it wasn't just me. No one I spoke to had any clear idea of the North East. Not even the people from those parts who had settled in Delhi. There seemed to also be this hesitation to talk about it, to discuss it. Almost everyone I spoke to ended with a "Tch tch, it's so sad. But what can be done?"

It's important for me to give a brief history here, of Manipur and also of the events so far. Manipur is bound by the Indian states of Nagaland in the north, Mizoram in the south and Assam in the west; it also borders the country of Myanmar to the east.

Manipur was brought under British paramountcy in 1891. After Indian Independence in 1947, the British moved out and Manipur became an independent kingdom once again. The Manipur Constitution Act, 1947 established a democratic form of Government with the Maharaja as the Executive Head and an elected legislature.

In 1949, the King Budhachandra was invited to Shillong, where he signed an agreement for annexation of the kingdom into India. (The King had already signed the Instrument of Accession with the Indian Dominion in 1947, but there is camp of historians that say that he was put under house arrest and force to sign).

And so on the 15th October 1949, Manipur became the 20th State of the Indian Union. Soon after, the entire North East was drowned in cries of separatist and insurgent groups, crying for an assertion of their own ethnic identity, and some even demanding independence from India.

It is difficult to determine when the seeds of insurgency were sown; some attribute it to the instrument of merger of 1949, some say it was a reaction to the Naga demand of their own Nagalim, most believe it was due to the step motherly treatment meted out by the Centre and mainland India to the seven sister States.

The Indian Army was sent in to subdue the insurgency movement, and in 1958, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA was passed by the Parliament, enabling certain special powers to members of the armed forces in the 'disturbed areas' in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

By virtue of this act, for the maintenance of public order, the army may arrest without warrant, fire upon, or otherwise use force even causing death, against not only the proven criminals, but anyone who may be under reasonable suspicion, or in contravention of the law.

No prosecution, suit or legal proceeding shall be instituted against those acting under the protection of this act, except with previous sanction of Central Government.

Today, the number of insurgent groups running in the entire North East is close to forty. They run their own parallel Governments in most regions under their control, and many collect taxes from the people living in their control areas. The number of grievances and violation of human rights are numerous, and it's true that it is piled on them not only by the insurgents, but also by the army, protected by this act.

After more than fifty years, the people continue to live in this reign of terror, flanked on either side by violence, extortion, rape, murder, disappearances, torture (custodial and otherwise)... the kind of case studies of heinous torture, rape and murder that I came across while in Imphal were inhuman, bizarre, beastly, and definitely meted out by mentally, spiritually and emotionally devoid and dysfunctional individuals, to say the least.

On the 2nd of November 2000, ten civilians were killed by the army in a operation in Malom village near Imphal. A young woman, Irom Sharmila, aged 28 at the time, decided she could not sit quietly anymore. She decided to go on a fast onto death, in protest against the Malom Massacre and declared that she would only break her fast if AFSPA is repealed.

On the 7th of November, she was arrested by the police on the charges of "attempted suicide", and since that day, has been forcibly force fed through the nose twice a day to keep her alive: It has been six years since then. AFSPA has not been repealed, and Sharmila continues her fast. She has not touched either food or water since that day.

One can only imagine the grit of this extraordinary young woman, who has not used her sense of taste for so long, who is firm in her resolve. Who believes so strongly that she is fighting for the greater good of her people. When we are hungry, how we twist and turn with hunger all night long.

One can only imagine how long and painful her nights and days must be. Yet when you meet her (she is currently in JN Hospital, still under arrest), a pair of sparkling eyes is what stands out in her wasted face. Her health has now started to fail, but her resolve and energy is ever expanding. She is a poetess and a writer of songs, and has never lost hope in her long struggle.

Sharmila was one of the 1000 Peace Women across the globe who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005, in recognition of her silent resolve and struggle for human rights and against what is considered by most to be a draconian law.

Our event in Imphal was in solidarity with Sharmila, celebrating the 6-year anniversary of her peaceful struggle, in a place where violence is considered the easiest immediate answer, but as we have seen, never the solution.

to be continued.....

Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5