NEW DELHI — An Indian human-rights activist says she will end her 16-year hunger strike next month.
Irom Sharmila, 43, has not eaten for years as a protest against the immunity enjoyed by the Indian military in cases of abuse in the country’s conflict zones.
The government has said her protest amounts to suicide and has force-fed her through a nasal tube.
Sharmila told a court Tuesday that she wishes to break her fast on Aug. 9.
“I will break my fast as the government has failed to give any positive response,” Sharmila told Asian News International outside the court in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, where she appears twice a month. “I will fight elections to resolve the issues.”
The state of Manipur is scheduled to hold elections next year. Sharmila said she will contest as an independent candidate.
Popularly known as the “Iron Lady of Manipur,” Sharmila has protested the immunity law called the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
India gives its troops powers to shoot and arrest in insurgency-hit areas in states like Manipur and Kashmir, protecting them from prosecution with the immunity law.