Irom Chanu Sharmila (1970 - ), also known as Sharmila Chanu, is an Indian woman activist of Meitei Manipuri heritage, known for her campaign against the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, colloquially known as the AFSPA. Manipur was, like many other princely states, annexed by the Indian Union in 1949 under disputed circumstances; there have been sporadic separatist movements since. Chanu has been on a hunger strike demanding the repeal of the AFSPA, on November 2, 2000, after soldiers of the Indian Paramilitary Assam Rifles allegedly killed ten young Meitei men in Malom. Three days later, police arrested Sharmila on charges of "attempted suicide",suicide or attempted suicide being unlawful under Indian laws,and she was later transferred to judicial custody.
To keep her alive, she was force-fed a cocktail of vitamins, minerals, laxatives, protein supplements and lentil soup through the nose with a rubber pipe. As part of a major set of concessions, including the transfer of the Kangla Fort to the State Government, a long-standing demand, Irom Chanu was released on October 2, 2006, on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. She immediately made her way secretly to New Delhi, visited Gandhi's mausoleum (samadhi) at Raj Ghat as her first act after being released, and immediately recommenced her fast at the Jantar Mantar monument in Delhi.She was immediately arrested once again and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences' hospital (AIIMS), but her brother, Irom Singhajit Singh, has challenged the detention in the New Delhi High Court. Also, as part of these concessions, AFSPA has been repealed for certain parts of urban Manipur.
Activists against AFSPA have rejected these concessions as inadequate and demand a complete repeal. On November 28, 2006, Irom Chanu removed the plastic pipe inserted into her nose to force-feed her, acting against the advice of AIIMS' doctors, in order to resume her forcibly interrupted fast-unto-death demanding the complete repeal of AFSPA. On December 2, 2006, Irom Chanu Sharmila rejected Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to 'dilute' the AFSPA and announced her intention to continue until complete repeal.
In late November 2006, Iranian activist and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi visited Irom Chanu at AIIMS and announced her public support for her campaign against AFSPA.
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