Friday, January 30, 2009
Free the Feet from Shackles
By Irom Chanu Sharmila :-
Free my feet from the shackles
Like bangles made of thorn
Confined inside a narrow room
My fault lies in
Being incarnated as a bird.
Inside the dark room of the prison
Many voices echo around
Unlike the sound of birds
Not the merry laughter
Not that of a lullaby
A child snatched away from the mother’s bosom
The lamentation of a mother
A woman separated from her husband
The cry of anguish of a widow
A cry springing out of a sepoy’s hand
A ball of fire is seen
Dooms day follows it
The ball of fire was lit
By the product of science
Because of oral experimentation
Servants of sense organs
Everybody is in trance
Intoxication – the enemy of thinking
Wisdom of thinking is annihilated
No experimentation of thinking
Laughing with smiles on the face
By the traveller of coming beyond the hill ranges
Nothing remains but my laments
Nothing saved by the seeing eyes
Strength cannot show itself
Human life is precious
Before life comes to an end
Let me be light of darkness
Nectar will be sown
A true of immortality will be planted.
Putting on artificial wings
All the corners of the earth will be covered
Near the joining line of life and death
Morning songs will be sung
The chores of the world will be performed.
Let the gate of the prison be flung wide
I will not go on another path
Please remove the shackles of thorn
Let me be not accused
For being incarnated in the life of a bird.
Translated from Manipuri to English by
Wide Angle Social Development Organisation
Free my feet from the shackles
Like bangles made of thorn
Confined inside a narrow room
My fault lies in
Being incarnated as a bird.
Inside the dark room of the prison
Many voices echo around
Unlike the sound of birds
Not the merry laughter
Not that of a lullaby
A child snatched away from the mother’s bosom
The lamentation of a mother
A woman separated from her husband
The cry of anguish of a widow
A cry springing out of a sepoy’s hand
A ball of fire is seen
Dooms day follows it
The ball of fire was lit
By the product of science
Because of oral experimentation
Servants of sense organs
Everybody is in trance
Intoxication – the enemy of thinking
Wisdom of thinking is annihilated
No experimentation of thinking
Laughing with smiles on the face
By the traveller of coming beyond the hill ranges
Nothing remains but my laments
Nothing saved by the seeing eyes
Strength cannot show itself
Human life is precious
Before life comes to an end
Let me be light of darkness
Nectar will be sown
A true of immortality will be planted.
Putting on artificial wings
All the corners of the earth will be covered
Near the joining line of life and death
Morning songs will be sung
The chores of the world will be performed.
Let the gate of the prison be flung wide
I will not go on another path
Please remove the shackles of thorn
Let me be not accused
For being incarnated in the life of a bird.
Translated from Manipuri to English by
Wide Angle Social Development Organisation
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Man abducted by security men released after he promised to pay
IMPHAL, Jan 19: A person by the name of Elangbam Toto, son of E Ibohal, of Keishamthong charged that he was abducted from his work place by masked security personnel some of whom spoke Manipur and others Hindi at 8.30pm on January 17 and threatened death.
He was however released when he promised to pay them a sum of Rs. 1,50,000 he charged.
In this regard, the meira paibis of the Keishamthong locality staged a dharna protesting the atrocious act of security men turning on the people they are supposed to protect.
Recounting the incident, Toto said he was at his workplace, Hiro Hito, a factory which manufactures track suits, where he was advisor, when two armed security men, one conversant in Manipuri and the other who spoke only Hindi entered and pretended they were interested in buying tracksuits.They also entered the other rooms where the factory’s workers stay overnight.
The workers thinking they were again customers from organisations such as the CRPF, Army and Assam Rifles, who frequent the factory, asked them if they belonged to any of these organisations in friendly manner. The answers were in the negative.
Thereafter the intruders asked Toto to accompany them to the ground floor. They then took him to the road outside, where there was initially nobody in sight.
Two Gypsy vehicles full of armed security personnel emerged from the south and north side of the road.
They asked Toto to step into one of the vehicles. When Toto in petrifaction pleaded not to take him away as he was a family man, the men forced into one of the vehicles and whisked him away to a spot in Keishampat. There they stopped and asked why he was involved in extortion. He denied he was involved in such activities.
Toto said the mask from one of the security men nearly fell off as he got off a vehicle, and after that they started being more rude. They also blind folded him and drove for what seemed about 3 km in the Imphal area and when his blindfold was removed they were on an isolated black topped road.
There one of them took out a gun and told him that it was not a government issued weapon but one meant to set him up. One of them even held him by the throat as he spoke. The petrified Toto pleaded in desperation and promised to pay them if he was released safe.
The security men consulted between themselves and then one of them asked how much. He said he would arrange Rs 50,000. One of his captors then said make it Rs 1,00,000, to which he agreed in order to be free.
However the security men consulted among themselves again and came up with the figure of Rs. 1,50,000. Again he agreed in order to be let off, Toto said.
The men then took him away and left him at a place in Keishampat.The next day, he received a text message inquiring what has happened to the deal, Toto said.
The protesting meira paibis demanded an explanation for this state terrorism and extortion from the state authorities.
He was however released when he promised to pay them a sum of Rs. 1,50,000 he charged.
In this regard, the meira paibis of the Keishamthong locality staged a dharna protesting the atrocious act of security men turning on the people they are supposed to protect.
Recounting the incident, Toto said he was at his workplace, Hiro Hito, a factory which manufactures track suits, where he was advisor, when two armed security men, one conversant in Manipuri and the other who spoke only Hindi entered and pretended they were interested in buying tracksuits.They also entered the other rooms where the factory’s workers stay overnight.
The workers thinking they were again customers from organisations such as the CRPF, Army and Assam Rifles, who frequent the factory, asked them if they belonged to any of these organisations in friendly manner. The answers were in the negative.
Thereafter the intruders asked Toto to accompany them to the ground floor. They then took him to the road outside, where there was initially nobody in sight.
Two Gypsy vehicles full of armed security personnel emerged from the south and north side of the road.
They asked Toto to step into one of the vehicles. When Toto in petrifaction pleaded not to take him away as he was a family man, the men forced into one of the vehicles and whisked him away to a spot in Keishampat. There they stopped and asked why he was involved in extortion. He denied he was involved in such activities.
Toto said the mask from one of the security men nearly fell off as he got off a vehicle, and after that they started being more rude. They also blind folded him and drove for what seemed about 3 km in the Imphal area and when his blindfold was removed they were on an isolated black topped road.
There one of them took out a gun and told him that it was not a government issued weapon but one meant to set him up. One of them even held him by the throat as he spoke. The petrified Toto pleaded in desperation and promised to pay them if he was released safe.
The security men consulted between themselves and then one of them asked how much. He said he would arrange Rs 50,000. One of his captors then said make it Rs 1,00,000, to which he agreed in order to be free.
However the security men consulted among themselves again and came up with the figure of Rs. 1,50,000. Again he agreed in order to be let off, Toto said.
The men then took him away and left him at a place in Keishampat.The next day, he received a text message inquiring what has happened to the deal, Toto said.
The protesting meira paibis demanded an explanation for this state terrorism and extortion from the state authorities.
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