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Irom Sharmila’s Disillusionment


Irom Sharmila in Santhi Gramam
Sixteen years of youth is the price that Irom Sharmila paid for learning the lesson that politics is not meant for idealists.  She has reasons to feel disillusioned and dejected.  She has reasons to seek shelter in Santhi Gramam in Kerala. 

“Politics is dirty by nature,” she learnt the hard way.  There’s no place for idealists in politics.  The age of the Mahatma and his hunger strikes are fairy tales today.  We live in a world of hardcore pragmatism of the kind espoused by none other than Lord Krishna in Kurukshetra.  Politics is war.  Strategies matter, not idealism. 

“Dharma is subtle,” the great idealist can only philosophise. And perish for that Dharma. 

Ms Sharmila blamed money power and muscle power.  It’s much more than that, dear Ms Sharmila.  It’s brain power.  And there’s divine power too.  There is a whole pantheon of gods involved in this war called politics today in our country.  It’s a war to redeem Bharat from all kinds of mlecchas.  Money is just one of the many strategies.  Each time you hear great concepts like ‘development’ the idealist in you may be reawakened.  Development is a strategy too. 

Irom Sharmila seems to have understood that.  She has decided to quit politics.  Right decision.  Politics is for those who are “made of sterner stuff.”  Mr Sharmila has reached the right place, in the company of Uma Preman of Santhi Gramam.  Ms Preman knows how to combine idealism with humane pragmatism.  Humane, not Machiavellian politics. And pragmatic, not effete idealism. 

Best wishes to you, Ms Sharmila.




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  1. जितेन्द्र माथुरMarch 15, 2017 at 10:12 AM

    I completely endorse your views. The unscrupulous and mean politics of India got better of the idealism of the Iron Lady who fought relentlessly for truth and justice. She has learnt the hard way that in today's era (in fact, any era) truth and justice have to lose out to untruth and injustice because duals are always decided not by ideal but by might.

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    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMarch 15, 2017 at 3:23 PM

      Perhaps 16 years is too long a period for one to learn one lesson. I think Ms Sharmila should have realised the futility of her strategy long ago. Anyway, her idealism and naive optimism are far preferable to the venal strategies our political parties resort to.

      Delete
  2. VijayMarch 15, 2017 at 11:55 AM

    Maybe Akhilesh is a good and youthful leader. Sharmila regardless of the votes she won is a different genus- adopted a lifestyle of hardship - relentless fighting against atrocity of soldiers against hapless people of this country. When a soldier die in a fight to protect the country we salute them - when they do atrocities - government will never protect people - Sharmila did not agree the silence of government and people.

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    1. Tomichan MatheikalMarch 15, 2017 at 3:27 PM

      As I mentioned in a response above, Sharmila's hardships went in vain. Strategies are important in politics. She failed to learn that. Now she remains disillusioned, feeling betrayed by her own people. We can't blame the people either. They have suffered much already.

      Delete
  3. Tomichan MatheikalMarch 15, 2017 at 3:25 PM

    As Vijay says below, Akhilesh and Sharmila have no comparison. Akhilesh will learn the lessons soon and become a successful politician. But Sharmila may never succeed as a politician.

    ReplyDelete
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  5. Durga Prasad DashMarch 17, 2017 at 4:34 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Durga Prasad DashMarch 17, 2017 at 4:35 PM

    First of all why do people like Sharmila think of entering Indian politics knowing full well the state of Indian political scenario. Same thing goes for Arvind Kejriwal. He started with bang. But by all indications, the party is turning out to be just another party out to grab the so called secular votes. His fellow party members have thrown all sense of ethics and morality to the wind. He himself seems just another power hungry politician seeking power and glory for its own ends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMarch 17, 2017 at 6:24 PM

      I think Sharmila thought that she could do something more meaningful by entering politics. Now the election experience seems to have taught her the necessary lesson.

      You're right about Kejriwal too. I had high expectations in that man and I voted for his party both the times as I was in Delhi in those days. But he disappointed me.

      Politics is irredeemable. That's why macho men succeed in it. Criminals rule the roost. Sad but what can we do?

      Delete
  7. DhakshanaAugust 18, 2017 at 12:09 PM

    Manipur civil rights activist Irom Sharmila married her long-time partner Desmond Coutinho, a British national, under the Special Marriage Act at the Sub-Registrar's office here this morning.

    ReplyDelete

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