They say the music was great and the event was highly entertaining. I wouldn't know, for, I was outside doing my own "bounden duty" distributing the Irom Sharmila pamphlets not very different from the one below. Six hundred or so people with at least three hundred of them adults showed up. There must be something missing in the pamphlet or my approach when I speak, for I only got around thirty signups for the petition. So far so good. But I am still a long way from beating Sanjay Dutt petitions. Sigh!
But this is not the thing troubling me tonight, for, I am hopeful that some day people will see Irom's point. What troubles me is a small incident that happened as I tried to get my thoughts across to a small group of people who disagreed with me. There were some valid concerns in their argument and had I handled it properly I could have explained to them why AFSPA may not be the only solution in that situation. That's when one of the guy saw "manipur freedom" at the bottom of the pamphlet as an information reference and screamed as if he just met a traitor. He refused to even consider the petition for the sake of anyone who "says he wants to separate from India". A patriot in his own eyes, he must have been appalled at my attitude for he threw the pamphlet in the Waste can right in front of my eyes. I felt as if I really failed at communicating the very message that I have been trying to convey for past few weeks. That's when I lost my "cool", I shouldn't have and I feel sorry for it. This happened as the other guy in the group was raising the concern about how does the army control a rioting mob if they have to give fair trial/respect human rights etc.
I rambled some random things starting from how AFSPA is much worse than Rowlatt Act and how I could use the same argument he made and justify Jalianwallah Bagh massacare by British officers. My eyes returning to look at the waste can* again and again as I spoke. I don't even know how it all ended. I probably went into the argument that the fact that we needed army to control the general population of a state for 45+ years says about their (democratic) choice. That's when I lost them perhaps, I changed the issue from the plain simple issue of human rights to politics. Bad idea. My personal opinion instead of a well accepted fact.
I wish I could go back in time and behave differently. I wish I had four more signs for the petition. I have not seen the law books but I have some answer for them. I wish I said :
To the guy asking about the riot:
In case of the riot the army may fire back in self defence. (However much I hate saying that). The firing on a rioting public may still not come free, in the absence of AFSPA their will be an investigation, that will need witnesses. The officer issuing firing order will probably have less reasons to do so if he is aware that there can be consequences.
To the guy who threw my pamphlet: Excuse me, this pamphlet business is pretty expensive stuff. But if you still feel like throwing it in trash can as a protest gesture please use the "Mixed paper" can instead of the "Waste". We have gone Green sir.
If I am to meet a few more people like them, I really wish "Indian Unity" or perhaps TimesofIndia starts covering AFSPA and Irom Sharmila so that I can fix the information references.
* I retrieved the pamphlet from the trash. I still have it with me.
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