Manipur’s Divide
The ethnic tensions in Manipur between the Kuki-Zo tribes and the Meitei community have brought the state's governance under intense scrutiny.
Irom Chanu Sharmila, the ‘Iron Lady’ of Manipur, is all set to tie-the-knot with her British partner Desmond Coutinho sometime in July.
"We have not fixed the date of our marriage yet, but are planning it sometime in July-end in Tamil Nadu," Sharmila was quoted as saying by a news agency.
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Sharmila expressed her desire to get married and have a family after she broke her unprecedented 16-year-long fast in August last year.
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According to reports, Coutinho, a British citizen of Goan origin, first contacted Sharmila through a letter after reading about her struggle in the book Burning Bright by Deepti Priya Mehrotra in 2009.
Since then, the two have been exchanging letters regularly. He came to Imphal for the first time in February 2011 where he met her for the first time.
Coutinho had expressed his intentions through a Facebook post in April this year, saying, "I will be joining Sharmila shortly. After we marry, if there are any who wish to meet her and work with her, I will assist that. And if not, I want her."
The two had met for the first time in 2011.
Sharmila, who embarked on a tour to south India after her electoral debacle in the recently concluded Manipur state assembly elections had announced her decision to quit politics.
"I want to take a break for self-realisation and solitary enlightenment," the anti-AFSPA crusader had told news agencies.
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