Imphal:
Irom Sharmila, who has been on a hunger strike in Manipur for 14 years against army atrocities, is sitting on protest just half a kilometer from a jail hospital from where she was released on Wednesday.
For the first time in years, the 42-year-old activist is not being force-fed through a nasal tube that has been a constant during her custody. "I am happy to be outside," she told NDTV, sitting under a tent put up by activists of the "Save Shamila Campaign".
She was released after a court found no evidence that she was trying to commit suicide by refusing food.
She says she will continue her fast against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA that gives the army sweeping emergency powers in the northeastern state.
"I want it to become a mass movement. I don't want glory but support for my struggle," she says, flanked by members of Meira Paibis, the state's largest women's group.
Irom Chanu Sharmila began her fast in November 2000, days after 10 people, including two children, were shot dead in Imphal, allegedly by personnel of the Assam Rifles.
Three days later, she was charged with attempt to suicide and arrested. She was 27 then.
She has vowed to continue her battle against the AFSPA, described by critics as draconian. The law allows soldiers legal immunity when they are operating in "disturbed areas" or states dealing with separatists or insurgents. Soldiers are allowed to make arrests without warrants or raid any location.
Activists allege the law has been misused and has led to gross human rights violations.