Irom Sharmila Breakes Fast

Manipur's Iron Lady, Irom Sharmila, has stopped her fast. And her people find that hard to digest. Offered a home with a friend - 4 kms from her hospital -- the 44 year-old found the gates of the locality barred. Even the local ISKCON temple did not offer her a place to stay.

Hours after Irom Sharmila, the iconic activist who didn't eat for 16 years in protest against alleged army atrocities in Manipur, broke her fast and left the hospital, she tried to enter the Kaisampat area of Imphal town but was prevented by people upset with her from breaking the hunger strike.

Irom Sharmila, the iconic activist who didn't eat for 16 years in protest against alleged army atrocities in Manipur, burst into tears on Tuesday as she licked honey from her palm to end her fast.

Irom Sharmila, 43, has not eaten for years as a protest against the immunity enjoyed by the Indian military in cases of abuse in the country's conflict zones. The government has said her protest amounts to suicide and has force-fed her through a nasal tube.

Manipur's Iron Lady, Irom Sharmila, has stopped her fast. And her people find that hard to digest. Offered a home with a friend - 4 kms from her hospital -- the 44 year-old found the gates of the locality barred. Even the local ISKCON temple did not offer her a place to stay.

Hours after Irom Sharmila, the iconic activist who didn't eat for 16 years in protest against alleged army atrocities in Manipur, broke her fast and left the hospital, she tried to enter the Kaisampat area of Imphal town but was prevented by people upset with her from breaking the hunger strike.

Irom Sharmila, the iconic activist who didn't eat for 16 years in protest against alleged army atrocities in Manipur, burst into tears on Tuesday as she licked honey from her palm to end her fast.

Irom Sharmila, 43, has not eaten for years as a protest against the immunity enjoyed by the Indian military in cases of abuse in the country's conflict zones. The government has said her protest amounts to suicide and has force-fed her through a nasal tube.