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| Indian human rights activist Irom Sharmila was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 |
Irom Sharmila, the "Iron Lady of Manipur" has said she's interested in running in India's elections next year.
A 44-year-old activist who had been on a hunger strike for almost 16
years to protest alleged brutality by India's military in the country's
northeastern state of Manipur ended her protest on Tuesday.
Sharmila had not eaten any food voluntarily since Nov. 5, 2000, when she began her protest against an Indian law that suspends many human rights protections in areas of conflict.
Three days earlier, 10 civilians were killed by paramilitary troops in Malom, a small town on the outskirts of Imphal, the Manipur state capital.
Three days after she started her hunger strike, she was arrested on charges of attempting suicide, which is illegal in India. Her lawyer has denied that Sharmila was trying to commit suicide, insisting that her hunger strike was a form of protest.
Prison officials at a government hospital in Manipur have since force fed her through a tube in her nose.
"The only way to bring change is electoral process. I will stand as an independent candidate from Malom constituency," said Sharmila, who is also known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur."
She said the single issue on her agenda would be the removal of a law that allows the military to act with impunity.