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Newmai News Network
Imphal, Aug 31: Since hunger striker Irom Sharmila could not attend the award giving ceremony of the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize on August 30 in Kolkata, the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) officials have written a letter to Additional Secretary, Home Affairs, government of Manipur seeking permission that they want to give the award to the `Iron Lady of Manipur` in her residence in Imphal on September 11.
Jaydip Dutta Gupta, secretary of IIPM sent a missive to the state government that if the permission is granted by the latter, IIPM founder director Dr MK Chaudhuri, IIPM registrar Ratna Chaudhuri and Dr Avijeet Kar of the Award Committee would come down to Imphal for the purpose.
The seeking of permission by the IIPM from the state government is done as Irom Sharmila has been confined in the security ward of a government hospital in Imphal.
Irom Sharmila has been on the fast-unto-death agitation since November 2, 2000 demanding the repeal of AFSPA-1958 from the whole of Manipur, if not from the North East region.
Meanwhile, a local newspaper in Imphal has reported yesterday that IIPM has conferred the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize to Irom Sharmila for her `courageous and determined struggle for peace in Manipur.`
It has also been reported today by another local daily here that Booker Prize winner and influential social activist Arundhati Roy will be in Imphal to join Sharmila in her decade completion of agitation on November 2 this year.
