REGIONAL
The Morung Express
Mizo polls: volatile play of religion and identity
AIZAWL, NOVEMBER 18 (NDTV): As many as a dozen tribes live in the Mizoram hills, their histories of origin being diverse. One can trace ancient waves of migration from Mongolia, China, even Myanmar in them. Mizos are constituted of tribes like Hmars, Paites, Mara and Pwais. Other than those, there are Chakmas in the south and Reangs or Brus in the west. The unifying thread has been Christianity and the Mizo language. ''Traditional system of life, we don't find even in the interior villages today. Therefore Christianity has
changed society. It has also enforced a change in cultural life. Mizos couldn't persist to continue to live in traditional system,'' said Henry, professor, Mizoram University. The rise of Mizo insurgency in the 60s led by the Mizo National Front and its leader Laldenga, demanding independence from India, acted again, as kind of unifying force. But contained in the old movement is an unfinished battle that we grapple with even today. Despite Mizoram being a Christian majority state, its biggest uprising was not on religious but ethnic lines.
Though Mizoram was granted statehood in 1987, within the state the ethnic caldron bubbles. There's a realisation that individual identities have been lost in centuries of religious cohesion. The need to assert those original ethnic, tribal identities hasn't taken a very violent form unlike elsewhere in the north-east India, but tensions simmer within. For instance, the Bru tribe that was ousted to neighbouring Tripura during the 90s is organising to return. They have formed a militant outfit, the Bru National Liberation Front.
Chakmas, Maras and Lais run autonomous councils for governance, but feel sidelined by the mainstream. The entire region is dotted with ethnic and sub-national armed rebellions. ''See, southern part of Mizoram, which has La and Hmar people and the Chakmas, the Brus and the Paites, who would like to distinguish themselves. They want votes, and these groups would like to be wooed,'' said Henry, Professor, Mizoram University. 86-year-old Brigadier Sailo is the patriarch of Mizo politics, the man who healed the wounds of its in-
Wednesday 19 November 2008
Dimapur
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Journalist shot dead in Manipur
surgency years. As the oldest candidate today, he says that the ethnic unrest is fuelled by the economic deprivation, each feeding off the other. ''If fight between Mizo and Indian Army had continued, the alienation would have been deep-rooted. There I can say I contributed something. It's a part of India today. But it is the most underdeveloped state in the north-east,'' said Brig Sailo, former chief minister. A battle of ethnic identity, a battle against economic anonymity, whether this voice of Mizoram going to find any space in this democracy is the big question.
Manipur ILP Demand Committee to launch agitation Newmai News Network Imphal | November 18
THE INNER LINE Permit System (ILPS) Demand Committee, Manipur is all set to launch an extreme form of agitation against the state government demanding the implementation of the ILPS in the state even as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly S. Budhichandra has assured of a possible support. Informing of the decision of the ILPS Demand Committee on the occasion of the “Permit System Deprivation Day” at the Manipur Press Club, Imphal
on Tuesday, Sapamcha Jadumani, convenor of the demand committee informed that the committee is all set to launch intense form of agitation to pressurise the government to implement the ILPS in Manipur. He also further revealed that the committee has even spread its network to the hills districts and added that youths will be taking main roles regarding the issue. Meanwhile, this decision of the demand committee received a boost with the Assembly Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, S Budhichandra, while considering the apprehension in the mindset of the people
regarding the population explosion due to absence of the permit system, assured to extend some possible cooperation. Supporting the stand of the demand committee and also the Speaker, member of legislative assembly (MLA) Kh. Ratan, who also attended the function as guest of honour, held that in view of the gravity of the situation a concrete measure should be adopted and observed the need to look forward. While terming the issue a matter of great concern all over the world due to the quantum of growth which is increasing every fortnight, the MLA said that the most
serious threat perception in the context of the state was that we were driving away our own people with the prevailing gun culture and added that no promising professionals, intellectuals and youth were compelled to settle abroad. Opposition MLA RK Anand who also spoke during the function pointed out the devastating impact democratically due to the absence of the permit system as the Manipuris were marginalised by the 'outsiders' and alerted that there is no issue more serious than this. The RK Anand also alerted that population and
identity of the indigenous people of the state are on the verge of extinction with the merging of Manipur into the Indian Union. In this regard he called upon people of the state to unite and act unanimously and further called upon all sections of the society including the politicians to endorse the move while adding that this could possibly bring a positive result. Calling upon the 60 (sixty) MLAs of the state to extend their sincere co-operation, MLA RK Anand stated that only the politicians with true political will and with no double standard could help solve the matter.
Manipur Journalists’ took out silence rally from the Manipur press club to C.M. Bungalow on Tuesday to submit a memorandum against the killing of Junior subeditor of Imphal free press Late Konsam Rishkanta by Unknown arm personnel on 17 November. (UB Photos)
IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 18 (PTI): A sub-editor of an English daily here was shot dead at Langol area in Imphal West district of Manipur. Unidentified gunmen shot Konsam Rishikanta (22), working in the 'Imphal Free Press', from point blank range killing him on the spot
India to take up insurgent issue with Bhutan govt Newmai News Network
Guwahati | November 18
ASSAM INDUSTRY minister Pradyut Bordoloi on Tuesday informed that the government of India will take up with Bhutan government the issue of links between the Assam's insurgents and dissidents of Bhutan. The investigators of the Assam serial blasts suspected a link between the local insurgent outfits like the Ulfa and the NDFB and dissidents in Bhutan after the arrest of Tenzing G. Zangpo, a senior leader of a faction of the Druk National Congress (DNC), formed by Bhutanese exiles in Nepal, on November 12 in connection with the blasts. There are also reports of ULFA reentering Bhutan and setting up training camps there. Bordoloi added, "The government of Assam has taken up with the government of India about the ‘developments’ and government of India will take up with its Bhutan counterpart. Investigation into the serial blast is proceeding satisfactorily,” said Bordoloi who is also the spokesman of the Assam government.
The Royal Bhutan army during the operation ‘All Clear’ in 2003 has dismantled the camps of Indian rebel outfits in Bhutan. The Bhutanese government has held several leaders of Ulfa, NDFB, and North Bengal based Kamtapur Liberation Organisation and handed them over to Indian authority. The Assam government’s reaction came after the BJP recently attacked four cabinet ministers of the Congress led coalitions government in Assam for alleged links with terrorist organizations. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar has launched attack on four ministers of Assam government and pointed out the arrest of Congress Seva Dal member Vimal Mushahary by the Special Investigation Team regarding the serial blasts. Javadekar also alleged that Mushahary was an associate of Assam revenue minister Bhumidhar Barman. While Mushahary was picked up by police in connection with recent serial bomb blasts; TADA and Arms Act cases are pending against Assam health minister Himanta Bishwa Sarma, Javadekar pointed out.
Central team to visit Bangla border
GUWAHATI, NOVEMBER 18 (AGENCIES): A highlevel team of the Ministry of Home Affairs today arrived in the State on a two-day visit to assess the situation along the international border with Bangladesh. Official sources said that the team comprising Secretary, Border Management, Joint Secretary (North East) of the MHA and Deputy Secretary of the Ministry today held discussions with officials of the Home and Planning and Development Departments of the Government on the progress of construction of border roads and fencing. The team is scheduled to visit Karimganj tomorrow to assess the situation along the international border on the ground.
on Monday evening, official sources said. Imphal Free Press editor Pradip Phanjoubam said Rishikanta was a hard working, sincere and honest journalist. All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) demanded that the culprits disclose the rea-
sons for shooting down an upcoming journalist. It said in a statement that AMWJU had earlier appealed to various organisations including militant outfits to give journalists a chance to explain their point of view if their writing was not accepted by individual or organisation.
Assam Blasts: ‘Third force involvement certain’ GUWAHATI, NOVEMBER 18 (PTI): The Assam government today said that a ‘third force’ besides ULFA and NDFB having roots in Bangladesh was also involved in the October 30 serial blasts that snuffed out 85 lives. Going by the investigations it was ‘clear’ that a third force having roots in Bangladesh was involved in the serial blasts, senior minister and government spokesman Pradyut Bordoloi told reporters here. Local help to the terrorists in planting the bombs was rendered by ULFA and NDFB, Bordoloi said, adding the clues available so far point to the involvement of that force. “Investigations (into the serial blast) are coming to an end and very soon we will reach a conclusion,” he said. All efforts are being made to identify the culprits involved in the heinous crime, he said denying charges made by BJP about the alleged involvement of four senior ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bhumidhar Barman, Pramila Rani Brahma and Bharat Narah, with extremists. “There is no proof and no cases have been registered against the ministers,” he said.
IT’S HARVEST TIME: Man folks harvesting in paddy fields situated 17km away from Imphal on November 18. (UB Photos)
Governor blames militancy on ‘faulty’ education
SHILLONG, NOVEMBER 18 (AGENCIES): Militancy and other crimes in the Northeast are the products of a faulty educational system being followed in the country in general and the Northeast in particular, Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary asserted today. In his inaugural address today at the 83rd annual conference of the Association of Indian Universities at North Eastern Hill University (Nehu) here, the governor said militancy, kidnapping, extortion and other social maladies were directly linked to the faulty system. Of the many objectives of education, the one that aims at empowering students with the art and skills of self-reliance is perhaps the most important, Mooshahary said.
“Education without skills is unproductive. An uneducated person will till the land, work as a wage earner or an artisan, but the degree-holders in India will not do so because our education gives them a false sense of pride. This makes them a misfit for work done by uneducated persons.” These degree-holders were a social liability and potentially dangerous, Mooshahary said, adding that universities and colleges were just awarding general degrees to a huge number of students. According to him, it will not be wrong to say that the universities have become mass production units of degree-holders without the wherewithal to empower the youth with the skills for employment and self-reliance.
At present, there are nearly 300 million illiterate people in the country and the accessibility of the youth to higher education is merely eight per cent, compared to 89 per cent in the US and 63 in the UK. This means that the students do not get admission to courses of their choice for higher education, according to Mooshahary. “There are around 11.5 million students at various stages of higher education in about 415 universities and 20,675 colleges in the country. To attain the gross enrolment ratio of 15 per cent by 2015, there is a need for setting up of 1,500 more universities,” he said. Mooshahary said privatepublic initiative in the education sector by extending financial and logistical sup-
port to establish new universities for vocational training was the need of the hour. Meghalaya higher and technical education minister Manas Chaudhuri said under the Look East Policy, Shillong could become an ideal knowledge city because of its proximity to Southeast Asia. “Though there is a mushrooming of engineering, medical, management institutions in the Northeast leading to a high rate of literacy, the quality of education is very low leading to a brain drain in the region.” “Brain drain in the Northeast is taking place as many educated youths prefer to study outside the Northeast and also get employed outside the region once they complete their studies,” Chaudhuri said.
Stripped, abused tribal to contest LS polls NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18 (AGENCIES): A tribal girl in Guwahati who was stripped by hoodlums about a year ago, has decided to contest the next parliamentary polls from Tezpur in Assam. Last year, Lakshmi Oraon felt her dignity being stripped off as she fought off the local goons. This year she has joined the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) along with her family and will contest on the its ticket. The AUDF is a political party that was floated to take on the Congress before the 2006 assembly election in the state. With Lakshmi's candidature, the AUDF hopes to make inroads into some 20 lakh tea garden workers in the state, which is a sizeable chunk by any measure. Lakshmi was abused while participating in a demonstration by All Assam Adivasi Students Association in November 2007.
6 injured in tiger attack NAGAON, NOVEMBER 18 (AGENCIES): At least six persons were injured on Tuesday when they were attacked by a tiger in Assam’s Nagaon district, official sources said. The tiger pounced on the six persons at Gormukh Tengajan village, under Kampur police station, as they were going to pray at a mosque around 4.30am, the sources said.The injured, aged between 30 and 35 years were admitted to the Nagaon Civil Hospital. The condition of two of them was stated to be serious. Forest officials have rushed to the site and were keeping a watch on the tiger that was spotted by the local people after the incident, the sources added.
Spurt in violence against women
GUWAHATI, NOVEMBER 18 (AGENCIES): It has now been confirmed that violence against women in Assam, and in some other parts of North East is on the rise despite efforts made by State Government agencies and NGOs on various fronts. This was revealed by Neeva Konwar, member of the National Commission for Women at a press conference today, where she also mentioned that the Assam Government is yet to fulfil its obligations regarding a A woman of the Reang community makes Pachra, a traditional attire at a makeshift Central Government direcReang refugee camp in Gachirampara on November 18, some 230 kilometers east of tive on gender budgeting and gender auditing. Agartala. (UB Photo)
Konwar stated figures, which suggested that a significantly large percentage of crimes committed in Assam centred on violence against women. In the State 40 per cent of all crimes involved those committed against women, while the corresponding national percentage was 37 per cent. Among the states that recorded the highest cases of violence against women were Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In Bihar, 59 per cent of all crimes registered were committed against women, and in Rajasthan the percentage was 46 per cent. The fig-
ures, Konwar provided, were from the National Family and Health Survey, 2007. Amongst the crimes committed against women were demands for dowry, rape, abduction, witch hunting and violence in various other forms. In order to focus on the issue of witch hunting in Assam, the National Commission for Women is organising a regional conference on crucial aspects surrounding witch hunting from tomorrow in Guwahati. “We have invited various stakeholders, including senior Government officials and NGOs to take part, so that better understanding of the phe-
nomenon could be achieved. Konwar dwelt on the hapless condition of those termed as witches by local people, a state in which a woman and her family lived under a cloud of continuous terror. She compared witch hunting to an infectious disease that had to be stopped in the initial stages. The conference would seek to analyse the prevailing situation of the social problem of ‘dayan pratha’, and seek ways to eradicate the social evil from various angles. The conference would further evaluate the existing legal laws with reference to this phe-
nomenon and come up with recommendations for the rehabilitation and vocational training for those accused of carrying out witchcraft. In the press meet Konwar underlined the need for gender budgeting and gender auditing as a means to empower women especially at the grassroots. She hoped that gender budgeting, including setting aside 33 per cent of funds towards women’s welfare would begin soon, so that the important section of the population could have better opportunities towards econmic and social emancipation.