Nagaland Post This issue 12 + 4 = 16 Pages @ ` 5.00
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Vol XXIX No. 11
DIMAPUR, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018 Pages 16 ` 5.0
Pawar says poll results mark ‘beginning of change’
Jamshedpur beat Delhi 2-1 in ISL
Wickremesinghe proves majority in parliament
national, Page 12
sports, Page 16
international, Page 13
Solve Naga issue before 2019 polls: NGBF Longleng
NGBF members submitting the memorandum to Governor Acharya.
Staff Reporter/Correspondents
DIMAPUR/KOHIMA, DEC 12 (NPN): GBs of Nagaland under the banner of Nagaland GB Federation (NGBF) Wednesday undertook a peaceful march to submit memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Nagalnad Governor in Kohima and respective DCs in other districts, urging for bringing a peaceful solution to the Naga political issue before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Talking to Nagaland Post over telephone, NGBF president, Shalem Konyak, said the rally, participated by 12 units across 11 districts, was organised to urge
KVC reacts to TVAC statement DIMAPUR, DEC 12 (NPN): Khezhakeno Village Council (KVC) expressed dismay over the “outrageous, false and baseless claims” made by the ‘‘so called’’ Tungjoy Village Authority Council (TVAC) in local media, claiming that the “peoples’ festival 2018 and the Hornbill festival” activities were forcibly held in their village jurisdiction. In a press note, KVC chairman, S. Kepfelhou Ladu pointed out that no official communication was received by them from any village authority or from Manipur government objecting to the festival activities. It said questioning the state government was uncalled for as the latter was well aware that the land and the spot of the festival was well within Nagaland, KVC stated. KVC also went on to state the facts dating back to 1872. However, KVC alleged that miscreants from Tungjoy village had been insistent on disturbing the peace and tranquillity of the region. Therefore, KVC said it has decided to resort to force if necessary against all boundary violators and encroachers. (Full text on p-6)
This is it!
“Zoramthanga promised to reintroduce prohibition. Hope he does it after New Year 2019.” K Y M C
the present BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to arrive at a final agreement with Naga Political Groups (NPGs) before the ensuing Indian general election due to be held in April or May 2019. Konyak pointed out that NGBF has been urging Government of India to take all the NPGs onboard the ongoing peace process and not to leave a single group out of the process. He said that a “peaceful and lasting solution” was possible only if all NPGs were included in the final agreement. In this regard, Konyak said the federation had met Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in the year
Dimapur 2017 and Interlocutor for Naga peace talks, RN Ravi, on several occasions. NGBF general secretary, Shikuto Zalipu, said the rally was organised to reiterate the federation’s demand for early solution. He maintained that GBs representing the voice of Nagas from grassroots level wants “early solution” to the decade-long Naga political issue. Kohima: NGBF members gathered at the indoor stadium, Kohima and held
a brief programme, which was addressed by various leaders. Later, they proceed towards Raj Bhavan with placards and banners with slogans like “We want early solution”, “Nagas demand early solution to Indo-Naga political problem”, etc, even as many raised slogans like “we want early solution”, before submitting a memorandum to the governor. Hundreds of NGBF members from Kohima district participated in the rally.
NGBF submitted the memorandum to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi through Nagaland Governor for early solution to the “Indo-Naga” political issue. (See on p-6) Dimapur: As par t of the NGBF peace rally, around 70 GB from villages across Dimapur met the deputy commissioner (DC), Sushil Kumar Patel, Wednesday and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister. (Cont’d on p-11)
Khole Konyak passes away in New Delhi Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, DEC 12 (NPN): NSCN/GPRN vice-chairman Gen (retd) Khole Konyak passed away at New Delhi-based Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) on Wednesday afternoon due to cardiac arrest. Reliable sources informed Nagaland Post that Khole was rushed to FEHI at around 1 am after he complained of severe headache. He was then admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital and on examination doctors found severe brain haemorrhage and high blood pressure. He was said to be in a “very critical condition” till Wednesday afternoon, before breathing his last at around 2:30 p.m. A brief funeral secrvice was held at Nagaland House Delhi Wednesday afternoon where various tribal units, government of India representatives paid tributes to the departed leader. NSCN (I-M) general secretary and senior leaders also spoke on the occassion. Khole Konyak, the then president of GPRN/ NSCN, joined NSCN (I-M)
Late Khole Konyak (NP File)
in March 2016 and was subsequently sworn in as its vice-chairman on May 19, 2016. According to reliable sources, NSCN/GPRN had scheduled a joint council meeting/National Hoho on December 14 at Hebron designated camp and was expected to “nominate and elect” Khole Konyak as chairman of NSCN (I-M) and president of GPRN. The body of late Khole Konyak was expected to be brought back to Nagaland on Friday after completing formalities in New Delhi. It may be recalled that late ‘Gen’(Retd) Khole was also in the undivided NSCN with late Isak Chishi Swu and S.S.Khaplang.
Condolence messages
Dy. CM: Nagaland deputy chief minister, Y
Patton, has expressed pain at the demise of NSCN (I-M) vice chairman Khole Konyak and said his death was indeed a great loss. In a condolence message, Patton described late Konyak as “man of integrity” and said he dedicated his whole life to the call of Naga Nationalism for self-determination. “His impeccable image as a true patriot and a Nationalist can never be erased from the minds of the people,” Patton said. Deputy chief minister also said that his absence will be felt deeply specially during a time when the Naga peace talks has reached a crucial juncture. Patton, who is also BJP state legislature party leader, along with State BJP legislators conveyed deepest condolences to the bereaved family during this hour of grief. LoO: Leader of Opposition (LoO) and former chief minister, TR Zeliang, has expressed deep anguish over the death of ‘Gen (Retd)’ Khole Konyak and said his demise was a great loss to the Nagas and the vacuum created would be difficult to fill. (Cont’d on p-11)
Naga peace process at Nagaland among most multi-hazard prone States Humans reversing climate clock by 50 advanced stage: Rijiju Correspondent
DIMAPUR, DEC 12 (NPN): Union minister of State for home Kiren Rijiju said the Naga peace process was at an advanced stage and that Government of India (GoI) was trying to finalise it as early as possible. Replying to a query by State’s lone Lok Sabha member Tokheho Yepthomi on the progress of the Naga political negotiations and the time by when it was likely to be finalised on the first day of Winter Session of Parliament on Tuesday, the Union minister claimed that GoI and negotiating Naga national political groups (NNPGs) were making sincere efforts for an early and final solution to the Naga political issue. He appealed to all NNPGs to continue with
their untiring efforts in negotiations for an early settlement of the vexed issue. He also appealed to churches and NGOs to continue and support the ongoing political negotiations that, according to him, had come a long way. Rijiju mentioned that the negotiations were at a very crucial stage as all NNPGs had responded to the plea of the people to come to the negotiating table with the GoI, adding that this was an opportunity that the Naga people had been longing for decades. At this juncture, he said churches and NGOs should reinforce their roles as facilitators so that an early solution would end years of suffering and usher in peace and development for all the Nagas.
KOHIMA, DEC 12 (NPN): Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) officer on special duty (OSD) Johnny Ruangmei described Nagaland as one of the most multi-hazard prone States of India and called upon all government departments to follow common principles and approaches while preparing their respective departmental Disaster Manager (DM) plans. Ruangmei said this in his introductory speech to DM and orientation on departmental DM plan template at ATI here on Wednesday. He remarked that Nagaland faced various types of natural hazards like geological hazards of earthquakes and landsides. He said the frequent intensity of most of hydro meteorological hazards were compounded by climate change and its impact on agriculture, horticulture, human settlements and human-animal health. Ruangmei also pointed out that every year Nagaland was
pushed into crisis due to heavy and incessant rains, leading to floods and submergence of many low-lying areas, including a large part of commercial city Dimapur. These require hectic evacuation and rescue operations, all of which resulted in causalities and damage of property, crops and livestock. Asserting that the State government was trying its best to contain the crisis, Ruangmei admitted that sometimes it was beyond capability of the State to cope due to massive infrastructural damage at many locations. The OSD pointed out that due to extreme weather pattern in 2018, the economic cost of disaster for Nagaland was high and was likely to increase further in the future due to climate change. He explained that infrastructural damage, especially roads and bridges, and impact of disaster on individual properties had a direct impact on the State’s economic growth. Ruangmei said the need to assess economic impacts of disasters should be a priority as they have
been causing and would continue to inflict huge damage. He said the government’s policy for public investment should take into account the impact of disasters on economic growth of the community. He said in recent years, Nagaland had been experiencing micro effects of climate change, that made the State more vulnerable and hazard-prone, while pointing out that the drastic changes in the annual rainfall had caused huge loss to the agrarian economy. He reminded each department that it had its unique and specific role and responsibilities that must be the focus of their respective DM plans, even as he stressed that the common principles and approaches should be followed by all the departments while preparing their respective departmental DM plans. The OSD also presented an overview analysis of climate pattern in the State from 2010 to 2017. Officials from various departments attended the orientation programme.
mn years: Study
NEW YORK, DEC 12 (IANS): In just 200 years, humans have reversed a long-term cooling trend, pushing the climate clock back by at least 50 million years, an accelerated rate of change that appears to be faster than anything life on the planet has experienced before, say researchers. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warned that by 2030, the Earth’s climate is expected to resemble that of the mid-Pliocene, going back more than three million years in geologic time. Without reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions, our climate by 2150 could compare to the warm and mostly ice-free Eocene, an epoch that characterized the globe 50 million years ago. While our ancestors survived the Eocene and the Pliocene, whether all of humans and the flora and fauna living on Earth currently can adapt to these rapid changes remains to be seen.
India should have been declared a Hindu country: MHC Congress yet to decide on CMs
N E W D E L H I / SHILLONG, DEC 12 (AGENCIES/IANS): In an order pronounced this week, a judge in the Meghalaya high court said that India should have been declared a Hindu country after Partition as it was “divided on the basis of religion”. “Pakistan declared themselves as an Islamic country and India since (sic.) was divided on the basis of religion should have also been declared as a Hindu country but it remained as a secular country,” Justice S R Sen wrote in an order dated December 10. Bar and Bench reported on the order, in which the court has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and MPs to pass a law that allows Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians,
Khasis, Jaintias and Garos who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to be given Indian citizenship. “I request our beloved Prime Minister, Home Minister, Law Minister and Hon’ble Members of the Parliament to bring a law to allow the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist, Parsis, Christians, Khasis, Jaintias and Garos who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to live in this country peacefully and with full dignity without making any cut off year and be given citizenship without any question or production of any documents. The judgement was in response to a petition relating to the refusal of Domicile Certificate to an army recruit, according to LiveLaw. Justice Sen himself made the following observation about it in the order, “The issue here is re-
fusal of granting Domicile Certificate to the petitioner. I feel the difficulties faced by the residents to get the Domicile Certificate and the Permanent Residence Certificate have become a great issue today which will have to be examined since the inception of India (Bharat Barsh).” KSU disagrees with Meghalaya HC: Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Wednesday “disagreed” with Meghalaya High Court order to allow Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians, Khasis, Jaintias and Garos from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to become citizens without production of any document. “The recent appeal by the Meghalaya High Court to the Prime Minister to grant instantaneous citizenship to the aforesaid groups once they seek refuge in India which the Union com-
pletely disagrees without taking into account all the aspects including the demographic structure of the north eastern states of India,” KSU general secretary Donald Thabah said. Noting that KSU is not against any humanitarian venture by India, Thabah said “the humanitarian perspective of the microscopic indigenous communities of India’s northeast should also be taken into account”. “In north east, for example in Meghalaya, there are more than 1 million ethnic Khasis who are currently facing the wrath of unabated influx from migrants belonging to other communities,” Thabah said. KSU leader argued that if such a bill is passed or if immediate citizenship is granted to the said migrants then the indigenous communities of northeast India are bound to be wiped out by these migrants.
NEW DELHI, DEC 12 (AGENCIES): Who will lead the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh governments will be decided by Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday, party sources said today. Lawmakers and party functionaries in the three states held marathon meetings after which their leaders announced that the choice had been left to Rahul Gandhi. In Madhya Pradesh, state Congress chief Kamal Nath is believed to be his leadership’s choice but a conflicting picture has emerged after Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other contender for the top post, told NDTV he would be “honoured” to serve as chief minister. In Rajasthan, the Congress is sharply divided between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot, even though both leaders have projected unity and smiled together in
CM CONTENDERS
multiple photo-ops. In Chhattisgarh, Congress’ Lok Sabha member Madhya Pradesh Tamradhwaj Sahu, who successfully contested the Assembly election from Durg Rural seat, state party chief Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader TS Singh Deo are front-runners for the post J Scindia & Kamal Nath of CM. In Telangana, TRS Rajasthan chief K Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to take oath as chief minister for the second term on Thursday. Within hours of TRS’s massive win in Telangana, KCR announced the formation of a new national A. Gehlot & Sachin Pilot party. While in Mizorma, Chhattisgarh Gover nor Kummanam Rajasekharan Wednesday afternoon invited Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga to form the government. The oathtaking ceremony will be held at the Raj Bhavan at noon on TS Singh Deo & B. Baghel Saturday. K Y M C