No Show: Northeast women's Tryst With Politics

By Ninglun Hanghal

The seven states of northeast India present a truly contrasting picture when it comes to its women. On the one hand the region is home to all-powerful women's groups like the Meira Paibis of Manipur, the Naga Mothers Association and the Mizo Women's Federation, which have effectively tackled issues like alcoholism, gender rights and conflict. Moreover, women's participation in the life of the community is not just visible but is in fact one of the most distinctive features of the region. Yet, when it comes to their participation in mainstream politics, very few find a place in the government.

The Northeast collectively sends 24 members to the 545-member Lok Sabha, while the 250 member-strong Rajya Sabha has 13 members from the region. How many women figure in this list? At last count, one member from Meghalaya and two from Assam in the Lower House and one member each from Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam in the Upper House.

Their numbers in the state legislative assemblies are equally dismal, if not worse. Sample this: Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland have no women in the state assembly. Of the 60-member assembly in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, the former has two female legislators, while the latter has three. Given the size of the state and the higher number of constituencies, Assam has 14 women MLAs among 126 elected representatives.

Clearly, women standing for elections and making their presence felt in the corridors of power, be it at the state or national levels, face tough resistance. So the question that arises is: what is it that is fuelling this regressive trend? "Blame it on deep-rooted patriarchy," says Tiplut Nongbri, Professor at the Centre for Study of Social System at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. "Like elsewhere in India strong traditional practices in northeastern societies, too, hold women back from exploring their potential in new spheres," she observes.

Nongbri, who has done extensive work on gender, family and identity in the Northeast, cites the case of the Khasi society in Meghalaya to prove her point. She elaborates, "Earlier, women were not allowed to enter the customary 'durbars' in villages and this continues to this day. That women are being kept away from fighting elections is therefore not a surprise."

According to her, the socialisation process under patriarchy is so internalised that women can't seem to "find the courage to come out and stand for elections as it will be perceived as challenging the system and being disloyal to traditional practices".

But if women are being kept away from political participation on the pretext of social convention, how does this explain the pioneering work done by various women-led rights groups present in all the seven states? Shreema Ningombam, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Nambol College in Manipur, points out that the focus of women's organisations such as the Meira Paibis is mainly on issues like conflict and militarisation and their impact on the lives of the locals, including women. "Their energy and resources are all trained towards protesting against the consequences emanating from this situation, which affects their lives collectively," feels Ningombam.

There is validity to Ningombam's observations. If one takes a look at the trajectory of the Meira Paibis, they initially came together for the 'nisha bandh' (anti-alcoholism) movement, and then later evolved into a more political outfit that launched a consolidated fight against the continued enforcement of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). "This women group is very political," comments Ningombam, "and if you go deeper then it becomes fairly evident that their leaders do take a clear stand when it comes to self-determination."

Yet, argues Papori Bora, Professor, Centre for Women's Studies, JNU, what holds them from becoming overtly political is the fact that "in the context of nationalism, there is a general understanding that there is no reason for women to have a separate identity. This concept strengthens patriarchy and discourages women from joining politics". Adds Bora, "The attitude adopted is - why do women need to have a separate political agenda? In fact, for women too their identity as an Assamese or Naga or Mizo is more important; the fact that they are a minority in the legislature becomes secondary."

The good news, however, is that in the Northeast women are as much at the forefront of exercising their franchise as the men. And in the last few years some of them have stood for elections as well.

First, a look at the number of women who cast their votes at the state level: in the Mizoram state elections held in February 2014, more women (3,49,506) than men turned up at the polling booths. It was similar in Arunachal Pradesh in 2009. In Nagaland, where the total of female voters is pegged at 5,38,968, 91 per cent voted in the 2013 election.

In terms of leadership representation, two women candidates out of 188 stood for elections for the 60 seat Nagaland assembly in 2013. The number was a little higher in Tripura that saw 15 women out of 249 contesting the last Assembly election in early 2013. The same year Meghalaya had 25 women candidates out of 345 in the fray, while the 2009 election in Arunachal saw nine women contesting and two women emerging victorious.

"These are indeed positive developments," remarks Joy Pachuau, Associate Professor at the Centre for Historical Studies in JNU, "today, while many women are being elected to panchayat, at least a start has been made with women contesting assembly polls. It will take time though. Traditions make it difficult for women to take to public life. The stronghold of the Church as well as other religious bodies also has an impact."

The role that northeastern women play in the democratic process cannot be overlooked. In fact, it is their overwhelming participation at the local self government level that is strengthening the basic foundations of democracy in the region today. Moreover, they never shy away from fulfilling their duty as responsible voters. Yet, notably, their contribution is still limited to the lowest levels of power. While many scholars and experts are of the opinion that it is not the numbers that matter but the quality of involvement, it is also important to make sure that there is equal participation.

General Election 2014, however, may not see much of a change although major parties are talking about women's empowerment. For instance, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has included it in their election agenda, while recently BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi focused his Women's Day Chai pe Charcha discussion on this issue inviting northeast women to share their insights. But despite this, parties have failed to field women in adequate numbers. The Congress has fielded two female candidates in Assam and one in Tripura, the Trinamool Congress has one woman candidate from Manipur and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not given a ticket to any woman in the region. New entrant, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had approached AFSPA activist Irom Sharmila to stand on its ticket from Manipur but she has turned them down. Change, going by these trends, is still a distant prospect.

A Triangular Battle For A Lone Mizoram Seat

By Himanshu Kapoor

With a lone Lok Sabha seat, the General Elections in Mizoram would be a triangular one. After the withdrawal of candidature by Independent candidate Vanlalngaia, only three candidates are in the fray. The ruling Indian National Congress has fielded sitting MP CL Ruala and United Democratic Front, an alliance of eight opposition parties, has fielded Robert Romawia Royte, while the newly floated and contesting election in the state for the first time Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given ticket to a retired IAS officer M Lalmanzuala.

The Congress party bagged the lone seat in the 2009 LS polls and also in the recently concluded assembly elections in the state the results were in favour of the incumbent Congress after it was mauled in other four major states. However, that significant win few months back for the INC cannot for be foreseen as sure shot victory in the small state of Mizoram.

  There is also no Modi wave in the state for the Congress party to worry about and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate’s lack of attention to Mizoram highlights how unrepresentative the BJP is. Modi, who has been attacking the Congress and wooing the electorate in other northeast states in his rallies didn’t even hold a single public meeting in Mizoram.

In this scenario the advent of the Aam Aadmi Party (Party of the Common Man), launched only six months ago, is very important. The newly formed party garnered more than 33 percent of the votes in Delhi and in LS polls in Mizoram it can as a spoiler for the Congress. But AAP’s recent criticism will put skepticism in people’s mind.

Also the candidate chosen by the AAP is yet to prove himself. Retired IAS officer Lalmanzuala had unsuccessfully contested the state assembly polls in 2008 as an Independent from Aizawl North-I seat. Despite an anti-Congress wave in the country over the corruption issues, the party’s Ruala has an image of being a clean politician and is also the poorest among the three candidates in the fray, with Rs 5 lakh in hand.

Election Commission's decision to allow tribal refugees in Tripura's relief camps to cast their votes through postal ballots for the lone Lok Sabha seat from Mizoram saw protests against it. The protesters, led by the Young Mizo Association (YMA) members demanded the poll panel to revoke its decision.

Even Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had urged Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath to not allow the tribal refugees, living in seven relief camps, to exercise their franchise in deciding the fate of the state’s Lok Sabha seat.

Now with existence of the Aam Aadmi Party in the state and only one seat up for grabs, the elections in Mizoram are not predicative. Though the scales are leaning towards Congress who fresh off the victory might retain the lone seat.

Meghalaya takes to the skies to create poll awareness

Election commission ropes in famous singers and sportspersons

By Archisman Dinda

• Image Credit: Archisman Dinda/Gulf News
• The Election Commission has organised kite flying to encourage voters to cast their franchise.

Guwahati: The election department of Meghalaya is banking on music and kites — the two favourite pastimes of the people of the region — to create awareness among voters, especially first-time voters, to encourage them to exercise their franchise.

In the 2009 general elections, the state witnessed a low voter turnout of just 64 per cent which the department wants to change and is adopting various innovative ways, P. Naik, Chief Election Officer of Meghalaya, said.

“This time we are hoping that music and kites do the trick for us. We are also doing on door–to-door campaigns to ensure higher voter turnout,” said Naik.

With the slogans “Your Vote Counts”, “India needs you to vote” engraved on them, colourful kites of various shapes and designs swerved in the clouds as a large crowd gathered to take part in the competition at the Golf club in the scenic city of Shillong.

Kites fitted with lights were also spotted in the evening sky as part of the “1001 lights” programme to spread awareness among voters on the importance of exercising their franchise when the state goes to the polls on April 9 to elect its two representatives from Tura and Shillong parliamentary constituencies.

“Kite flying is very popular in the state. Hence we thought of using the medium to reach out to the people and encourage them to vote,” said Sanjay Goyal, the polling officer of the constituency. “We will organise many such programmes in the run-up to polling day so that people understand the value of their vote,” said Goyal. The state poll panel is hoping for a 20 per cent rise in voting.

The state poll panel has also roped in famous singers, bands and sports persons to spread awareness. Nationally famed choir group Shillong Chamber Choir, popular singer Headingson Ryntathiang, along with former world champion karate kid Linza F, Syiem, sensational boxer Torak Kharpran and local designer Tatania Momin are among those who are appealing to the people, especially the youth, to vote.

A music video by the choir titled “Just one”, which features the state’s artistes and sport stars, has already become an instant hit with the young voters of Meghalaya.

“We are indeed privileged to be a part of the campaign. It is our duty to vote and if we are able to encourage people in the state to vote, we will be performing the duty every Indian must do,” said Neil Nongkynrih, founder of the choir.

 

 

Meghalaya is a state in north-east India. The name means “abode of clouds” in Sanskrit.

 

Capital: Shillong, a popular hill station, is known as the “Scotland of the East”

 

Area: 22,429 sq km

 

Chief Minister: Mukul Sangma (Indian National Congress)

 

Parliamentary constituencies: 2 - Shillong and Tura

 

The main political parties of the state are Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National People’s Party (NPP).

 

Key political personalities: Mukul Sangma

 

Purno Sangma, Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998 and Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990

 

Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee says Money envelopes ‘unknowingly’ given to journalists

APCC clarifies that envelopes containing money were meant to be distributed to committee staff

Itanagar, Mar 31 : After a section of Arunachal Pradesh’s media accused Congress of trying to bribe media, the APCC on Sunday said envelopes containing money were “unknowingly” handed over to few journalists.

Arunachal Press Club (APC) and Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalist (APUWJ) lodged a complaint with Chief Electoral Office (CEO) against Congress on Saturday accusing it of violating model code of conduct by trying to bribe media.

In a letter addressed to the CEO, APCC stated that “a few envelopes containing some amount intended to be disbursed to APCC staff’s over time payment received from the party’s accountant, were unknowingly handed over to few journalists”.

APC and APUWJ had in the complaint claimed that APCC violated the MCC by distributing envelopes containing some cash to media persons after the release of party’s manifesto at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan here on March 27.

Meanwhile, People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) on Sunday urged the CEO to take appropriate legal action against Congress.

Claiming that Congress and BJP in the state have chartered choppers to be used in election campaigning, PPA urged the CEO to keep strict vigil at airfields and landing grounds and conduct thorough checking of luggage to stop illegal movement of ‘cash or kind’ involving any contesting candidate or his agents.

The party said those choppers might be used for illegal movement of cash for the purpose of buying votes during the campaign.

A pledge to be the ‘different’ One

By ZODIN SANGA

Robert Romawia Royte

Aizawl, Mar 27 : Government employee-turned-successful entrepreneur Robert Romawia Royte, Independent candidate for Mizoram’s lone Lok Sabha seat, has promised that if he ever gets elected to Parliament, he would be a “different” MP.

Accusing the previous MPs from Mizoram of not doing enough to draw funds from the Centre, Royte said he would do “more than utilise the MP local area development funds”.

“There is a huge amount of funds at the Centre, which can be obtained for development in Mizoram,” Royte said.

“If, without being an MP, I could get sanctions for over Rs 1,500 crore for Meghalaya and Nagaland out of their annual plans in a few years, how could I not do the same and much more for Mizoram if I am an MP?” he asked.

Royte, the CMD of Northeast Consultancy Services — a private firm he floated a few years ago — was referring to the services he rendered as a consultant to the governments of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

Royte, 47, is the nominee of the United Democratic Front (UDF), an alliance of eight Opposition parties — Mizo National Front (MNF), Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP), Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC), BJP, NCP, Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) and Hmar People’s Convention (HPC).

He is contesting as an Independent against sitting MP C.L. Ruala, re-nominated by the Congress, and retired IAS officer M. Lalmanzuala, fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party.

“With the Congress ruling in the state and the BJP-led NDA likely to form the next government at the Centre, it is the best for Mizoram to have an Independent MP,” Royte said.

He claimed intellectual groups in Mizoram and neutral voters share his view.

On the complaint submitted to the returning officer against him by the Congress, Royte clarified that no corruption case has been registered against him.

“When I asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau, I was told that a complaint had been filed some years ago and a preliminary inquiry had been made but the bureau found no reason to register a case. When I asked the state governments of Nagaland and Meghalaya, they told me I had been given awards (for the commendable services)”.

Before floating his own firm, Royte had worked under the Mizoram government’s education department, holding different posts from a school headmaster to circle education officer to Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan state project director.

Royte claimed that during his government services he did not receive a single rupee as bribe and this is the secret of his happiness.

Non-development of northeast forcing people to migrate to other cities in India

By Bolla Alekhya

Yet another attack on people from north-east in the Capital, where a couple from northeast state of Manipur were beaten up allegedly by their landlord's son and his associates. This is not the only incident of violence against northeast people, if we just look at this year's record, there are already three other incidents where they were thrashed. The incidents were Nido Taniam murder case, molestation of a girl from Manipur and assault on a student from Manipur.

Why do people North-East India are continuously discriminated in the national capital that should be ideally the safest place for anyone to live.

Northeast is an area which has a huge scope of development, but still severely lagging behind the rest of the country. Because of that people from various states in north east migrate to other metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Banglore for better opportunities. But then they have to face discrimination. Is it only because northeastern people have different facial appearance from rest the country?

Professor Mohammad Shafiq from Jamia Millia Islamia while talking about the state of economic development in the northeastern states said that there was a huge scope of development.

“In northeastern states there is poor roadways development and no railways linkage. If we go into the analysis, then two-third production of hydro electricity in India is with Northeast. The low currents in Bramhaputra are very much suitable for production of hydro electricity in India. But in spite of this Government of India fails to invest any capital into these regions, which hampers their economic development.”

Because of this kind of negligence by the government the people from these states feels deprived and some of them even want to join China, but the question is what the majority feels?

We spoke to Brigadier Arun Bajpai, an ex-Indian Army official, and he explained us about the problems which India might face if China occupies Arunachal Pradesh.

“China is claiming that 90,000 sq km in Arunachal Pradesh, as its own, which is not true. They basically want to trade Arunachal Pradesh with Aksai Chin (administered by the China), which is a very important gateway for China as it connects China to other parts of the world. And moreover the range of Himalayas with 62 passages are also important for them. Till the time these things are with India they can't do anything. But once they get Arunachal Pradesh then they will roll down on us,” said Bajpai .

The Northeastern people are also Indian citizens, and many of the army personals from these states are serving the nation. 72% peoples voted during election, this is the only thing which proves that they love India like citizen from rest of the country loves nation, and will always be happy to be a part of India.

Can't promise on Naga settlement: Rahul Gandhi

By Xavier Rutsa

KOHIMA: Speaking on the Indo-Naga peace process at a rally in Kohima on Thursday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said, unlike Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, he did not want to promise something that he could not fulfill.

"I am not like your chief minister. I do not like to make promises in the air," he added.

Rahul came to Kohima to campaign for K V Pusa, Congress's candidate for Nagaland's lone Lok Sabha seat.

Taking a potshot at Rio for having claimed that he would bring about a solution to the Naga political problem within three months during the 2003 assembly election in the state, Rahul said, "Unlike your CM, I cannot promise to bring about a political settlement within three months after returning to power."

He added, "The UPA government has taken a bold decision by inviting NSCN for talks."

However, Rahul also added, "I promise that I will do all that I can to bring about an early resolution of this problem. I will help the state of Nagaland, but I cannot promise to solve the problem in exactly three months."

"I am trying to bring peace and harmony to the state," Rahul said to a roaring crowd who clapped energetically after every statement he made.

Addressing the problem of communication in the region, Rahul said connectivity was one of the biggest problems the state faced time and again. If the Congress-led UPA returned to power, the government at the Centre would focus on improving roads and infrastructure development for better rail and air connectivity, he said.

The party was committed to creating 100 million jobs in the country in the next five years, Rahul added.

He said Nagaland was one of the few states in India that was actually moving backwards.

"Normally, a car has four gears - first, second, third and fourth gear. But the Nagaland government has put the state into reverse gear. This is definitely not good for the people of Nagaland," he added.

Instead of making empty promises, the CM should ensure that Nagaland progressed at top speed, he said, adding that the growth rate of Nagaland had slumped from 8.3 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

Rahul told the gathering that in the last 17 months, the Centre had paid Rs 300 crore for building roads in Nagaland, but not a single road had been constructed in the state till date.

"Now the DAN government wants to revise the estimated rate by two-and-half times, thereby not only driving the car in the reverse gear but also failing to build a road in the first place," he pointed out.

On his first visit to the state, Rahul said he was happy to have come to Nagaland and seen its beautiful people. The attire they wear signified the glorious aspects of Naga history, he said, adding that he respected the culture and tradition of the Nagas.

"To make our country really great, we first need to respect each other's culture and I believe in your history and culture," Rahul added.

He mentioned that some Naga students, who had met him in Delhi, had told him that 70,000 youths were unemployed in Nagaland.

He then said Nido Tania was killed by a small group of people who did not understand and respect the culture of the northeast and stated that the ideology of Congress was to spread love, peace and brotherhood. He added that people from the northeast had the right to feel safe and comfortable whenever they went. Nagas and other northeasterners should not feel alienated and should be able to live fearlessly in any part of the country, Rahul added.

He also announced that he would be the "special representative" of the region's people in Delhi and asked them to contact him anytime as his door would always be kept open for them.

Field of Menhirs Promises To Shed New Light on History of Mizos

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Mar 27 : Mizoram has made an entry into India’s archaeological map. In a first, the Ministry of Culture has declared a 9,000 sq m area dotted with several caves, and more than a hundred menhirs embossed with figures of humans, animals and weapons as an ancient site of national importance.

Some 170 menhirs, each at least as tall as a man, stand at the site at Champhai district’s Vangchhia village, which lies on the bank of the Tiau river that separates India and Myanmar.

Villagers call the site “Kawtchhuah Ropui” (The Great Gateway) and have protected these monuments for years in spite of not being sure what they represent or how they came to be there.

The Mizoram chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) along with the state’s Art & Culture Separtment has been studying the menhirs, seeking help from the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) in interpreting the embossing.

There has been no significant breakthrough yet, either in reading the carvings or in understanding why the menhirs are there.

The ministry’s notification declares the menhirs, as well as the ground on which they stand, the surrounding caves and forest as protected.

INTACH is hopeful that studies on the menhirs and the figures on them will shed more light on the history of the Mizos, much of which was never documented. The community followed an unwritten, oral tradition until a script was developed a little over a century ago.

Menhirs with similar images have also been found in parts of eastern Mizoram including at Chawngtlai village near Khawzawl town and, according to Mizo historian B Lalthangliana, in the Chin Hills of Myanmar.

NE couple thrashed for defying Munirka curfew

By Jayashree Nandi

New Delhi, Mar 27 : A couple was beaten up allegedly by their landlord's son and some goons in Munirka on Tuesday for trying to step out of their rented house at 9.30pm. The landlord, who likes to lock the main gate of the house early, was reportedly angry with the couple from Manipur when they asked for the keys. He allegedly called in youths from the neighbourhood to intimidate the victims.

Mercy, who was carrying her 10-day-old baby, alleged that a woman hit her with a broom and some goons pushed her. Her husband, Thangminlian, a jawan posted in J&K, claimed to have been hit with rods, prompting a fight-back.

Thangminlian was taken to hospital by youths from the northeast. He has injuries on the hands and back. Mercy had come to Delhi for her delivery. Her mother, Heneng, has a small garment business in Munirka. Thangminlian had also taken leave for a month to tend his wife. Mercy was with her baby girl and a four-year-old son on Tuesday, when they decided to visit a relative who also lives in Munirka. "When we asked for the keys, the landlord and a stranger asked us why we didn't go out during the day. It's been less than a month since we moved in, but they have always looked down on us," said Mercy who belongs to Churachandpur, Manipur.

Thangminlian, who was discharged on Wednesday, has been recuperating at a relative's house. "Being in the Army, I interact with soldiers from different communities all the time. I think we are not welcome here," said the enfeebled Thangminlian.

Rosemary, at whose house the couple was recuperating, said discrimination and racist comments were common.

When the youths attacked Thangminlian, his son, Siamboi, ran to his grandmother's house. She tried to shield her son-in-law. The couple is planning to leave Delhi soon. When TOI visited the couple's one-room house in Munirka, there were bloodstains on the wall, floor and bed. "We have arrested seven people, including the landlord and his son," said a senior cop of the south district. He added that a case of assault and sections of the SC/ST Act have been slapped on them.

UDF's Royte richest candidate in Mizoram

AIZAWL: With assets worth Rs 31.53 crore, Robert Romawia Royte, United Democratic Front (UDF)'s nominee for the Mizoram's lone Lok Sabha seat is the richest among the three candidates in the fray. The state will go to polls on April 9.

Royte and his wife, according to an affidavit submitted to the returning officer and deputy commission of Aizawl district, Juhi Mukherjee, have Rs 5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh cash in hand respectively. While Royte has Rs 19.27 crore worth of moveable assets and Rs 12.27 crore worth of immovable property, his wife has Rs 45.63 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore in movable and immovable assets. The total worth of his assets including his wife's, is Rs 34.49 crore.

A government employee who voluntarily resigned from service while working in the school education department, Royte is the proprietor and chief managing director of North East Consultancy Services (NECS). He is also the chairman of the TT Royte Group.

He has been fielded as an independent candidate by the 8-party alliance known as UDF which comprises the state's opposition parties—Mizo National Front, Mizoram People's Conference, Zoram Nationalist Party, BJP, NCP, Mara Democratic Front, Paite Tribes Council and Hmar People's Convention.

The second wealthiest candidate in Mizoram is Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s nominee M Lalmanzuala, who has Rs 10,000 in hand, while his wife has Rs 5,000 cash in hand. The retired IAS officer claimed to have Rs 2.11 crore and Rs 4.05 crore in moveable and immoveable assets respectively, while his wife's moveable assets are valued at Rs 22 lakh.

C L Ruala, sitting MP and Congress's nominee is the 'poorest' among candidates, with Rs 5 lakh in hand. He has Rs 41,53,421.83 and Rs 2,15,80,000 in moveable and immoveable assets respectively.

Independent candidate Vanlalngaia withdrew his nomination on Monday leaving only three candidates in the fray.

India's Brahmaputra river: 'The flood waters are eating away at our land'

Flooding on the Brahmaputra has brought death, displacement and disease to what has become one of India's poorest regions

Kieran Cooke in Laupani, India

Flood of misery … the overflowing waters of the Brahmaputra river have encroached on the land of locals, heaping sand on their paddy fields. Photograph: Kieran Cooke

Man Maya Bhujel stands on the banks of the Brahmaputra river. The small village of Laupani is nearby. In the distance, a pink evening light shines on the snowy ridges of the eastern Himalayas.
"When I came to the village to marry, 42 years ago, it took an hour to walk to the river," says Bhujel.

"Now the river's waters are here, eating away at our land, heaping sand on our paddy fields."

The Brahmaputra is one of the world's mightiest rivers, 10km wide in places. Its waters rise more than 5,000 metres up the Tibetan Plateau and flow for about 3,000km through China, India and Bangladesh before joining the Ganges and emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The river is a lifeline to millions, delivering vital nutrients to the plains of Assam and other areas, but its fast flowing waters also cause widespread misery. In 2012, more than 1.5 million people in Assam were displaced by floods, with many lives lost and whole villages washed away.

Bhujel is 70. Her calloused hands and lined face are testament to a lifetime of hard work on the land. She is dressed in a widow's white sari: her husband died last year.

"We once had three bighas of land [one bigha is about a third of an acre], but most of it has been eaten away by the river. The last thing my husband did before he died was sell our cattle."

In part the flooding and land erosion is a natural phenomenon. The Brahmaputra carries a vast volume of water, an amount only exceeded by the Amazon and Congo rivers.

As the Brahmaputra's waters cascade down from the mountains on to the soft alluvial soils of Assam, they eat away at the river's banks and deposit tons of sand on nearby lands, turning once verdant areas into what looks like an enormous beach.

North-eastern India is a highly seismic zone. An earthquake in 1950 was one of the most violent recorded, altering the geology of the entire Brahmaputra river basin and raising the river level by eight to 10 metres in places.

But rampant deforestation, particularly in areas further upstream, is another factor driving land loss.
"Over time different rivers in the Brahmaputra basin have merged, braiding over a very wide area, and thousands of square kilometres of paddy fields have been lost," says Professor Jogendra Nath Sarma, a local geologist who has been studying the Brahmaputra for years.

"Population growth and immigration from Bangladesh and other areas has put a big strain on Assam's land resources. In the past people would migrate to higher ground during the monsoon and flooding season, but now there is nowhere for them to go.".

Laupani is almost entirely populated by Nepalis, whose ancestors migrated from their mountain homes to the plains of Assam in search of a better life more than a century ago.

Subhakar Subedi, the village chief, says farmers are experimenting with more flood resistant rice strains. Others are turning what land they have left into small tea gardens or vegetable plots.
There are pools of stagnant water, left behind by last year's floods. They provide ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes; malaria, says Subedi, is on the rise.

The government has erected flood defences in some areas. Aaranyak, a locally based NGO, has joined forces with the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development – the only transboundary organisation looking at development issues across the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region – to install a number of flood early warning devices along the Brahmaputra's banks.
Subedi says the government in New Delhi should be doing more.

"Our ancestors were poor but we are poorer. The politicians come – especially now, at election time – and say they will help us. But little happens – it's all wada, wada [promises, promises]."

India's north-east is a tribal area. With its tea plantations and plentiful natural resources, including oil and coal, it was once one of the country's richest regions. Now it is one of the poorest.

Many people in the area feel cut off from the rest of India and neglected by central government.

There have been frequent violent clashes between indigenous groups and central government authorities.

There are few young men in Laupani. With little land left to farm, many have migrated in search of work, mainly to cities such as Chennai and Bangalore in southern India.

People in Laupani and elsewhere along the Brahmaputra face other challenges. Many glaciers in the eastern Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau that feed into the Brahmaputra are melting due to higher temperatures.

Accumulations of soot-like black carbon pollutants on the snowy peaks cause more heat to be absorbed, hastening glacial melt. In the short term this could lead to larger and more volatile river water flows.

Both India and China, its northerly neighbour, are involved in a large-scale dam building programme on upstream areas of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. The consequences for downstream communities are uncertain.

Bhujel is concerned with the day to day. One of her grandsons is using bamboo poles to build a new, temporary dwelling for the extended family.

"With every monsoon season, we fear we will have to move again. The river is always hungry for more land," she says.

All women’s bank to open three branches in northeast India

Agartala, Mar 23 : The Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) — India’s first all-women bank — will open three more branches in three capital cities of the northeastern states this week, officials said here Sunday.

“Three branches of the BMB will be set up in Agartala (Tripura), Shillong (Meghalaya) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) in this week,” a senior official of the Reserve Bank of India told IANS.

The government-owned bank that was launched Nov 19 last year has set up its northeast India’s first branch in Assam’s main city Guwahati last year.

The official said BMB chairman and managing director Usha Ananthasubramanian would set up the region’s second branch in Agartala Monday.

The Shillong and Itanagar branches of the women’s bank will be set up within this week.

“By March 31 or before the end of the current fiscal (2013-14), 23 branches are expected to be opened across the country,” the official added.

Besides the three northeastern capital towns, the cities where new branches will be set up during the 2013-14 fiscal include Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Shimla, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Dehradun, Patna, Naya Raipur, Panaji, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram and Ranchi.

Aiming to economically empower women, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the BMB Nov 19 simultaneously opening seven branches of the bank.

The bank’s nine branches, one each in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Guwahati and Lucknow, are all operational.

Online retailing on the rise in Northeast India

India's North East is quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing markets for online retailers with an increasing number of youngsters from the region logging on to buy mobiles, accessories and much more.

Portals such as Myntra, Jabong and Snapdeal are finding good traction for orders from the region as the number of customers looking to buy the best brands at affordable prices is on the rise.

"Youngsters today are extremely fashion conscious and tech savvy and online shopping gives them a platform to access the best brands at affordable prices with the convenience of shopping from anywhere. North Eastern markets behave similarly," Myntra co-founder Ashutosh Lawania told PTI.

"From a geographic reach and availability perspective, perhaps more so - we are seeing a steady increase in business from this region," he added.

The North Eastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura -- generate about 8 per cent of traffic and business for Myntra and the company expects further growth in the coming quarters, Lawania said, without disclosing absolute numbers.

"North East is doing really well in terms of acceptance (of online retail) and the market potential is also very big. The taste for fashion is very refined there and customers are trendy, experimental and are ready to try out fresh arrivals," Jabong co-founder Praveen Sinha said.

Snapdeal Vice-President Operations Saurabh Goyal said the percentage of contribution from the region to the New Delhi-based company's overall business is in double digits.

"The region is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country for us. We are growing in double digits month on month," he added.

Even eyewear online shopping portal Lenskart has seen good traction for its products from the region.

"About 20 per cent of our overall business comes from the North East plus West Bengal. Fashionable eyecare products are much in demand," Lenskart CEO Piyush Bansal said.

For Myntra, Guwahati, the most populous city in the region, and Aizawl in Mizoram are the two key markets, while there has been a steady increase in the number of online shoppers from Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sibsagar and Tinsukia -- all in Assam -- in the past few months, Lawania added.

Lawania said men in the North East region shop for smart casuals and footwear while women opt for western and ethnic wear online.

"Brands like Puma, Nike, Adidas, CAT, Wildcraft, Duke, Lee, Levis, Clarks, Shree and Myntra.Com's in-house brands Roadster, DressBerry and Anouk are preferred by shoppers in these region," he said.

Myanmar Weavers To Train inmates of Mizoram Home

Aizawl, Mar 21 : A number of orphans and drug addicts, all inmates of a home run by Thutak Nunpuitu Team (TNT) at Zuangtui near Aizawl, will be trained at the Handloom Weaving Centre by two Myanmarese weavers.

The Handloom Weaving Centre, jointly established by TNT and the Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF), was inaugurated on Tuesday by G Malsawmdawngliana, joint director of industries (handloom and handicraft).

The weaving centre is equipped with 8 Myanmarese looms and three Indian-made looms installed at a cost of Rs 3 lakh funded by the AOF under its corporate social responsibility programme.

Amway executive Bikramjit Paul said the weaving centre will serve as a skill-development centre and will be self-sustaining for the inmates of the home so that they find employment after leaving the home.

The AOF has also helped the students of the home by providing them school uniform, textbooks, drinking water and sanitation inside the home's premises.

At present, the TNT home has 68 workers, 250 mentally challenged people and drug addicts, 420 orphans and 303 students. The home depends solely on donation from NGOs, individuals and churches.

Pre-monsoon Rains in Mizoram, Houses Damaged

Aizawl, Mar 21: Pre-monsoon rainfall accompanied by strong squall hit many places in Mizoram on Wednesday evening leaving trails of destruction in a number of places, disaster management and rehabilitation department sources said.

Southernmost Lawngtlai district was the hardest hit with around 50 houses damaged in Lawngtlai town and surrounding villages, the officials said. While 12 houses were damaged in Chanmari-II locality of Lawngtlai town, 11 houses were damaged in Bungtlang South, and about 80 houses south of the town. Power supply lines were damaged causing power failure in many villages and telecommunication was also severely affected. The Mizoram Assembly today passed the Supplementary Demand for 2013-14 amounting to Rs 2,658.47 crore and vote-on-account for expenditure for the first four months of 2014-15 (April to July, 2014) amounting to Rs 2,381.08 crore. The Budget was presented in the state legislature by finance minister Lalsawta on last Tuesday.

Both the Supplementary Demand and the Vote-on-account were passed after a brief discussion after Lalsawta explained that detailed and demand-wise discussion would be held when a regular budget would be presented in the state legislature. During his budget speech, he underscored the need for improvement and augmentation of the state's own tax and non- tax revenues through any possible means and at the same time reduce non-plan revenue expenditure whenever possible though he did not propose any specific new taxes on increase in the rates of existing taxes.

Lalsawta had to seek vote-on-account as the Planning Commission was yet to allocate the annual plan outlay for Mizoram. He said though the Planning Commission was yet to finalise the state annual plan outlay for 2014-15, the Budget estimates for the next fiscal were projected at Rs 3,325 crore. "As and when the annual plan for 2014-15 is finalised, I will seek approval of this august House for the regular budget," the finance minister said.

Megadams: Battle on the Brahmaputra

China and India have their eye on the energy potential of the vast Brahmaputra river. Will a new wave of "megadams" bring power to the people - or put millions at risk? Navin Singh Khadka reports from Assam, India.

On the banks of the Brahmaputra it is hard to get a sense of where the river starts and ends. It begins far away as a Tibetan mountain stream. On the floodplains of Assam, though, its waters spread as far as the eye can see, merging with the horizon and the sky.

From here it continues through north-eastern India into Bangladesh, where it joins with the Ganges to form a mighty river delta.

For centuries the Brahmaputra has nourished the land, and fed and watered the people on its banks.
Today, though, India and China's growing economies mean the river is increasingly seen as a source of energy. Both countries are planning major dams on long stretches of the river.

INTERACTIVE

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• Source of the Yarlung Zangbo

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  The river, known as the Yarlung Zangbo in China and as the Brahmaputra in India, starts its 1,760 mile (2,840 km) journey beneath Mount Kailash, high in the Tibet region of the Himalayas.
  

• Zangmu dam

   
  China is constructing the Zangmu dam to provide hydro-electric power. The project began in 2009 and has caused concern downstream in India. Three other dams are planned nearby.
  

• The Great Bend of the Yarlung Zangbo

   
  Before the Yarlung Zangbo leaves China to flow into the Arunachal Pradesh region of India and become the Brahmaputra, it makes a dramatic turn to the south, known as the Great Bend.
  

• Assam tea gardens

   
  Many of Assam's tea gardens are irrigated by the Brahmaputra. They are vulnerable to flooding and erosion by river water.
  

• Subansiri dam site

   
  India is also building dams on the river – many more than China. The Lower Subansiri Dam, on a tributary of the Brahmaputra, has been stalled by protests for several years.
  

• Guwahati - city on the river

   
  In Guwahati, Assam's biggest city, anti-China sentiment is growing and some say the river level has dropped in recent years.
  

In Assam the plans are being greeted with scepticism and some fear.

The fear is that dams upstream could give China great power over their lives. And many in Assam worry whether China has honourable intentions.
Brahmaputra voices: What next for their river?

Brahmaputra stories: The businessman, the activist, the expert and the official

After a landslide in China in 2000, the river was blocked for several days, unknown to those downstream.
When the water forced its way past the blockage Assam faced an oncoming torrent. There was no advance warning. There are concerns this could happen more frequently.
Some also believe that China may divert water to its parched north - as it has done with other southern rivers.
India's central government says China has given them assurances about the new Tibetan dams.
"Our foreign ministry has checked with China and we have been told that the flow will not be affected, and we will make sure that the people's lives are not affected by the dams," Paban Singh Ghatowar, minister for the development of north-eastern India, told the BBC.

“Start Quote

By engaging in a race to dam the Brahmaputra as quickly as possible, China and India will cause cumulative environmental impacts beyond the limits of the river's ecosystem”

Peter Bosshard International Rivers Network

Beijing says the dams it is building on the Tibetan stretch of the river will ease power shortages for people in that region.

"All new projects will go through scientific planning and feasibility studies and the impact to both upstream and downstream will be fully considered," China's foreign ministry told the BBC.
It said three new dams at Dagu, Jiacha, and Jeixu were small-scale projects: "They will not affect flood control or the ecological environment of downstream areas," the foreign ministry said.
Despite the statements, there is no official water-sharing deal between India and China - just an agreement to share monsoon flood data.
Experts and interest groups remain as sceptical as local residents.
'Rivers unite us, but dams divide us," says Peter Bosshard, of the International Rivers Network.
He criticises India for ignoring the rights of Bangladesh even as it deals with China's claim on the river.
"By engaging in a race to dam the Brahmaputra as quickly as possible, China and India will cause cumulative environmental impacts beyond the limits of the river's ecosystem, and will threaten the livelihoods of more than 100 million people who depend on the river."
It is hard to know where the truth lies. The dams are hidden from view, on remote valleys and in deep mountain gorges. It is there that the never-ending tension between politics, development and environment is now being played out.

Football: ‘Work needed at grassroot level’

India’s north-east has long been touted as the nursery of its football. With two clubs from Shillong representing the region in the I-League and Mizoram winning their maiden Santosh Trophy in Siliguri earlier his month, defender Gouramangi Singh feels this is the best phase of the sport in the region. Gouramangi speaks about the transition of football in the region and his club Rangdajied FC. Excerpts:

Is this the best soccer phase for the north-east?
As of now, you can say that. There are two clubs from Shillong in the I-League and there are also Royal Wahingdoh, who are in the second division league final round. So there is plenty of representation from Shillong as far as the I-League is concerned.
Not to forget Mizoram, who recently won the Santosh Trophy and a lot of their players are being looked at by I-League clubs. However, I hope this can only get better and spread over to other states as well. We need professional clubs from Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Assam to come into the I-League at some point.
Shed some light on the transition there.
The north-east has always been a hot bed for talent, but never for clubs. In the past two decades, if you see most clubs would have had at least two to three players from the north-east in their teams in the National Football League and the I-League.
However, with the emergence of clubs from Shillong, presently there are more options for a player. Nowadays, a footballer from the area need not necessarily venture out to play outside his region. Personally, I hope for a full transition and wait for the day when all Manipuri players can play in a Manipur I-League club and so on.
How do you assess the current talent from the region?
We have good players but need to do much more work at the grassroot level. With the 2017 Under-17 Fifa World Cup approaching there should be plenty of academies, football schools of excellence etc. in the region. Schools should also tie up with academies to make better educated players, who excel in the game and also have a back-up career from education.
Your take on the likes Lalnunpuia, David Ngaihte, Munmum Lugun, etc?
All of them are very talented but need to keep upgrading ourselves. We need to train hard and put in 100 per cent both on and off the field. Talent alone cannot win you anything. Systematic training, development and education are of paramount importance too.
What has been at the heart of Rangdajied United’s incredible run of form of late?
We have won three macthes on the trot. Since I joined the club in November 2013, I have always maintained that the squad have quality players and after getting to know each other, we have started working well as a team.
A few more additions in January including that of Ranti Martins have made a difference. If you look carefully, each member is playing his role. Even when Subrata Paul was here, though only for a short stint, he made a difference with a couple of match-winning performances.

Mizo ATM Attackers caught Through WhatsApp in Bangalore

By Arun Dev

BANGALORE: A series of forwards on WhatsApp gave police a crucial tipoff, leading to the arrest of two men who had on Tuesday morning attacked a security guard inside an ATM kiosk in Kammanahalli.

Using Smartphone technology to their advantage, city police stitched up the case with the arrest of Thangya Su, 20, and Ausang Thang, 19, natives of Aizawl district of Mizoram, within 24 hours.

The two men had barged into the Corporation Bank ATM and stabbed the security guard Murugan, 38, on his arms and neck. When he raised an alarm, they fled, leaving the ATM machines untouched.

Police got to work, retrieving CCTV footage clearly showing the faces of the two men. And the hunt began. Teams fanned out across the city, visiting hotels, spas and other businesses where people from the northeast community are usually employed; however, the search wasn't fruitful.

"The kitchen knife was crucial in the investigation. It gave us hunch that these two men were working in some fast food chain or hotel in the city. So we sent these photographs to all the hotels and restaurants we knew, that employed people from the north-east," PS Harsha, deputy commissioner of police, east.

According to DCP PS Harsha, photographs of the men were sent to at least 1,000 restaurants and hotels either physically or digitally.

Throughout Tuesday, members of the community shared the pictures on WhatsApp, until finally, the strategy hit home. The pictures reached a hotelier in Jayanagar, who paid little attention to them until Tuesday evening, when the men walked into his hotel, looking for jobs. He reached for his phone and tapped on the image, and aha! the picture revealed the truth, in all its megapixel clarity.

He knew he had to act fast. He asked them to wait in a room in the hotel, and quickly rang up the cops. Investigating officials are keeping the identity of the hotelier a secret.

During interrogation, the young men said they had come to Bangalore a year ago and were between jobs. They admitted they had set out to rob an ATM after one of their friends gave them the idea on making a fast buck. Around 1am Tuesday, they located a kiosk where the security guard was asleep and attacked him with a kitchen knife.

Mawi Keivom - Rani Punk

Mawi Keivom on how her tribal heritage has given her an edge as an international accessories designer

By Rachana Nakra

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Designer Mawi Keivom

A decade after launching her label at the London Fashion Week, Manipur-born accessories designer Mawi Keivom showed her collection at the Lakmé Fashion Week last week, pairing it with designer Gaurav Gupta’s clothes. Her collection, MAWI’s Indian Odyssey, was a retrospective of the iconic pieces created by her in her earlier seasons. A celebration of Keivom’s favourite pieces, the name of this collection was a reference to her homecoming.

Models in braided mohawks glided down the runway in Gupta’s designs with an alien spaceship suspended overhead. Mawi’s stunning ultra-glam pieces added to the otherworldly ambience.

Beyond the ramp, from Rihanna to Priyanka Chopra, her art deco and punk-inspired unique statement pieces can be seen on fashionistas globally. She tells us how travel and her own rebellious streak inspire her designs—and that you might be able to buy MAWI shoes in the future. Edited excerpts from an interview:

How often does India find its way into your designs?

My Indian and tribal heritage is a constant source of inspiration. I respect Indian tradition, craftsmanship and aesthetics. India has such a beautiful, diverse heritage and my work always has an undercurrent of that running through its veins. In the past I have created collections such as Punk Rajah, Gypsy Rani and India Rose, which all took inspiration from my roots.

Where else do you find inspiration for your designs?

I also find many of my ideas come from youth subcultures and industrial design, as well as futuristic, traditional and contemporary references. My work is always about combining these diverse elements. I seek influences from a wide variety of sources, ensuring my designs remain multidimensional, innovative and exciting. I also feel fortunate to have been able to travel and experience many different cultures. Certainly this exposure has contributed to my overall aesthetic.

How has your personal style inspired your jewellery line?

MAWI jewels are definitely a true embodiment of my style. My personal aesthetic encompasses bold statement pieces, industrial and futuristic elements as well as vintage jewels. I have a rebellious streak running through my veins, which translates through my designs.

Do you plan to expand your product line? Shoes or clothes perhaps?

My ultimate aim is to create an aspirational lifestyle brand that offers everything from jewellery, bags, shoes, clothing, perfume, etc. Having set up the foundations for global expansion, the next decade will focus on growing the online business, while also expanding the retail arms and opening more stores. We want to immerse our followers in the MAWI world, we have a vision of developing the MAWI philosophy across the board and we are in this for the long haul.

Which Indian celebrity would you like to see your designs on?

There are many trend-setting celebrities in India who wear MAWI and I’m always delighted to see them wearing our creations. Aishwarya Rai (Bachchan), Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor (Khan) have all been spotted in our jewels. These women add their own individual style to the pieces and I am so excited to see who chooses to wear MAWI next. It’s so rewarding knowing someone has specifically chosen to invest in a piece they absolutely love.

Do you think you will ever create dainty, delicate pieces?

We are known for creating statement jewels, however these pieces often feature delicate components and features that would translate beautifully into more dainty designs. I wear a lot of delicate jewels myself and my jewellery box is full of beloved dainty pieces that have been handed down through my family. I like extremes, and mix and match so many aesthetics that there is always the possibility to design smaller, delicate jewels, particularly when we eventually come to launch a fine jewellery range in the future. It is not on the cards yet but the avenue to create precious MAWI jewellery is always open.

The Mizoram master plan that Indian football needs

By Pulasta Dhar

"The best way for Mizoram to make a name for themselves in a country as big as India is football." That is Mizoram Football Association secretary Mr. Lalnghinglova Hmar's primary motivation to develop football in his state. Over the last three years, he has made it his mission to make Mizoram a football superpower — and his crowning glory came when they won the Santosh Cup this month.

But while much has been said about their rise, what is forgotten is the struggle — the nitty-gritties, the foundation, the hard work and the initial thrust that is so hard to come by.

Hmar has been the mastermind behind the plan to take Mizoram to new heights — and as he said, to make them noticed through a sport that is secondary in the country. Hmar isn't even a full-time employee of the Mizoram FA. He is in fact a business editor at a vernacular daily — but has shot to the limelight in football administration after creating a brilliant football system in the state.

So, what is this blueprint? How does it work? Where does the money come from? Here's breaking down the Mizoram master plan: Infrastructure "Mizoram doesn't have any natural grass." What? "Yes, there's too much rain -- we play in the mud." So how do your teams play such fluid football? "Artificial turfs." Mizoram has three artificial turfs in the state — two in Aizwal and one in Lunglei. Another one is coming up in Champhai in two months time. Hmar tells us that the state government has spent about Rs 4 crore on every turf — that's a Rs 16 crore investment right away in turfs. "This is a football-friendly state. The government has been very supportive in developing the game.

It eventually comes down to a solid support system," Hmar says. So how hard is it to get kids to play the game? "You know, playing football in recesses during school doesn't happen here. That's not the culture. Schools don't have playgrounds here — football in Mizoram is an after school activity where children play in parks. Considering it is the most popular sport in the state, it isn't hard to attract people.

Maybe initially to the Mizoram Premier League, but not to play." Football players of the Mizoram team celebrate after winning the final match of the 68th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2014. AFP Football players of the Mizoram team celebrate after winning the final match of the 68th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2014.

AFP Grassroots Much has been said about FIFA's grassroots programme being implemented in India by the AIFF. One cannot judge on whether it has worked or not — at least not until the under-17 World Cup in 2017. But one things is for sure — as an AIFF source told Firstpost, no one 'checks' whether coaches learning grassroots training are implementing the programme in school or their coaching sessions.

In Mizoram, it's different: "There's constant checking whether grassroots coaches are applying what they learn in grassroots development programmes. Even the remotest areas are checked -- but work still to be done. We're now going to start grassroots programmes in sub-towns to bring more coaches from rural areas -- our development officer makes sure one style of football is followed throughout the state."

Any state football association can conduct a grassroots programme — but Mizoram makes sure it doesn't stop there. The checking part is where the seriousness shows. The smaller the state, the easier to develop football? "Bhaichung Bhutia said in a recent meeting that Sikkim, despite being smaller couldn't do what we're doing here. It's not about the size of the state — maybe the open expanses and culture makes it easy — but money-wise we're a poor state.

It's all about planning and constantly thinking about the future," Hmar says. There was a time when a state would be compared to Goa or Kolkata when it came to football.

Now it's all about Mizoram: "Well, I admit bigger and richer states will do better if they replicate our system." The system "Eight districts -- eight FAs. As for tournaments, we hold a sub-junior (U14) and junior (U17) tournament every year. Then there's the MZFA Cup and the Mizoram Premier League," Hmar rattles off. There's also an inter-village tournament where more than 200 teams take part. So how do you spot talent? "All these are scouted. We don't have paid scouts but we have a technical committee made up of coaches and ex-players. Every tournament, every game is seen."

If you happen to be in Mizoram watching a league match, don't be surprised to see a few I-League suits sitting there to spot talent too. The Mizoram Premier League This is the money-spinner if you want to think of it that way. The Mizoram Premier League is what Hmar is most excited to talk about. "We always wanted to start a league since we don't have an I-League team of our own (this is next on his wishlist).

Initially it was very hard to extract money from sponsors. They support football but when it comes to money, a product has to be good to sell. And it's here that we struck a unique sponsorship plan with Zonet cable." It's basically genius, this deal — Zonet pays Mizoram's FA Rs 25 lakhs a year (they've committed to five years) and holds all the commercial rights of the league.

Zonet goes and sells their ads to make money. They also broadcast all the matches live. As Hmar puts it, it's a 'win-win'. What about the clubs? "The prize money for the league is Rs 7 lakhs. Every game the winning team gets Rs 3000 and the losing team gets Rs 2000.

The FA and the two participating clubs split the gate receipts 50-50. So there is incentive to play," Hmar tells us. Tickets are priced at Rs 30 for an adult and Rs 10 for a child.

A Village Brings Down Its Hills as Lure of Mining Grows

By MAX BEARAK

Himanshu Khagta Alldrina Nonglamin’s mine is one of hundreds of brand new pits near Meghalaya’s border with Bangladesh.

NONGTALANG, India — “Bomb, bomb, bomb!” shouted the miner, and his warning echoed off the walls of the decapitated hillock. Seconds later, an explosion sliced off yet another chunk of limestone, which crumbled into a pile somewhere near where the center of the hill used to be.

The mine’s owner, Alldrina Nonglamin, 40, barely noticed the explosion. On that morning in early January, she wore her bed slippers and a sarong tied over her shoulder as she surveyed the pile of rock that had once underlaid her orange and betel nut garden, her former source of income.

Proudly showing off the mounds of ammonium nitrate she uses as an explosive, she said, “I want to finish the hill quickly so I can level the land and build a big house. It might take 20 years, but maybe less also.”

Ms. Nonglamin is one of the many new mine owners in the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya State who were surprised to find out that the pile of rocks they were living on might as well be made of cash. In the last few years, her village of Nongtalang, like so many other communities across this hilly northeastern state, has become home to an increasing number of family-owned limestone mines, whose owners are seeking wealth unheard of in a region accustomed to subsistence farming.

Hundreds of limestone mines now line the 60 kilometers, or 40 miles, of highway that lead through this region toward the border with Bangladesh.

Ms. Nonglamin took loans of more than $150,000 to purchase mining equipment after seeing the profits her neighbors were unearthing. In just one year, she has paid back more than half of the initial loan.

Himanshu Khagta Alldrina Nonglamin, 40, a mine owner in Nongtalang in the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya.

“My earnings are now 100 times better, and the loans are easily paid. My kids go to private school in the city. I’m a businesswoman with more than 100 employees, when before I was a farmer and sometimes a tailor,” she said.

With so many villagers rushing to mine the hills, small-scale miners are now extracting more rock per year all together than massive multinational corporations would in a smaller network of bigger mines, environmental activists say, and with little to none of the regulations those big companies are normally subjected to.

Just under 1,000 trucks of the low-grade rock are exported from the small mines to Bangladesh daily, where the world’s largest cement manufacturer, the French company Lafarge, buys most of it, processes it and churns out the fine cement powder that is ultimately transformed into the building blocks of that country’s infrastructural development.

Very few in this village of 2,000 resist the lure of mining in these hills, but those who do say runoff from the mines often goes straight into rivers that provide drinking water. Helpme Mohrmen, a local Unitarian minister who has organized poorly attended local protests and traveled to Delhi to speak to distant advocacy groups, refers to himself as “The Lone Ranger.”

Himanshu Khagta Helpme H. Mohrmen, who refers to himself as the “Lone Ranger” in the fight against mining in the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.

“Our people have always had a deep reverence for nature,” Mr. Mohrmen said. “We give our rivers personalities. We call the animals our brothers and sisters. Each plant carries some meaning. I cannot understand why we have gone about killing our rivers for this mining, but now no one will join me because they don’t want to fight against their clan members.”

Tribal society in this part of Meghalaya is structured around clans, which often form political blocs and share economic interests. Those who open mines often employ fellow clan members, or at least spread the wealth earned through mining in the form of lavish gifts and parties. Clans also traditionally have viewed land as communal among members.

“There is this idea that we, as tribals, have inherited our land and have the right to do as we want with it,” Mr. Mohrmen said. “But no one can own a river.”

Nongtalang is Mr. Mohrmen’s home village, but he can count his allies there on one hand. One is Brightstar Pohsnem, 26, an elementary school teacher and the president of the one-year-old Nongtalang People’s Unity Movement, which has about a dozen members. They contend that the village can survive on farming alone and that the mines are not sustainable.

“In this village, we get our water straight from the river,” Mr. Pohsnem said. “As soon as the mining started, the water became undrinkable. Now they say they have stopped mining near the river, but they have buried the headwaters of the streams already. Maybe with the money they make from mining, they can buy clean water, but that is not a solution.”

Workers in the mine can earn as much as 3,000 rupees a day, or $50, all year round. That is on par with what they could earn on a market day selling oranges or betel nuts if they are lucky, but markets are held only once a week and only during the harvest period.

Mr. Pohsnem said villagers constantly lobbied him to recognize the value of mining. “People offer to buy me coffees, clothes or to go on picnics with their mining money,” he said. “But I know that is just how they became interested in mining, because of all those things you can get with money. They are not thinking properly about what they are doing.”

Yet the immediate benefits of the newfound wealth abound. Dolly Khonglah, a mine owner who also heads the Meghalaya International Exporters Chamber of Commerce, was able to fly her son to an upscale, private hospital owned by the Apollo Hospitals group in New Delhi, where he underwent a liver transplant.

“We have been interior-type people, so we are happy to see changes,” she said during an interview at the hospital.

“The limestone is a blessing of the land. Ten years ago, we couldn’t even go to Shillong,” she said, referring to Meghalaya’s capital. “Now we can come to Apollo.”

As the new prosperity brings advantages like access to better health care and a higher standard of living, even Mr. Pohsnem’s closest kin have questioned his stance. “My best friends from school and my neighbors have stopped talking to me,” he said. “They don’t understand why I am against mining.”

Looking at the floor in his small home, Mr. Pohsnem said that his feelings about mining boiled down to a fundamental difference in how he saw the future of his village. He does not imagine that the wealth, or the rock itself, is sustainable.

“We used to have deer and bears around here, but even the squirrels ran away after the mining. If they cannot drink the water, then how can we?” he asked. “It’s no use fighting — better that we buy a place elsewhere where there’s no mining.”

He laughed, mostly to himself. “The sad thing is that the mine owners are the only ones who have the money to do that.”

Both Ms. Khonglah and Ms. Nonglamin dream of passing on their mines to their children, but when Ms. Nonglamin was reminded that she had earlier said there might be only 20 more years of rock left, she said, “I cannot imagine that day. I haven’t thought about it.”

Ms. Khonglah admitted, “It is true. The rock may not last.”

Max Bearak is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi. Follow him on Twitter @maxbearak.

Mizos oppose votes by Bru refugees

State election department officials said that there were 11,390 Bru voters in the relief camps

Aizawl, Mar 14 : Several social organisations and student bodies in Mizoram have opposed any move of the Election Commission to enable Bru refugees lodged in six relief camps of Tripura to exercise their franchise through postal ballots in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Six major social organisations and several student bodies have already decided to organise a 'Protest Day' on March 24 next on the issue, while the Mizo Students Union (MSU) has threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections.

State election department officials said that there were 11,390 Bru voters in the relief camps belonging to nine assembly constituencies covering three districts.

Lalbiakzuala, President of the Central Committee of the Young Mizo Association, said yesterday that they had repeatedly urged the Centre and the EC not to allow Bru voters to cast their votes outside the state, but to no avail.

"The Brus migrated to Tripura on their own will and refused to return even after repeated appeals from the Centre, state government and the people of Mizoram," Lalbiakzuala said, adding that there was no reason why they should be repeatedly allowed to vote.

Lalhmachhuana, President of the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), also said that the Brus who refused to return to Mizoram despite several pleas and repatriation plans should be deleted from the Mizoram voters' lists.

Thousands of Brus migrated to Tripura following violence in 1997 and also in 2009. While many Bru families have returned to Mizoram, the majority of them remained in camps.

Earlier, the EC allowed the Bru refugees to exercise their franchise on a directive of court in 1999.