India's Womb Services

Our 'rent a womb' child from an Indian baby farm: British couple paying £20,000 for a desperately poor single mother to have their child

• Housewife Octavia Orchard describes the agreement as 'a business transaction'
• The Indian woman will live in a house with other surrogates, has children of her own, but no husband
• 'Her function is to sustain the foetus we have created,' says Mrs Orchard
• Of the £20,000, the Indian woman will earn between £3,000 - £6,000
• Around 2,000 births to surrogates took place last year

By Helen Roberts and Frances Hardy

Strictly business: Octavia and Dominic Orchard have paid for an Indian woman to be their surrogate

A couple tell today how they are expecting a child by a surrogate mother from an Indian ‘baby factory’.
Octavia and Dominic Orchard travelled to the Hyderabad clinic to get around a UK ban on commercial surrogacy. Their baby – due at the end of the year – will be theirs biologically while being born to an impoverished Indian ‘renting out’ her womb.
Mrs Orchard, a middle-class Oxfordshire housewife, admitted the £20,000 deal sounded ‘cold and clinical’ but insisted: ‘This is a business transaction.’
Describing the surrogate mother as ‘just a vessel’, the 34-year-old former estate agent added: ‘There is no altruism involved on the surrogate’s part: she is being paid to have our baby’.
At A clinic in Hyderabad, southern India, a surrogate mother is carrying Octavia and Dominic Orchard’s second child. The couple, who are as English as their bucolic-sounding name, know only the sparest of details about the woman who is pregnant with their baby.
They know she is 31 and has children of her own. They know her name, and that for reasons not explained — perhaps she has been widowed or deserted — she has no husband.
For the duration of her pregnancy she will live with other surrogates, away from her home and family, in a primitive dormitory within the clinic. It goes without saying that she is desperately poor.
Other than that, their surrogate’s life is a mystery to Octavia and Dominic. They chose not to become acquainted with the woman carrying the baby created from Octavia’s egg and Dominic’s sperm.
‘Our baby has no biological connection to the surrogate,’ says Octavia.
‘Her womb is just the receptacle in which it is being carried. Perhaps it sounds cold and rather clinical, but this is a business transaction.
‘There is no altruism involved on the surrogate’s part: she is being paid to have our baby. It’s a contractual arrangement.

 

‘Her function is to sustain the foetus we have created. Her blood is pumping around its body and she is feeding it through her placenta, but she is just a vessel. The baby she gives birth to on our behalf will carry none of her genes and bear no physical resemblance to her.
‘He or she will have white skin and, in all probability, red hair like my husband.
‘Of course I want her to do her best to have a successful pregnancy, and I’ll be very upset — quite devastated, in fact — if it doesn’t go full-term. But we do not want to get emotionally involved with our surrogate’s story. I’m not interested in her background. I don’t want to be part of her life.
‘She speaks a different language. She lives in a world culturally, economically and socially so remote from ours that the distance between us is unbridgeable.

Happy family: The Orchards are looking forward to giving their son Orlando another sibling

Happy memories: The Orchards pictured on their wedding day - they probably wouldn't have predicted the story that was to follow

‘You could also say this is part of my defence mechanism: I don’t want to become more emotionally involved than I already am because the pain will only be intensified if it all goes wrong.’
Some will find it disquieting that the miracle of birth is being reduced to a clinical commercial transaction by a growing number of British couples.
India’s burgeoning surrogacy industry — there are about 1,000 clinics providing surrogates for ‘fertility tourists’ — has been compared to a baby factory in which children are made-to-order for affluent couples who often use donated eggs and sperm to create their baby, and an Indian donor to carry it, choosing everything from their baby’s eye colour to its height.

'I hope my surrogate does something wonderful with the payment'
Mrs Orchard 

The Orchards have not been told how much their surrogate will earn from the £20,000 cost of the treatment — clinics are loath to specify sums — but estimates range from £3,000 to £6,000.
Many will struggle to understand Octavia’s lack of curiosity about the woman who is now 27 weeks pregnant with her child, but she is content knowing that the unspecified sum her surrogate will receive for her services will be life-transforming.
‘I hope my surrogate will do something wonderful with the payment,’ says Octavia.
‘She could educate her children with it; even buy a small house. It makes me feel good that we could help that happen.’
Octavia and Dominic are among a growing number of Britons using Indian clinics to circumvent UK laws that make commercial surrogacy illegal.

'Vessels': The Indian surrogate mothers at an Indian 'baby factory'

Around 2,000 births to surrogates took place in India last year, and Britain supplies the largest number of clients — estimates suggest as many as half are from the UK. The fact that just 100 surrogate births were recorded in Britain last year puts the scale of the Indian operation into perspective.
While some of the couples who attend the Indian clinics are homosexual and use sperm or egg donors, many, like Octavia and Dominic, are driven by infertility to put all their hopes into these clinics in teeming, impoverished cities like Hyderabad.
However, while the vast majority of these British couples choose to remain anonymous, the Orchards have decided to speak out about their own experiences with an Indian surrogate to encourage other British couples to consider the practice.

After 16 weeks of pregnancy, Octavia's amniotic sack failed to fill after her waters broke, and the baby died in the womb 

Octavia, 34, who had a comfortable middle-class upbringing in Oxfordshire, and Dominic, 35, a successful financial management consultant, have been married for six years and have a three-year-old son, Orlando, who was conceived naturally.
‘Orlando brought us such joy. I’ve loved every second of motherhood,’ says Octavia, who now works part-time in her recruitment job so she can spend more time with her son.
The Orchards knew they wanted more than one child, and were delighted when Octavia became pregnant 18 months after their son’s birth.
But after 16 weeks, Octavia’s waters broke prematurely, with catastrophic results: the amniotic sack failed to fill again and the baby died in the womb. She then had to endure an operation to remove the foetus.
‘I felt not only bereft, but completely worthless,’ she recalls. ‘I felt I’d let Dominic down. I couldn’t save our baby, I’d failed as a woman. I’m usually buoyant and positive, but I reached a very low ebb.’
The Orchards tried again for a baby. More sorrow ensued. Last January, Octavia’s obstetrician discovered that the remains of the placenta from her previous pregnancy were still in her uterus. A further operation to remove them followed.

All change: The art of conceiving has been taken to a new level now with the Indian baby-making factory

Then last October a fertility expert diagnosed Asherman’s Syndrome: the scars from Octavia’s successive operations had irreparably damaged her uterus, which had sealed up. She could no longer become pregnant.
‘I cried and cried,’ she says. ‘My confidence deserted me and though friends and family tried to tell me I had a perfect family already, I wouldn’t be consoled. I desperately wanted a sibling for Orlando and another baby for Dominic and myself.’
It was then they considered surrogacy. ‘As I could produce healthy eggs, I just needed a uterus in which our baby could grow,’ she explains. She and Dominic would provide the embryo and their surrogate would incubate it: it seemed simple.
So Dominic researched their options via the internet. He started in the UK — but was worried as the law does not recognise surrogacy as a binding agreement on either side.
‘Even when the baby is genetically related to both intended parents, and not to the surrogate — as ours would have been — there is very little we could do to make our position 100 per cent water-tight,’ she explains.
‘We’d heard stories of British surrogates refusing to hand over babies. We did not want to risk the heartbreak of that.’
Similar rules applied in Australia, while in the U.S. the cost was prohibitively expensive, at around £40,000.
They researched South Africa, and there, too, the law was obscure. But India, it seemed, had different and unequivocal rules. ‘The surrogate is paid. She does a job. You don’t have to become friends with her,’ says Octavia. ‘She carries the baby and hands it over. It’s very clear-cut.’
They chose a clinic in Hyderabad because it was cheaper than rival organisations, and because it also offered a lawyer to negotiate the convoluted bureaucracy involved in securing the baby’s British passport.
Soon after signing up, a box of medication to boost Octavia’s egg production arrived at their home, and in March — Orlando was left with his maternal grandmother — they flew to India for treatment.
Octavia knew what to expect from the subcontinent. Although she spent most of her childhood in Oxfordshire — she attended Samantha Cameron’s alma mater, St Helen & St Katharine School, Abingdon — she lived briefly in India when her father, a pilot, worked there. Dominic, too, had visited on business. Without this knowledge, they admit they would have been alarmed by the dizzying mix of abject squalor and wealth they encountered.
‘If we hadn’t been prepared for what we’d find, we would have been worried,’ concedes Octavia. ‘The clinic was basic and compact, but clean. It was three or four storeys high and the surrogates live on the upper storeys.

Tender time: Octavia and Dominic Orchard, pictured at the birth of their son Orlando

Growing up fast: The Orchards at Orlando's six-month Christening

Three set to be four: The Orchards always wanted a sibling for Orlando - and now their dreams are coming true

‘We did not want to see their quarters: by Indian standards they would have been comfortable; by ours, they would not be considered remotely homely. But we knew our surrogate would be treated well and would be given food and nutritional supplements to help the foetus develop.’
Many believe such arrangements are exploitative, and question whether it is morally right to use uneducated, impoverished women to fulfil wealthy couples’ dreams of parenthood. But Octavia insists the arrangement is mutually beneficial. For her, the quid pro quo is the financial recompense — huge by the standards of impoverished Indians —_ the surrogate will have received.
Octavia and her surrogate were treated within the clinic, but in separate areas. Around ten British couples a year currently use its facilities.
There are 90 surrogates on its books, and it has produced 218 successful deliveries in the past four years.
Octavia’s eggs were harvested and fertilised with her husband’s sperm, before being implanted in the surrogate’s womb, where one embryo is now successfully developing.
Other fertilised embryos produced by the treatment are being stored by the clinic and the Orchards may use them for a third child in the future.
Octavia and Dominic were flying home when the operation to transplant the embryo took place.
They said they weren’t even tempted to glimpse the woman who would transform their lives by carrying their second child.
Now they are back in Hong Kong, where Dominic works. They hope to return to the UK soon — to live in Wimbledon where Octavia worked at an estate agent, or their native Oxford — to raise their two children.

Money talks: Wealthy Westerners are turning to surrogate mothers, and importantly eggs from beautiful Europeans

Meanwhile, all they can do is put their faith and trust in the expertise of the clinic, and fervently hope for a successful outcome to their venture. They are sent videos, photographs of their baby’s scans and details of its development.
They do not know its sex. Gender-testing is illegal in India because so many female foetuses are illicitly aborted. As the pregnancy progresses, they feel a little more relieved. But there is no euphoria: they are too wary to celebrate yet.
‘When we found out our surrogate was pregnant we couldn’t quite believe it, but as every stage is passed — the 12-week scan; the 20-week scan — we feel a little more relieved and the knot of tension in our shoulders starts to ease,’ says Octavia.
‘We thank God for our success so far, but we’re not jubilant yet. I’m itching to get the baby’s nursery organised, but I daren’t. This whole thing feels a little like an out-of-body experience. I do think about the baby but I try not to be consumed by it. To an extent I shut off.’
Orlando has been told he is to be a big brother, and is excited by the prospect. ‘He knows babies come from mummies’ tummies, but we haven’t told him any more yet,’ says Octavia. ‘At this stage he just needs to know he’s loved.
‘Eventually he’ll know mummy’s tummy was not working properly so we borrowed another lady’s tummy. My parents are writing a little book for him, setting it all out in simple language.’

Is it right? The baby-making factory in India gives a whole new meaning to the words 'surrogate mum'

When their baby is born in November, Octavia and Dominic will fly to Hyderabad. ‘We will not be at the birth. It’s a private thing as far as I’m concerned,’ she says.
‘I’m assuming that once the baby has popped out and been bathed, he or she will be handed to us. I’m sure the surrogate will see the baby, but she won’t breastfeed it or cuddle it.
‘We may briefly see our surrogate, too, and I will thank her. I’m certain she will have formed a bond with the baby — no woman who has carried a baby for nine months could fail to do so — but I do not anticipate there will be any problems handing it over. I’ve no worries. She certainly won’t want to extend her own family.
‘I know that we will treat our new baby exactly as we have Orlando. It will be born in a different country and carried in a different body, but it will be no less special, no less of a miracle. It will just have come to us via a very different route.’

The ‘Kannadiga Born in Mizoram’ Feels Bangalore Trouble Was An Exception

By Y P Rajesh

New Delhi, Aug 27 : It is both an irony and reassuring when H T Sangliana, a Mizo-born, Karnataka-cadre former IPS officer, says “we Kannadigas” have always been accommodating and welcoming of outsiders, and the recent events that forced people from the Northeast to flee Bangalore are an exception. In fact, the panic could have been nipped in the bud if the Karnataka police had been more responsive, he said. He should know.

Arguably Karnataka’s most famous police officer, Sangliana is also the most well-known among people from the Northeast who made Karnataka their home. A tough officer who became a legend while in service, he has served as the Bangalore police commissioner and was tasked to nab forest brigand Veerappan. He was the theme of three Kannada hit movies — the second and third were sequels — named after him.

Stories about him and his exploits, real and apocryphal, abound. Among them is one that three non-Mizos in Karnataka legally changed their names to Sangliana, taking him as their role model. The 1967-batch IPS officer became known as a “giant killer” when he defeated Congress veteran C K Jaffer Sharief in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket from Sharief’s bastion, Bangalore North.

Based in Delhi since the end of 2009 after he was appointed vice-chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities, Sangliana said he was in Bangalore on August 15 on a private visit when people from the Northeast began fleeing the city. “Some trouble had started on August 12 itself,” Sangliana told The Indian Express, citing calls he got from northeastern people in the city as well as information passed on by a daughter who lives in Bangalore.

“Besides the rumours about imminent attacks, there were complaints of some Muslim boys stopping Mizo students and asking where they came from. Some others were teased or verbally threatened. One man called me up and said that some boys on a bike had shouted expletives at his wife,” Sangliana said. “Many such incidents were reported from several localities. In some places, swords and clubs were brandished, I am told.”

Many complained to the police verbally or by phone but local officers did not take them seriously, Sangliana said. “Even entries were not made in the station house diary saying there is no evidence,” he claimed. “It seems the police could not gauge the seriousness of the situation. If they had verified these complaints and taken some proactive steps, thousands from the Northeast could have been saved all the hardship.”

While some of the blame should rest with the inexperience of Karnataka’s political leadership, much of it is due to the lack of alacrity of the police, Sangliana said, even though the acting chief of Karnataka police, Lalrokhuma Pachau, is a fellow Mizo, 10 years junior and a good friend.

The episode though, Sangliana adds, has not shaken his faith in what he says is the “friendly and easily accepting” nature of Kannadigas even as he joins the national discourse and admits ignorance about people from the Northeast is widespread and they continue to be branded variously.

“When I joined and came to Karnataka in 1968, people thought I was Chinese,” he said. “When I went to villages in South Canara as a probationary officer, children would make fun of me by calling me ‘chi chi’ or ‘chu chu’. But I was confident they would grow up to understand that I am an Indian and a Kannadiga.”

Sangliana, 69, has spent 31 years in Karnataka — he retired as DGP (Prisons) in 2003 — and his four daughters were raised in the state, studying Kannada in school and learning Kannada songs from his orderlies. “They all speak Kannada. This sense of belonging has to be there, a sense of ownership,” he says, referring to the need for people from outside to integrate into the local culture.

He says he will return to Bangalore after his NCM term ends in December and is willing to return to politics if the people of Karnataka and his party, Congress, want him to. “One day, I will be buried or cremated in Bangalore,” he said. Sangliana was expelled from the BJP in 2008 after he voted in favour of the UPA government in the confidence motion linked to the civilian nuclear deal. He contested the 2009 polls on a Congress ticket from Bangalore Central but lost to the BJP candidate.

For now, Sangliana is writing to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and other senior officials, requesting them to improve the efficiency of the police so that it is better prepared. He also wants the state government to appeal to educational institutions, employers and landlords to take back people from the Northeast who are returning to Bangalore. “Our friendliness has been the reason for people to come and work peacefully (in Bangalore). We have a mindset of accommodating people,” he said.

Karnataka DGP Tries To Boost Morale Of Northeast People

Guwahati, Aug 26 : Karnataka DGP Lalrokhuma Pachau, who hails from Mizoram, said his NE origin should be used as a morale booster for those from the region who had left Bangalore in the wake of panic triggered by SMS threats.

"I am from the northeast which should be the biggest moral booster for those who left Bangalore to come back to the city and resume their work and studies," said Pachau, who accompanied Karnataka deputy chief minister R Ashoka here on Saturday. Ashoka and Pachau met some of the Assamese youths who left Bangalore to instill confidence and appeal them to return to the cyber city.

Pachau told the youths that even during the height of exodus, no NE native was attacked or harmed apart from some threats issued by rumour-mongers and SMSs. "The Karnataka government promptly swept into action, patrolling in sensitive areas was heightened and sufficient security forces were deployed in places were people of NE reside," said Pachau .

To ensure a sense of safety among NE youths, the DGP said he would be available to solve any of their grievances at his office and residence. "I appeal to you (NE natives) to return to Bangalore. If you face any problem, come to my office or residence," he said.

The DGP felt that there is a need for various NE organisations in Karnataka to be in touch with government agencies. He added frequent interactions and exchanges of information between the government agencies and NE bodies will help the administration to ensure more security.

How Incompetent Are Indian Security Analyst?

By Sinlung

The recent banning of sites due to Northeast India Exodus shows how incompetent Indian IT Security Analysts are. Its 2012 and India claims itself to be an IT powerhouse - yet they can't even do a simple task of filtering traffic.

I would have fired these guys for sure... (its high time to privatize everything from foreign policy to National security at least someone is doing it for profit openly and can be held accountable - instead of corruption and incompetents running the show.)

Why wordpress.com or blogger.com amazes me...its beyond my comprehension. Do they even know what a domain and a sub domain is? My Goodness...

You can read an analysis by Prakash here.



A pie chart of India’s blocked site.

The Loneliness of Karnataka DGP: Lalrokhuma Pachau

By Johnson T A

Bangalore, Aug 21 : For 57-year-old Lalrokhuma Pachau, the flight of hundreds of people belonging to the Northeast from Bangalore has been a particularly painful experience. As Karnataka’s acting police chief, the 1977-batch Indian Police Service officer from Mizoram is sad that even his presence and assurances were not able to stop 28,000 people of his region from leaving Karnataka’s capital in fear between August 15 and 18.

“I feel really bad for what is happening,” he said with pain etched on his face at the sidelines of a press conference last week where he tried once again to send out the message that the Karnataka police under his leadership was doing all it could to ensure the safety of people from the Northeast, who were fleeing from fears that they would be targeted by Muslims after Ramzan.

“I have been sending letters and talking to the DGPs of Northeast states telling them that all the people of the Northeast who are here for various reasons will be protected. Anybody spreading messages against them, posing threats to them or indulging in verbal or physical threats will be arrested,” Pachau who has been the acting police chief of Karnataka since June 1, said.

A soft-spoken, reticent man compared to another Mizoram police officer who served as Bangalore’s police chief, H T Sangliana, Pachau is little known outside of police circles. Sangliana’s high-profile, publicity-driven tenure, in comparison, had seen him all the way to a Parliament seat.

Pachau in fact returned to Karnataka only early this year when the opportunity to become the state DGP opened up following the retirement of his seniors Abdul Rehman Infant and Shankar Bidari. In October 2007, he had taken an inter-cadre transfer to go to home state Mizoram to become the DGP there.

A legal battle being fought by Bidari over his removal as DGP — currently in the Supreme Court — has meant that Pachau has only held concurrent charge as the Karnataka police chief along with a regular position as head of the Criminal Investigation Department in the state. Bidari had been removed over alleged human rights violation during a special operation in the 1990s against sandalwood smuggler Veerappan.

According to officers within the Karnataka police, Pachau, who will have three years of tenure if made the full-fledged DGP and IGP, has been hindered in his functioning due to the temporary nature of his appointment. This lack of full authority has played a role in the police chief not being able to come out with authority in the media and other forums to assure safety of people of the Northeast in the current crisis, a senior IPS officer said.

“With full authority, work efficiency can increase by 25 per cent. In the present condition, Pachau is hesitant to come forward fully because he may worry over the government applying the brakes on his moves. Until he is declared the police chief, it is natural that he will have apprehensions,” a senior police officer said.

Over the last week, many people have suggested that Pachau should have been more voluble in addressing the fears of the Northeast people. The acting police chief however has always acted within the chain of command at his disposal.

Known to be a clean, upright, non-controversial officer, Pachau is also known in the police ranks as someone whose mettle has never really been tested in Karnataka.

“He is a very nice gentleman. He holds no bias. He adheres strictly to chains of command. He is perceived as being soft however. He would not like to get into complex problems and he likes to see things go smoothly,” said an officer who served under Pachau in a posting a few years ago.

Another reason for Pachau not engaging with complex problems may be a lack of grip over the local language, culture and politics, with local caste affiliations playing a major role in all realms. “When you are not from the state, you cannot be perceived as being too harsh and strict and that works for and against people like Pachau,” the officer said.

However, the chances of Pachau being made a permanent DGP soon have increased since fleeing of people from the Northeast. Last week, the Karnataka government affected long-pending mass transfers of police officers. Appointment of a full-time DGP is expected to follow.

“It is a strange coincidence that since Pachau became the acting police chief, we have seen issues involving people from the Northeast being among his chief challenges. First there was the Richard Loitam case (involving the death of a Manipuri boy after a fight at his college hostel) and now there is this flight of people,” a senior police officer said.

India: The Land Of The Largest Number of Separatist Movements in The WORLD

India – The White Elephant, The land of the largest number of Separatist Movements in The World.

English: Map of the British Indian Empire from Imperial Gazetteer of India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever questioned why India is spoken positively in Western Media in this last decade. This last decade where the world was once more bi-polar, the Western world looked to the loyal Hindus and extended a hand of friendship very similar to the East India Company.

Beyond the marketing, glam of silos of investments in Delhi & Mumbai the nation is not held together and nor is it stable. With the worlds most poorest and systematic segregation of communities, ethnicities and religions it is far from the secular and democratic utopia it declares itself to be. This is a very schizophrenic nation where the power is held in silos within a selected historic Brahmin & upper caste Hindu strong holds.

Violence against minorities and what these Hindus term the minority commuities continues even today, against Dalits, Muslims, Christians & Sikhs. This is a nation of many but ruled by a few holding the vast majority captive and at gun point. India has much to do if it wishes for progression and equality.

Flag adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1931. First hoisted on 1931-10-31 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a little known fact, an unwrit law that if your Dalit or Muslim you will find it 10 times harder to find employment or place to live including rent, it is 10 times harder for Muslim and Dalit children to secure a place in a reputable university.

This is a nation that promotes itself as being modern, progressive but is still very much holding onto it’s colonial past and plagued with traditions and cultures stemming from a prehistoric faith that treats fellow humans as bi-products. An extremely zealot, religious nation where the upper class Hindus see himself closest to God and others as insects that they would see crushed.

Soon after India’s independence it was a given assumption that India, because of its diversities, will not survive as a single state, but will break up into separate states. In the brutal manne rin which Independent India crushed many separtist movements for legitimate nations seeking to reclaim their nations from The British.

India Gate (Photo credit: aroris)

Since India’s independence in 1947 there were many attempts by different communities in India to establish independent countries and this continues to this day. These calls for indpendence are legitimate born out of Indian opression and occupation but subsequent neglect of some once very resource rich and hihgly skilled nations that had fell to the British Raj.

In Kashmir, in north India, there were organizations and underground organizations which demanded first to attach Kashmir to Pakistan and later on started demanding an independent Kashmir state.
In Punjab, to the south of Kashmir, the Sikhs demanded an independent Sikh country to be called Khalistan.

English: KLF Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In north- east India as in Kashmir to this day there are demands for separate states by different groups. North -east India was, during British period, province of Assam. In this region which borders China, there are many communities which are referred to under Indian law as tribes. These tribal people have Chinese appearance and speak in languages from the Sino-Tibetian family. Since India’s independence, many tribal communities in this region, in the beginning with Chinese support, tried to establish independent states apart from India and witnesed very recent just how volatile this reason is. In the 1960s rebellions from Mizoram region even declared independence. The Indian army brutally suppressed these rebellions with great attrocities.

The north east of modern India and South East continue to strive for independence and continue to wage a organised freedom struggle.

Flag of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In south India, before India’s independence there was a demand for an independent Dravidstan for the whole of south India. After India independence, this demand was mild down for autonomous Dravidian states within the Indian union. But the Tamilians who emigrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka demand an independent state in north Sri Lanka and it is presumed they receive lot of support from Indian Tamilians.
India always quick to point the finger at others often forget that it is a damning insult to secular and democratic ideals. Many Westerners are oblivious to the poverty and displacement of wealth / investment in India. India is a white elephant – a facade and continues to be very unstable.

Flag of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With an alignment with USA to contain or harm Chinese interests in Asia pacific and to destabilise Pakistan through Afghanistan. India also gets lost in the glam and marketing in its new found accolades emanating from the West and does not realise just how a volatile game she plays. India is not a stable nation, far from it be this socially or economically and its communal differences can very easily be its downfall.
A rise in Hindu terror groups tareting Muslims, Sikhs & Christians as seen in Gujerat, Punjab and Orissa can stoke the fire that can engulf the nation.

Unable to resolve its issues internally it uses the Hindu right wing organisations to crush dissent from within not realising this self flagellation can cost her daily. Unable to provide for its many homeless and poor and lost in the marekting of shining India and is knowingly being pushed to support an American agenda in Central Asia but also Asia Pacific that will have long term repercussions on its very fragile and volatile federation.

English: Photograph showing cadres of the cadres of the armed separatist group, PREPAK (People’s Revolutionary Party, Kangleipak) of Manipur. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is a list of just some of these sepratist movements;
1. National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)
2. United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS)
3. Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO)
4. Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF)
5. Dima Halim Daogah (DHD)
6. Karbi National Volunteers (KNV)
7. Rabha National Security Force (RNSF)
8. Koch-Rajbongshi Liberation Organisation (KRLO)
9. Hmar People’s Convention- Democracy (HPC-D)
10. Karbi People’s Front (KPF)
11. Tiwa National Revolutionary Force (TNRF)
12. Bircha Commando Force (BCF)
13. Bengali Tiger Force (BTF)

Banner of the UNLF (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

14. Adivasi Security Force (ASF)
15. All Assam Adivasi Suraksha Samiti (AAASS)
16. Gorkha Tiger Force (GTF)
17. Barak Valley Youth Liberation Front (BVYLF)
18. United Liberation Front of Barak Valley
19. United National Liberation Front (UNLF)
20. People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
21. People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)
22. The above mentioned three groups now operate from a unified platform,

india kerala boat people (Photo credit: FriskoDude)

23. the Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF)
24. Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)
25. Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)
26. Manipur Liberation Tiger Army (MLTA)
27. Iripak Kanba Lup (IKL)
28. People’s Republican Army (PRA)
29. Kangleipak Kanba Kanglup (KKK)
30. Kangleipak Liberation Organisation (KLO)

English: JKDLP flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

31. Revolutionary Joint Committee (RJC)
32. National Socialist Council of Nagaland — Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
33. People’s United Liberation Front (PULF)
34. Kuki National Army (KNA)
35. Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA)
36. Kuki National Organisation (KNO)
37. Kuki Independent Army (KIA)

Kashmiris dont think of themselves as Indians.English: Location of Jammu and Kashmir in India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

38. Kuki Defence Force (KDF)
39. Kuki International Force (KIF)
40. Kuki National Volunteers (KNV)
41. Kuki Liberation Front (KLF)
42. Kuki Security Force (KSF)
43. Kuki Liberation Army (KLA)
44. Kuki Revolutionary Front (KRF)
45. United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF)
46. Hmar People’s Convention (HPC)
47. Hmar People’s Convention- Democracy (HPC-D)
48. Hmar National Army (HNA)
49. Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA)
50. Zomi Revolutionary Volunteers (ZRV)
51. Indigenous People’s Revolutionary Alliance(IRPA)
52. Kom Rem People’s Convention (KRPC)
53. Chin Kuki Revolutionary Front (CKRF)
54. Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC)
55. Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC)
56. People’s Liberation Front of Meghalaya (PLF-M)
57. Hajong United Liberation Army (HULA)
58. National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) – NSCN(IM)
59. National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) – NSCN (K)
60. Naga National Council (Adino) – NNC (Adino)
61. Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)
62. Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF)
63. International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)
64. Khalistan Commando Force (KCF)
65. All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF)
66. Bhindrawala Tigers Force of Khalistan (BTFK)
67. Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA)
68. Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF)
69. Khalistan Armed Force (KAF)
70. Dashmesh Regiment
71. Khalistan Liberation Organisation (KLO)
72. Khalistan National Army (KNA)
73. National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT)
74. All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF)
75. Tripura Liberation Organisation Front (TLOF)
76. United Bengali Liberation Front (UBLF)
77. Tripura Tribal Volunteer Force (TTVF)
78. Tripura Armed Tribal Commando Force (TATCF)
79. Tripura Tribal Democratic Force (TTDF)
80. Tripura Tribal Youth Force (TTYF)
81. Tripura Liberation Force (TLF)
82. Tripura Defence Force (TDF)
83. All Tripura Volunteer Force (ATVF)
84. Tribal Commando Force (TCF)
85. Tripura Tribal Youth Force (TTYF)
86. All Tripura Bharat Suraksha Force (ATBSF)
87. Tripura Tribal Action Committee Force (TTACF) Socialist Democratic
88. Front of Tripura (SDFT)
89. All Tripura National Force (ATNF)
90. Tripura Tribal Sengkrak Force (TTSF)
91. Tiger Commando Force (TCF)
92. Tripura Mukti Police (TMP)
93. Tripura Rajya Raksha Bahini (TRRB)
94. Tripura State Volunteers (TSV)
95. Tripura National Democratic Tribal Force (TNDTF)
96. National Militia of Tripura (NMT)
97. All Tripura Bengali Regiment (ATBR)
98. Bangla Mukti Sena (BMS)
99. All Tripura Liberation Organisation (ATLO)
100. Tripura National Army (TNA)
101. Tripura State Volunteers (TSV)
102. Borok National Council of Tripura (BNCT)
103. Mizoram
104. Bru National Liberation Front
105. Hmar People’s Convention- Democracy (HPC-D)
106. Arunachal Pradesh
107. Arunachal Dragon Force (ADF)
108. Left-wing Extremist groups
109. People’s Guerrilla Army
110. People’s War Group
111. Maoist Communist Centre
112. Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
113. Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Janashakti Other Extremist Groups
114. Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT)

Money Spent By Army on Northeast Pictorial Trilogy Under Scrutiny

By Shyamlal Yadav & Ritu Sarin

New Delhi, Aug 14 : A three-volume work on the Northeast published by the Indian Army last year is under scrutiny over the money spent on the exercise. In reply to an RTI application by The Indian Express, the Army revealed that the pictorial volumes had cost it Rs 93.15 lakh, possibly the highest ever amount spent on a publication project by it.

Author Kunal Verma, however, pointed fingers at the change of guard from General V K Singh to General Bikram Singh, saying “Phase Two” of his project had been put on the backburner since the former Army chief demitted office on May 31. Verma’s father, Maj Gen (retd) A K Verma, was among those who filed a PIL in the Supreme Court against Bikram Singh’s appointment along with retired Navy Chief L Ramdas, former IAS officer M G Devasahayam and four others.

Under Phase Two, the trilogy would have been translated into major vernacular languages and distributed in schools throughout the country. The estimated cost of publishing 10,000 sets for each state: Rs 30 crore.
Officials in the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the money spent on the publication was currently under “scrutiny”. In addition, the RTI reply stated, the Army spent approximately Rs 50,000 on each of the six functions held to release the book, while Verma was paid approximately Rs 25,000 to attend each of them.
V K Singh had attended three of these functions, including on January 15 in New Delhi on Army Day and in Kolkata on May 19, a few days before his retirement.

In the RTI reply, the Army said the volumes “have been published under arrangements of the Indian Army to promote the Northeastern region”. “The Indian Army periodically undertakes publication of books and miscellaneous literature for strategic and national security purposes and for consumption of internal environment — the details of which are exempted from disclosure under RTI.”

Questioned about the money spent on his project, Verma (the volumes were co-authored by his wife Dipthi Bhalla) said it was hardly exorbitant given the “scope”. Of the over Rs 90 lakh, he said, Rs 57 lakh was paid to the printing press for 6,000 sets of the volumes, and he and his wife had spent almost three years working on them.

According to Verma, the funds, in all probability, came from the “perception management” funds of Military Intelligence.

He added that the proposal discussed with V K Singh (when he was posted as Eastern Army Commander in Kolkata) also conceived a “Phase Three” — including an exposition and exhibition on the Northeast in several cities and a few foreign countries.

Claiming there had been complete silence from the Army the past few months, Verma said: “I am happy I achieved Phase One and that the trilogy was published by the Army. Now the ball is in the court of the new Army Chief. I feel if they do not move on the original plan of bringing out vernacular editions, the money spent on Phase One will all be wasted.”

Indians, Geography, Northeast India & Mary Kom

By Sinlung

Amitabh Bachchan's Twit: which he later clarified....

Where do we start? geography, politics, under-development, unrepresented?

The twit says it all...Assam, Manipur, Northeast India. Where is it? China? Maybe in Katmandu.

Mary Kom, thank you for giving mainland Indians a lesson and good luck with the fight today.

POWERLESS: Northern Grid Fails Again in India

India's northern and eastern power grids fails, leaving about half the country without power.





For a second day running the Northern power grid collapsed today leaving the national capital in the dark but this time the Eastern power grid also buckled.

The national capital went black today with passengers aboard the Metro services having to patiently wait in the trains until electricity supply resumed. Train services across states in the north and east were badly hit.

Yesterday seven states stopped receiving electricity early in the morning as the Northern power grid collapsed and was restored only after a few hours. Today the Northern power grid collapsed around 1.07 pm and the Eastern power grid collapsed soon after.

CNN-IBN reported that the fault could take five to six hours to resolve.

2.09pm: It has now been confirmed that 12 states have been affected by the grid collapses. Meanwhile a statement from the power ministry has said that essential services be restored in the next two hours. This would translate to power for hospitals, VVIP areas, trains etc. There is still no word on when power to homes and offices will be restored.

As many as 300 trains in North India alone have been affected by the collapse of the Northern and Eastern grids, with many more trains likely to have been impacted in the Eastern states.


The CPRO Northern Railways, Neeraj Sharma, speaking to CNN-IBN, said they will try to run some trains and make alternative arrangements like diesel power. The Delhi and Kolkata Metros are also not running.

The reason for the grid failures in the North and East have reportedly been caused because frequency has dipped below the optimal level. However officials have been unable to identify exactly where the fault has occurred., so it will take more time for them to get the grids back up and running. Meanwhile officials have said that Delhi’s VVIP areas will receive 100 MW of emergency power.

Massive power failure in North India: Delhi metro services hit

New Delhi, Jul 30 : Seven states in North India have been facing a long power cut since late Sunday night. Due to a massive breakdown in the northern grid, the main power source for the affected states, there has been a massive power outage.

The affected states are Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

There is no power in Delhi and its neighbouring states since 2 am reports IBN-Live. According to the report, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that it’ll take another one and a half hour’s time to restore power. “My officers are on the spot. The fault is found near Agra. It will be corrected in one and a half hour time,” he said.

Thousands of commuters in the Delhi Metro will face a harrowing time on Monday morning as services of all the lines of the Metro have been disrupted due to tripping of power supply.

Train services on the 190-km Metro network connecting length and breath of the national capital were affected due to The Northern Grid failure also caused power cuts in large parts of Delhi.

“Metro service will not be available today (Monday) till the supply is restored as it is a major Northern Grid power failure,” a Delhi Metro official said.

The Delhi Metro normally operates over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on week days.

PA Sangma: A Chair too far?

Sangma is pinning his hopes on the support of his fellow tribal members of Parliament, state lawmakers, “conscience votes” and even miracles to become President

By Liz Mathew

New Delhi: When P.A. Sangma was demitting office as labour minister in 1995, his office staff wanted to give him a going-away present. Asked what he wanted, Sangma replied he would like to take away his office chair.

The staff duly completed the formalities and presented Sangma the cane and wooden chair—a gift he has preserved until now.

Sangma as chief minister of Meghalaya in 1988 .(India Today images)

The anecdote may illustrate Sangma’s love for positions of power, which the chair, known as kursi in Hindi, has come to symbolize in Indian politics.Like the Congress’ Pranab Mukherjee, the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA’s) candidate in Thursday’s presidential election, Purno Agitok Sangma rapidly climbed up the power ladder after he entered national politics in his 30s.

Born in the village of Chapathi in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, a fortnight after India won independence, Sangma was politically savvy enough to grab the opportunities that came his way in the Congress party, which was eager to project him as a symbol of its pan-India presence.

Always directly elected to Parliament (he has been elected to the Lok Sabha for eight terms), Sangma was minister of state for industry, commerce, home and labour before becoming chief minister of his state in 1988.Re-elected to Parliament in 1991, he served as minister for coal, labour, and information and broadcasting before becoming speaker in 1996. Interestingly, Sangma was unanimously elected speaker at a time when his party, the Congress, was in the opposition. He was expelled from the party in 1999 for raising the issue of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins, and went on to found the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar, who were expelled from the Congress for the same reason.

As an MP in 1998 (Hindustan Times)

But now, at 64, Sangma is no party’s candidate in the presidential election he is fighting as an independent, winning the support of some opposition parties with sheer political enterprise.With his daughter Agatha Sangma, a Lok Sabha member and minister of state in the Congress-led coalition government, and a few close aides lending him support, Sangma began his campaign from Bhubaneswar, where he secured the support of Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal.

As an independent presidential candidate drumming up support in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh .(Rajeev Gupta/AP)

His next stop was Chennai, where he won the backing of Tamil Nadu CM and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J. Jayalalithaa. Neither Patnaik nor Jayalalithaa are part of a broad alliance at the national level.The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was clueless about its strategy in the presidential election, had no option but to back Sangma after it failed to persuade former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to join the race.
In his pursuit of the president’s office, Sangma hasn’t hesitated to play the tribal and Christian cards. At his meeting with Patnaik, he presented his credentials as a tribal with aspirations to become India’s first citizen, aiming to strike a chord with Patnaik’s main support base of tribals.

With Congress MPs (from left) S. Krishna Kumar, Maharani Bibhu Kumari Devi and former governor of Meghalaya M.M. Jacob in 1991. (Hindustan Times)

Accused by some of being an opportunist in taking the Hindu nationalist BJP’s support for his presidential race while being a Christian, Sangma turned the argument on its head by stating that being Christian made it easy for him to forgive. “Forgiveness is the essence of Christianity... We don’t go by small incidents here and there,” he told reporters in New Delhi, in response to critics who pointed to the perceived anti-minorities stance of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the BJP.Though he has always held positions of power and been popular in his constituency Tura—from where he won the first of his eight Lok Sabha terms in 1977—the one possible black mark against Sangma is that he abandoned leaders who trusted him and held him in high esteem.
Many Congress politicians still can’t forgive Sangma for what they see as his betrayal of Sonia Gandhi. “She had full trust in his ability to lead the Congress in the north-eastern region. She was deeply hurt by what he had done,” said a Congress general secretary, who did not want to be named.

Spinning a wheel at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on 6 July.(Ajit Solanki/AP)

In pursuit of his presidential election, he has left the NCP and Pawar, who didn’t back his candidacy. “He can’t accept any leaders nor can be a disciplined leader. He gives too much importance to himself, which will not work in politics and when you have to work in a party framework. If you are in politics, you will have to learn to respect leaders,” said Kumar Gyanendra, general secretary of the NCP youth wing. The youth wing has launched an internal party campaign to put pressure on the party leadership to eject his daughter Agatha from the NCP.“It shows Sangma’s dual political stand. He lets his daughter campaign against the UPA candidate while she continues to be a minister,” Gyanendra said.

Another NCP leader, who has worked closely with Sangma for almost a decade, said he would be a better president than Mukherjee because he knows “the pulse of the people and he is thorough with the legislative process and the Constitution”. The leader declined to be named.

The BJP, which surprised everyone by throwing its weight behind the former Congress leader, has several reasons for supporting him.

“Sangma has got everything that makes a president virtuous and deserving enough to get our support. He is from the North-East and belongs to a minority community. He has...done a lot for the poor in his own state Meghalaya. Sangma has vast political experience and his acceptance is beyond the boundary of ideology,” BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay said.

“We may admire the personal quality of Mukherjee, but it is our democratic dharma to support those fighting corruption and air their disapproval of UPA alliance of corrupt governance. Hence, Sangma stand(s) out as the tallest leader in the presidential election,” Vijay said.

His cherubic face, hearty laugh, quick wit, boundless enthusiasm and a spotless political career have won him many friends and admirers. A chain smoker until a few months ago, Sangma also loves his food and drink. The family home is open to all.

“I think people love his simplicity, his nature as an approachable person,” said James Sangma, one of his two sons. Although his father has been a disciplinarian, life at home is fun when he is around, James said. “I have always been impressed by his integrity, principles and sincerity,” added James, a legislator in the Meghalaya assembly.

The numbers in the electoral college do not favour Sangma; Mukherjee has already been assured of more than 60% of the votes.

Sangma is pinning his hopes on the support of his fellow tribal members of Parliament, state lawmakers, “conscience votes” and even miracles. “Yes, miracles can and do happen in this world,” Sangma said, when a suggestion was made that only divine intervention could help him win.

Elizabeth Roche and Sahil Makkar contributed to this story.

Pranab Mukherjee 2 Set of Signature

Indian Mainstream Media News channels are not considering enough Pranab Babu's two sets of signature.

If that's Sangma's, the image would appear on TV screen day and night.

And Pranab should say he uses two set of signatures.

Simply asking, 'Can I forge my own signature?' is insufficient.

Sangma needs clarification regarding these two sets of signature.

North-East Faces Flood Fury, North India Left Parched

New Delhi, Jun 3 : The monsoon has wreaked havoc with its presence as well as absence in different parts of the country. While many areas in the North-East have been flooded, leaving thousands of people homeless, there are no signs of rains in North India, which is reeling under the heat wave along with unprecedented power cuts and water crisis.

Floods and landslides have left 77 people dead and six are reportedly missing in Assam and all of its 27 districts are facing monsoon fury. The Kaziranga and other wildlife sanctuaries haven't been spared either.

The Army, the IAF and National Disaster Relief Force personnel are involved in rescue and relief operations.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi have reached Jorhat to oversee relief operations in the rain-hit areas.

Floods have also rendered 75,000 people homeless in Meghalaya. The Brahmaputra and the Kapili rivers are flowing above the danger mark at various places.

Meanwhile, North India is dry and has been awaiting the rains hoping for some relief from the scorching heat. It was a sultry Sunday in Delhi at 43.5 degrees Celsius and temperatures in other states were way above normal too. The minimum in Delhi stayed four notches above normal to settle at 31.4 degrees Celsius, the Met office said. The Bhakra Nangal Dam has critically low level of water in its reservoirs.

Uttar Pradesh continued to bear the brunt of searing heat with Allahabad recording the highest at 45.1 deg C. The temperature was largely above normal in Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Moradabad, Jhansi, and Agra divisions, however, the day temperatures fell in Faizabad division, according to MeT.

The data released by the weather office shows that rainfall has been 31 per cent deficient so far, 83 per cent of the country, including the granary states of Punjab and Haryana, have received deficient or scanty rainfall.
Heat wave in Rajasthan also showed no signs of abating as temperature in Churu district touched 46 degree Celsius followed by Sriganganagar at 45.8 deg C.

But the Met department insists that rains are on the way and are likely to hit North India and revive in the South by later this week. Met officials also say that the temperatures will drop drastically in the north.

For now, however, North India is struggling to get power and water with no drop of rain. The farmers are now frequently taking their protests to the streets in Kurukshetra where there is an acute power shortage. Dozens of villages there get only just over four hours of power per day.

This year has seen a delayed onset of monsoon rains over Kerala and they have been making a sluggish progress drawing concerns from the farming community.

It still remains to be seen whether the Met department's claims for North India are accurate even as the North-East continues to be flooded.

BJP Supports PA Sangma For President

Sangma thanks BJP, says I'm very much in Presidential race

NEW DELHI: Reconciling with division within NDA over presidential poll, BJP today announced its support to P A Sangma to pit him against UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee.

The party, which failed to persuade allies like Shiv Sena and JD(U) to support Sangma, argued that it was its duty as the main Opposition party not to allow a "walkover" to Congress which did not "consult" it.

Announcing the decision at a press conference, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley said the main opposition party could not support a government which is using "various manoeuvres", including investigative agencies, to rope in parties to stay in power.

"BJP has decided to support the candidature" of Sangma, whose candidature has been proposed by AIADMK and BJD, Swaraj said.

Describing Sangma as "the country's tall leader" as also northeast's "tallest leader", she appealed to allies like Shiv Sena and JD(U) to give up their opposition to his candidature.

Swaraj and Jaitley regretted that BJP could not persuade its allies and have a consensus in the NDA over the issue but insisted that it would have no impact on the "mature" coalition.

To press her point, she noted that Shiv Sena had earlier also voted for UPA nominee Pratibha Patil during the last presidential poll even though NDA had opposed her candidature but still remained part of the alliance.

Swaraj and Jaitley said BJP was trying to bring Trinamool Congress on board but refused to reveal how it was being done.

NGOs Appeal To Political Parties For Christian VP

By Stanley Pinto

Mangalore, Jun 18 : Christian NGOs like the Catholic Secular Forum, All India Catholic Union, Christian Yuva Manch of Maharashtra, Maharashtra Christian Youth Forum, Indian Christian Congress, Association of Concerned Catholics, Konkani Sabha have appealed to all political parties to consider a Christian as Vice President of the country.

In an online petition to all political parties, over a thousand persons including Bishops, priests, laity, nuns, NGOs, NRIs etc have appealed to consider a Christian for VP in view of the singular contributions of the community to the nation.

Joseph Dias, general secretary, Catholic Secular Forum, who created the online petition said: Never in the history of independent India has a Christian become Vice President. There are many Christians, who are equally or better qualified, but ignored and the service of the community has not been recognized with constitutional positions.

Pointing out that top Constitutional posts have eluded Christians in the last seven decades, Dias said prominent among Christians, who could be recommended are Rajasthan governor Margaret Alva, former union minister Oscar Fernandes, Justice Michael Saldanha, former top cop HT Sangliana, etc.

He said Christian NGOs plan to represent their case with the heads of all political parties and governments, presenting memorandums, as Indian Christians are increasingly feeling alienated from the national mainstream and seem to be destined to remain on the periphery, unless no corrective action is taken.

Bridging Or Widening The Cultural Gap?

By Kusum Kanojia

Dare you call a person from the North-East region ‘Chinki’, ‘Chinese’ or ‘Chow mein’. Now, you might land up in jail for doing that!

With growing incidents of alleged racial discrimination and verbal abuse against citizens of the North-East, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent a letter to all states and Union Territories, asking them to book offenders guilty of atrocity against people from the region under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act since a significant number of persons from the North-East belong to the Scheduled Tribes. Under the law, an offender can end up spending five years in jail and the accused could be denied anticipatory bail.

The Ministry in the letter says, “A sizeable number of persons belonging to the North-Eastern states are residing in metropolitan cities now and in major urban areas of the country for education and employment. It is reported that people originating from North-Eastern states are facing discrimination as they are addressed with derogatory adjectives or face discrimination in the form of targeted attacks, assault, molestation and other atrocities.”

Metrolife talked to some individuals from the North-Eastern community living in the City about their reaction to the new move and checked out whether it will really help in the long-term. Janet C Munluo, who works as an administrative executive in a private firm in Gurgaon, says the move will infuse a sense of fear among people before they think of ‘teasing’ the North-Easterns.

“These incidents have been in the news for a long time but were not taken seriously. With this new law, people will think twice before making any offensive comments. It will act as a preventive measure,”  she says.
While they commend the effort on part of the government, those living in the City for a long time believe that more than a law there is a need to sensitise the people.


Ashok Wangdi, trustee, Asoka Mission says the government’s directive is appreciable and the new move may help for a while but what is needed is an awareness programme for the common man and authorities. “The government’s directive will definitely help but one law is not enou­gh. Discrimination against the North-Easterns or racial remarks are not a law and order problem. It’s a social problem. Not only North-Easterns but people from other regions are also targeted. Unless people, authorise and police are sensitised, nothing is going to help in the long-term,” says Ashok, who hails from Darjeeling.

A native of Manipur, Hoihnu Hauzel, who has been living in Delhi for around 20 years seconds him. She says the discrimination and racial behaviour with North-Easterns talks of the people’s lack of awareness, their intolerance and ignorance. “It is an extreme move but was requi­r­ed. With such cases coming to the light very often, something like this was needed to control the situation. Once a school girl whispered ‘chinki’ as I was passing by. I didn’t feel insulted but I felt sorry for the state of education that children are getting, which teaches them to judge people by the size of their eyes,” says Hoihnu, a journalist staying in Gurgaon.

According to North-Easterns, the problem arises due to a cultural gap. Sonam Gechen Aola, President, Northeast India Foundation says those who come from this region don’t know about the cities they are going to and vice versa. “The discrimination is taking place because of ignorance. People should be introduced to each other’s culture. Besides, inter-cultural dialogue should take place. I am not happy with the government’s decision because that way the gap will increase,” says Sonam. Like someone wisely said, there is always a flip side to every story.

Countdown Begins: Who Will Be President?

The Election Commission announced Tuesday that the presidential election would be held July 19, setting the ball rolling for the process to decide on who would be the next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. All eyes are now on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi who will take the final call on the ruling UPA's candidate.

While union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has emerged front-runner, there is no clarity on who would be the United Progressive Alliance's choice for the post. Suspense has been mounting and there have been hectic consultations between leaders of various political parties but no names have been thrown up.

The only declared candidate is former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who has been actively lobbying for support amongst opposition parties.

Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said the elections would be notified June 16, be held on July 19 and the votes counted on July 22, just two days before President Pratibha Patil's term ends.

As the tempo built up, the Congress let out little and only said that there were no differences amongst the allies. "We have repeatedly demonstrated that UPA is united and cohesive," said party spokesperson Manish Tewari.

It is being hoped that the wait for the UPA's 'consensus' candidate ends Wednesday when Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee meets Gandhi. She told reporters in Kolkata before leaving for the national capital that Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav would be present as well.

As soon as she reached New Delhi, Banerjee rushed to Yadav's residence.

'Discussions happened. I am meeting Sonia Gandhi (tomorrow) and then I will come here again,' she told reporters after her 20-minute-long talks with Yadav.

The Manmohan Singh-led government, which has for weeks been trying to balance interests of its often troublesome allies, is hoping to resolve differences with the Trinamool and SP, who have the maximum numbers and are crucial for the Congress candidate to win.

Asked to comment on speculation that Mukherjee, the government's most senior minister and troubleshooter for all seasons, was the front-runner in becoming the Congress candidate, she said: 'This is an issue for the Congress.'

She also denied that her backing for the Congress' choice for the post was linked to a financial package for her state.

Banerjee had earlier indicated that she was not in favour of Mukherjee, who has cancelled his visit to Afghanistan fuelling conjecture that the choice would narrow down to only him.

Sources admit that if Mukherjee is indeed the chosen one, Banerjee would find it difficult to oppose him - if elected, he would be the first Bengali in the presidential palace.

SP chief Mulayam Singh has been of the same view. He told reporters Monday that he wanted the Congress to first announce its candidate. Asked about Mukherjee, he said: 'I do not know who is the candidate. When a candidate is declared, we will decide.'

Another key ally, the NCP, indicated that Mukherjee could well be the man for the top post.

'India's president will be acceptable to all. He will be a seniormost person who will be congratulated by the entire country,' senior NCP leader D.P. Tripathi said. Interestingly, NCP has not backed Sangma.

If all goes well and there is consensus amongst allies in the UPA, the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will have little say.

In the jockeying for power, the BJP-led NDA was believed to be pushing for its own person for the post of vice president.

Talk was that the party might choose senior leader Jaswant Singh for the job. The buzz was heightened with Jaswant Singh meeting Mulayam Singh at his residence.

'All the constituents of the NDA would join their heads to decide their stand over the matter in the coming days,' Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said.

Given the uncertainty, the final name could well be a dark-horse. Either way, the government will have to reveal its choice for India's 13th president before Saturday.

President: Is Pranab Mukherjee Out Of The Race?

Senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes hands over meeting papers to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the extended Congress Working Committee meeting at the Parliament House Annexe in New Delhi on Monday — Sondeep Shankar

Speculation is rife on who the real candidate of the Congress for the President’s post will be, after an extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Monday authorised party chief Sonia Gandhi to decide on the Congress nominee for the posts of President and vice president.

The fact that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee moved the resolution, confused many within the party as he is widely seen as a potential candidate of the party for the highest office.

Opinion was divided on whether the fact that he moved the resolution was indicative his prospects had dimmed amid speculation that the prime minister could also be in the running.

According to sources, such resolutions are moved by the SC, ST, minority leader as a token gesture.

Asked if he was a candidate for President or his name was discussed at the CWC meeting, Mukherjee said, “Congress president is to select the candidate. Neither me nor anybody else.”

Explaining the role of Congress in selecting the Presidential candidate, he said, “We are the leaders of UPA so Mrs Gandhi will consider all aspects.”

When asked if his name came up when the Congress president was formally authorised to select a candidate, Mukherjee said, “No question of that. We never do so. All the time, so far as my knowledge goes, the Congress president names the candidate.”

Dr. HT Sangliana for President of India

Sinlung.com Supports Dr. HT Sangliana for the Post of the President of India.

We sincerely ask our readers to visit this Facebook Page

Dr. HT Sangliana for President of India

or 

https://www.facebook.com/DrHtSanglianaForPresidentOfIndia

Lalrokhuma Pachau Is New Police Chief

By K.V. Subramanya

The new Director-General and Inspector-General of Police L.R. Pachau taking over charge from outgoing DG&IGP A.R. Infant in Bangalore on Thursday.

Senior IPS officer Lalrokhuma Pachau, who took charge as the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police on Thursday, said that he would utilise the experience of his senior colleagues and make the Karnataka police, the best police force in the country.

After taking charge from the outgoing DG and IGP A.R. Infant here, the new police chief emphasised that he would consult his senior colleagues while dealing with the challenges the State police force was facing.

The State Government on Thursday appointed Mr. Pachau as the Director-General of Police (CID) with concurrent charge of the post of DG and IGP. He will be the in-charge DG and IGP until a panel is finalised by the Union Public Service Commission and made over to the State Government to complete the appointment process. Incidentally, he the first officer from the North-East region to occupy the top post in Karnataka.

The Aizawal-educated Mr. Pachau, a 1977 batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, said that it was a “home coming” for him as he was away from the State for almost five years. He was head of the Mizoram State police force for the past four-and-a-half years.

Meanwhile, Mr. Infant said that his batch mate Mr. Pachau was a “noble human being” and an “upright” officer who functioned without any biases.

Mr. Infant, who retired on superannuation, said that his 35-year-long career was rewarding and satisfying, although the last six months was a “period of turmoil” as he had to move the Central Administrative Tribunal and the High Court in regard to the case pertaining to appointment of DG and IGP. “I have nothing to regret. There were some stumbling blocks and occasional pinpricks,” he observed.

Curiously, Director-General of Police Shankar Mahadev Bidari, who too retired on Thursday, was conspicuous by his absence on the occasion. Senior police officers from across the State were present on the occasion.