Blog Campaign Forces Manipur Police to Probe Murder

Churachandpur, Mar 6 : In Manipur's Churachandpur, the coffin of 15-year-old Lianlemsiam is being dug out, almost two months after his death. It was an unusual blog campaign launched by Churachandpur residents living outside the state which forced the authorities to start investigating into the cause of Siasiam's death.

"Immediately we started investigation and the warden against whom the complaint was made has been arrested," said Jacintha Lazarus, Deputy Commissioner, Churachandpur.

Medical reports indicate that Siasiam was tortured and suffered 'multiple injuries following alleged assault'. His brother John witnessed Siasiam being brutally beaten with an iron rod by the warden of the Angel's Place orphanage where they were staying since their father's death.

"I saw my brother being beaten and injured on his chest," said John.

On December 31, 2009, Siasiam died of "Pulmonary Oedema" but the orphanage hushed up the incident and informed his family that he died of illness. He was quietly buried in a remote town called Singat.

"My son was beaten to death but police still wouldn't register a case," said his mother Mrs Chingkhovun.

Blogs on this incident generated public anger against the orphanage and a massive social media campaign followed within the Zomi community. They now want justice for Siasiam.

Mizoram to Introduce Right to Education Act in April

Aizawl, Mar 6 : Mizoram Education Minister Lalsawta has said that the Right to Education Act will be implemented in the State in April.

“Like a baby feed upon mother’s milk for its growth, education is the only option for every human being to achieve one’s goal and success. Education is also the best way of investing money and knowing its importance, our leaders at the Centre has adopted this Act which will uplift and benefit every student in India,” said Lalsawta.

The Minister was speaking at a national-level seminar on ‘Economic and educational security with reference to Northeast India’ held here on Wednesday. The seminar was organized by UGC in collaboration with Aizawl-based Govt J Thankima College and Mizoram Educational Foundation. Delegates from outside the state also participated in the seminar.

Lalsawta expressed that Northeastern States witnessed insurgency problems which disturb socio-economic life of the people but at the same time also stated that insurgency problem is gradually declining.

Revealing his department and State Government’s steps towards establishing more institutes and universities, Lalsawta informed the gathering that Mizoram will soon have an Institute of Technology and a National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).

Ramhmangaiha Ralte, principal of J Thankima College, while delivering his speech dwelt on the importance of ‘human capital’ for growth and development. India’s progress is notable but the progress will not last long if India is poor in human capital, he said. Ralte urged the concerned authority to take steps and put in extra efforts to upgrade and improve higher education as this is the place for production of human capital. In view of this, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government is planning to set up additional 1,500 universities during the 11th Five Year Plan, he added.

Firms to Get Impetus to Set up Hospitals in Northeast

New Delhi, Mar 6 : In order to encourage private investors to set up medical institutes in the northeastern region, the central government Friday announced special concessions for them.

'We have reduced the minimum area requirement for setting up a medical college from 25 to 20 acres,' union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said at the inauguration of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), the first super specialty hospital in Meghalaya and the region.

Conceived by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi 23 years ago, the medical institute was formally inaugurated by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had declared NEIGRIMS a national institute Jan 22, 2000, when he visited Shillong.

NEIGRIHMS has been designed in line with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

'We have also reduced the requisite bed capacity from 300 to 200 while the bed occupancy from 80 percent to 60 percent and number of required laboratories from 14 to 6,' the minister said.

These special concessions, he said, were aimed to encourage private parties to set up more medical colleges in the region.

Azad also announced that a few dozen nursing schools will be established in the next two years and Meghalaya has been identified as one of the states where such nursing schools will be set up.

An amount of Rs.67.5 crore has also been earmarked for the establishment of a herbal institute under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) within the premises of NEIGHRIMS, Azad announced.

Assam Records Highest Maternal Mortality Rate in India

Assamese women at a tea plantation. A combination of factors, including insurgency, have put Assam at the top of the Maternal Mortality Rate in the country.

New Delhi, Mar 6 : Assam has the country's highest rate of maternal mortality, as per the latest official data. According to experts, insurgency which affects access to healthcare services is one of the main reasons for this.

Speaking at a press meet in the capital on Friday, Bulbul Sood, co-chair of the White Ribbon Alliance, an NGO that campaigns for safe motherhood, said: “There may be a lot of reasons for Assam having the highest maternal mortality. Insurgency in the state is one of the main reasons because it affects access to basic healthcare services”.

“Also there is a general lack of involvement by stakeholders in uplifting the healthcare services in the region,” she added.

According to the Sample Registration Services (SRS) 2004-2006, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for Assam was 480 per 100,000 live births - the highest in the country. India's MMR was 254.

Aparajita Gogoi, national coordinator of WRA, said: “It's difficult to pinpoint one particular reason for such results. There is a gamut of social issues, insurgency, no development, lack of infrastructure, lack of manpower in healthcare system and other such things which contribute to such drastic results”.

“Also, most northeastern women are anaemic which is genetic in nature. While there is no scientific study yet to assess this, this may be yet another reason for the high MMR,” she added.

A.K.Shiva Kumar, development economist and member of the erstwhile National Advisory Council, however, said that insurgency cannot be completely blamed for the high MMR in any state.

“Look at Sri Lanka. They had to battle a lot of insurgency, yet they managed to bring down their MMR to 43 while India remains a long way behind, at 254 and Assam at 480. I think absence of investment in the health sector is a major reason for this,” Shiva Kumar said.

As per the Millennium Development Goals of 2015, India should bring down its MMR to 109.

Sonia Inaugurates Health Institute in Shillong

Meghalaya Chief Minister D. D. Lapang welcomes UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Shillong.

Shillong, Mar 6 : United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday inaugurated the first postgraduate medical institute in northeast India here and stressed on the need for an urban health programme like the government's flagship rural health scheme.

The North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute for Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in the Meghalaya capital has been designed in line with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

“With the inauguration of the medical institute, an important aspect of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's vision has been fulfilled,” Sonia Gandhi said at the inauguration.

“The institute was conceived as a centre of excellence in healthcare which will have the best of health services facilities in eastern India.”

“Besides treatment and providing numerous health services, the institute would play an important role in research and development,” the Congress president said.

“The UPA government has given special attention to all-round development of northeast India.”

The NEIGRIHMS, an autonomous institute established by union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has a sophisticated cardiology department, well-equipped neurology and urology departments and a 30-bed intensive care unit (ICU).

The institute, conceived by Rajiv Gandhi 23 years ago, has been functioning since 2002 first as an interim facility and later built a sprawling campus on the outskirts of Shillong at a cost of Rs.423 crore. It also plans to begin its telemedicine project soon.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had declared NEIGRIMS a national institute on Jan 22, 2000, when he visited Shillong.

Sonia Gandhi also underscored the importance of initiating an urban healthcare programme on the lines of the government's flagship National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), particularly with cases of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and cancer on the rise.

“I strongly feel the need to launch a health programme in the urban areas which will be similar to the NRHM,” she said.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) B.K. Handique, Meghalaya Chief Minister D.D. Lapang and Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent H. Pala were also present on the occasion.

Sonia Gandhi is also to lay the foundation stone for the Rajiv Gandhi Congress Bhavan here.

On Saturday, she will visit Mizoram capital Aizawl where she will lay the foundation stone of the Rajiv Gandhi sports stadium.

Central Public Works Department (CPWD) is constructing the 20,000-seat stadium, the first such facility in the mountain state. The 12th finance commission had granted Rs.250 million for the Rs.1.32 billion project.

Mizo Students Demand Public Apology From Indian PM For Bombing Mizoram

Aizawl, Mar 5 : A public apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was today demanded by a powerful student body in Mizoram for the bombing of civilian settlements in the state by the Indian Air Force on March 5, 1966.

The bombing took place after the MNF led by the late Laldenga declared independence from India and is observed as 'Zoram Ni' (Mizoram Day) on this day by the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) or Mizo Students Federation.

"The Prime Minister and the Union government must tender a public apology for what the Indian Air Force and the army did to the innocent civilians in Mizoram in 1966, chairman of the North East Students Organisation (NESO), Samujal Bhattacharyya said at a function here.

To know more about the bombing of Mizoram By Indian Air Force here are some articles…

On the afternoon of March 4 1966, a squadron of jet fighters hovered over Aizawl and dropped bombs leaving a number of houses in flames and number of people dead.

The next day, more excessive bombing took place for several hours which left most houses in Dawrpui and Chhingaveng areas of Aizawl in ashes and hundreds were killed.

According to local records, Hunter and Toofani fighters were deployed for the Aizawl bombardment, which became the first and only aerial attack a country had carried out against its own people. In the first wave of attack the planes used machine guns and later on used bombs.

The attack came in three waves, on the second day the attack lasted for about five hours. The fighters came from Tezpur, an IAF air base in Assam. Apart from Aizawl, Tualbung and Hnahlan villages in northeast Mizoram were bombarded.

The great and powerful Indian Government a terror to Pakistan and a threat to China on March 5, 1966 used Jet Fighters, something they had never done against China and Pakistan, bombed it’s own people. Surprisingly, there were no human casualties officially reported in any of the air raid, nor anything mentioned in Indian Air Force official website.There were no lawyers then among Mizos, no human rights activists.

Governed by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 and the Assam Disturbed Areas Act, 1955.

Communication like Telephone, Television and the Internet had not even entered the people’s imagination. On March 9, 1966 where the PM was answering a foreign correspondent, insisted that the air force was “deployed to drop men and supplies.” one of the correspondent stated whether the shells of bombs, which had been dropped in Aijal (Aizawl), be sent to Delhi to ask the Prime Minister, ‘How do you cook this ration?

If these are supplies, please tell us how you cook these things’?” Strongly condemning the use of air force, MLA Hynniewta produced photographs of one unexploded bomb and some fragments of exploded bombs as proof of the Aizawl air attack, which was strongly denied by the Government of India.

Until today there has been no satisfactory answer as to why India used such excessive air force against its own citizens in order to suppress an insurgency.

via Defence Aviation

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizoram#Insurgency
http://www.ultrabrown.com/posts/the-pied-piper-of-mizoram
http://www.warbirdsofindia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2214812/The-Day-Our-Jerusalem-Burned
http://qc.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070306221342AAr4GpJ
http://mutiny.in/2009/04/16/my-tryst-with-tehelka/
http://zoindigenous.blogspot.com/2009/03/india-drops-bombs-to-its-civilian.html

Tripura Blames Mizoram as Refugee Repatriation Hangs

Agartala, Mar 5 : Tripura government on Friday accused Mizoram of going against the union home ministry’s directive by not taking steps to repatriate Reang tribal refugees who have been sheltered in Tripura for 13 years.

“The Mizoram government has been violating the union home ministry’s direction over the repatriation of Reang tribal refugees. Whenever the centre and Tripura government takes efforts to send back the evacuees, the Mizoram government fails to take initiative to take back their residents,” Tripura Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Badal Choudhury said in the assembly.

“Due to the long stay of the tribal refugees (since October 1997), Tripura is facing serious socio-economic problems,” Choudhury said.

Over 37,000 Reang tribal refugees have been sheltered in six camps in north Tripura, adjacent to Mizoram, since 1997 when they fled west Mizoram following ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos over the killing of a Mizo forest official.

The union home ministry through the Tripura government has so far spent around Rs.1.54 billion for their upkeep.

The minister told the house that a series of tripartite meetings was held in New Delhi, Aizawl and Agartala. “In every meeting the Mizoram government has agreed to take back the refugees but subsequently they backed off from their commitment.”

Former minister and senior Congress legislator Birjit Sinha demanded rehabilitation of the refugees.

Opposition leader Gopal Roy told the house: “The refugees have been passing days in inhuman conditions in the relief camps. Rampant corruption over providing relief has also become a ‘normal practice’ on the part of officials.”

The tribal refugees are unwilling to return to their homes in Mizoram until their demands for security and sufficient financial assistance are accepted by the state government there.

Security Beefed up in Mizoram For Sonia’s Visit

Aizawl, Mar 5 : Security forces in Mizoram are on high alert following speculation that Hmar militant groups may be planning some “mischief” during Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daylong visit to Aizawl on Saturday.

The UPA chairperson will fly to Aizawl amid stringent security measures which are now being elaborately laid down by the police and other security forces to deter any extremist action.

According to an official source here, the threat perception was reviewed at a high-level meeting in Aizawl yesterday, which was presided over by state chief secretary Vanhela Pachuau. State police director-general Lalrokhuma Pachuau and home secretary Lalmalsawma were also present at the meeting.

A senior intelligence official said they suspected that a small militant outfit operating in Mizoram and adjacent Manipur might be lured into “committing a mischief” in retaliation to the surrender of the chief of Sinlung Revolutionary Tiger Force. Sources said the nascent guerrilla group has at least 40 men drawn from the Hmar and Paite ethnic communities.

Its chief, L.Z. Hrangchal, surrendered to home minister R. Lalzirliana in Aizawl on February 27. Though many of the outfit’s top brass, including its general secretary H.T. Khawzawl and defence secretary Thuamliana, had come over-ground, some others like its president Lianzela Hrangchal and army chief Rohluna are still operating.

Sonia, during her stay in Mizoram, will lay the foundation stone of the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium in Mualpui in Aizawl. The Centre’s 12th Finance Commission had granted Rs 25 crore for this stadium, which will be the first of its kind in the state.