Seven Cat Species Found in Assam

Washington, Mar 14 : A photographer have captured on camera seven cat species in Jeypore-Dehing lowland rain forest in Assam.
According to a report in National Geographic News, wildlife biologist Kashmira Kakati took the pictures during a two-year survey by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

The research found seven cat species in a 354-square-mile (570-square-kilometer) range, which is the highest diversity of cat species yet photographed in a single area.

Partly funded by WCS, Kashmira Kakati had been studying the gibbons of Jeypore-Dehing and became curious about the predator tracks she kept finding on the ground.

“I said, I need to find out what’s there,” Kakati told National Geographic News. “Nobody had any clue. People who had been in the forest 30 years didn’t know,” she said.

With 30 digital camera traps, Kakati captured not only the cats, but a number of other rare forest animals between 2007 and 2009.
The camera-trap pictures include a night shot of a rare clouded leopard, so named for the nimbus-like pattern of its coat.

“In Jeypore-Dehing, the cat is so seldom seen that local villagers don’t even have a name for it,” Kakati said.

Seen in another Jeypore-Dehing camera-trap picture, the leopard cat is a diminutive and distant relative of the better-known spotted predator from which it takes its name.

Leopard cats are considered to have generally stable populations, except for a few subspecies that are close to extinction. The Jeypore-Dehing rain forest also houses the Asiatic golden cat, which is listed as near threatened—but on the verge of becoming vulnerable—by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In addition to the seven cat species, Kakati’s camera traps recorded 12 other carnivore species in the Jeypore-Dehing range, including a dhole, or Asiatic wild dog; the Malayan sun bear; and several species of the catlike mammal - the civet.

The researchers hope the discovery of so many rare cat species in Jeypore-Dehing, including the threatened marbled cat, will encourage the Indian government to protect a wider portion of the Eastern Himalaya region from development and poaching.

Burmese Army's Violence Against Civilians

Since 1996, military abuses have forced 1m villagers to flee their homes, according to UN draft report

General Than Shwe, leader of Burma's junta. Photograph: STR/EPA

• Since 1996, up to 1 million people have been displaced. Entire communities have been forced to relocate and their houses and food supplies burned to prevent their return. Those who refuse forced relocations and choose to hide risk military attack.

• More than 184,000 refugees in neigbouring countries originate from Burma. An estimated 2 million migrants are in Thailand. Thousands of ethnic Chin have crossed the border to the Indian state of Mizoram. Muslimresidents of northern Rakhine state continue to seek asylum in neighbouring countries.

• The presence and conduct of the military are central to the plight of these civilians. Military operations have placed a particularly heavy burden on rural populations affecting their ability to sustain livelihoods.

• There have been numerous and frequent reports of civilians being forced to serve as porters and guides for the military, to build and maintain roads, to construct military camps, and to labour for infrastructure projects.

• Cases of rape and sexual violence committed by military personnel, many of them against young girls and adolescents, have been reported by human rights organisations.

• In Shan state the military has burned down over 500 houses and scores of granaries since July 2009, and forcibly relocated almost 40 villages, mostly in Laikha township. Reports say more than 100 villagers, both men and women, have been arrested and tortured. At least three villagers have been killed. This would be the largest forced relocation since 1996-1998, when more than 300,000 villagers in southern and central Shan State were displaced.@ Battles between government forces and ethnic groups in Shan State in August 2009 and along the Thai border region in June 2009 have raised serious concerns about security both inside Burma and its spillover effects in neighbouring countries.

• There is serious concern about the continuing armed conflict in Kayin state, which severely affects the civilian population. It has been reported that in Hsaw Law Kho village, three villagers were killed and over a dozen more tortured by Infantry Battalion No 48 on 5 November 2009.

• The UN urges the government and all armed groups to ensure the protection of civilians, in particular children and women, during armed conflict. Recruitment of child soldiers, displacement of villagers, the use of anti-personnel landmines, and the forced labour of civilians should stop without any delay.

Mother Tongue Rocks For This Rock Bands

By Malini Nair

Even if you can get your tongue around those twisters, it does not sound like the stuff rock music is made of. But when Avial’s vocalist hollers Nada nada nada it seems as though Malayalam was meant for headbanging.

Lovers of rock music suddenly cannot have enough of Avial and it does not seem to matter that few of their fans outside Kerala can sing along or even understand what Chekele, Adupambe or Nada nada nada mean.

In Karbi Anglong district of Assam, if you love heavy metal but do not know any English, you needn’t despair. There is Warklung, headed by a 30-something freespirit, Rocky Baba, and it even has a few hit albums to its credit.

Makes sense
Why rock in the vernacular? “Because it makes sense,” is Avial vocalist Tony John’s simple answer to why the band chose to sing in the mother tongue of its members. Various band members in their earlier avatars had been doing some desultory stuff in English — some covers, some original —when it struck them as a group that the most natural thing was to sing in Malayalam.

“We all thought that something was missing in our music when we sang in English. That music is not really yours. Singing in Malayalam brings us closer to the time and place we live in, it just makes us much happier,” says John, who was once part of an English band, Karizma. As it turned out their music made listeners very happy too.

Of course, there is no denying that Avial is reaping the benefits of being the first ever Malayalam rock band: because their music is a novelty, it gets many curious listeners and first-timers who don’t really care for rock otherwise.

Queat for identity
Avial is not the only vernacular band to shed the English baggage. Raghu Dixit Project and Swarathma both take pride in singing in Kannada. Dixit traces this to a phase of introspection in his mid-20s. “I started singing English rock when I was a wannabe and wanted to impress girls. Later, as I turned 24, I introspected, and began to wonder what I was really doing. I was trying to question my identity. That’s when I took to singing in other languages,” says Dixit, who finds the fresh Kannada — and sometimes Hindi — flavour of his music “a new great joy’’.

Indian Ocean and Euphoria, of course, have several Hindi hits to their credit. But then, any alternate Hindi music has to battle with the tremendous reach and popularity of Bollywood music.

However, after Rock On, quite a few inspired young groups have begun singing in Hindi. Faridkot is one of the youngest groups to come out of Delhi.

Bengal led the way
It was actually Bengal that led the way in regional rock. Way back in the ’70s when rock meant English, the cult group Mohiner Ghoraguli burst in on the Kolkata music scene with gritty Bengali numbers that dealt with contemporary social and political issues.

The group struggled for recognition during its day but today they are seen as trailblazers and the group’s name is almost used as a brand name forits music (Pritam used their incredibly beautiful Prithibita Naki in Gangster as Bheegi Bheegi, with some controversy over whether he gave the original enough credit). It also laid the road for other groups to follow.

Today Kolkata’s rock scene is bustling with talent and as music writer and drummer Nondon Bagchi points out every small town youngster in the state wants to be seen holding a guitar. Bhoomi, Lakhicharra, Chandrabindoo and Fossils are some of the groups that are creating quality music in the city.

“The benchmarks are really high here. Of course, there are the pretenders who think that it is enough to wear ear studs and practice occasional guitar to be a rockstar. But the groups that are good are bloody good. When we were doing rock music in the ’60s and ’70s, the idea was to just appeal to like-minded people. What Bengali rock has done is that it has made this music comprehensible to everyone from Ranaghat to Siliguri, not just in college campuses,” says Bagchi.

Mass appeal
Singing in an Indian language really opens up the audience base and market for these rock groups. Avial, for instance, says that their music is identified not just by the groovy crowds at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram colleges but also by parents, grandparents and autorickshaw drivers. Dixit says it gets him the common janata.

“We would like to travel to as many places as possible. If it involves travelling by train or bus to smaller towns and villages, even better. We love to spread social consciousness about issues that matter. We live to take our music to people who can’t afford such exposure to music,” says Sanjeev Naik, the violinist with Swarathma, which focuses on folk fusion music.

Avial’s popularity in the rest of India has taken everyone — not least the band which has been struggling for recognition for eight years — by surprise. Few regional bands have even bothered to venture out of home territory because of the language barrier. Bengali bands, for instance, sing either at home or abroad to the NRI population. But record label Phat Phish, which released Avial’s first album, specialises in selling regional music on a national scale and believes that this is a strong market that has not been tapped enough.

Listeners today are discerning enough to spot sincere, engaging rock music when they hear it, no matter what the language. As Tony John puts it, the idea is not to just shove desi words into an alien format and somehow create a certain sound. The lyrics, music and the instrumentation — all need to come together convincingly. “If the music appeals to the people, they actually try to understand the lyrics,” says Dixit.

Sit Down to a Meal From the Heartland of Tibet

By Visy Valsan

Bangalore, Mar 14 : Amdo Corner may not seem inviting to anyone venturing in its direction for the first time. Tucked away in Austin Town, there’s just enough space for the waiters to move around this crammed joint. But forget the ambience, it’s the authentic Tibetan food which is the major draw here. And why not? Its owner Amdo Tsering hailing from Amdo city in Tibet ensures that each dish has a bit of Tibet in it.

Cooking comes naturally to him and he owes it all to his mother. “My mother worked as a full-time labourer in a farm owned by the Chinese. Her work took all day; she hardly found time for cooking. So, she taught me how to cook,” says Tsering.

The restaurant displays on its walls Tsering’s devotion to his motherland — a large, colourful poster of Tibet and a photograph of Tsering’s home (and the origin of the ingredients he uses at Amdo’s). He’s brought to India, literally, scoops of Tibet, through the original flavours contained in the manchurian gravies and momos. “Tibet is a very cold place and what we eat there cannot be eaten here, considering the hot climate of South India. So, even as we use the same ingredients, we tweak the recipe so your tummies are in good shape,” smiles Tsering who continues to source the ingredients through the Tibetan-Bhutan-Ladakh route.

The long list of Tibetan dishes on the menu may confuse you. But ask Tsering for help and he’ll gladly assist. “Well, you could try the Thenthuk thick noodle soup or take the Saptra if you are looking for something meaty,” he told us and signalled to the waiter.

The restaurant serves vegetarian, chicken and beef; with noodles being the main draw. Momos too, are hot favourites. However, try the Pale of Amdo (yes, named after Amdo).

Ibnul Muttaquee, a frequent customer says: “The food reminds me of what we used to eat in Tibetan restaurants in Assam. This place brings back memories of those places and I love to drop in just for that.”

Where: Amdo Corner Restaurant, 1st cross, Yarappa Garden, Opposite BDA complex, Austin Town –47, Bangalore
When: 12 -10pm
How much: Rs10 to Rs100
Call 9886173890 for home delivery

Northeast Girl Molested Again in Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 14  : A 22-year-old woman from Manipur was allegedly molested near Munirka bus stop in south Delhi, police said Sunday.

According to police, Sonia (name changed), who lives with her sister in Munirka, was walking alone towards the bus stop around midnight Saturday when a 28-year-old man molested her.

'Sonia goes to pick up her sister daily from Munirka bus stop around the same time. On Saturday night, she was molested by a man,' said Madhu Chandra of the North East Support Centre, a help centre for the youth of northeast living in Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region).

According to Chandra, the woman shouted for help and her friends and people on the road came to her rescue.

'The people caught hold of the man and took him to a police station. The man lives in the same area and was known to the victim. A case has been registered in the Vasant Vihar police station,' Chandra, to the whom girl turned for help after the incident, said.

Both the sisters have been living in a rented apartment in Munirka from last six years, he said.

'Panic has spread once again among northeastern girls following the incident. Several cases of molestation have been reported from Munirka in past few months. A 19-year-old girl from Nagaland was murdered in October last year,' he added.

NCB Getting More Funding to Combat Poppy Menace

Imphal, Mar 14 : Taking serious note of wide-spread Poppy cultivation in three hill districts of the State namely Churachandpur, Chandel and Ukhrul district and possible smuggling of the products to other States for manufacturing cocaine, Narcotic Control Bureau, Delhi has sanctioned necessary fund to procure equipments for destroying cultivation of this narcotic plant.

According to information received from the Narcotic and Affairs of Border (NAB), Government of Manipur, apart from widespread cultivation of Poppy in Churachandpur, Chandel and Ukhrul district, there is strong believe that the products are being smuggled outside Manipur to other parts of the country through Nagaland.

Disclosing that among the three Poppy growing hill districts Churachandpur produces the largest quantity, the reliable source said the smuggled Poppy products from Manipur has found place in the International cocaine market.

It is said that one kg of cocaine which costs around Rs 25,000 in Imphal would fetch Rs 30,000 in Nagaland.

In order to destroy the Poppy cultivation in the three hill districts, Narcotic Control Bureau, Delhi has sanctioned fund for purchasing necessary equipments like camera, mobile phone, cutting machine and two vehicles, the source conveyed.

Interacting with The Sangai Express in this connection, OC of NAB Kh Rabichandra informed that with the collaboration of the Army and the Assam Rifles, NAB has started destroying Poppy cultivation on the hill sides of Chandel, Churachandpur and Ukhrul.

A team of NAB led by a havildar is currently camping in Sajik Tampak of Chandel district to launch a drive against Poppy cultivation with the assistance of the Army there, the OC informed.

Stating that peddling of heroin powder (No.4) to the quantity of 5 to 30 grams has been on the rise in Manipur, the officer explained in order to curb this illegal trade, deployment of many sources on payment of money would be required.

However, as there is not enough fund, this measure has not been adopted.

Increase in the number of petty peddlers is an indication that there are bigger fishes out there.

Yet, NAB has not been able to combat drug trade effectively due to lack of adequate manpower, Birchandra lamented.

It is learnt that there is only an inspector, one sub-inspector, three havildars and 14 constables in the service of NAB currently.

Birchandra said that as there is the need for setting up an armed section, proposal have been made for increasing the strength of the staff.
Out of 41 constables who are currently undergoing training at Manipur Police Training Centre, Pangei, 27 of them would be utilized in the service of NAB on completion of the training.

Two SIs and two ASIs are also currently on probation, he added.

via The Sangai Express

Women's Bill: Least Radical of All Reservations

By Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar

 

I give only one cheer for the Women’s Reservation Bill, not two and certainly not three. Of all the reservations we have devised to transform society, this will transform the least. Still, it may do some marginal good, so let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

Critics have highlighted many flaws of the Bill. Rotating constituencies mean women cannot nurse a constituency. Reservations do not extend to the Rajya Sabha, creating a Parliamentary anomaly. There is no female sub-quota within existing quotas. Reservations could mean more upper-caste women MPs at the expense of backward castes. Some analysts say that instead of trying to impose quotas — which are forms of proportional representation — on our first-past-the-post electoral system , we should move electorally to a proportional representation system as in Germany. But the biggest flaw lies elsewhere.

Women suffer a thousand forms of discrimination . Foeticide, infanticide and dowry deaths constitute a triple whammy of murder. Girls that survive are discriminated against (compared with sons) in food, health, education and choice of livelihood. Adult women suffer physical abuse and rape.

Female workers are paid less than males. India has among the highest rates of female anaemia and maternal mortality in the world. Women fear physical attack if they travel beyond village limits to a clinic, and their husbands don’t want to lose a day’s wages by accompanying them.

Will this change with more women in the legislatures? Very little. The Constitution and a multitude of laws already provide for gender equality. Unfortunately, grassroots society spurns that concept. The problem lies in the attitude of society, not of legislators, who already constitute an enlightened upper crust. Without social acceptance, rules and laws on gender equality are difficult to implement. Having more females in legislatures will do little to change the grassroots reality.

Reservations for 60 years for Dalits and tribals have failed to end discrimination. They have merely created a creamy layer of the formerly unprivileged, leaving others barely better off.

Many critics denounce the creamy layer phenomenon, yet poor Dalits, tribals and backward castes are all for it. Obviously a creamy layer is less satisfactory than cream throughout . Yet a creamy layer greatly improves the access of ordinary Dalits and tribals to facilities and justice that in theory should be enjoyed by all, but in practice are enjoyed mainly by those within the most influential networks. Historically, the upper castes controlled these networks. Reservations have now given other groups entry points into the networks , and they love it.

There is a trickle-down effect from the creamy layer to ordinary Dalits, tribals and backward castes. Common justice demands that this should be a flood, not a trickle. Yet a trickle is better than nothing. Hence we see ever more demands for reservations and quotas , since give a little power to the disempowered , and can gradually transform semifeudal values.

However, of the many deprivations caused by semi-feudalism , discrimination against female politicians is the least important. Indeed , semi-feudalism sanctifies the dynastic principle, which can give women enormous advantages over males in politics.

Sonia Gandhi and Indira Gandhi did not battle male discrimination to get to the top. Rather, the death of their husband/father made them heads of a dynasty, giving them an unassailable advantage over rival males in the Congress Party.

For the same dynastic reason, Bangladeshi politics is dominated by the two begums, Khalida and Hasina, both widows of former Presidents . Benazir Bhutto got to the top in Pakistan because she was the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In Sri Lanka, Sirimavo Bandaranaike got to the top as widow of Solomon Bandaranaike, and her daughter Chandrika succeeded her in classical dynastic fashion.

So, in a semi-feudal society, being a woman can be a passport to the top. Such women are not representative of the female masses, yet can dominate politics. Lalu Prasad says, rightly , that the wives, daughters and nieces of top politicians may grab most of the reserved female constituencies. But, having seven daughters , he himself is well placed.

Female seat reservations can transform society far more in panchayats than in Parliament . Gender animus is deeply entrenched in the villages, and female empowerment there can have an impact, notwithstanding the new phenomenon of sarpanch-patis . But in state capitals and New Delhi, political women are already substantially empowered, and hugely advantaged in dynasties.

To transform society, we need social activists at the grassroots. We need administrators, police and judges who will implement existing laws on gender justice. Reserving legislative seats for women will help only marginally.

Myanmar to Manipur, A Scramble For HIV Care

By Usha Rai

The Angel’s Care Centre at Moreh, 110 km from Imphal, Manipur, and on the border with Myanmar, one of the worst HIV-infected countries of the world, has to provide medical help not just to the over 400 People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA) in Moreh but to the infected of Myanmar who cross the border desperate for medical help.

The fact that Moreh is close to the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos and Thailand) of the drug route, and within sniffing distance from India’s National Highway 39, has compounded the problem. Forty per cent of the Manipuri families inject drugs and there are 33,403 HIV positive in Manipur.

In fact, Manipur is one of the six HIV high prevalence states of the country with 1.13 per cent of the people infected. But in Manipur, as in the adjoining Nagaland, it is a deadly combination of alcohol and drugs in the form of tablets that the young turn to for their ‘high.’ When this fails to satisfy them, they have no qualms about injecting heroin no 4 and other drug opiates. Since a dose of heroin costs just Rs 20 in Moreh as against Rs 100 and more in Imphal, young people in this small border town resort to it when angry, depressed and even when happy and in need of celebration.

Though India is the medical destination for a range of ailments -- heart surgery to kidney transplants and corneal replacement, the treatment of HIV-infected from across the border is almost a clandestine operation. In a state like Manipur where adequate facilities are not available for treatment of the local HIV-infected population, many feel it is difficult to justify treatment of foreigners, however poor they are, coming from a country that has not been able to provide medical succor to its people.

Sachin, project coordinator of the Angel Care Centre, and Sumati, secretary of the NGO Meetei Leimarol Sinnai Sang (MLSS), Imphal, however, feel frustrated about their inability to help the very young and very sick people from across the border. Some are 20 years or even younger and others 40. They come with acute skin infection, TB and other ailments. At any given time, there are 60 to 70 patients from Myanmar and Sachin says they are HIV positive.

Many of them are farmers and daily wage laborers who buy the ART (antiretroviral therapy) medicines from pharmacies in Myanmar. They do not have reports on their CD-4 count or level of immunity because they have no access to these facilities in their own country.

Without a CD-4 count report, they cannot be given ART in Moreh. So they are treated for subsidiary ailments and sent home. Since MLSS runs a DOTS Centre in Imphal and there is high prevalence of HIV among the TB-infected, the people from Myanmar are able to access the TB medicines from Manipur. They cross the border regularly for the treatment but since they speak only Burmese, there are problems of communication.

While hospitals in Morey and even those in Imphal are in a dilemma about treating PLHA from across the border, Dr Priyo Kumar of JN Hospital, Manipur, says since the country lies on India’s border, treating patients from Myanmar is quite ethical. Besides it also helps protect Manipur’s population from the infected from across the border.

With the present support from the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria coming to an end this March, Sachin and Sumati are worried about the future of the Angel Care Centre which has become the lifeline for over 200 PLHA. It has a 10-bedded community care centre and is providing antiretroviral therapy to 55 persons from Moreh-21 men, 32 women and two children. The ART Link Centre was set up only in November 2009. If instead of upgrading the Angel Care Centre, it has to close down, there will be a vacuum in the care and support of PLHA. They will have to travel 110 km to Imphal for treatment, says Sumati.

In Manipur, the combination of HIV with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C is playing havoc in the lives of those infected. This phenomenon has not been seen in other parts of the country. However at the JN Hospital, one of the top hospitals for treatment of HIV, the increased risk to the life of an HIV-infected from Hepatitis B is given special attention. Hopefully other hospitals and caregivers will realize the gravity of HIV with Hepatitis and give it due importance.

There has been a small decline in injecting drug users in Manipur and now the HIV-infected are joining the network of positive people. They have gained confidence and some have even become peer educators.

Take the case of Hanglem Bimola, 40, a widow on ART, now working with MLSS as a peer educator. A graduate from Bishnupur district of Manipur, Bimola married in 1996 an injecting drug user in Imphal not knowing his HIV status and had a baby girl the following year. When she was pregnant again, her husband died. The child born in 1999 too died after three months.

Then the discrimination by her in-laws began. They would not eat food cooked by her and she had to stay in a separate room. She then went to her parents’ house and in 2001 fell ill and was diagnosed as HIV positive.

She tried to support herself and her child by selling vegetables but no one would buy her vegetables because of her HIV status. So she moved to Imphal. Bimola recalls that after she bathed in a public pond at Utlou village, people of the village held a public meeting and disinfected the pond because they feared the water was contaminated.

Then she got in touch with the NGO MLSS and soon graduated to becoming a peer educator. Now she works with the Bishnupur Network of Positive People in an Access to Care and Treatment project.

In the case of Romeo S Misao, 37, he took to drugs to gain popularity among his peers. He was only 17 then and soon got addicted to it. When his parents found out and stopped giving him money, he started stealing and selling off things at home — he even sold his blood — to be able to buy heroin. In 1994 when he fell sick he was diagnosed HIV positive.

When Misao disclosed his status, his friends began distancing themselves from him. He took to alcohol to get over the depression. After coming out of a rehab clinic, he learnt through some articles in magazines that there was life beyond HIV. He then went for psychological help. Tested for Hepatitis C/HIV, he was found positive and put on medication. Misao has joined the Network of Positive People at Senapati and his life has changed for the better.

Dr Priyo Kumar feels creating awareness and getting people to access services is the biggest challenge of the state, especially in areas that are hard to reach. The first case of HIV was seen in Manipur in 1989-90. Thereafter for a few years, many people suffered on account of common Opportunistic Infections, which could not be detected and some even led to death. Complications like cryptomeningitis, penicilliosis and toxoplasma were common.

Doctors could not diagnose cryptococcal meningitis and injection amphotericin-B was not available in Manipur. The cost of medicines was prohibitive and some HIV-infected had to spend Rs 5,000 per 100 tablets of zidovudine (retrovir).

With the introduction of HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) in 1996, HIV became like any other chronic manageable disease like diabetes, hypertension or arthritis but treatment was still beyond the reach of the common man. Many people ended up with incomplete regimens complicating their health profile further. Side effects were also reported.

But challenges continue to persist in Manipur. Of the six ART centres, only two are providing good service. There is a dearth of sound health professionals. In 2000, identification of HIV was still a problem especially among wives and partners of sex workers who remained unaware of their status. Also spread of the infection from mother to child continued to be a serious issue and inadequate medical infrastructure led to situations where opportunistic infections were often undiagnosed and follow-up was inadequate.