Hundreds Dying in Northeast India From AIDS

Guwahati, Apr 13 : A large number of people in India's northeast living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are struggling for survival. Hundreds are dying with no access to treatment.

’People are dying regularly and suffering a lot, unable to access Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) because such medicines are very expensive,’ said Dipak Singh, president of the Manipur Network of Positive People (MNPP).” A large number of people in India’s northeast living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are struggling for survival. Hundreds are dying with no access to treatment.

”People are dying regularly and suffering a lot, unable to access Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) because such medicines are very expensive,” said Dipak Singh, president of the Manipur Network of Positive People (MNPP).

Two MNPP members died earlier this week allegedly due to lack of medication. ”Hundreds have died with no access to treatment,” Singh said.

Although it is not a cure, ART is a combination of medicines that helps a person living with HIV to fight off infections and live a longer life.

Besides, ART also significantly impacts transmission by reducing the viral load concentration and minimizing risk of transmission to their sexual partners.

A person living with HIV requires drugs worth about Rs.1,200-1,600 a month and the cost doubles if someone has to go for second line therapies depending on the nature of their immune system.

India accounts for about 5.2 million HIV-positive people, second only to South Africa. The northeast has been declared as one of the country’s high-risk zones with close to 100,000 people infected with the virus.

The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), India’s apex government agency to combat HIV/AIDS, admitted in a recent report that non-availability of adequate ART in the northeast was a matter of concern.

Fashion Designing Catching The Fancy of Northeast Youngsters

By Peter Alex Todd and Peter Chachei

Guwahati / Kohima, Apr 13 : The fashion industry in India's northeast region is looking up with militancy on the wane. The industry is actualizing its potential, not just in trade and commerce, but also in terms of style.

Mega Miss Northeast Industry Managing Director Abhijit Sinha said: "Being nostalgic, getting back to 8 years from now, I have started the fashion and beauty industry. It has grown in an immense way."

Fashion designing institutes like the NIFT, the Guwahati Institute Fashion Technology, and the J.D Fashion Institute and the MORPH are grooming students in this field.

Students feel that the scope for the fashion industry in northeast India is good. "It seems that in Assam, there is good scope. Competition will be there and development can also take place in Assam," said one student.

Fashion designers from Northeast have made their presence felt across the country.

For example, Atsu Sekhose, a young Naga designer recently showcased his collection at the Wills lifestyle India Fashion Week.

Aien Longchar, another Naga fashion designer trained at the JD Institute of Fashion Technology in Assam is now successfully promoting her brand "Blizz" in Nagaland.

"With peace and harmony returning, the industry is slowly growing. Moreover, a peace talk is being continued and I hope it will bring positive results.

So, only after this, not only fashion industry but also other industries will also flourish," said Longchar. Modeling too is also gaining popularity.

Monikangna Dutta, Esther Jamir, and Cyndy Khojol are a few big names in the world of fashion from northeast.

Recently, Sangeeta Phukon, a model from Jorhat, won the Miss Barak contest in Manipur. Young models of the northeast are even planning to contest in the Miss India competition.

"I feel very happy after winning this contest and want to represent northeast in Femina Miss India," said Sangeeta Phukon, model.

"Ten years back, fashion was not given much importance. But now, I think we can see around people of Nagaland are so fashionable. They are really interested in fashion. They have so much talent in modeling, looks and height, said Chonchibeni, a model from Nagaland

The way things are changing in the northeast, it would not be surprising to see a greater contribution from the region in the years to come.

Nobody Cares About The Tribals or Our Jawans

By Deepti Lamba

The war between the Naxals and the government of India looks like an 80s film script where the browbeaten common man picks up the rifle against the corrupt cop, zamindar or the politician. The only difference is that the bloodshed is real and while the nation understands the cry for basic human rights the means of protest is unacceptable.

The death of 75 jawans by the Naxals reflects the grim reality that the government has no grassroots intelligence in the area and their militiary tactics are ill thought. The use of air power in a Bush-style shock and awe campaign in the sultry forests would probably be as sucessful as the US air raids in Afghanistan where despite assurances, the collateral damage is far more than the successful routing out of Taliban.

In the past, the notorious thugs of Chambal like Gabbar Singh, Amritlal and Sripalal etc were routed out not only because of the bravery of the constables and their officers but due to the courage of the common man who had faith in the local government machinery and thus gave timely information about the whereabouts of the dacoits.

Back in the fifties and sixties, the dacoits hold over the villagers in the Ghats was terror based and currently the Naxals hold over the tribals is ideology based which is mainly grounded in the alienation of the tribals by the apathetic corrupt local bureaucracy and police force.

On the heels of our esteemed home minister's visit to the Naxal stronghold came a tragedy of horrific proportions where 75 jawans of the CRPF were slaughtered in Dantewada, showing that hard words and guns cannot be the entire solution.

Apart from fighting the Naxals, the tribal grievances should be addressed, fair trials should be held against those charged with exploitation and basic human rights such as clean water, electricity, housing and schools should be provided to them.
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Instead of fighting over where the buck stops the center and state governments need to chalk out comprehensive plans to deal with the malaise and provide better support to our jawans. As B Raman notes in his sage analysis, this is not just about more aggressive or effective counter-insurgency,

This is not the first incident of butchery of the security forces in the history of our counter-insurgency operations. This will not be the last unless and until we realize that counter-insurgency is not only about putting down violence against the State and Society, but also about making resort to violence unnecessary by addressing the problems and grievances of the tribals.

It would be very easy to dismiss the Maoist insurgency as the political manipulation of illiterate or semi-literate tribals by Maoist ideologues from cities to achieve political power through the barrel of the gun. Yes, there is an element of cynical political manipulation of the tribals by many city-bred Maoist ideologues.

But the claim of political manipulation alone cannot explain how hundreds and hundreds of tribals are flocking to the banners of the Maoists. Intense anger over the failures of successive Governments to recognize and address their problems are driving them to heed the calls of the ideologues to massacre their perceived class enemies. Unless and until we have a two-pronged approach to the problem---better counter-insurgency to put down violence and better governance and administration to remove the exploitation of the tribals by the non-tribals and improve their quality of life, blood will continue to flow in the jungles and roads of the tribal homelands in Central India.

The British suppressed thuggery with a firm hand and also benevolent resident adminstrators in the far-flung areas as pointed out by K F Rustamji in The British, The Bandits and The Bordermen. Nehru, for his part, established the Indian Frontier Adminstration Service to provide direct interaction with Andaman and North East tribals. Perhaps we need a new committed force constituted of able and committed bureaucrats, fair security administrators and educated tribal representatives for a multi-modal mission of restoration. Let us move to Reconstruction and circumvent the Civil War.

Deepti Lamba is an author, besides editing at Desicritics



[ via Desicritics ]

Time to Give Decisive Inputs

By Oken Jeet sandham

For the first time in the history of Nagaland Assembly sessions, the Members particularly from Opposition Bench have not touched the Naga political issue in the recently concluded Session.

Normally the Naga political issue dominates the proceedings of the House blaming one another between the ruling and the opposition. But this time, since the Opposition has not raised any issue relating to the ongoing Naga peace process between the Government of India and the Naga underground leaders, the ruling side has not talked of.

Rather the Opposition appreciated the Home Minister this time for maintaining law and order and reducing the factional killings in the state.

In fact, the House instead should have chalked out a very concrete step where they can throw their ideas and thoughts on the ongoing peace process between the Government of India and the Naga underground leaders.

Because the process has reached a very crucial phase following the Government of India’s open declaration that the long drawn out Naga political issue would find solution in 12 to 24 months.

At the same time, the Government of India has also made it very clear that the final solution to the Naga political issue would only come about by holding talks to the entire Naga underground groups.

The above statements are very clear that things are coming to crucial stage. The civil societies, NGOs and the Government have been playing their role over the years and have been complaining against the delay of finding solution to the vexed Naga political issue.

They also echoed their worries on many occasions on the factional violence that claimed numerous innocent lives. The Nagas have been yearning for peace and unity amongst the various factions of the Naga underground organizations.

The normalcy returned in the state had been appreciated by many including Opposition Congress and the Government of India as well.

At the same time, NSCN (IM) General Secretary Th Muivah has heaped praises on the Indian leaders especially the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, saying they were serious this time to resolve the Naga issue.

We should not only talk of the Naga issue when there are in bad shape but we should also talks when they are in positive development. But the recent Nagaland Assembly Session has failed to discuss the matter as to how they could play their part at this critical juncture.

Some weeks back, the State Home Minister Imkong L Imchen expressed his appreciation to the leaderships of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and also newly appointed interlocutor RS Pandey for their sincerity towards finding solution to the Naga political issue this time round.

Yet, he made it a very decisive but fundamental statement that is likely to be the last medicine for the entire Nagas while they enter into a final settlement of their longstanding problem. It is “Common Agenda” that is to be drawn up to be the basis for talks with New Delhi.

He or the Government cannot be a party to the talks but what he elucidated was the Naga intelligentsia should help provide inputs to the wisdom of the Naga national workers who are now talking with the Government of India to frame a “Common Agenda.”

This is very important and since the talks between the Government of India and the Naga underground leaders reached to a very decisive stage, it is now time for the Naga over-ground leaders, civil society, NGOs and intelligentsia to come forward in helping the Naga underground leaders in framing the “Common Agenda.”

Unfortunately, when the Government of India has openly stated that solution would find in 12 to 24 months, nobody on the Floor of the House in the just concluded Session touched the point. I think it will not be too long to see a Special Assembly Session to discuss on this crucial issue as things are fast coming to close towards the Government of India’s deadline of finding solution.

[ via Asian Tribune ]

UNC Reach Out to GoI Interlocutor

Naga economic blockade to protest Manipur polls

Imphal, Apr 12 : Even as the volunteers of All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) have scattered themselves and stationed in various ‘strategic locations’ to impose the 6-day economic blockade along the national and state highways from midnight of Sunday, the United Naga Council (UNC) said today that it had apprised the Autonomous District Council poll issue to R.S Pandey, interlocutor of the Government of India in the peace talk with the NSCN-IM.

UNC chief Samson Remmei disclosed to Newmai News Network over phone from Senapati that on April 9, the UNC team met R.S Pandey in Nagaland and apprised him about the development in Manipur. “We have briefed Mr. R.S Pandey that we do not want the imposed legislation on the tribal people by conducting the ADC elections based on the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 2008,” said Samson Remmei.

Meanwhile, the UNC president said that the Naga frontal organizations are now all set to agitate in different forms once the 6-day long economic blockade gets over. “If the response from the state government is not that positive, we are here to resort to sterner and more drastic forms of agitation,” asserted the UNC chief.

It is worth noting that the United Naga Council (UNC) had called a 12-hour ‘chakka bandh’ in Manipur hill areas on April 6 against the present status of the ‘imposed legislation’ with special reference to the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act 1971 and amended in 2008 which has been ‘rejected outrightly’. On the other hand, the state government has set May 17 and May 24 to hold elections to the ADCs.

Meanwhile, All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) president David Choro said that ANSAM activists are now stationed in all ‘strategic locations’ to impose the blockade from midnight. “We have appealed time and again to everyone particularly the transporters to extend their co-operation to our move,” the ANSAM president said.

24 hr total bandh across tribal areas

Supporting the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM)’s move of imposing economic blockade along the two national highways in the state, the Manipur Tribal Joint Action Committee Against Elections Under Unwanted District Council Act has called a separate 24 hours ‘total bandh in all the tribal inhabited district of Manipur’ starting from the mid-night of April 12.

GK.Rongmei, chairman of the tribal body against the elections under unwanted district council Act said that the bandh will cover all activities including the construction of railway line from Jiri to Imphal. However, he added that essential services will be relaxed from the purview of the bandh.

The chairman asserted, “The new trend of the Manipur government to hold ethnic based election is imprudent and dangerous policy which seemingly incites tension among different groups of Manipur,” adding, “such kind of divide and rule policy among the tribals should be stopped forthwith as it invites unwanted social upheaval”.

While welcoming all the tribal organizations partaking against the ongoing district council issue, the tribal body urged the general public to co-operate during their bandh.  It also warned that the bandh violators shall be at their own risk.

Newmai News Network

Hmar Inpui Ex-President Denies NOC for Link Language

New Delhi, Apr 12 : The Ex-President of Hmar Inpui (Hmar Supreme House) Mr. HK Joute has denied that he or the Hmar Inpui had written to the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting with regard to the non-objection of use of Paite as official link language in the proposed Local Radio Station of All India Radio, Churachandpur.

In a letter to Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting dated April 9, 2010, HK Joute said that he had never written any letter to her on the issue.

It may be mentioned the on November 22, 2006, some people purportedly submitted a letter supposedly written by Mr. Joute to the Union Minister giving a clean chit to Paite language to be the official link language of the much delayed Churachandpur AIR station.

Claiming that the letter was the handiwork of some individuals and people with vested interests, Mr. Joute said, "That (letter) is a total lie and fabricated and the same was never written by me."

Mr. Joute also said that the Hmar Inpui has a tradition of putting agenda before its Executive Committee and resolutions passed in writing. "The said letter does not have any reference of our Executive Meeting - its date and resolution numbers, etc", Mr. Joute said.

Terming the letter "a testimony of its duplicity and (works of) forgery", Mr. Joute informed that the Hmar Inpui never count the Hmar Youth Association (HYA) and the Hmar Students’ Association (HSA) as ‘sister organizations’ but as ‘constituent members’ and are independent in their own.
He also said that he will take legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the "forged letter" and is currently consulting his legal advisor.
Mr. Joute also requested the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting to treat the said letter as null and void and to take no decision on the same.

The copies of Mr. Joute’s letter has been forwarded to Chief Minister of Manipur, Chief Executive Officer of Prashar Bharati, Director General of All India Radio, Deputy Director General (NER II) and Station Director (AIR, Imphal).

Indian Tribals For Movement Against Tipaimukh Dam

By Ehsanul Haque Jasim

New Delhi, Apr 12 : The indigenous and tribal peoples of three states of India those are Assam, Manipur and Mizoram and particularly the people from different communities of Cachar, are taking preparation to form strong movement against the proposed Tipaimukh Hydro Electricity Project, located at the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers in Manipur.

If the Tipaimukh dam is constructed it would have adverse impact on the sensitive and vulnerable indigenous peoples as well as on their social, cultural, economic, political, demographic and environment prospect in the three States.

So the indigenous and tribal peoples of the areas are more vigorous against the dam. The vigorous indigenous and tribal communities are Hmar, Zeliangrong, Reang, Khasi, Manipuri, Rongmei, Naga Kuki, Jishnu, Nanu Ngai and Bengalis.

The people of Cachar under the banner of Committee of People and Environment (CPE) on last Wednesday staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar demanding scrapping of the Tipaimukh Dam Project.

Hundreds of demonstrators urged the government to make necessary steps to cancel the dam project saying that the dam will bring more miseries to the people of southern Assam, Manipur and Bangladesh.

They have already submitted memoranda to the Indian President, Prime Minister, Union minister for Forest and Environment and Chief Ministers of Assam and Manipur through the Cachar DC in support of their demands of stopping Tipaimukh Dam.

CPE general secretary Pijush Kanti Das on Thursday told the Mizoram Express, a media of India, that on several occasions we highlighted the possible disastrous implications of the Rs 9000 crore project on life, economy and environment of the region. So far southern Assam areas go, Barak and Kushiara rivers will dry up if the 163-meter high dam at Tipaimukh is built. The agriculture-based economy of the region will ruin besides destruction of flora and fauna, he added.

He said that if the dam is constructed, it will have negative impacts on 9,126 sq km area in Manipur also. A large number of indigenous communities, mostly belonging to the Zeliangrong and Hmar people, will be permanently displaced and deprived of their livelihood.

Other organizations of India are also protesting the construction of Tipaimukh Dam. Those are Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), Committee on Land and Natural Resources (COLNAR) and Action Against Tipaimukh Project. The organizations recently jointly observed International Day of Action for Rivers under the theme 'Reclaiming Barak River' at the confluence of Tuivai and Barak rivers at Tipaimukh.

The Hmar, Zeliangrong and Meitei community and different organizations from the Barak basin resolved to stand united against any initiative that would disturb the inseparable relationship between Barak river and indigenous people of the river basin.

Declaring that Barak river must be allowed to flow at its natural course, the participants also resolved to stand against any intervention that would disturb the natural flow of the river due to construction of Tipaimukh Dam.

It may be mentioned that the river is the only route that served import of relief materials during the famine of 1960. So the river still continues to serve Hmar villagers as a key trade route.

Hmar Students Association (HSA) which is very vocal against Tipaimukh Dam, is also opposing the construction the Tipaimukh Dam that Hmar people would be submerged under water if the dam is constructed.

The Sinlung Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Organisation (SIPHRO) is also one of the Indigenous People's organizations which is more vocal against the dam construction.

SIPHRO will organize public meetings, public hearings, discussions, debates, seminars, press conferences, and photo exhibitions in different villages, towns and districts in the three States on Tipaimukh Dam issue, says Imphal, an Indian media.

Researchers says China-based Hackers Stole India Security Info, Dalai Lama e-mails

Indian Minister for External Affairs Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna delivers a speech at China Institute of International Studies, Beijing Tuesday, April, 2010. Krishna, during his four-day visit, will meet his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues, and meet with representatives of Indian companies in China to encourage new opportunities. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

China-based hackers stole Indian national security information, 1,500 e-mails from the Dalai Lama's office and other sensitive documents, a new report said Tuesday.

Researchers at the University of Toronto said they were able to observe the hacking and trace it to core servers located in China and to people based in the southwestern city of Chengdu. The researchers said they monitored the hacking for the past eight months.
The report said it has no evidence of involvement by the Chinese government, but it again put Beijing on the defensive. Separate reports earlier this year said security investigators had traced attacks on Google and other companies to China-based computers.

"We have from time to time heard this kind of news. I don't know the purpose of stirring up these issues," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference in response to questions about the report.

"We are firmly opposed to various kinds of hacking activities through the Internet," Jiang said. She said China will fight cybercrime according to law.

She added the researchers have not formally contacted China.

The report describes a hacking operation called the "Shadow network" that researchers were able to observe as it broke into computers and took information, including computers at Indian diplomatic offices in Kabul, Moscow and elsewhere.

The report said the researchers were able to recover Indian national security documents marked "secret" and "confidential," including ones referring to security in India's far northeast, which borders China. Others related to India's relationships in the Middle East, Africa and Russia.

Researchers also recovered 1,500 e-mails sent from the Dalai Lama's office between January and November 2009, the report said.

A map in the report showed computers were compromised on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. One was a United Nations computer, at the U.N.'s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

"In addition we found personal banking information, scans of identification documents, job (and other) applications, legal documents and information about ongoing court cases," the report said.

The identity and motivation of the hackers remain unknown, the report said.

"We have no evidence in this report of the involvement of the People's Republic of China," it added. "But an important question to be entertained is whether the PRC will take action to shut the Shadow network down."

There was no immediate comment Tuesday from the government in India, China's massive neighbor to the south with which it has a growing military rivalry and lingering territorial disputes.

Rob Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, said the Indian government was notified in February.

"Their reaction was that they were very grateful. They were going to look into it further and they asked for continued dialogue and cooperation between us," Deibert said in a telephone interview.

"A small portion of it contained very very sensitive information, some of it market secret, some of it marked confidential, some of marked restricted," he said. "It was a major compromise across all aspects of the Indian national security state."

Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna is visiting China this week to take part in celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries.

The office of the Dalai Lama was aware of new hacking report.

"These things are not new," said Tenzin Takhlha, a spokesman for the office of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader accused by China of supporting independence for Tibet. He said the office is working closely with the researchers to secure its computer systems.

A Canadian research group involved in Tuesday's report, the Information Warfare Monitor, released a similar report a year ago that said a cyberspy network, based mainly in China, hacked into classified documents from government and private organizations in 103 countries, including the computers of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles.

Tibet's government-in-exile quickly denounced that network at the time.