Preparing For the World Cup

June 11th, South Africa will step onto the world stage as host nation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as the international soccer tournament begins - welcoming 32 teams from around the world. South Africa was selected as the host six years ago, and has been preparing ever since, building five new stadiums, upgrading five existing stadiums, and building up public transportation, including a new rapid transit railway. Over the past weeks, the teams and their legions of fans have begun arriving while final preparations are made and and dress rehearsals held for the Opening Ceremony on Friday. The tournament takes place over a month, ending on July 11th. Collected here are recent scenes from South Africa as it readies itself to welcome the world.

A fan waves a South African flag during a parade for Bafana Bafana, the South African national soccer team on June 9th, 2010 in Sandton, South Africa. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

The South African soccer team parades through Sandton, South Africa as thousands of local supporters cheer on June 9, 2010. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

A supporter of 2010 South Africa World Cup wears goggles with the colors the South African flag in Rustenburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 9, 2010. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

People surf on the beach near the Moses Mabhida Stadium (background) in Durban on June 5, 2010. Seven matches of the South Africa 2010 World Cup will be held at Mabhida Stadium. (JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images)

A South African government staffer blows a vuvuzela soccer horn during the last Football Friday celebration at the government residence in Pretoria, Friday, June 4, 2010. During Football Fridays, that were activated last year to mobilize the country behind hosting the World Cup, South Africans were encouraged to wear their team's colors. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Workers put up a 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup banner at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 7, 2010. (REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado)

Primary school children perform a play celebrating the soccer World Cup on June 8, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Children from the King David Victory Park Primary School completed their final dress rehearsal before performing in two sold out shows highlighting South African enthusiasm for the World Cup. (John Moore/Getty Images) #

Local children play soccer on a dirt pitch in a Soweto township on June 7, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Workers fix a giant vuvuzela soccer horn on top of Cape Town's famous unfinished highway bridge, May 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Mark Wessels)

A replica of the Jabulani match ball is seen on the pitch during a test match of youth teams at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal warms up before an international friendly match against Mozambique at Wanderers Stadium on June 8, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

A youngster enjoys the sun as she sits in the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)

The sun sets behind supporters watching Slovenia's national team during a team training session at the Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg on June 8, 2010. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)

Slovenia's national soccer team members walk across the tarmac upon the team's arrival at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday, June 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A young girl blows a vuvuzela horn while walking in the Table Mountain National Park on June 5, 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Cape Town stadium, host to some of the 2010 Soccer World Cup games, seen with the ocean in background in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, May 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

A worker mows the grass at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on June 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado)

Technicians prepare for the satellite transmission of the World Cup on June 8, 2010 in Johannesburg. (YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

New Zealand's goalkeeper Mark Paston (left) punches the ball away as teammates Ivan Vicelich and Chile's Esteban Paredes (right) jump during a friendly soccer match in Pretoria June 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado)

A man walks through empty seats at the Ellis stadium, Johannesburg, Monday, June 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)

Brazilian striker Kaka is seen through the viewfinders of several television cameras during the Brazil team press conference at the Fairways Hotel on June 4, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Children from The Kings School watch from a gate the South Africa's national soccer team training session in Johannesburg, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)

A street artist creates models of the Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, right, and the Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, left, out of sand at the Durban beach, South Africa, Saturday, June 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A South African aerobatic squad practices above the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg on Monday June 7, 2010, ahead of the World Cup opening ceremony. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Municipal workers paint the 2010 structure at the Alexandra township in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday June 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Footballs cover the pitch as Uruguay's football players take part in a training session at the GWK Park stadium in Kimberley on June 7, 2010. (RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)

Australia's Lucas Neill is reflected in the water as he jogs with the team during a training session at Ruimsig Stadium in Roodepoort, just outside of Johannesburg June 7, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel Munoz)

A worker rests on the roof of Cape Town Stadium after work May 18, 2010. (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)

Portugal's supporters cheer during a warm-up match against Mozambique at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, Tuesday, June 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)

A worker paints a sculpture made out of soccer balls at the International Broadcasting Center near the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg June 7, 2010. (REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado)

South Africa's goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune trains in Johannesburg on June 7, 2010. (ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)

Soccer City, also known as the FNB Stadium, seen in Johannesburg on May 11, 2010. The stadium is set to host both the opening and final soccer matches of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. (REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko)

Shadows of the Australian team are highlighted on a fence as they arrive for a training session in Roodepoort on June 7, 2010. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Dancers perform during a dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony for the Soccer World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A view of the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 9, 2010. Soccer City will host the opening match of the 2010 World Cup. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva))

The Sun sets behind South African spectators during a public training match against between local team Platinum Stars FC and England at Moruleng stadium in Moruleng on June 7, 2010. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

South Africa's defender Matthew Booth and teammates train in Johannesburg on June 7, 2010. (ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)

The sun sets as the team play a short match during a Brazilian training session at Randburg High School on June 4, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

A South African boy plays soccer in an open field in Soweto, South Africa on June 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

[ via Boston ]

Idol Fever Catching On

By Parul Sharma

PTI The success of Prashant Tamang (left) and Amit Paul generated a lot of interest in the northeast.

“Indian Idol” may be more popular but “Naga Idol 5.10” too provides a crucial platform for aspiring singers.

It is not just the popular reality television show “Indian Idol” that has of late captured the fancy of scores of Indians (singers and non-singers included), here in Nagaland it is the “Naga Idol 5.10” that is creating musical waves. The fifth season of Nagaland's version of the very successful TV series “American Idol” got off to a start early this month and will carry on for the next six months till October when the final winner will be crowned.

This contest may not be as extravagant and star-studded as “Indian Idol”, nevertheless for a State that has a natural inclination towards music, “Naga Idol 5.10” has been a popular and crucial platform for young, aspiring singers to showcase their talents since 2006.

What's more, during this search for the ultimate singing sensation of Nagaland, the contest also endeavours to bring the different tribes of the State together under this edition's theme of “Come Together”. Through this year's “Naga Idol”, the organisers have attempted to reach out to the people in all the 11 districts of the State.

Screening process

“We are holding preliminary auditions in all the districts. For the first time, we have tied up with district partners, who will manage the next stage, where the participants will try to promote music among their tribes, in their localities in their own dialect. The idea is to promote local music and local artists,” explains Temsu Jamir of the Mokokchung District Art and Culture Council (MDACC) – the brain behind the contest – who is also associated with the Hunting Boots Inc., an event management group that is managing the contest this year.

“Thereafter, we groom the participants, and the screening process gets more rigorous. The final outcome will be partly based on our jury's verdict and partly decided by the votes of the inhabitants of Nagaland,” he added. The various stages of “Naga Idol” will be telecast through the local cable channel, while the CDs of the participants will also be distributed among people living in the interior regions. Road shows will also be a part of the process. Voting by SMS was explored a few years ago, but proved to be ineffective. So, “voting boxes” would be installed at restaurants, newspapers stands, and other public places enabling people to cast their votes for their favourite singers. The district administration will then be roped in during the counting of votes to make the process “more transparent”.

Another new feature this year is that the contestants can sing in their own dialect and language, even as the medium was limited to English till the last season. However, since the music industry in Nagaland is still in its embryonic stage, the past winners of “Naga Idol” have not really been able to cultivate their musical careers in a full-fledged manner.

“We don't have established music producers in Nagaland, so most of the times the artistes are working on their own and producing their own albums. However, MDACC has been instrumental in supporting these winners in bringing out their work in public domain,” says Jamir, adding that the artistes are even keen to sing for Bollywood movies if given an opportunity.

“We believe that music transcends all kinds of languages, and makes people come together. Music has a unique power that can foster harmony among everyone. And that's what ‘Naga Idol 5.10' stands for,” he concludes.

Victoria Memorial Hall to Publish Book on Mizo History

Aizawl, Jun 10 : Kolkata-based Victoria Memorial Hall will publish books on Mizo history and the who’s who of the region in English and Hindi, officials said here Thursday.

“Mizoram Art and Culture Minister P.C. Zoram Sangliana Wednesday visited Victoria Memorial Hall and held a meeting with its director Chittaranjan Panda and they signed an agreement on publication of Mizo history and Mizo who’s who in English and Hindi,” a Mizoram government official told reporters.

According to the official, the Victoria Memorial Hall authority has also agreed to reprint adequate copies of five selected Mizo books containing the mountainous state’s art, culture and ethnic diversity besides sponsoring the famous Cheraw dance troupe of Mizoram in Victoria Memorial Hall later this year.

“Victoria Memorial Hall Trust would also give funds for construction of an anthropological museum in Mizoram and would send technical experts shortly in this regard,” the official added.

Victoria Memorial, built in 1906 in the memory of Queen Victoria and situated in West Bengal capital Kolkata is a prominent tourist attraction.

Mizoram is a mountainous region which became the 23rd state of the Indian Union in February, 1987. It was one of the districts of Assam till 1973 when it became a union territory.

Located between Myanmar in the east and south and Bangladesh in the west, Mizoram occupies an area of great strategic importance in northeastern India.

“Historians believes that the Mizos are a part of the green wave of the Mongolian race that spilled over into eastern and southern India centuries ago. Their sojourn in western Myanmar, into which they eventually drifted around the seventh century, is estimated to last about 10 centuries,” a Mizoram government publication said.

It said: “Mizos came under the influence of the British missionaries in the 19th century, and now most of the Mizos are Christians. One of the beneficial results of missionary activities was the spread of education. The cumulative result is the high percentage of literacy of 88.49 percent which is considered to be the second highest in India.”

US Gen. David Petraeus And His Medals

Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of American forces in the Middle East, showed an impressive haul of honours

Gen. David Petraeus and his medals numbered. See below

U.S. Central Command General David Petraeus leaves 10 Downing Street in London Photo: AP

They included (see key above):

1 Four star general insignia

2 101st Airborne Division Distinctive Unit insignia

3 French Parachutist Badge

4 from left, Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with three oak leaf clusters); Army Meritorious Unit Commendation; Army Superior Unit Award

5 Army Staff Identification badge

6 Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

7 US Central Command Badge

8 Master Parachutist Badge

9 Air Assault Badge

10 Top: Defence Distinguished Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster)

2nd row, from left: Distinguished Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster); Defence Superior Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster)

3rd row: Legion of Merit (with 3 oak leaf clusters); Bronze Star (with V device)

4th row: Defence Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters)

5th row: Army Commendation Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters); Joint Service Achievement Award

6th row: State Department Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award; State Department Superior Honour Award

7th row: Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (with 2 service stars); Iraq Campaign Medal (with 4 service stars)

8th row: Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Armed Forces Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal

9th row: Army Overseas Service Ribbon (with award number 3); Gold Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm; French Officer Order of the Legion of Honour

10th row: French Military Campaign Medal; United Nations Mission in Haiti Medal; Nato Meritorious Service Medal; Nato Medal for Yugoslavia (with service star)

11 Combat action Badge

12 Ranger tab

13 US Central Command Patch worn as Current Unit of Assignment

Right arm (unseen):

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Patch

Nine Overseas Service Bars

Gen Petraeus has at least 13 other medals and badges including the British Parachutist’ Badge unseen in this particular photograph.

[ via Telegraph.co.uk ]

A Close Look at bit.ly, the URL Shortening Service

The rise of Twitter and instant messaging has made bit.ly more popular. The URL-shortening free service has become very useful tool for users across the web.

According to company official blog, Bit.ly is getting nearly 5 billion clicks per month.

Additionally, as per Google double click ranking, the website has become 76 th most-visited destination which is ahead of sites like eBay, MapQuest and the New York Times.

It got a huge popularity last year when Twitter, the microblogging site where users shrink long URLs to fit tweets within the 140-character limit, replaced TinyURL with bit.ly as the default link shortener.

URL shorteners help people share links to webpages they like without having to copy a long URL onto the place that may contain letters, numbers and symbols.

The service was launched in 2008. bit.ly has some additional features compared to other URL shorteners such as TinyURL  like letting users track statistics on how many people clicked their links and how many other people were linking to the same thing.

Bit.ly also announced a host of businesses and bloggers who have signed up for bitly.Pro, a premium service, in the past few months. They include Yahoo, MySpace, Pepsi, C-SPAN, Amazon, Mozilla, NPR, the New York Times and Toys "R" Us.

The pay version of bit.ly offers advanced analytics tools and the ability to brand shortened links

BP Buys Google Search Terms to Help Repair Reputation in Wake of Disastrous Oil Spill

• Oil giant attempts to stem flow of criticism on Facebook and Twitter
• Bush 'handled Katrina disaster better' than Obama's response to leak
• BP claims it will reduce flow to 'a trickle' by next week
• Oil giant has lost £50billion in value since crisis began

Top internet search terms such as 'oil spill' have been bought by BP as the company attempts to salvage its reputation in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

The oil giant has paid for the Google and Yahoo! results in a bid to moderate the flow of criticism against it on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Web users searching for ‘oil spill’ on Tuesday night brought up a link to BP's website with the tagline: ‘Learn more about how BP is helping.’

Patches of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill are burned in the Gulf of Mexico

Under fire: Sixty-nine per cent of Americans are unhappy with how Barack Obama, speaking yesterday in Maryland, is handling the Gulf oil spill crisis

Toby Odone, a BP spokesman, told The Telegraph the aim behind the purchase was to make information on the leak more accessible.

‘We have bought search terms on search engines like Google to make it easier for people to find out more about our efforts in the Gulf and make it easier for people to find key links to information on filing claims, reporting oil on the beach and signing up to volunteer,’ he said.

It comes as polls reveal Barack Obama’s popularity is slipping in the wake of America’s worst oil spill.

More Americans - 69 per cent - are unhappy about the U.S. president’s administration's response to the BP disaster than disapproved of George Bush's botched handling of Hurricane Katrina five years ago, according to a poll.

Protection: Sand is pumped on to East Grand Terre Island, Lousiana, to provide a barrier against the oil spill

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill pools against the Louisiana coast along Barataria Bay

In a separate survey, nearly half – 48 per cent - of people questioned by the Washington Post said the U.S. president does not understand their problems – the highest figure yet.

There is also a sharp rise in the number of people who believe Mr Obama’s policies are making the economy worse rather than better, according to the Pew Research Center.

A BP executive said today the company expected to be capturing virtually all the oil leaking by early next week.

Chief operating officer Doug Suttles said in Gulf Shores, Alabama, that the flow should decrease 'to a relative trickle' by Monday or Tuesday.

Mr Suttles said a second pumping ship should improve the process and a new containment cap being built would seal better and reduce leakage.

However, the oil giant sought to clarify the comments by saying that even though the company was optimistic it could make measurable progress in the next week in reducing the flow, it would take more time to reach the point that the spill amounted to a trickle.

No, it's not the JFK movie: Actor Kevin Costner arrives at Congress hearing about the oil cleanup

Plan: Costner explains how he and his brother, a scientist, have machine that can separate oil from water

But while BP is capturing more oil from the blown-out well with every passing day, scientists on a team analysing the flow said yesterday that the amount of crude still escaping was considerably greater than that claimed by the U.S. government and the company.

Their assertions - combined with BP's rush to build a bigger cap and its apparent difficulty in immediately processing all the oil being collected - have only added to the impression that BP and the government are still floundering in dealing with the catastrophe and may be misleading the public.

It comes as Mr Obama hit out angrily at BP boss Tony Hayward as the U.S. backlash against the British oil giant turned ugly.

In his toughest words yet on America's worst oil spill, Mr Obama said he was focusing on 'whose ass to kick' and would have fired Mr Hayward for his past comments downplaying the scale of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Marine reef ecologist Scott Porter works to remove oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill off his hands

Patches of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill are seen from an underwater vantage

The increasingly belligerent president was asked in a TV interview about Mr Hayward's remarks that the Gulf of Mexico was 'a big ocean', 'the environmental impact is likely to be very, very modest' and that he 'wanted his life back' after being in the eye of the storm over the spill.

'He wouldn't be working for me after any of those statements,' said Mr Obama.

Frustrated at the slow progress in containing the flow of oil from the mile-deep leak, the president has been increasingly outspoken about BP and its inability to resolve the crisis since its rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers.

'I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick,' he said.

A woman holds a sign depicting BP CEO Tony Hayward that reads 'Guilty as Charged', beside a prison jumpsuit intended for Hayward left on the door of the office building where the Washington DC headquarters of BP

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats yesterday proposed a fivefold increase in the tax that oil companies pay into a spill liability fund.

The legislation would raise the tax on oil produced offshore from 8 cents a barrel to 41 cents a barrel - 7 cents higher than legislation that passed the House last month.

Critics claim the devastation caused by the spill that has now spread to some of Florida's white sandy tourist beaches could seriously harm the chances of Mr Obama's Democrat Party in November's midterm elections.

But the President insisted on NBC's Today programme that he had been on top of the calamity from the start.

Continuing his attack on BP, he said: 'The initial reports indicate there may be situations in which not only human error was involved, but you also saw some corner- cutting in terms of safety.'

His comments will increase the pressure on Mr Hayward whose family are living in fear of reprisals over the spill after receiving threatening phone calls at their home.

Police have launched a security operation to protect Mr Hayward's wife Maureen and their two children at their isolated £1million home in rural Kent.

Mrs Hayward said the family had received several threatening phone calls and hate mail claiming to be from environmental groups.

She said one letter purported to be from Greenpeace, although Greenpeace strongly denied sending any letters to the family.

Mrs Hayward said the abuse had been 'upsetting' and left them feeling 'rather uncomfortable', particularly with her husband thousands of miles away.

In another sign of the growing rift between BP and the U.S. government, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said he was no longer trusting the company's estimates on the amount of crude still flowing into the sea.

He said a containment cap on the ruptured pipe was capturing up to 462,000 gallons of oil a day, about 11,000 barrels. BP put the figure at 466,200 gallons.

However, according to U.S. scientists BP's Deepwater Horizon well could be spewing out more than 100,000 barrels of oil a day.

BP has given various estimates of how much oil it believes has leaked out but said from the start that the 'worst case scenario' was about 100,000 barrels.

The doomsday prediction appears to have been accurate, according to advisers to the U.S. Government.

One, Professor Ira Leifer, said: 'In the data I've seen, there's nothing inconsistent with BP's worst case scenario.'

[ via  Dailymail ]

Has Billionaire Socialite Lady Goga Finally Tamed Gerard Butler?

He’s one of Hollywood’s most notorious womanisers with a string of A-list conquests under his belt.

But Gerard Butler finally appears to be have met his match with his latest love interest.

The Scottish star, 40, is understood to be wooing London-based Kazakhstani billionaire Goga Ashkenazi.

New romance? Gerard Butler is said to be 'trying to woo' billionaire Goga Ashkenazi

The 32-year-old brunette, who is a close acquaintance of Prince Andrew, previously dated Formula 1 tycoon Flavio Briatore.

More recently, she called off a relationship with Kazakh oil billionaire Timur Kulibayev, who is still married to the daughter of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

According to the New York Post, Butler and Miss Ashkenazi became acquainted after meeting at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

‘Gerard was spotted chatting up Goga at a party and they exchanged numbers,’ a source told the newspaper’s Page Six gossip column.

She's in the money: Miss Ashkenazi  is an Oxford graduate who now runs a gold mining business

The accompanying article claimed Butler is ‘trying to woo’ the pretty brunette, and was seen visiting her West London home last weekend.

Butler, who was raised in Paisley, Scotland, burst on to the Hollywood scene in the 2007 movie, 300.

He won critical acclaim playing King Leonidis, the leader of a small group of renegade soldiers in ancient Persia who killed off thousands of enemies before dying a martyr.

Since then he has become a global household name, starring in several movies and turning his hand to romantic comedies, more recently The Bounty alongside Jennifer Aniston.

Besides his reported dalliance with Aniston he was linked to a string of high profile stars including Cameron Diaz, Serbian model Martina Sergic, Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan, to name a few.

Butler and Miss Ashkenazi, an Oxford graduate who now runs a gold mining business, have yet to respond to the report.

[ via Dailymail ]

Manipur Blockade: A Tale of Vested Political Interests and Exclusivist Narratives

By Namrata Goswami

In a liberal democracy like India, pluralism should ideally inform everyday life. Sadly, this is not always the case on the ground. The latest blockade of the National Highway 39 (NH-39) connecting Imphal (Manipur) with Kohima (Nagaland) by the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and the All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) since April 12, 2010 is one such example of an exclusivist and intolerant attitude, unacceptable in a democracy like India that celebrates ‘unity in diversity’. It not only goes against the very idea of ‘humanitarianism’ but is also based on deep seated ‘meaningless’ ethnic hatreds of the other. Worst of all, when the rest of India and the world are marching ahead in an interactive and inclusive way despite numerous odds, the people of Manipur and Nagaland are marching backward: towards nostalgia, territorial exclusivity, xenophobia and ‘ghetto like’ tendencies which are out of sync with the modern world.

Figure 1. NH-39
Why has this crisis suddenly come about between Manipur and Nagaland and that too, at this particular juncture? Meiteis and Nagas have been at odds, violently so at times, due to the demand by the Nagas, specifically by armed outfits like the National Socialist Council of Nagalim led by Thuingaleng Muivah and Isaac Chisi Swu [NSCN (IM)] that the four hill districts of Manipur, namely, Chandel, Tamenglong, Senapati and Ukhrul, be included as part of their “Greater Nagalim” (See Map below). Meiteis are wary of this territorial demand as it would result in the loss of 90 per cent of their territory and they being left with just 10 per cent territory comprising of the Imphal valley. Moreover, non-Naga tribes like the Kukis and the Thadous (the largest hill tribe in Manipur) inhabit the hill districts along with the Naga tribes and are against the unification agenda of the NSCN (IM).

Figure 2: Map of the NSCN (IM)’s Greater Nagalim

Source: www.nscnonline.org

Given these differences between Meiteis and Nagas, the present blockade of the NH -39 has come about because of three reasons:-

First, the blockade was started on April 12, 2010 by ANSAM protesting against the holding of elections to six Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the hill districts of Manipur. Over 200,000 voters were exercising their ‘right to vote’ to elect 39 representatives to the ADCs of Chandel, Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Tamenglong, and Senapati districts. These elections were being held after a gap of 20 years. The first phase of the elections was held on May 26, 2010 in Chandel, Churachandpur and Sadar Hills in Manipur. The second phase was held on June 2, 2010 in Ukhrul, Tamenglong and Senapati districts. And this is where the sub-text of inter-ethnic politics is playing out its destructive role. From an inter-ethnic perspective (read Naga versus Meitei), holding of elections to the ADCs especially in Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Senapati and Chandel districts have two significant political implications.

1. The participation of the people in the hill districts, especially in Chandel, Ukhrul, Tamenglong and Senapati districts in these elections is a “thumbs down” to the Naga territorial unification agenda as it gives representation to Nagas within Manipur in democratic institutions, in which they will have their due say. It also creates an added fear for armed groups like the NSCN (IM) that the ADC elections could prop up alternative Naga leaders, who may see positive political stakes in being a part of Manipur and thus enjoying enough political autonomy and representation through the ADCs. Significantly, eight houses belonging to the candidates contesting in the ADC elections were attacked at Ukhrul Headquarters on May 31, 2010, just days before the scheduled June 2, 2010 ADC elections to intimidate people and force them to stay away from the election process. Significantly, most of the candidates whose houses were attacked belonged to the Tangkhul tribe that dominates Ukhrul and which supposedly supports the NSCN (IM)’s Nagalim project.
2. The Ibobi Singh led Manipur state government has its own vested political agenda as well in this crisis, namely, using the ADC elections to negate the Naga unification demand. Hence, both parties are playing their own political games with the common man caught in between. Consequently, in this Naga-Meitei divide, the voices of tribes like the Kukis, who are supportive of the ADC elections, are being lost.

Second, when the ongoing crisis over the ADC elections was on, Thuingaleng Muivah, the Chairman of the NSCN (IM) announced on May 4, 2010 that he intended to visit his native village, Somdal in Ukhrul district. This move was indeed motivated to earn political mileage from the ADC issue as well as visibly demonstrate his commitment to the Nagalim project to Nagas in Ukhrul at a time when many Tangkhul Nagas have started to express scepticism about the NSCN (IM)’s extortions and heavy handed ways. Subsequently, on being denied entry into Manipur by the Manipur state government, the NSCN (IM) led by Muivah also joined the blockade from the first week of May.

Third, the Naga Students’ Federation, in its latest meeting in the last week of May decided to intensify the blockade of NH-39 as a reaction to the Ibobi Singh Government’s decision to disallow NSF activists from entering Oinam village in Senapati district. Also, the NSF demands the withdrawal of section 144 of CrPC which has been imposed on Naga inhabited areas of Manipur since May 3, 2010.

The consequences of this blockade are manifold.

First, it has rekindled ethnic hatred and divides between Nagas and Meiteis so much so that the President of the Naga civil society body, the Naga Hoho (Naga Apex Tribal Council), Keviletuo Kiewhuo stated on May 22, 2010 in Kohima that “we want the total separation of the people, that is the Nagas and the Meiteis. We have to live as different identities, we cannot co-exist anymore." The convener of the Coordination Committee of Naga Civil Society, Neingulo Krome, and its member secretary, Rosemary Dzuvichu, similarly argued that “The Nagas are fully aware that after more than six decades of political struggle, our future are [sic] bound together not only with our neighbours but also with the world’s community in a global village. But if our aspiration to attain our rightful humanity is constantly denied, we would rather face the challenges with the worth of human person than to live with humiliation.”

Second, the divide has become intensely politicised with the NSCN (IM) Chairman Muivah and Manipur Chief Minister Ibobi Singh stoking dangerous ethnic divides.

Third, Manipur is facing a humanitarian tragedy of sorts. One kilogram of rice now costs Rs. 30; a litre of petrol is priced between Rs. 150 and Rs. 200. Diesel is not available in gas stations and a LPG cylinder is priced between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 1500. The Public Distribution System (PDS) is closed. Worse still, the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, two main hospitals in Manipur, have stopped functioning due to non-availability of medicines.

Despite all this, not much has been written in the national media in contrast to the intense media focus on the blockade of the Kashmir valley in August 2008 over the Amarnath land dispute. The Union government’s role in igniting the crisis must be noted as well. When Muivah made his request to visit his village amidst the ADC election crisis in Manipur, and Ibobi Singh agreed, the Centre should have known that this will ignite negative passions amongst the Meiteis, who fear the NSCN (IM)’s agenda of Greater Nagalim. Muivah visiting Manipur during the Naga protests against the ADCs only validates Meitei fears that these areas will one day become a part of Nagalim. The Chief Minister of Manipur also appears to have drawn political mileage out of it by refusing entry to Muivah despite appearing ambiguous when he was first approached on the issue by the Centre.

What can be done?

Four steps need to be immediately taken to defuse the ongoing crisis.

First, the Naga Baptist Church Council has come forward to work towards defusing the crisis in consultation with the Manipur Church. This is perhaps a viable way, given the influence Church leaders enjoy in Naga society.

Second, the Union and state governments should work together to lift the blockade of a national highway. Such acts should be declared unconstitutional and anyone responsible for it must be held accountable in a court of law and given due punishment for disruption of public life. This will deter future blockades.

Third, the NH-53, from Silchar in Assam via Jiribam (Manipur) for movement of goods into Manipur is not a realistic option as the terrain is difficult for heavy trucks to ply upon. Airlifting of basic commodities and medicines should therefore be the first option.

Fourth, a committee of inquiry should be constituted by the Union government, comprising both influential Meiteis and Nagas in order to find ways and means to resolve the crisis quickly.

While ethnic divides are a reality in pluralistic societies like India, they are not intractable. Divisions of this kind can be handled through a framework of pluralism and inclusive thinking. The first and most important thing to do is to condemn such exclusivist narratives, and work towards meaningful bridging of the divide. For this to happen, one needs to go beyond the local state structures, which feed on ethnic divides for narrow political gains. Societies on both sides have to be brought together. While the Naga Hoho is appreciated for its efforts at reconciliation between Naga tribes, its recent statements about the inevitability of the Meitei-Naga divide smacks of irresponsibility and must be fittingly refuted and condemned as it only makes life difficult for the common man living in these heterogeneous ethnic spaces. Finally, it is social cohesion and determination by local communities to bring about peace that can realistically tide over vested political interests and narrow destructive narratives that seem to be informing the present crisis between Manipur and Nagaland.

[ via idsa ]