Assam Votes For Peace Despite Threat From Militants

A policeman stands guard as women wait in line to cast their votes outside a polling station in Thowra town, in Assam. (Reuters Photo)

Guwahati, Apr 5 : Despite threats from Ulfa and Karbi militants, Assam witnessed peaceful polling in the first leg of the two-phase assembly elections on Monday. It saw a turnout of 67% — a drop of about 9% from 2006.

No reports of violence were reported from anywhere. On the contrary, Chabua, the native place of wanted Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah recorded 72% polling, one of the highest in the 62 constituencies that went to the polls. Compared to this, neighbouring Titabor, from where chief minister Tarun Gogoi is seeking relection, witnessed just about 65% polling.

"We've had absolutely peaceful voting. Our poll percentage may go beyond 67% by the time we get final reports from the constituencies," state chief electoral officer Hemanta Narzary said. More than 46,000 security personnel with heavy weapons were deployed to maintain law and order.

For the Congress, Monday's first phase was crucial. In 2006, the party had won 37 of these 62 seats. The Congress has been losing its grip on the tea gardens of Upper Assam and Southern Barak valley. This is where the BJP is trying to create an electoral base. Tea plantation workers influence poll results in 40 of the 126 assembly seats in the state.

Baruah, who is reportedly holed up in Myanmar, had threatened to take action against the Congress accusing it of splitting his organisation. He is cut up with the ruling party after his longtime colleague and Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa agreed to hold peace negotiations with the government after he was deported from Bangladesh in December 2009.

Coinciding with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit, Karbi militants killed three CRPF personnel in an ambush last week. The attack cast a shadow on the election process in many areas.

Reports said voting was considerably high in the Ulfa stronghold of Upper Assam. Dibrugarh recorded 68.86% polling while it was 65.40% in Tinsukia and 67.33% in Sivasagar. Titabor (Gogoi's seat) polled 65% compared to 66.67% in 2006. Lakhimpur saw 77% polling.

In Chabua, members of Baruah's family, including his mother Miliki, voted at Jerai Sakalibhoria LP School. "My mother, wife and brother voted in the election," Mission, Baruah's younger brother, said. "I am posted at Duliajan Rashtrabhasa School as a polling official," he added.
Haflong, in troubled Dima Hasao district, registered the lowest turnout of 55%. "Going by the voting trends, we may do well in the second round,too. We expect to get an absolute majority," state Congress chief Bhubaneswar Kalita said. Hundreds, however, abstained from voting in at least 20 booths at Haflong (ST) constituency in protest against the government's decision to rename NC Hills as Dima Hasao.

In Jorhat, chief minister Tarun Gogoi cast his vote after offering prayers at Madhab Temple, Tarajan Mosque, Jorhat Church, Gar-Ali Gurudwara, and Burhi Goshani Devalay. "I am sure our party will come to power. We will form the government for the third consecutive term," Gogoi said after he voted at the DCB Girls' High School.

Polling in three Bengali-dominated districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Nailakandi was also peaceful. Nearly 60% of the voters exercised their franchise.

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), however, criticized the role of the Election Commission (EC) during the first phase of polling. It said EVMs should be repaired in front of all party representatives, but the EC has not done that.

The second phase will take place in 64 constituencies on April 11.

Do We Belong To India?

By Leilah Zeenat

I first discovered that “we” (people from the North East India) were seen as “different” when we moved to Chandigarh.

I was 16, when we were visited at lunchtime by our neighbour who said, “Arre! You eat rice and dal?”

My landlady once asked, “Do people from Nagaland really eat dogs?” She failed to realise that she could be offensive.

She represents mainland India’s opinion about the “Seven Sisters” of North East India. (This patronising term reduced seven independent and diverse states into a single identity.)

At least she gave me a place to stay. Many other North-Eastern students have been turned away because they don’t “look like us”. The other thing is institutional. Don’t believe it?

Consider this.

“How do you guys contribute to the economy besides tea and a few bombs to seek attention?” said an educated, upper middle-class boy.

Of course, it didn’t matter that just one state, Assam, produces 55 per cent of India’s tea and a substantial part of its crude oil. He failed to name three out of the seven states and didn’t care to know the names of the capitals of the states.

“Have you been to the North-East?” I asked. “Are you nuts? Dude, you guys are like dangerous. I might get killed or abducted,” said this brave mainlander.

What happens when Shabana Azmi decides to fast for the rights of slum dwellers facing eviction? The media arrives and politicians make promises.

Within a week, Ms Azmi can return to her biryani. Meanwhile, Irom Sharmila has entered the eleventh year of her fast, protesting the indefensible Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) imposed on Manipur.

The Act allows the army to use force, arrest or shoot anyone on the mere suspicion that they have committed or were about to commit a cognisable offence. The imposition of such measures only speaks of the Centre’s failure as a governing body.

A journalist who has written extensively about the North-East and its problems says, “Physical isolation from the mainland has aggravated the already existing mental quarantine”.

So we don’t even exist and if we do we’re not part of India. What does it take to qualify as an Indian?

When Nehru spoke about our tryst with destiny, when Jana Gana Mana was adopted as our National Anthem, did anyone think of the North-East? Is anyone thinking now?

**The writer is studying social communication media at Sophia College

Mizoram To Resume Repatriation Of Bru Refugees

Aizawl, Apr 4 : Mizoram government would expedite resumption of the stalled repatriation process of Bru refugees lodged in six relief camps in neighbouring North Tripura district after Naisingpara, the largest relief camp, was devastated by fire on March 19 where 17 people were killed and more than 3,000 houses gutted, officials today said.

Officials said that a meeting chaired by Zothankhuma, deputy commissioner of Mamit district on the Mizoram-Tripura border, would be held at Mamit town tomorrow to chalk out the detailed plan.

"It was found to be more feasible not to reconstruct the houses in Naisingpara camp, but to repatriate the refugees and construct their houses in Mamit district after being resettled and with the resettlement money disbursed after their return," the officials said.

Is This The World's Smallest Apartment?

 

New Yorker Felice Cohen lives in a micro apartment measuring just 8.3 square metres

Felice Cohen sleeps with her bed almost touching the ceiling but says she finds it cosy now that she is used to it. Picture: Free Companies.

• Woman rents 8.3 square metre apartment
• Pays a fraction of her neighbours' rent
• Has to sit sideways to fit on the toilet

There’s small and then there's this apartment - a US woman has spent three years living in a 8.3 square metre room in New York's Upper West Side - so tiny the ceiling is less than 60 centimetres from her face when she sleeps.

The bathroom is so cramped that Felice Cohen has to sit on her side to use the toilet.

The tiny bathroom is difficult to get in and out of says Ms Cohen - who has to sit sideways to use the toilet. Picture: Free Companies

She told the Daily Mail the apartment felt so cramped on the first night she slept there, she suffered a panic attack.

However, three years on Ms Cohen says it's been worth it, with her rent coming in at just $US700 ($672), while her neighbours pay around $US3000 ($2880) for a small apartment to live in the exclusive Manhattan enclave.

"I wanted to live in Manhattan, but I didn't want it to take all my money and found this place through a friend," said Ms Cohen.

"It's a great location, its right near Central Park."

Ms Cohen works as a personal organiser and quickly put her professional skills to the test in making the tiny sliver of space liveable. First she installed a desk with draws above and then removed the wardrobe doors and replaced them with a thin curtain. She stores fruit in a toaster oven, owns just two plates, one knife, fork and spoon and has cut down on personal items like clothing.

Ms Cohen used her skills as a personal organiser to maximise space in her studio of just 8.3 square metres. Picture: Free Companies.

There is no kitchen but Ms Cohen has a hot pot and a small fridge to compensate.

"I guess I just think that people have too much space and so much stuff. I grew up in a house with two walk-in closets that are about as big as my entire apartment is now, but I've cut down," she said.

"How much stuff do we really need? It's less than you think."

Read more about the micro apartment at The Daily Mail.

Mizoram, Tripura Beat Terror Past To Cecome Literacy Front-Runners

By Sujit Chakraborty

Agartala/Aizawl, Apr 4 : Tripura and Mizoram — the two northeastern states once ravaged by terrorism — have successfully become front-runners in India’s literacy movement.

According to provisional data for the 2011 census, literacy level is 91.58 percent in Mizoram and 87.75 percent in Tripura.

They are only behind Kerala (93.91 percent), which continues to occupy the top position in the literacy chart. The national literacy rate is 74.04 percent.

In Mizoram, the second most literate state in the country, literacy rate has gone up from 88.49 percent to 91.58 percent.

Female literacy stands at 89.40 percent of the 538,675 women and male literacy at 93.72 percent of 552,339 men.

In the 2001 Census, Mizoram’s literacy rate was 88.49 percent.

‘Serchhip district (98.76 percent) in northern Mizoram and Aizawl district (98.50 percent) have recorded highest literacy rates among all districts in India,’ a census official in Aizawl said.

The Christian missionaries and the influential NGO – Young Mizo Association (YMA) – are the main promoters of education in the mountainous Mizoram, which witnessed over a decade of terrorism till 1986.

‘The 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,’ renowned Mizo academician K. Liantlinga said.

‘The missionaries introduced the Roman script for the Mizo language and formal education. The cumulative result is the present high percentage of literacy in the state, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh,’ he added.

The Tripura success story is attributed to the involvement of local government bodies, including gram panchayats, NGOs and clubs.

‘Our efforts are on to achieve 100 percent literacy in Tripura,’ Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty told IANS. Had there been no militancy, he added, Tripura would have attained 100 percent literacy long back.

‘Education and development have been affected due to terrorism in the state until 2009,’ he stated.

Senior census official Dilip Acherjee said in Agartala: ‘In Tripura, increase of female literacy is better than their male counterparts.’

‘The literacy rate of Tripura has gone up from 73.19 percent (of the total 3.1 million population) in 2001 Census to 87.75 percent (of the total of 3.6 million population) in the 2011 Census, showing an increase of 14.56 percent,’ he said.

‘Interestingly, literacy rate of females during the same period rose from 64.91 to 83.15 percent with an increase of 18.24 percent while in case of male the increase was just 11.18 percent — from 81 to 92.18 percent,’ Acharjee said.

While Mizoram and Tripura are among the toppers in literacy in India, another northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh (66.95 percent) placed the second lowest position in literacy in the country after Bihar (63.82 percent).

World Cup Victory Turns Tragic For Manipuri Woman

Assam Rifles jawans start firing in the air after India’s win; one of the bullets killed a woman

By Ratnadip Choudhury

Guwahati, Apr 4 : In a bizarre incident, a 70-year-old Manipuri woman was killed when one of the bullets allegedly fired by Assam Rifles jawans hit her accidentally on the night of 3 April.

Members of the 15 Assam Rifles based at Thaoubal in Manipur were celebrating India’s emphatic victory in the 2011 cricket world cup and started firing in the air as an expression of joy.

Waikhom Mani Devi, 70, was in deep sleep when a bullet projectile hit the left side of her back and injured her badly. She was taken to the Thaoubal district civil hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

The incident at once sparked an angry protest by the villagers of Nongangkhong Bamon Leirak in Thaoubal where the incident took place; the village is in close to where the 15 Assam Rifles are posted at Tom Ching.

“On the night of 3 April the jawans fired out of excitement to celebrate India’s victory. A few of them were also drunk. The bullet in question travelled nearly a kilometre, hit the iron roof of a house and killed the lady sleeping inside. It was an accident,” says a senior officer from the 15 Assam Rifles.

The Manipur Police has not said much about the incident but it has started an investigation.

During the investigation, the police found eight bullet projectiles from an Insas rifle in the area. Locals allege that the bullets fired in celebration hit at least 10 houses.

“It was not only at Thaoubal. At several places across the state, reports came in that the security forces had fired in celebration. How they can be so irresponsible,” said N Sanjay Singh, a resident of Thauobal.

Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force in the country. It was specially raised for guarding India’s northeast. Officers there think the accident might have occurred during the change of security guards on sentry duty.

Sharat Chandra Sharma contributed to the story from Imphal.

Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka. ratnadip@tehelka.com

Source: Tehelka

Ear to the ground

By Priyanka Joshi



Mumbai Apr 4 : The Shillong Chamber Choir will perform in Mumbai, and it is ready to take song requests via social media.

There was a time when when you had to call in to radio stations or scream your lungs out at a concert to request a favourite song by a favoured band. In 2011 it takes much less effort — you can do this on social networking sites.

Take for instance the 16-member Shillong Chamber Choir, which has been spending an increasing amount of time on Facebook and Twitter. It’s not that they are addicted to social networking. The reason is that, for their maiden show in Mumbai, the choir has decided to use social media sites to help them select items from their repertoire.

The Meghalaya-based choir, which won TV talent hunt show India’s Got Talent 2 and have performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan and for US President Barack Obama on his recent India visit (the latter performance featured “Yeh dosti...” from Sholay), has already got requests lined up. Neil Nongkynrih, the choir’s founder and director, is thrilled to see Mumbai’s response online. “When our organisers told us about the idea,” he says enthusiastically, “the first thought that went through my mind was: why didn’t we think of this before?” To make your own selection, visit www.facebook.com/liveindigo.

Nongkynrih says that while the choir has in the past organised innovative and eye-catching, but still traditional promotions, social media as means of pulling in a good crowd is looking very promising. This way, he says, the audience does not go home disappointed with the songs the choir has chosen to sing. “After every show,” he says, “a huge number of fans requests songs that they would like to hear us play. Most of the time we sing a few requests, but with Facebook and Twitter acting as our request lists, we can sing exactly what the Mumbai audience wants us to sing.” The choir will pick about four songs from the ones requested by fans online, and perform them during the concert.

Among other past requests, occasionally for Khasi songs from Meghalaya, is one for something more ambitious: a “slightly modified” version of the national anthem that makes a mention of the north-east. The group has done a rendition of the anthem but, says a member, “we haven’t touched on the lyrics”.

Well-known for their jazz, classic rock, popular English, Bollywood and Western classical renditions, the Shillong Chamber Choir has won three gold medals in international choir competitions. The group’s Facebook page is full of fans requesting them to come to their cities. “Guys, any time for Gujarat? Ahmedabad by any chance??” asks one, adding, “fingers crossed...”.

Nongkynrih says, “We get a fair amount of our research accomplished online. What the audiences want us to sing, where they want us next and what they didn’t like in last performance — it’s all there.”

Shom Jagtiani, chief operating officer of Indigo Live, which is promoting the event in Mumbai, says, “All the best bands have begun using social media to promote their music these days. Clever marketing has always been just as important as having great music.” Jagtiani says Indigo Live is not an event management company; instead, it works with the artistes to create what the COO calls a proprietary event.

Jagtiani, who has had a career in investment banking and is a music aficionado himself, is keen to use social media for future concerts. “For the upcoming jazz and blues concert in Mumbai in October,” he says, “I intend to use social media both to promote the event and to encourage interactive sessions with the artists and audience.”

Nongykrih and Jagtiani say they will focus more on social media awareness after the cricket World Cup. “Right now,” says Jagtiani, the day before the final, “Twitter is simply all about discussions on cricket, and so we are going a little easy on promotions. But starting next week, we will introduce social media promos like free tickets, a chance to meet the choir members or interact with them live on social media chats, et cetera.”

In the few days between the World Cup finals and the concert, the organisers expect audience recommendations to flood in. The day after the concert it’s back to cricket again, with the 2011 Indian Premier League season opening on April 8 — so the choir and the event organisers are aiming to make the most of this fortuitous gap.

“The Shillong Date”, at Shanmukhananda Hall, April 7, 7.30 pm. Tickets, Rs 300-2,000, available at Rhythm House and Cafe Coffee Day outlets at Shivaji Park, Sion and Matunga

Hayden Panettiere Bondage Shot

Here is a leaked shot of Hayden Panettiere in bondage that leaked. I assume this is part of a larger photo shoot and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the shoot looks like.

I always had an idea that Hayden was into some kinky stuff because she loves dating older guys and she loves showing off her body in bikinis so this is just the next evolution of Hayden hotness.