Mizoram Steps Up Effort in Hastening IIMC

Aizawl, Apr 6 : The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) will soon make its present felt when at least one course of study commences on July - August this year. This was stated by non other than Shri Sunil Tandon, Director General of IIMC, New Delhi when he called on the Chief Minister Pu Lal Thanhawla at his bungalow a couple of days back.

Shri Sunil Tandon at the outset, applaud the Chief Minister for his initiative in setting up IIMC Campus in Aizawl and extend happiness for his cordial cooperation at all levels with the Institute.

Shri Tandon apprised the Chief Minister that the campus would require at least 10 acres of land for the setting up of the Institute in Aizawl adding that he had identified a suitable plot of land for the purpose.

Tandon also stated that Aizawl will be one of the eigth All India Entrance Test Centres across the country, which he said, will be conducting the test on the 24th May this year.

The Chief Minister on his part informed him that the Mizoram government stepped up all out effort in hastening the establishment of the Institute in Aizawl.

To ensure speedy setting up of the institute and accelerate the pace of progress, New Delhi has appointed Mr. L.R.Sailo, a retired I&PR Director who is currently Press Secretary to Chief Minister as "Special Officer' to undertake all essential for the purpose.

It maybe recalled that it was Smt Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting who had given a nod to go ahead with the institute at the request of Pu Lal Thanhawla.

In fact, Shri Tandon's visit to Aizawl was the result of the Chief Minister's request to New Delhi.

Shri Tandon had met Chief Secretary Pu Vanhela Pachuau earlier on the issue. IIMC classes will initially be taken at the Mizoram University campus at Tanhril.

Sylhet-Meghalaya Joint Border Survey Resumes

Sylhet, Apr 6 : The joint survey of the Sylhet-Meghalaya border resumed yesterday after suspension of three and a half months.

Sources said, the survey team and BGB officials discussed a few documents on Padua-Protappur border with the Indian land officials.

Acting Commanding Officer of the 5 Battalion of BGB, Sylhet, Major Naim told this correspondent, "We had some preliminary discussion yesterday as the survey is going to resume after months".

Hopefully the job would start in a day or two, he said adding, "We would talk to the Indians again at 10:30 am today".

In the wake of repeated incidents of intrusion for paddy crops and fishing as well as killing of Bangladesh nationals by the BSF and by the Indian Khasia tribesmen, the authorities decided for a joint survey on the Jaintapur, Gowainghat and Kanaighat borders. Accordingly, the survey began on 7 December last year.

But it came to a halt after the 14 December incident, when about 500 armed Indians, backed by the BSF intruded into the Bangladesh territory and occupied some lands on Padua border. However, they retreated in the face of chase by thousands of villagers.

As the preparation for survey work started yesterday morning on Dibirhaor near border pillar 1284 and near 1270 at Padua border, the Indians claimed 55.3 acres of Dibir haor (water body) and 320 acres on Padua borders that had been in possession of Bangaldesh.

However, they failed to produce any documentary evidence in support of their claims, officials said.

Asked about the Indian claims, an official said, we placed our documents on the boundary pillars and accordingly we asked for documents from Indians in support of their claims.

Border sources informed that the Indian Khasia tribesmen had been opposing the survey on Dibir haor borders in Jaintapur upazila claiming 55 acres of Bangladesh lands.

Same way the Indians pressed for suspending survey on the Sonarhat-Lynkhat borders, where about 80 acres of Bangladesh land, in addition to the 100 acres on Protappur-Padua borders had been in the Indian possession.

An uneasy calm has been prevailing on about 20- kilometre border area from Sonarhat to Dibir haor in Gowainghat, Kanaighat and Jaintapur upazilas as the joint border survey on the Adversely Possessed Lands (APL) began on 7 December.

The then BDR chiefs also visited the said borders last year after the untoward incidents with the Indians.

Over a hundred civilians sustained injuries in guntight and villagers left their homes for days after the clash.

Bid To Revive Theatrical Traditions of Northeast

By Madhur Tankha

Ethnic expressions: One of the plays depicting the Chati Kango community of Arunachal Pradesh during the festival.

New Delhi,Apr 6 : To re-energise the spirit of North-East India and resuscitate its dying theatrical traditions, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts is hosting a month-long festival at its No. 3 Rajendra Prasad Road premises here these days.

“Indigenous Theatre Festival of North-East India” is showcasing the varied facets of the ancient creative cultural expressions that have come to represent the ethnic communities of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Nagaland.

Besides presenting a holistic picture of textile weaving, the festival has on display colourful traditional dresses and household items in relation to their ecological surroundings such as high-altitude mountains, river valleys and forested topography. A food court serving traditional cuisine of the North-East States has also been put up.

A four-day workshop on “Indigenous Theatres of North-East India: Past, Present and Future” inaugurated by Union Culture Secretary Jawhar Sircar on Monday seeks to pose significant questions pertaining to the current state of theatre activities. The workshop will look afresh at day-to-day problems faced by art institutions and find solutions.

According to festival associate coordinator Dr. Alka Saikia, the North-East as a whole is witnessing vast socio-economic and cultural changes in the wake of globalisation. “Due to the changed circumstances, the old theatre groups are slowly fading away. It would not be inappropriate to say that the tradition of indigenous theatre is on the verge of extinction. While we welcome modernity, at the same time we want our cultural heritage to be preserved… We want to encourage our theatre groups to give Delhiites a glimpse into our rich ancient theatrical traditions.”

Sixteen theatre groups that until now had been performing in villages and open spaces are performing for the first time in the Capital.

Expressing concern over lack of livelihood opportunities among theatre practitioners of eight States in the North-East, Dr. Saikia says that to sustain themselves and their families, theatre artistes are working as farmers or doing odd jobs in the interiors. “IGNCA is doing a commendable job but there has to be combined effort to highlight the problems faced by theatre groups and practitioners before policy-makers and academicians.”

Noting that creating understanding among people about the cultural traditions of the North-East is one of the main agendas of the festival, Head of Department of IGNCA's Janapada Sampada division Molly Kaushal says reviving theatrical traditions would bring about peace, tolerance and mutual respect in the region.

The festival, which opened at IGNCA on April 2, is open up to April 30.

Denied Therapy, HIV+ Naga Man Leaves Bangalore

By Maitreyee Boruah

Bangalore, Apr 6 : After being allegedly denied anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for over two months by St John’s Hospital, a 30-year-old HIV+ engineering student left for his native town in Nagaland on Monday in search of effective treatment.

As the patient’s condition was deteriorating, the patient’s younger brother decided to take him to Nagaland for treatment. The student worked as a part-time music teacher in Bangalore for a year. The brothers reached their home town on Tuesday.

The hospital is said to have stone-walled the patient’s pleas for ART, after he tested positive for HIV in February.

“My brother’s condition is critical. We cannot wait any longer. So, we have decided to move the patient to Nagaland,” his brother told DNA before leaving Bangalore.

It’s a clear case of discrimination and denial of medical assistance to a HIV+ patient, alleged members of the Karnataka HIV Sonkithara Sangatane, an organisation working for Persons Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). The organisation, which took up the case of the Naga student, also staged a protest in front of the hospital against its discriminatory attitude, last week.

“It’s sad that a HIV+ person had to leave the city because he was denied treatment,” rued Parveen Ahmed, a member of Karnataka HIV Sonkithara Sangatane. “Authorities should seriously investigate the matter, so that such an incident is not get repeated in future,” he added.

The denial of ART in time worsened the patient’s condition, the activists alleged. The right portion of the patient’s body became almost immovable. The student was diagnosed with HIV+ when he was under treatment at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), in February. Doctors said that the patient used to do drugs and might have contracted the infection from a used needle.

He was later referred to St John’s Hospital for ART. St John’s Hospital is one of the four places where ART is provided free in Bangalore.

However, authorities at St John’s Hospital denied treatment on the pretext of counselling, alleged the brother.

“We agreed for counselling and furnished necessary documents including our current home address. But the doctors were not convinced. But the patient needs immediate ART,” said the brother, who stayed with the patient in a rented house in the city.

Standard ART consists of the use of at least three antiretroviral drugs to maximally suppress the HIV virus and prevent progression of the disease.

The HIV+ student’s brother also approached National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) to get immediate treatment to the patient at the hospital. Following this, NACO and KSAPS intervened and St John’s Hospital agreed to treat the patient. But the hospital insisted that the patient should first undergo counselling.

“Counselling will take long and by that time the patient’s condition would only have worsened further. The need of the hour is treatment. Counselling can start later,” Ahmed explained.

Mizoram To Correct Ration Card Anomalies

Aizawl, Apr 5 : Mizoram would soon undertake a gigantic task to correct gross anomalies in the food, civil supplies consumer affair department's ration cards.

Secretary and director of the department K Riachho told reporters at his office today that new ration cards would be issued based on the population according to the Census 2011.

''Once the proposal is approved, the department would start correcting anomalies in ration cards with the help of village councils and YMA branches in their respective areas,'' Mr Riachho said.

It is said that the number of people in ration cards is much higher than the actual population of the state.

According to official sources, there were 3,15,909 family ration cards in Mizoram as of August 31, 2010.

Assuming that there were five members in each family, the state’s population, according to the ration cards, would be more than 15 lakhs, while the actual population, according to the provisional report of the Census 2011, was a little over 10 lakhs.

The food official also further stated that the department was taking utmost efforts to stock rice for the coming monsoon. As of today, 1.5 lakh quintal of rice have been stocked at government godowns in different parts of the state. Besides this, there is 1.6 lakh quintals of rice which have recently arrived Mizoram.

He said remote areas are being given top priority in the monsoon stocking operations.

Now, Nano Cars For Voters in Tamil Nadu

Independents promise Nano car as they join TN freebies war

Chennai, Apr 2 : Not lagging behind political parties, independents contesting the April 13 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu too have come up with promise of freebies to woo the electorate but most of them borders on absurdity.

An independent contesting from Salem South and North constituencies has made the most unbelievable offer of a Nano car each to every voter if they elected him.

Shahjahan also promised a cell phone, a generator set to each family to relieve them from power cuts, free cable TV connection and pocket money of Rs.200 to every student.

When asked from where he would get the money to fulfil his promises, Shahjahan coolly said, "if the money that came from 2G spectrum scam is confiscated, more could be done."

Asked whether his promise amounted to a corrupt practice, an offence under the Representation of the People�s Act, the candidate, a lawyer by profession, said there was nothing wrong in it. "If the political parties can offer (freebies), why can''t I?" he countered.

Another independent candidate from Musiri, Kannaiyan, has promised free gold coins to all voters if elected, besides three cents of land to those who worked for him during the polls.

He had also offered free cable TV connections to the voters in his constituency.

Congress candidate in Musiri M Rajasekaran had even moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Election Commission to prevent Kannaiyan''s alleged corrupt practices.

The court disposed of the petition after Election Commission submitted it would take steps in accordance with law if the charges were true.

Vincent Paul, another independent from Manapparai, has offered gold chain of five sovereigns to all girls getting married.

Dubbing these promises as ''hollow'', former Chennai Mayor and DMK activist Sa Ganesan said people would believe promises made in the manifestos of political parties, but not those by independents.

In a war of freebies, ruling DMK and AIADMK have promised a bonanza ranging from mixer, grinder to mineral water and free rice.

Inside The Rebel Camp: Video Captures First Footage Of Indian Insurgent Group

By Stella Paul

United Minority Liberation Army (UMLA) – one of the feared insurgent groups in India’s north east regions has finally decided to speak out. In its first ever media interview given to a small community media organization called Video Volunteers, UMLA has said that it took up arms only to ‘survive’ and ‘safeguard’ its identity.

The North East region of India is bordered by Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh and China and where dozens of tribal groups are fighting for independence from India, with whom they share very weak cultural ties.  United Minority Liberation Army (UMLA), an armed insurgent group fighting for a separate state for the Kuki people in Manipur, North East India. The story was reported by Daniel Mate, a community correspondent trained by Video Volunteers.

The leader of the insurgent group agreed to the interview only after he learnt that Daniel was himself a member of the same tribe, called the Kuki tribe.

“It’s the first time ever that this group has spoken to the media. They chose me because they trusted me. As a member of the same tribe, I understand what he is fighting for – a separate state just for the Kuki people within India. We are a minority tribe and we frequently face ethnic violence from other groups who deny our rights to the land and natural resources of our state…They said that I would present their views without any prejudice. Their commander agreed to see me and so I was invited to visit their camp and interview him.”

In this exclusive interview, the UMLA leader Commander K Khaling tells on camera his outfit’s goals, visions and strategies. The UMLA is one of the 17 armed member groups of the Kuki National Organization – an umbrella organization leading an armed struggle against Manipur government for a separate state within the Indian constitution. The group says that it uses gun only as a tool of self defense and to save its own identity. The groups claims that it faces frequent armed attacks from pro-government forces and other insurgent groups that oppose a state for Kuki people.

It is not known where Khaling lives today and, for his personal security reasons, he wants to keep it that way. For the interview, Mate had to spend 2 days in the rebel camp at a secret location. Mate not only met the Commander of the group, but also several other members of the outfit – both armed and without arms – and shoot their activities.

The UMLA, alongside other Kuki militant groups, has recently signed a tripartite suspension of armed operations with the state government and the Centre. The militants are now pressing for a political dialogue with New Delhi over its demand for the statehood. Khaling is regarded as a critical force for making the talks a success.

source: groundreport.com

Shillong Choir Harmony

Shillong choir harmony

After mesmerising US President Barack Obama on his visit to India last year, the 16-member Shillong Chamber Choir will perform to the audience's impromptu requests at a unique concert on Thursday.

At their first public concert in Mumbai, the Meghalaya-based choir will showcase their musical skills upon the demands of the audience that will get to nominate songs of their choice.

The choir that had won the TV talent hunt show 'India's Got Talent 2' had enchanted US President Obama and First Lady Michelle at President Pratibha Patil's Presidential banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Their work is described as eclectic, youthful, crossover music deriving inspiration from western classical greats such as Handel, Bach, Gershwin, and Mozart, other than adding a dash of popular genres such as rock, retro, regional classics, Hindi crossover and Khasi folk songs.

Catch the Choir live at the Shanmukhananda Hall, Sion East, at 8 pm on Thursday.