What Counts At The Civils Interview

Ake Ravi Krishna

Ake Ravi Krishna, who cleared the Civil Services in 2006 and is now working as Assistant Superintendent of Police, Chinthapalli, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, writes on the interview he faced. It gives an insight into the kind of questions asked.

The interview started with Mr. Navalawala, Chairman of the Board, asking questions. He initially glanced through my bio-data and started reading out my service preferences — IAS, IFS, IPS, Indian Audit and Accounts Service. (Looked at me for a second) and said, fourth choice Indian Audit Accounts Service (I answered “Yes, sir”). He then started reading my hobbies — playing chess, writing letters to the editor, writing, acting and directing drama. And then the interview began.

Why do you write letters to the editor?

Sir, I believe the press is an important medium in a democracy to bring social change. I want to become part of that social change. I started this in a simple manner by writing letters to the editor. I am planning to write articles in future.

Can you name a few old papers in India?

Sir, The Hindu, Anand Bazaar Patrika, The Times of India...

Do you read Times of India?

Sir, I read The Hindu regularly.

What do you like in that?

Editorial column sir...

Have you read today's paper? What is the major issue on front page of The Hindu?

Sir, it is regarding Ms. Medha Patkar. She has been taken to…

Yes, she has been taken to AIIMS. Do you support government action?

Sir, I do not support government action…

But why? She is almost committing suicide…

Sir, (highly polite) I think she is not committing suicide. She is using the weapon of Mahatma Gandhi — non-violence and satyagraha, and she is fighting for a valid cause.

But government is saying that they have done rehabilitation. How do you support Ms. Medha Patkar...

Sir, government is saying that they have rehabilitated but the real issue is that government has rehabilitated people by giving cash. But tribunal award clearly says it should be given only in kind. That is land for land. Besides, we should not build dams on broken lives. This is Ms. Medha Patkar's stand, sir…

So, are you against big dams....what about Nagarjunasagar and Hirakud dams…

Sir, I am not against big dams per se... What I believe is that rehabilitation and resettlement should precede construction of big dams. Besides, Ms. Medha Patkar has also said that they will accommodate the cause of Narmada dam, if proper rehabilitation is done.

Second member: You are a gold medallist in Geology.

(nodded my head)

Can you name some famous ancient singers from Andhra Pradesh…

Yes, sir… Tygayya, Annamayya…

Contemporary persons?

(Thinking…not able to recollect...) I am not aware sir…

What is the famous South Indian music?

Sir, it is Carnatic music…

Did it originate in Karnataka?

Sir, it is Carnatic. It is not exactly from Karnataka…

OK. Can you name some mineral resources in Andhra Pradesh?

Yes sir, we have coal resources in Singareni Collieries. We have barites in Mangampeta, gold reserves are found in Ramagiri, diamonds are found in Vajrakarur.

(Interrupted in middle…)

What is the quality of Singareni coal?

Sir, it is Gondwana good quality coal but ash content is a bit high.

If you have coal reserves why are you importing coal from Australia for steel plant at Vizag?

(In a polite voice) Sir, I have already said that Singareni coal has some ash content. I think for making coke which is essential for steel manufacturing, that coal is not fully suitable. That is why we are importing coal from Australia.

What is Singareni coal used for?

Sir, it is used for power generation....we have a thermal power plant at Ramagundam.

Do you support Indo-US nuclear deal?

Yes, sir.

Why?

Sir, our energy security is under threat due to increasing global oil prices. We need to diversify our energy sector and for that nuclear energy is essential.

What is the total power generated in India?

Sir, I cannot recollect the figure.

Guess...

Sir, I think it is around hundred million megawatts.

(Mr. Navalawala corrected it saying it is hundred thousand MW.)

What is the future nuclear energy generation capacity in India?

Sir, presently it is 3 per cent. We are planning to make it 20 per cent. Besides, it depends on our installing of new reactors.

OK. How do you estimate some minerals beneath the earth?

Sir, first we do reconnaissance survey. After finding intimations about mineral presence, we go for advanced methods like drilling etc.

Recently, they found gas in KG Basin. Why didn't they find it earlier?

Sir, previously some work was done in this regard. ONGC has been operating in and around this place for a long time. However, exploration activity increased in recent times due globalisation and liberalisation. More private players and investments are coming into this. Reliance recently found gas reserves in KG Basin.

Is there any chance of oil and gas being found together in some places?

Sir, I think there is a great chance to find oil and gas together in some places because both form due to decomposition of fossils.

Member (from northeast India): Coming back to your hobby of writing letters to the editor, what is a caveat?

Sir, I cannot recollect. (He said it is special column that appears in some papers. I admitted my ignorance politely).

Will you go to NE if selected?

Yes sir, NE is a part of India. I am ready to work in any part of the country.

Do you know the problem of Nagaland?

Sir, it has great insurgency problem. There is fight for greater Nagaland.

There is a beautiful word regarding Nagaland, can you name it?

Sir, I cannot....

Which is the State which is close to China?

(After a bit of thinking) Sir, it is Arunachal Pradesh.

What happened in 1962?

Sir, Indo-China war took place during that time. China occupied some of our territory.

What about its stand on Arunachal Pradesh?

(Due to his different accent I could not fully understand it)

Pardon, sir.

Arunachal Pradesh is not considered as part of India by China.

Yes sir, China is considering whole of Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area.

Fourth member: You are working in SBI.

Sir, (in a polite voice) I am working in RBI.

What is difference between RBI and other banks?

Sir, RBI is the central bank of this country. Banks are essentially organisations which accept deposits and lend to the public.

But RBI accepts deposits from the public, taxes collection etc., so there is no difference between banks and RBI.

Sir, I beg to differ with you….(Chairman interrupted and cracked a joke saying, “You don't beg, it is your right to differ, that is why you are here”. There was laughter in the room. I also smiled a bit).

Sir, we accept deposits on behalf of the Government since we function as bankers to Government based on the RBI Act, 1934).

What are the other functions of RBI?

Sir, our functions are currency management, we act as banker to the banks, and we are regulators and supervisors of banking industry. Besides, we are the authority to issue monetary and credit policy.

What is the similarity between government's fiscal policy and your RBI's monetary policy?

Sir, the objectives of RBI's monetary policy are to ensure price stability and credit availability. The objectives of fiscal policy are growth and employment. In one way both the policies try to bring economic development in the country.

From which denomination RBI release notes?

Sir, it is five and above.

Are you sure... what about two rupee notes?

Yes sir, RBI releases two and above notes (I corrected my answer).

Why are one-rupee notes printed on the guarantee of Government?

Sir, presently the printing of one-rupee notes is dispensed with.

But why did they print separately on the behalf of Government...

Sir, I am not aware about it. (Actually I knew the answer, but it did not strike me at that point of time).

Why did RBI increase interest rates recently?

(Politely) Sir, as far as my knowledge goes, RBI has not increased interest rates recently but it increased repo and reverse repo rates.

OK. Generally there was an increase of interest rates of bank deposits in the recent period. Why?

Sir, it happens because of supply and demand gap. Last year, the total deposits raised by banks was Rs. 2.99 lakh crore. But the total demand for credit is around 3.46 lakh crore. There is a huge demand-supply gap, hence interest rates go up, sir.

Do you think it adversely impacts our economy and people?

Sir, I think it will not affect our economy and people because at present our economy is strong.

What is difference between SBI and other banks?

Sir, I cannot recollect.

When were the banks nationalised and what about SBI?

Sir, nationalisation happened in 1969 and 1984. The Imperial Bank was converted as SBI in 1949.

You are right, that is the difference. The SBI was formed due to a Parliament Act while other banks are based on Company's Act. Do you know Company's Act?

Sir, I am not aware of it.

Will you read it after going home?

Yes sir, I will read.

Why does RBI harass commercial banks?

(After taking a few seconds' gap, I answered politely). Sir, it is not harassment, In fact, we are regulators and supervisors of the banking industry. We are facilitators of banking in the country.

Can you name two private sector banks?

Sir, ICICI and HDFC.

Why they are called private banks?

Sir, it is because majority of shares are held by public.

If majority shares are held by the public why can't they be known as public banks?

Sir, I think since management of these banks is under the control of private people, they are known as private banks.

What are the reasons for growth of Naxal movement in Andhra Pradesh?

Sir, Naxalism breeds on the grounds of underdevelopment. Andhra Pradesh is divided into three regions - Telangana, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. Naxal movement is prevalent in Telangana region because of....(interrupted.).

You tell reasons one, two like that...

Yes sir, underdevelopment and lack of land reforms.

Fifth member: You are a geologist. Is there any similarity between Geology and Pedology?

Yes, madam. Geology studies formation of various rocks. Pedology talks about the various soils. When rocks get weathered, soils are formed. This is the major similarity.

What are the factors of soil formation?

Temperature, rainfall, sunshine and slope.

What do you know about exfoliation?

In hot places, during day time there is an expansion of outer layer of rocks and night time there is contraction. This will lead to breaking of outer layer of rocks.

Are we producing geothermal energy anywhere?

Yes madam, I think it is at Manikaran.

How do you explain to a layman about geothermal energy?

Madam, inside the earth there is lot of heat. Liquids will be very hot and due to pressure in layers this hot water comes out of the earth. The heat in the hot water is converted into...(interrupted).

Can you name some of the fauna and flora of India?

Madam, Gondwana flora...

You tell class, subclass and genus of some flora and fauna.

Madam, I cannot recollect.

Tonsure is famous in Tirupati. What do they do with that hair?

Madam, I think they auction it every fortnight. Hair is exported after this auction.

What is its use?

They use it for manufacturing of wigs.

People come to Tirupati and drop lot of money in hundies. If it is given to the poor, it will be more useful. What do you say?

Madam, even Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam spends that money doing good things like providing free meals to devotees and people need not spend anything on Tirumala.

But if it is directly given to people don't you think more benefit will be done?

Yes, madam, if directly given, there will be greater benefit.

Why do people in Andhra eat more onions? They use onion in all curries.

Madam, there is a Telugu saying, u lli chesay melu talli kuda cheyyadu. Ulli means onion and t alli means mother. Our ancestors rated the help of onion higher than that of mother. That may be the reason why more onions are used in Andhra Pradesh.

Any geographical reason for more heat in the region?

I am not aware, madam.

(Chairman asked second member to ask questions. Second member looked at me....and said, “I think I have already asked you questions”. I replied politely, “yes, sir”)

Chairman (Mr. Navalawala): I will ask two questions and leave you, are you ready?

Yes, sir.

What is the famous scale to measure earthquakes?

Sir, it is Richter scale.

What is range of the scale?

Sir, it is from 0 to 9.

Are you sure? It is 0 to 10.

Sir, as far as my knowledge goes, it is 0-9.

OK. If on the scale one earthquake has 4 and another 8. Does it mean earthquake 8 is double the power of 4?

It is different, sir. If earthquake four is 10 units powerful, 5 will be 20 units powerful and 6 will be 40 units powerful.

What is that scale known as?

Sir, it is logarithm scale.

What is the unit of measurement on this scale?

Sir, it is magnitude.

But there is something also...

Sir, I cannot recollect.

Is energy released?

Yes, sir.

Do you know North-East?

Yes, sir.

Can you name all seven States and capitals?

Yes, sir...Arunachal Pradesh-Itanagar, Tripura-Agartala, Manipur-Imphal, Nagaland-Kohima, Meghalaya-Shillong, Assam-Dispur...(I got only six and was searching for seventh in my mind).

One board member: “Sikkim”.

(Mr. Navalawala: Sikkim is not part of this seven States. But you tell the capital)

Gangtok.

Another member: “Mizoram has not come in your list. Can you name the capital”.

Yes, madam. It is Aizawl. (North-east member said it should be pronounced as ‘Oizawl')

Mr. Navalawala: Thank you.

While coming out I could not open the door as it was a bit different. Mr. Navalawala asked me to pull the door. I gently pulled the door and came out. . I was smiling and maintained eye contact with the members during the interview.

Duration of interview: 48 minutes. Result: 189/300

Final result: All-India rank 117.

Bharti Airtel To Launch iPhone 4 in India

Bangalore, Apr 11 : Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile phone carrier, said on Monday it would launch Apple's iPhone 4 in India in the coming months. The company did not give more details.

Airtel's Chief Executive Officer for India and South Asia Sanjay Kapoor had earlier, in July 2010, announced that it was looking to launch Apple's iPhone 4 in September or October. But that launch didn't happen.

Even Airtel competitor, and the other Apple's network partner in India for the iPhone, Vodafone had also issued a press release, in June 2010, about the company's iPhone 4 launch plans in India. But it did not mention any dates.

The iPhone 4 went on sale on June 24, 2010 in five countries including the US, France, Germany, Britain and Japan and is yet to officially launch in India.Even the Apple iPad India only a month before the iPad 2 was announced.

OpenID And Facebook Connect: Skeleton Keys For The Internet

Berlin, Apr 11 : Before long, half the time one spends online is used up remembering passwords. Now, systems like OpenID, Google Friend Connect and Facebook Connect have been created to provide a little help and do away with the never-ending registrations.

One single password for the whole internet? It’s a dream many have.

But reality looks quite different. Usually, every new registration requires a new login and password. Before long, half the time one spends online is used up remembering passwords.

But now, systems like OpenID, Google Friend Connect and Facebook Connect have been created to provide a little help and do away with the never-ending registrations. To do so, they’ve presented themselves as kinds of skeleton keys for the web. But there is good and bad to these systems.

All the systems are based on the same idea: making sure users no longer have to register a new account for each online service.

Instead, these connection services operate on a single sign-on principle, with only one logon needed.

“The idea is to bring your own identity along with you,” says Axel Nennker, member of the directorate of the OpenID Foundation, whose day job is with Deutsche Telekom.

It’s not just a memory aid, it also boosts security. If a person only needs to remember one password, it can be made more complicated, thus enhancing security.

Amongst the various single sign-on initiatives, OpenID has long been considered the industry standard. Giants like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Paypal use the protocol, which was developed in 2005, as do a series of smaller companies. The true number of users is unknown, but likely very large.

The system is designed to be decentralized. Users can set up their OpenID account with a number of sites, whether Google, Yahoo or specialist sites like MyOpenID. Indeed, anyone interested can register on any website that supports the standard. According to numbers released by the OpenID Foundation in 2009, that includes 9 million sites worldwide.

Small users overwhelmingly allow access via OpenID, while most larger entities limit themselves to distributing IDs.

Members have to look for the OpenID logo, a gray half-circle with a pointer at one end. When registering, they are asked to enter their OpenID URL. Here, it’s best to enter the web address of the entity where the OpenID account was created: yahoo.com, for example.

This opens a window, where access data is entered, as usual -- in this case, that for the Yahoo account. The server generates an internet address, or URL and sends it to the destination website, where registration then occurs automatically.

Some websites ask for some basic data, like name and mailing address. Some forums allow anonymous registration.

“Providers like Google only confirm that ‘An OpenID user is registering now,’” says Nennker.

Having one identity for multiple websites may sound great, but the system still hasn’t made the breakthrough to mainstream use. One problem is that the service remains relatively unknown.

“A lot of users don’t even know that they have an OpenID,” says Nennker. Google, Yahoo and the others only passively direct users -- if they do so at all -- to the option. If you don’t look for it, you won’t find it.

The OpenID Foundation hopes to overhaul the standard. OpenID Connect should be easier to integrate for developers and also provide some improvements for users -- such a logins with basic email addresses. There are also plans to expand the service to other technical platforms, like mobile phone apps.

But the competition is picking up, especially since Facebook Connect is coming online.

“Everyone knows what Facebook is. And it’s a lot easier to understand that Facebook can manage your identity than it is to believe the same of an unknown entity named OpenID,” noted US magazine Wired recently.

Superficially, Facebook Connect and OpenID resemble one another.

Clicking on either’s icon opens a new window where data is to be entered.

But the US company goes further. Unlike OpenID, as soon as they register -- in a discussion forum for example -- users can see who else from their social network is already there. Additionally, comments about activities elsewhere can be posted on one’s Facebook page for friends to see.

That’s one reason why a lot of groups are leaning toward Facebook Connect: “They get a piece of the user pie.” Regardless of Facebook Connect or OpenID, data privacy experts advise using caution.

“Services like Facebook Connect that offer a single sign-on solution can help users save time. But a successful attack on a user account makes the potential of these attacks that much more dangerous and allows the misuse of all data that the user has saved with various services,” says Johannes Caspar, data security commissioner for the German city-state of Hamburg. Just looking at some of that access data could open the door for identity theft.

Sinlung Hills Council Members Resign

Aizawl, Apr 11 : All the 18 members of the Sinlung Hills Development Council (SHDC), including its chairman Lalmalsawma Darngawn, have submitted their resignation to Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla, Darngawn said here today.

Darngawn said that they tendered their resignations after being instructed to do so by the Hmar People's Convention - Democrats militants and to show their solidarity with the Manipur-based Hmar militant group.

"We resigned after being told not to function during the talks being held between the Mizoram government and the HPC-D," he said, adding that they submitted their resignations to Lal Thanhawla on March four and submitted a copy to the state governor Lt. General (retd) M M Lakhera on March six.

He said they were yet to be intimated on whether their resignations were accepted by the government or not.

The resignations of the SHDC members seemed to be the fallout of the peace talks between the state government and the Hmar militant group as the parleys were deadlocked over the representation in the HPC-D delegation.

During the talks held on November 11, 2010, it was agreed to have bilateral Suspension of Operations (SoO) for six months and also to have more rounds of negotiations.

However, the proposed parleys in January and March could not be held due to differences between the two sides and the state government alleged that it could not accept inclusion of a US citizen in the HPC-D delegation while the militant group denied that they had intention to do so.

SHDC was formed in the Hmar inhabited area adjoining Manipur following an agreement reached between the state government and the erstwhile underground HPC in 1997.

Bru Repatriation Bid Brings Relief

Agartala, Apr 11 : An official team from Mizoram, headed by the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Kwartha, Benzam Liana, yesterday visited the Ashabari refugee camp on the Tripura-Mizoram border and held discussions with leaders of Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples Forum (MBDPF) and SDO (Kanchanpur) Dilip Chakma. The modalities for repatriation of the Bru refugees were finalised there.

“The Mizoram officials told us that in the first phase they would take back 4,656 refugees by vehicles and give them free ration for one year besides giving cash grants for house-building. The entire repatriation process would be completed in nine phases. We raised no objection because all that we want is repatriation of refugees,” said Chakma, who represented the Tripura government in yesterday’s discussion.

Chakma said after a devastating fire killed 16 inmates of Naisingpara refugee camp and injured 22 of them, the state government had complained to the Union home minister, P. Chidambaram, explaining the problems caused by the continuous stay of the refugees and Mizoram government’s reluctance to repatriate them. “We believe that Union home ministry had insisted on early repatriation, directing the Mizoram government to take early action, so the Mizo officials arrived here yesterday on their own,” said Chakma.

He said that Reang refugees had started pouring into Kanchanpur on October 15, 1997 following largescale violence and arson perpetrated by Mizos protesting against the demand for a district council in Reang-dominated areas of the district.

“The number of refugees had at one stage swelled to 40,000 but this stabilised at a little more than 30,000 after the Mizoram government repatriated about 4,000 camp inmates in 2009,” said Chakma. “Let us see how the repatriation process progresses this time,” said Chakma.

He also expressed fears that unless the refugees were repatriated, a major problem might arise in the camps because of anticipated outbreak of enteric and malarial diseases, like in previous years.

Airtel Services Off in Manipur, After Mafia's Ban

By Iboyaima Laithangbam

Imphal, Apr 11 : Airtel services in Manipur were suspended from Saturday night leaving over three lakh subscribers in the State in the lurch.

A statement by the All Manipur Airtel Workers Union said this was due to a ban order by an underground organisation on the service provider till a settlement was reached.

On Friday night, an Airtel tower was torched at Langol. Several equipment were destroyed and Airtel services were down from Sunday morning.

Some outlawed outfits have been targeting mobile service providers.

At least two employees have been shot dead in such incidents.

Police have said that it was not possible to provide security to all service providers since the militants targeted watchmen at the mobile towers in the State.

There is a scramble for SIM cards of the BSNL as this service has not been affected so far.

In Northeast, There Is No Insurgency, But Cottage Industry Extortions: Pillai

New Delhi, Apr 11 : Union Home Secretary Gopal K.Pillai has said that by and large the north east of India is free of insurgency, but still a victim of what he called " cottage industry extortion".
 
Speaking in an interview to the Business Line, Pillai said that the state and central governments have introduced a number of confidence building measures that have effectively neutralized the threat posed by insurgents in the region.
 
"We have removed foreigner restrictions into Manipur and Nagaland to boost tourism and instill self-confidence," he said.
 
On Kashmir, he said that while the three interlocutors have submitted a political report and a confidence building report, it was the state government's responsibility to provide and deliver governance at the grassroots.
 

Without governance, he said, the problems that exist, will remain

Militarization And Its Effects In Northeast India

By Z. K. Pahrii Pou

Heavy militarization in the region has great impact on the governance of the people and food security. In the heart of all capitals of NE Indian states, armed forces occupied the best site which one rarely finds in the mainland India.   In the name of maintaining law and order, the state used military forces to suppress the democratic rights of the people. People are threatened when they raise their voice against any injustices meted out to them by the state and its functionaries. 

Whoever raises their voice could be deemed as ‘terrorist’ or fighting against the state and are liable to be punished. The State’s imposition of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the region is a clear sign of state’s autocratic control over its citizens. This is the easiest way to run the administration without really delivering the goods to the people. This turned democracy into a mockery. With the imposition of AFSPA, emergency-like situation is created in the region and people literally live under military rule. In the name of fighting against insurgents, the Indian armed forces have used different inhuman tactics such as grouping, relocation of villages, forced labour, surveillance and starvation in the camps. Nandini Sundar, in a heart rendering article, “Interning Insurgent Populations: The Buried Histories of Indian Democracy’ shows how such tactics were being employed and used by state to contain insurgent movements in Nagaland and Mizoram.

Nandini Sundar elucidates that displacement and resettlement were used as a means of counter-insurgency on a large scale in Mizoram and Nagaland. Many villages were totally dislocated and grouped or resettled in another village (grouping centre) with many such villages starting from 1950s.  The central logic behind grouping is to isolate insurgents from the general population from which they derive their support, cutting off their food and other supplies.  Whatever the overt reasons given for grouping such as ensuring civilian safety and support, what underlies it is the assumption that all people in a given area, whether civilian or combatant, are potentially hostile.

In all, by 1972, over 200,000 people or 82% of the total population of Mizoram was shifted, and the total number of villages came down from 764 villages to 248 villages (including grouping centres and 138 ungrouped villages). Aizawl district was particularly affected, with 95% of the population being moved. Figures are unavailable for Nagaland, but the process was similar. In Mokokchung district, almost every village was burnt, not just once but several times, as a prelude to grouping. Army trucks would come and inform the Gaonbura (village headman) that the village would be burnt. Mongjen village was burnt seven times and Mametong 19 times, before the villagers could be forced to leave. According to UN report this kind of mass forced displacement and forced relocation of people threatens food security.

Starvation deaths were common in the camps in both Nagaland and Mizoram. Being summoned from their homes to be herded in the open fields or in the church or school, were common features. Young men were particularly vulnerable, since any of them could be suspected as an underground worker, and sometimes people would get killed in crossfire, when working in their fields. Many women were raped and molested. Wherever practised, grouping has led to major civilian mortality, decline in food production, and severe dislocation of the social fabric.

Many original Mizo villages disappeared and the grouping centres became semi-urban. Earlier, land was communally owned, and could be sold only by the community. In every cycle, the village council president (VCP) would allocate land to households for jhum or swidden cultivation. After grouping, this practice was simply extended to include the new households, putting tremendous pressure on the land.  The grouping and urbanisation eventually destroyed the old land allocation system in these centers, with the VCP selling land titles to rich people from Aizawl. In Nagaland, even though villages survived, the pattern of settlement was permanently altered, from scattered homes spread across the hills, to homes strung along the main road in straight lines. Rape, killings and arson were common feature of dislocation and resettlement through grouping. This strategy is still employed in India. The state of Chhatisgarh is today employing private militias for groupings/the strategic ‘hamleting’ as a strategy of counter insurgency. Anyone who is a tribal person or is from that region is under suspicion and arrested as Maoists.

The hill areas of Manipur did not experience such dislocation of villages and resettlement due to counterinsurgency operation in the area. But often people faced harassment, rape, beatings, killings, arson, etc. under the imposition of AFSPA in the region by the state. Whenever there is arm confrontation between the insurgent groups and the military forces, public became the victims. Since the 1950's the Indian security forces have been carrying out their counter insurgency operations in Naga inhabited lands. "Operation Bluebird" was the biggest operation in recent times. On July 9, 1987 the 29th Battalion Assam Rifles Post near Oinam village in Senapati District, Manipur was raided in broad daylight by the undergrounds. They walked away with large quantity of arms and ammunition. Nine Jawans (soldiers) were killed and three seriously injured. The Assam Rifles launched "Operation Bluebird" to recover the captured arms and ammunition. The operation lasted till the end of October 1987. The NPMHR has well documentation on this.

“Operation Bluebird" was carried out in and around Oinam and its surrounding 30 villages of Senapati District in Manipur. Within a few days after the operation was launched where there were reports that the villagers were being subjected to all kinds of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the Assam Rifles. Even in my village, which is around 35 km away from Oinam Vill), curfew was imposed for many days. The whole villagers (men and women, young and old) were kept in front of the Chief’s house. All the village authority members were beaten including Catechist and Baptist Pastor. This kind of operation was conducted in many villages of the surrounding Oinam village. The Assam Rifles went from house to house to search and looted homes. For nearly three months, people were not allowed to go to their fields, or to tend their cattle as a result of which lakhs of Rupees worth of agricultural crops were destroyed. Cattles free grazed in the paddy fields and gardens. The Assam Rifles dismantled and burnt down more than a hundred resident houses, several Church and School buildings, hundreds of villagers were forced to construct camps, build roads and carry rations for the Assam Rifles without any payment. 125 resident houses were allegedly burnt; in addition 112 houses were dismantled.6 schools and 10 churches were dismantled, 7 villages are enumerated where property worth Rs. 50,79,000/- (US$ 101,580) were looted. In January, 22, 2009, Assam Rifles surrounded the NSCN(IM) Camp in Siroy Village (Ukhrul) for nearly two weeks. To starve the insurgents held up inside the camp, the main water supply pipe-line for the whole village was cut off. The villagers were not even allowed to venture to field for the whole period of seizure of the camp. These are but just an ice-berg of what is happening everyday life in Manipur. Many a time, curfew was imposed randomly, people were randomly shot without any warning, women were raped but state armed forces always get legal immunity. The extremity of armed forces’ action is manifested through the fasting of Irom Sharmila who has been on fast since 2000.  

This kind of policy of the state have resulted in the direct denial of access to food and water for communities that have been besieged and cordoned off, especially under specific cases of severe or total closures – referred as  “curfews” – trapping people in their villages and impeding movement. The closures are keeping people away from their jobs and that farmers are unable to reach their remote fields or markets. If such act is not violation of human rights, what is it?
The state’s policy of militarization in the area proved counter-productive in that it has produced so many underground groups in the state.  These underground groups have great influence in the decision making bodies both in the state and local level. It is easy for candidates to get elected to the state Assembly or district council members if they have good relationship with underground group. The underground members won’t mind using both muscle and gun power to get elected the candidate of their choice. Once a candidate is elected s/he works hand-in-glove with underground groups. Hence, in Manipur, a parallel government is run by the elected MLAs and underground groups. This became very problematic with most of the developmental funds and schemes meant for the farmers and poor people divided between them. Almost all the underground groups have their own share in all developmental projects apart from levying various taxes. The militarization of Indian armed forces and underground movement have completely destroyed democratic form of governance at all levels.

The underground groups also involve in local level governance. Most of the intra-village or intra-tribal dispute especially land boundary is settled (or sometime created) by the underground group. Even some cases within the village are referred to them. Interestingly, almost if not all of the criminal cases are tried and settled in the court of underground. With the state completely failing in giving good governance, underground groups became a powerful force in the decision making body. There are cases of underground involving in ‘black market’. Unfortunately, so far, none of the underground groups in the region has brought any viable solution that benefits the common masses.  

Frequent armed clashes among the various underground groups and sometime with Indian Army is a cause of great concern especially for the villagers who most of the times became the victims. Such clashes have restricted time for economic activity as the villagers are not free to go to field early in the morning and come back home late. They could be suspected and shot. Women, who are the backbone of tribal economy, are the most affected ones as they could be molested by the armed forces. Militancy leads to loss of human power in agricultural activities. Many youths who are active enough to do works, join the movement leaving behind women and old people to work in agricultural activities. The little savings of the public are also extracted by them as tax in the form of house tax, employment tax, shop tax, vehicle tax, etc.  Millions of Rupees is spent by various underground groups in procuring arms and ammunitions. If that amount is diverted for procuring food items and distributed, there will be food for many to a great extent. It is also a well known fact that this movement have destroyed hectares of forest land which is the main livelihood of the tribal people. Thousands of camps were set up in the forest cutting down trees, bamboos, ropes and other vegetation. They have also killed many wild animals and birds for food. Therefore, there can be good debate whether the underground movement while pursuing political freedom for its people have destroyed the very purpose by destroying people’s rights to govern themselves and their source of livelihoods.

When people protest against any type of destructive development (such as Tipaimukh dam), the state would send coercive forces to suppress such protest movement. Arunachal Pradesh government has MoUs with big companies of around 300 dams. A big gain for corporates. A great loss for local people. This is how the state works for the benefit of big companies at the expense of tribal people’s livelihoods.  It may not be wrong to assume that the state works in collaboration with the capitalists much against the wishes and security of the local people. The state in collaboration with corporates work to control people’s resources and livelihoods. In the name of maintaining law and order, the state has already deployed hovercrafts in Loktak Lake (Manipur). It has planned to buy more six hovercrafts. What will happen to the livelihoods of thousand fish workers in Loktak Lake? It has planned to press into service speed boats in the upstream of Thoubal Dam and along the Barak River area of Jiribam so that the state armed forces can maintain law and order! Under the new police of the Manipur Government, the state has planned to increase an additional 338 police commandos and 10 posts of village defence force (VDF) (Sangai Express, March 31, 2011). Ibobi Singh’s government is waging war against its own citizens. Modernizing police force, raising its number and establishment of VDF is a good employment model: employing half citizen to kill the other half. This is exactly happening in Chhatisgarh under the state sponsored Salwa Judum.   The state in connivance with corporates is all out to take over people’s control over resources and its livelihoods. Lakes, rivers and forests needs to be heavily militarised in order to flush out its inhabitants in the name maintaining law and order (or say contain insurgency movement). Then slowly the state will bring in Companies (Corporates) in the name of development. When “Development” comes, local people lost their rights to resources and livelihoods. If they protest, they will be charged as working against the state’s interest and will be sent to Jail. If anyone raises voice of injustice or the failure or oppressive policy of the state he/she is likely to be branded as insurgent/terrorist like Dr. Binayak Sen of Chattisgarh. The excessive uses of force by government to contain people’s movements and rights have fanned insurgency movement to extremity. Then militancy and insurgency together destroys food security, undermined democracy and local governance.

Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited by the Article 14 of the International Humanitarian Law. It is therefore prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless, for that purpose, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works. Forced displacement is prohibited under article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and conflicts. The government of North eastern states must respect International Humanitarian Law. The state should not fool around its citizens to believe that the state armed forces are for security and development. Whose security are the Assam Rifles or Police Commandos for? We need to, if necessary, take the state to court, for violating basic human rights of its citizens. It would be wiser for the NEI states to invest more its financial resources in developing human resources (esp. in education) and in agriculture and its allied activities rather than on spending crores of rupees on modernizing its police forces. It’s the time for our concerned underground groups too to think seriously how far they can deliver the goods to the common masses. We need strong civil bodies and build alliances to air the struggles and rights of million citizens who are suffering under the oppressive state’s coercive forces. Together we can bring a better and livable world.