Mizoram Muslims: We Are Not Harassed

Mizoram Muslims Rebut Harassment Reports

Aizawl, Aug 13 : The Mizoram Muslim Welfare Society, an apex body of Muslims living in Mizoram, has criticized news reports in some Assam-based newspapers on harassment against Bengali-speaking population in Mizoram.

The MMWS is not aware of any such harassment, looting and forceful eviction of law abiding citizens in Mizoram and condemns such false accusations, the Muslim society said in a press handout today. Contrary to the allegations, Mizoram is said to be the most peaceful state in the North East India.

We support the authorities in maintaining law and order and will extend our full cooperation in enforcing Inner Line Regulations so that criminal elements are not allowed to disturb peace and tranquility in the state, the release said.

A student organization in Silchar had accused Mizo organisations like YMA, MBO and MZP of causing harassment, physical and mental agonies to the Bengali speaking people engaged in various work and businesses in different parts of Mizoram.

In their memorandum to the Assam Chief Minister, the association leaders had alleged that besides causing harassment, their property was looted and they were even forced to leave Mizoram .

The association threatened to launch economic blockade on the lifeline of Mizoram if the authorities did not take steps to stop such harassments and ban the organisations involved.

Mizoram is No. 1 in 'Social Inclusion' in India

Delhi, Goa and Sikkim ranked No 1 in the State Sustainable Report

New Delhi, Aug 13 : When perceived against individual ranking parameters or categories, Delhi and Goa top the national rankings across the 'economic development' and 'resource availability and utilisation' categories respectively.

On 'environment and climate change', it is Arunachal Pradesh that tops the national rankings, (though overall the state ranks 10 and is 4 in the low population density state).

Mizoram ranks as the one state nationally on 'social inclusion'.

This has been brought out by IFC-RICS Sustainability Competitiveness Report, which is an endeavor to raise awareness and promote inclusive growth among cities.

The states have been divided into three categories based on the density of population and Delhi tops the sustainable Competitiveness index in the high density states.

Goa and Sikkim similarly top the list for the medium and low population density states, respectively. When seen as an overall ranking, the top 3 winners are Goa, Delhi and Sikkim followed by Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram, Kerala, Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh.

India is a vast nation with a growing population base supported by thriving economic growth which has transformed the nation into a preferred business hub for the world’s most developed countries.

No longer is India tagged as a developing nation, rather it has become an ‘emerging economy’ in the terminology used by the multilaterals of the world. Despite these encouraging facts, the country today faces challenges of equitable and sustainable development coupled with collective social responsibility towards environment preservation and climate change.

Welcoming the report, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, commented, :"It is extremely gratifying to see Delhi once again top the sustainability competitiveness rankings. It has been our constant endeavour to enable sustainable development and it is heartening to see that these initiatives have borne fruit.

Sustainable development leads to sustainable prosperity across the country and I believe that this is a strong message that reverberates through this timely report brought out by the Institute for Competitiveness and RICS India. We need to keep striving to make not just our respective states but the entire country more competitive, sustainable and a true success story." Mrs Dikshit made these remarks while participating in a two day RICS conference, which concluded this evening.

Manipur: Sadar Hills Agitation Worsens

Sit-in over supply disruption

Students stage a sit-in at Keishamthong to protest against the indefinite blockade in Imphal on Friday.

Imphal, Aug 13 : The Sadar Hills district agitation may snowball into a major law and order problem for the Manipur government with people in both the hills and valley coming out strongly against the dislocation of supplies.

The blockade, imposed by the Sadar Hills District Demand Committee, entered its 12th day today, with prices skyrocketing and commodities becoming scarce.

Residents of Keishamthong Assembly constituency, a part of which falls in Imphal city, today staged sit-ins at two places to voice their “resentment”.

The sit-ins were sponsored by Keishamthong Humanitarian Development Committee, a new organisation formed by residents of the constituency after the blockade.

The sit-ins came a day after Ngamkhohao Haokip, president of the demand committee, announced that the agitation would not be lifted.

Prices of essential commodities rose by Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg and there were reports that some commodities like potato and onion had become scarce. Medicine stocks were also running low.

About 250 loaded trucks bound for Imphal are stranded between Mao and Senapati districts since the blockade began. The Senapati District Women’s Association also demanded immediate suspension of the blockade, stating it created a “humanitarian crisis” in the state.

“This culture of imposing the blockade along the state’s supply lines by any organisation while making demands should should stop. We are holding the sit-in to support the demand for lifting the blockade,” R.K. Shivachandra Singh, chief patron of the humanitarian committee, said.

Saying the people of Keishamthong supported the district demand, Shivachandra said the demand committee should adopt other means instead of blocking supplies.

School students also took part in the sit-in. “I could not pay attention to my studies after seeing my poor parents suffer because of the price rise,” said Aribam Binit Sharma, a Class IX student of John English School.

Government spokesperson and irrigation and flood control minister N. Biren Singh said the government was planning to re-open the two supply lines of Imphal-Dimapur and Imphal-Jiribam highways after the Independence Day celebrations.

“The government has decided to deploy security personnel to re-open both the supply lines after the Independence Day celebrations,” Biren Singh said.

Loaded trucks could not pass through the blockade-hit Sadar Hills areas fearing attacks.

Strike supporters kept vigil along the Sadar Hills stretch of Imphal-Dimapur and Imphal-Jiribam highways since July 31 midnight, torching any vehicle violating the blockade.

Shivachandra Singh said if the government failed to restore supplies immediately, the humanitarian committee would take an initiative to constitute a forum of civil society bodies to form a human chain from Chandel district’s Pallel to Moreh, the border town, to turn to Myanmar and beyond.

Train Services Suspended During Night in Assam

By Jayanta Gupta

Kolkata, Aug 13 : Barely hours after the recovery of a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) from a coach of the Kamakhya-Puri Express on Friday morning, eastern railway announced the suspension of night running of passenger-carrying trains through Assam between August 13 and 17. Around 5.30 am on Friday. The 5 kg IED was found in a sleeper class coach of the train at Pancharatna station in lower Assam's Goalpara district.

An electronic detonator, batteries and wire were also recovered along with the IED that was considered to be powerful enough to cause considerable damage. Though the militant outfit responsible for this was not immediately known, a person was arrested in this connection, the police confirmed.

The United Liberation Front of Assom and 11 other insurgent outfits from the North East have called for a boycott of the Independence Day celebrations in that part of the country and a general strike on August 15. The statement was made by the anti-talks faction of the Ulfa.

"Due to unavoidable circumstances, we are forced to suspend the running of passenger trains through Assam from 6 pm on August 13 to 5 am on August 17. The Howrah-Dibrugarh Kamrup Express will remain cancelled between Guwahati and Dibrugarh during this time.

The Sealdah-Guwahati Kanchenjungha Express will be short-terminated at New Alipurduar. The Delhi-Dibrugarh Brahmaputra Mail will run only upto Guwahati. The timings of several other trains including the Jhajha-Dibrugarh Express, Guwahati-Kolkata Garib Rath Express, Guwahati-Howrah Saraighat Express and Chennai Egmore-Dibrugarh Express have been changed to ensure that they don't run during the night," a Eastern Railway official said.
Barely a couple of weeks ago, ultras sabotaged railway tracks in Assam, causing an Express train to derail. This led to injuries to several passengers.

YMA Serves Quit Notice on 'Benami' Traders in Mizoram

Aizawl, Aug 12 : The central committee of the powerful Young Mizo Association (YMA) has urged all non-tribal businessmen doing trade in the guise of tribals to end the "illegal practice" and leave the state within this month.

On Wednesday, the YMA leaders convened a meeting in Aizawl where alleged Benami traders were called. Lal Chungnunga, the president of YMA, said benami transaction was an illegal practice and should be stopped immediately.

"Non-tribals doing business with valid permits will not be touched. But illegal traders would not be spared," warned Lal Chungnunga. He appealed to Mizo traders not to allow non-tribals to use their names for doing trade as it was harmful for people of the community.

Sources in the YMA said many non-tribal traders, including wealthy contractors and suppliers, were also using Mizo names to evade income tax. A press statement issued by the YMA said many ILP holders were engaged in doing business and other work which were not being allowed in their permits.

On the other hand, the Assam-based North East Minority Students' Association (NEMSA) recently submitted a memorandum to chief minister Tarun Gogoi alleging that non-tribal businessmen were harassed by the YMA and student bodies in the state.

The NEMSA alleged that many non-tribals were harassed by NGOs in Mizoram and they were being forced to leave the state. The All Madrassa Students' Association (AMSA) also threatened to enforce an economic blockade in the state if harassment meted out to Bengali-speaking residents was not stopped.

Paresh Barua Calls For Independence Day boycott

Region on maximum alert, Ministry of Home Affairs sends a separate advisory for Assam

By Ratnadip Choudhury

Arabinda Rajkhowa

Guwahati, Aug 12 : The Northeastern states, especially Assam, Manipur and Nagaland have been put on high alert as 12 insurgent groups joined hands to boycott Independence Day celebrations. They have also called for a general strike on 15 August. The security establishment has been asked to take measures to ensure peaceful celebrations.

The joint statement issued by the United Liberation Font of Asom (ULFA) on behalf of the 12 banned outfits read: “India Government is trying to lure the people and the freedom fighters as well in the name of Peace Talk to the so-called Indian mainstream. We have experienced futile promises of India Government in Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, etc. and present process of Peace Talk in Assam and Nagaland is nothing but dilly-dallying to our struggle of national self-determination.” (sic)

Apart from ULFA an ‘anti-talk’ faction led by Paresh Barua, 11 other outfits that have also called for the bandh. Intelligence reports revealed that ULFA’s Commander in Chief Paresh Barua united the major terror outfits of the region. Apparently, they were using either the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) or NSCN(K) , somewhere near Taka in Myanmar as the General and Command headquarters of all these outfits. The joint statement also targeted outfits in the region which were not against having talks with the Indian government.

Intelligence sources added that the Chief of All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) Ranjit Debbarma has also joined Paresh Barua and SS Khaplang in Myanmar base. Debbarma earlier escaped from Bangladesh where the Sheikh Hasina government had launched a crackdown against Northeast Indian rebel outfits in the country. He moved to Hanoi from Bangladesh.

Assam has been specially alerted about possible attacks by Barua as a separate advisory has been sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The targets are security forces, crowded places, or Government buildings. Earlier, rebels have boycotted Independence Day and Republic day celebrations so the security forces are taking no chances this time around. DGP Y Joykumar Singh, Magalia state DGP and Nagaland state DGP told TEHELKA that there will be increased security. The Northeast Frontier Railway is planning to cancel all trains in the region on August 15. Airports and bus stations are also on high alert.

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

ONGC Exploring For Gas Deposits in Mizoram

Aizawl, Aug 11 : State-owned exploration major Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has begun looking for gas reserves in Mizoram, close to the site of known reserves, officials said Thursday.

"After two decades, the ONGC has recently started exploration of gas at Meidum village in Kolasib district in north-western Mizoram," an ONGC spokesman told IANS.

“The exploratory well, around 130 km north of Aizawl, is in close proximity to known hydrocarbon provinces. The prospective locations comprise of over 4,000 square km in north-western part of the state,” he added.

The ONGC is extremely optimistic of finding hydrocarbon deposits in the locations as the drilling was undertaken after seven years of proper investigation with state of the art technology and equipment.

"The exploratory block was recently awarded in the third round of bidding to a consortium of ONGC (80 percent)- Indian Oil Corporation (20 percent)," the official said.

According to an official document of the Mizoram geology and mining resources department, the northeastern state, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, falls under the category No.1 or "proven commercial productivity zone". According to rough estimates, there could be around 170 million metric tonnes of untapped crude reserves.

The ONGC, a Maharatna company, after an intensive exploration and drilling has found huge oil and gas in Assam and Tripura.

'This Isn't A Baby Factory'

By Yacoob Mohammed

Bangalore, Aug 11 : As the city's first surrogate baby joins his legal parents in the USA this weekend, Deputy Mayor S Harish lashes out at the flourishing trend of surrogacy in the city; Claims it is unhealthy, alien to the country and its culture and is spoiling the youth.

Bangalore might be making headlines as it's first official surrogate baby is set to join his legal parents in the USA this weekend, but city officials refuse to accept this trend and a war of words has broken out between the medical fraternity and BBMP officials.

For hire: City's rented wombs have not only been gaining acceptance within the country, but are also attracting foreign couples.

While the medical fraternity has been fighting a battle of morals to attain legal status and acceptance towards surrogacy, Deputy Mayor of BBMP, S Harish has lashed out at those popularising the trend, saying it is unhealthy and alien to the country. According to Harish, girls and boys are being influenced by the trend and are forgetting their culture.

Rented wombs are not only gaining acceptance within the country, but are also attracting foreign couples. Senior doctors from the industry are claiming that the trend has put the city on the global map for healthy surrogacy.

Benefit to some
"This will help women in the city become financially independent. We deal with women from cross sections of society and those in need can be bailed out of their monetary troubles if they take it up," said Ben Hur Samson, CEO, Surrogacy Abroad Inc.

He added that surrogacy is being dealt with in two ways. Samson said, "There is a partial and a full surrogacy. Usually, single parents, infertile couples or even gay couples approach a surrogacy firm for a child or to rent a womb. A surrogate mother, who accepts, is paid Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3,000 per month for upkeep till the date of delivery," said Megha Kumari, a senior executive from the firm.

'Unhealthy trend'
With over 10 legal IVF and surrogacy firms and outfits operating within the city, the trend has been mushrooming in a discreet way. However, the bigger issue the city now faces is the number of illegal
surrogacy houses, which are coming up.

Lashing out, Harish said he would personally visit these firms and then decide on their fate. "This is not a baby factory and we should not allow this trend to grow. It is spoiling the thinking of the youth, and they are being encouraged to go against our culture. I'll personally visit such hospitals in the city and check all the legal documentation. The trend is unhealthy and an alien and Bangaloreans should reject it," he said.

Earlier, Harish had a long-standing tiff with the Shrusti Charitable Trust, an organisation dealing with surrogacy. The trust had accused Harish of harassment and he in turn challenged them to produce official documents for conducting operations, which they allegedly failed to do.

Rs 2 lakh
Minimum amount that a woman is paid to become a surrogate mother

Rs30,000
The amount that a surrogate mother is paid per month for upkeep till the delivery

Big money, baby
>> Surrogacy is a $US 2.8 billion trade across the world
>> Each surrogate mother is insured before her womb is rented
>> Each mother is paid $US 6,500 per delivery

A way out?
A local hospital recently delivered a yet to be named boy baby, who will be flown to the USA. The baby was delivered by a surrogate rented by Charles, a single parent from US, who is a presently in Chennai getting Visa for the baby. The surrogate mother Prabha, who works in a garment factory, opted to be surrogate to clear personal debts.