Schools Spotlight on Team MC Mary Kom

Schools Spotlight on Team MC Mary Kom

MC Mary Kom

In the Spotlight this week are the schools in India attended by boxer MC Mary Kom, and their UK partner schools.

Loktak Christian Model High is twinning with Ballykeel Primary School in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. St Xavier's School is twinning with the Methodist College, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Watch Olympic Dreams-inspired pupils from Ballykeel Primary make their own saris, and put on an Indian-themed assembly

BALLYKEEL PRIMARY SCHOOL & LOKTAK CHRISTIAN MODEL HIGH

Jane Orr, Teacher, Ballykeel Primary

We have been busy in school, working on Indian topics in order to raise pupil awareness of all things Indian. The children thoroughly enjoyed the topic, especially the practical activities such as the dance workshop and Indian hand painting.

Our activities in this project have led us to working with a cross cultural group to look at Eastern European culture. (Northern Ireland has experienced a big influx of workers from Eastern Europe in recent years.)

We are preparing a scrapbook about our local area to send, which will include questions from the pupils.

 Our pupils talk about the other pupils as they would talk about any of their friends.

I have been in contact with our local boxing club, which several of our pupils attend. We are hoping to invite a local female Northern Ireland boxer to a joint event, which will link well with MC Mary Kom.

We have also just recently had a fun Sports Day to raise money for our local children's hospital Burns Unit.

We talked about the Olympic ideals, about courage, friendship and determination, and how they related on a personal level to one of our own pupils who suffered serious burns in an accident at home last year.

I think we are probably better placed to make the most of the opportunities that the partnership offers. Our partner school in India has very limited resources. They would appear to have a very set (and perhaps not very flexible) curriculum.

I have always found that twinning with another school opens opportunities for pupils in both schools to find out about each other, to share and celebrate similarities and differences and to bring us all closer.

Teacher Jane Orr tells the BBC's Denise Watson how Ballykeel Primary School in Ballymena is taking part in an Olympic Dream project which links UK schools with schools across the world

METHODIST COLLEGE, BELFAST & ST XAVIER'S SCHOOL

Olivia Moore, Teacher, Methodist College

Unfortunately, St Xaviers School in India were unable to attend the planning meeting in London so we have not had an opportunity to discuss our collaborative project face to face.

We are, however, hoping - with the assistance of The British Council - to organise a teleconference/videoconference with St Xaviers before the end of the academic year.

Students from Methodist College at a different kind of Olympiad - in linguistics

We are also planning to put together a film of our school year. Using Olympic Dreams as our inspiration, we are going to ask representatives of our new school intake to outline their dreams and aspirations for their time at the college.

Throughout the course of the year the Form 1 pupils will film short excerpts about aspects of school life. Hopefully this will inform our partner school of what school life in Northern Ireland is really like.

In addition we hope to complete several other projects. From 20-25 June, all departments in the school will be asked to involve pupils in a project highlighting how their subject relates to the Olympics.

A number of senior pupils have come forward to be Olympic Ambassadors

A letter to Katie Taylor, Ireland's female boxer, is in the process of being drafted. It is hoped that she will consent to be interviewed, giving our pupils a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the lives of 2 female boxers.

If we can make contact with St Xaviers School it is hoped that the opportunity may present itself for a representative from Methody to travel to Manipur to cement the partnership.

The most obvious difference between our schools is the difference in resources. We are very fortunate to be in a school which is well resourced and equipped with computers, internet, etcetera.

We take communication with the outside world for granted but this partnership has highlighted how many parts of the world still have communication difficulties.

Regardless of the success or otherwise of the partnership, this project has allowed us to engage our pupils in a range of activities which will not only benefit the school, but also open the pupils' minds to sport and the outside world.

 

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

'Ease Tensions in Manipur'

New Delhi, Oct 19 : Former union minister and social worker Mohan Dharia Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take urgent steps to ease tensions in Manipur and ensure that essential supplies reach the northeastern state which has been hit by a two-and-a-half-month-long blockade.

Dharia, a Padma Vibhushan awardee, urged the prime minister to ease the situation in the state before Oct 31 - when he is to be conferred with the 26th Indira Gandhi National Integration award.

In a four-page letter, Dharia has urged Manmohan Singh to appeal to the Manipuris to remove the blockade and maintain peace.

'There should be immediate supply of wheat, rice, petrol, gas cylinders etc,' Dharia wrote.

Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) began the indefinite road blockade agitation on the two crucial national highways, which link the northeastern state with the rest of the country.

They are demanding that the Sadar Hills sub-division in the Naga-dominated Senapati district in northern Manipur be upgraded as a full-fledged district.

The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex forum of Nagas in Manipur, has also been organising a counter-road blockade in all Naga-inhabited areas in northern Manipur, demanding that these areas should not be carved out without their consent.

The 78-day-long highway blockade to the state has severely hit the supply of essential commodities to the state.

Heavy Exchange Of Fire Reported From Hill Village in Manipur

Imphal, Oct 19 : Two militant factions exchanged heavy gunfire at an interior hill village in Manipur's Tamenglong district but there was no casualty, official reports said today.

There was a gunfight between two Naga militant outfits NSCN-IM and Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) at Guitang Tinkao village yesterday and the exchange of fire lasted for several hours.

Reports said villagers fled to safer places during the gunfight.

Security personnel reached the spot this morning for further investigation, reports said.

ZUF did not want NSCN-IM men to operate in their (ZUF) area while NSCN-IM was once active in all Naga-settled area in Manipur.

Tamenglong district is mainly inhabited by Nagas of different communities.

On October 7, there was a heavy exchange of fire between NSCN-IM and ZUF militants during which five NSCN-IM men and a civilian driver were killed and over five others injured.

Dima Hasao Attackers Are 'Outsiders', Say Cops

Silchar, Oct 18 : Assam police DIG (southern Assam range) Vinod Kumar on Monday said those involved in the killing of a villager and setting several houses ablaze in Dima Hasao district over past one week were "outsiders". However, a total of ten persons, all belonging to non-Dimasa tribal communities, have been detained by police in connection with the incidents.

Violence broke out in the district on Sunday as suspected tribal militants torched 19 houses of Dimasas and sprayed bullets targeting fleeing villagers, killing one person and injuring three others.

Sources from Dima Hasao headquarter town of Haflong said there were no reports of any untoward incident from any part of the hill district over the past 24 hours. Of the ten persons detained, seven were picked up by police on Sunday night.

"The miscreants involved in the incidents are from outside the Dima Hasao area. They have infiltrated from neighbouring states or districts to vitiate the situation here. The area has been peaceful so far after the surrender of major militant groups over the years", said DIG Vinod Kumar, who has been camping in Haflong to monitor the ongoing operation against miscreants.

While Kumar abstained from naming any insurgent group of behind the incidents, he said, "The violence was the handiwork of outsiders who are against return of peace and harmony in Dima Hasao".

He added that police and security forces were on high alert to ensure that such incidents were not repeated in the district. The DIG said four additional companies of Assam police have been deployed in the district.

Meanwhile, those detained by police in connection with the incident on Sunday night have been identified as Lungtaheung Jeme, 28, Ramngenaungbe Jame, 26, Teijuakambe Jeme, 46, Gaitung Jeme, 46, Bobuing Jeme, 36, Paujuteulungbe Jeme, 28 and Paudotuing Jeme, 18. All of them are being interrogated by in custody of Haflong police station.

The NC Hills Autonomous Council in a meeting on Sunday constituted a peace committee to help peace return to the troubled district. The meeting, convened by chief executive member Kalijoy Sanging, was attended by members of all the apex bodies of the major tribal communities in the district. During the day, an all party meeting was held in Haflong convened by DC Dilip Kumar Barthakur to discus the situation.

Over past week, in a fresh ethnic violence, two persons, including DHD (J) leader James Dimasa were killed and three others were injured, while 27 huts belonging to Dimasas were burnt down. HTF, a non-Dimsa tribal militant outfit claimed responsibility for the incidents. The outfit has been opposing government's action to change the nomenclature of erstwhile North Cachar Hill district to Dima Hasao and a recent move to constitute the Dima Hasao Territorial Council in place of the present autonomous council.

The Hottest Of Hot Peppers

By Mark Magnier

Government worker Thoudam Anand from northeast India enjoys his ghost chilies, recognized by the Guinness record book in 2006 as the world’s hottest -- 200 times spicier than jalapenos.

Photograph by: Mark Magnier, MCT

Imphal, Oct 18 : Mexican jalapenos, Sichuan mala peppers, African kambuzi — mere child’s play.

Although many places claim to have the maddest, baddest chile this side of Hades, northeast India’s “ghost chile” is scientifically recognized as the hottest commercial chile pepper on the planet, 200 times spicier than jalapenos. The peppers are so hot that workers handling them wear goggles and gloves to avoid burns.

“One chile goes a long way,” says Thoudam Anand, a thirtysomething government worker in Imphal, in Manipur state, who grows ghost chiles in his garden. “It’s ulcer material.”

Fall is peak season for this deceptively innocent looking, thumb-sized devil, which has different names in various parts of northeast India, including bhut jolokia, meaning ghost chile, and umorok, or tree chile.

Anand and his wife, Meena Longjam, settle down for a leisurely lunch under their gazebo as a fresh breeze wafts from the nearby jungle.

The carefully prepared meal starts with a dish of raw vegetables mixed with fragrant umorok fresh from the garden. They’ve toned it down for a visiting foreigner who thought he could handle the chile.

But the chile quickly shows who’s boss, creating a ribbon of fire from lips to tongue to newly upset stomach. The discomfort lasts several hours.

A few days later at the Imphal airport, a few souvenir umorok are confiscated as a potential hijacking weapon. “No Manipur chile allowed,” a policeman says gruffly.

The plump red and green chiles with wrinkly skin, which have grown naturally in northeast India for hundreds of years, are believed to be the result of a relatively rare natural mutation that strengthened their bite.

Here in Manipur state, most are grown by individuals and sold in local markets to spice up curries, sauces and pickles. In nearby Assam state, they are cultivated on commercial farms for export.

Chile peppers — native to Latin America and the Caribbean and believed to date back more than 8,000 years — were taken to Europe and then transported to Asia by traders hoping to build up Asian spice markets.

“It found its way to the Eastern Hemisphere by Christopher Columbus, who was looking for a new trade route to India,” says Danise Coon, the Chile Pepper Institute’s program coordinator. “Columbus mistakenly thought it was related to the black pepper, which is why it’s called chile pepper.”

The ghost chile in northeast India emerged from relative obscurity after the Chile Pepper Institute, at New Mexico State University, grew dozens of plants, used liquid chromatography to assess the capsaicinoids, or heat, molecules and submitted its findings to Guinness World Records in 2006, which certified it as the world’s hottest.

The ghost chile clocks in at 1.1 million on the Scoville heat unit scale, a measure of spiciness, compared with the jalapeno’s mere 5,000.

“Mexico gets all the attention for its chiles,” says N. Tomba Singh, an agricultural scientist in Imphal. “But the real fame should go to Manipur.”

Once a world record-holder, the ghost quickly became a darling of rabid chile heads, who meet at “hot lucks” worldwide to show off their fire-eating skills.

Being the hottest chile translates into big bucks. India’s Frontal Agritech Ltd., the world’s largest ghost chile producer, expects its exports of powder, paste and flakes to the United States and Europe to increase this year by more than 30 percent to about $600,000, helping produce tens of millions of dollars’ worth of commercial salsas, marinades and sauces.

In March, a new chile was rated by Guinness as the world’s hottest, the Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” out of Australia, at 1.4 million SHUs. That’s about 40 percent hotter than ghost chiles. Though not yet produced commercially, it’s already sparking trouble in chile-land, with suggestions of trickery and sleight of hand.

Selecting the hottest chiles on a plant, cross-breeding, or de-veining samples all can boost readings. Purists grumble about “Frankenstein” samples, and some chile lovers even envision the danger of a “chile nuclear arms race.”

“It becomes more about the person submitting it than the chile,” said John Hard, head of Ohio’s CaJohns Fiery Foods. “There are so many ways to cheat. Forty percent higher? I doubt that happens overnight.”

Marcel de Wit, co-owner of Australian gourmet food maker Chilli Factory, which grew the new record holder, says its testing methodology, using a private independent company, is sound.

“We don’t have time to play games,” he says. “At the end of the day, if you doctor the stuff, it comes back to you.”

For now, ghost chiles remain the world’s hottest produced in significant commercial quantities.

In recent years, they have brought pride to northeast India, an area more often associated with civil strife, unemployment and armed secessionist struggles.

At the market in Imphal, women spread out umoroks in piles, each claiming theirs are the finest. “This is the real stuff,” says Maibam Mani, 60. “I’ve got the best, from up in the mountains.”

Residents of northeast India say their revered ghost chile springs from the same soil as their tough, sporting people.

Most people here start “playing with fire” around 11 or 12 when their taste buds have sufficiently matured or when classmates play a cruel joke. But maturity isn’t always enough.

This month, two women participating in a jolokia curry-eating competition reportedly bled, vomited and fainted after eating it. The pair were hospitalized, and half of the 20 participants dropped out after watching the first 10 pant, sweat and collapse.

Anand’s initiation took place years ago when friends secretly laced his food with umorok. Unbearable pain, panic, arm flapping and teeth gnashing followed, he recalls, until an elderly neighbor suggested a local antidote: Go forth and eat mud.

Anand dutifully dashed to the nearest pond. “I would’ve swallowed anything to cool down,” he says. “And since I had no taste buds left, the mud tasted just fine.”

Recently, says Abdul Haque, vice president of a local student union, he gave umorok to friends in New Delhi, who claimed to have intestinal problems for two days.

“We’re much stronger people than those lightweights in the capital,” he said. “They can’t handle the smoke from the ears.”

Ghost chiles have many uses. S. Chand, forest conservator in the northeastern state of Assam, encourages farmers to plant them around their fields to stop marauding elephants. Most of the time, pachyderms will turn and run the other way.

Practitioners of Ayurveda, or Indian traditional medicine, use them to stimulate blood circulation, reduce inflammation and shrink tumors. They are popular for weight loss and to fight summer heat. And ghost chiles are also highly recommended if your goat has canker sores.

At the Defense Research and Development Organization’s lab in northeast India, researchers are testing grenades, sprays and gas made from ghost chiles to fight terrorists, manage unruly crowds and help women defend themselves.

“It’s all-natural,” lab director Lokendra Singh says.

Ghost chiles — reportedly named because they can scare ghosts away — are firmly embedded in the local culture.

Eating too much can produce dark spots on your skin or cause traffic accidents or miscarriages, people here say. In one Manipur-made film, a boy whose affections are spurned tries to commit suicide by eating ghost chiles. His love relents after watching him suffer and they live happily ever after.

Despite the pain of consuming the red-hot peppers, fans say they hardly eat a meal without them.

“It’s a kind of addiction,” says Longjam. “You know you’re going to burn, even risk an ulcer, but you still love it.”

As the leisurely lunch wraps up, Longjam’s friend Ibungochoubi Ningthoukhongjam ponders the region’s love affair with the ghost.

“It’s a bit like loving your wife despite her drawbacks,” he says, before taking another bite. A small bite.

Source: calgaryherald.com

Medha Patkar Begins Kashmir To Manipur March Against AFSPA

Indian social activist Medha Patkar (R) shouts slogans against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) during a protest rally in Srinagar on Sunday.

Srinagar, Oct 18 : Around two dozen human rights activists from across the country started their march on Sunday from Srinagar to Manipur demanding revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The ten day long march has been named after 53 year old Irom Sharmila, a Manipuri human rights activist who launched her crusade against the act when Assam Rifles personnel killed ten civilians in Imphal on November 2, 2000. Sharmila has been on an indefinite fast for almost eleven years, demanding the repeal of AFSPA that gives unbridled powers to the armed forces.

The march led by social activist and Team Anna member Medha Patkar would pass through different states to generate awareness among the people about the act and the need for its revocation.

After visiting Hazratbal shrine in Downtown on Sunday evening, the marching activists started their rally from Lal Chowk in Uptown.

Patkar said that the AFSPA was an inhuman law that had no place in a civilized society. "There have been unlawful killings and disappearance cases in the places where this law is operational. We denounce all kinds of violence including the kind committed by army in Kashmir and other parts of the country," she added.

Medha said that the official interlocutors on Kashmir had also recommended revocation of AFSPA but the government had nothing so far to repeal it.

Human rights activist and Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey said that the activists were ready to face the attacks for demanding revocation of the armed forces law. "We are ready to face the people like those who attacked Prashat Bhushan in New Delhi," Pandey told the gathering before leaving with the march. Pandey advocated that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be given the right to decide their political fate.

However, Medha Patkar differed from this point of view. She said that the state should initiate a meaningful dialogue with the Kashmiri people to resolving Kashmir issue.

The caravan which would end its journey on October 27, 2011 after passing through ten states was joined by several Kashmiri human rights activists including chairperson of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), Parveena Ahangar and Hurriyat separatist leader Zamrud Habib.

Mizoram Chief Minister Decry Opposition Doubting His Faith

Aizawl, Oct 17 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) has nothing to do with his faith. Lal Thanhawla was reacting to the accusation of the main opposition party in the state Mizo National Front (MNF) led by former Chief Minister Zoramthanga who had condemned and decried Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla for attending the last Durga Puja at Kolkata.

Mizoram Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee while strongly reacting to the accusation by the MNF party said that Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and his wife attended the 25th Dushera Anniversary & Cultural Function at IB Block Sector III, Kolkata Salt Lake as the Chief Minister was the chief guest and no religious related programme was held but rather a programme on cultural integration.

The Mahila Congress Committtee added that former India President Giani Zail Singh and former Governor of Mizoram had attended Church services which showed that India is a secular state.

On Saturday, MNF vice president R Tlanghmingthanga said, “MNF strongly condemned Lal Thanhawla for attending the Hindu festival and hope that the Mizoram Chief Minister will seek forgiveness towards God.”

Dwelling at length, R Tlanghmingthanga accused Lal Thanhawla of betraying his God and forsaking Christianity by attending the rites and rituals performed during the last Durga Puja festival at Kolkata.

The Telegraph daily in its October 9 edition had published a photograph of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and his wife Lal Riliani while gracing puja celebrations in Kolkata.

The MNF leader further said that though India is a secular state but our leaders were very careful when the questions of religious rites and rituals are concerned but inspite of this, Lal Thanhawla and his wife had attended the Durga Puja celebration which the MNF regarded as “betraying his God and forsaking his Christianity”.

The MNF party also accused the Mizoram Chief Minister of breaking coconut in Hindu ritual during the inauguration of Mizoram House in New Delhi on January 9, 2009 and also during the inauguration of Tuivawl bridge on January 24, 2010.

63 Civilians Own Plots On Assam Rifles Land in Aizawl

Aizawl, Oct 17 : The Mizoram Government had allegedly issued 63 land passes on the Assam Rifles-occupied lands in Aizawl.

According to an RTI document obtained by the anti-corruption organization PRISM (People's Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram), the Mizoram Government had issued 63 land passes on the Assam Rifles-occupied lands in the state during the period ranging from 1970 to 1996.

The land passes included 43 land settlement certificates (LSCs), 15 house passes, three DPLs and one garden passes.

According to information furnished by the state, land revenue and settlement department under the RTI Act, individuals who own plots at the lands occupied by the para-military force included Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla s late son Lal Thanzauva, two former Congress ministers Liansuama and Hrangthanga Colney and some land revenue and settlement department officials.

The three biggest political parties-- Congress, Mizo National Front and Mizoram People's Conference (then People's Conference) had ruled during this period.
The revelation came in the wake of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla's public statement that not an inch of the land would be given to individuals till the para-military force is shifted to their new headquarters at Zokhawsanga near here by early next year.

According to a retired IAS officer and former Mizoram state chief information commissioner Robert Hrangdawla, the state government does not have any authority to issue land passes on land which do not belong to the state government, but to the home ministry.

If the state government issues land passes to individuals, the land pass holders have to pay land taxes to the state government.

That is a breach of Article 285 of the Indian Constitution, he said. The Assam Rifles headquarters in the heart of the state capital was built by Lt Col G H Loch as a base of the first battalion Assam Rifles in 1890.

When India gained independence in 1947, the Assam Rifles came under the home ministry so did their occupied lands in the entire state of Mizoram.

Just like the Mizoram Government does not have the authority to issue land settlement certificates in Kolkata, Delhi or anywhere outside the state, it is illegal to carve out a portion of the home ministry's land in Aizawl and give them to individuals, Hrangdawla said.

The former bureaucrat also likened the Assam Rifles land in Aizawl to a Vatican territory in Italy which the Italian government has no control over.

The state government, during the Mizo National Front Ministry in 2002, had passed the Mizoram (Restriction on Use of Transferred Land) Bill, 2002.

The Bill, which is yet to be enacted, states that all land vacated by the Assam Rifles in and around Aizawl as specified in the Schedule shall vest, free from all encumbrances, in the government of Mizoram.

It also states that all rights, title and interest or others claiming through them or any other person other than the government, as may be claimed to be subsisting in such land on the appointed day, shall be deemed to be extinguished, Hrangdawla said.