AFSPA Extended in Tripura For 6 More Months

Agartala, Jun 16 : Tripura government has once again extended for six months the operation of AFSPA, the anti-terrorism law that gives full powers to the armed forces to take any steps to control terror, an official said here Saturday.

"Top security and civil officials of the state government recently assessed the prevailing law and order situation of the state and decided to extend the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958) for another six months," a home department official told reporters.

He said: "A state-level coordination committee (SLCC) on security affairs led by Chief Secretary S.K. Panda periodically assesses the overall security situation in the state with top officials of the state and central security forces".

The SLCC is overseeing the counter insurgency operation in Tripura, which shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh.

Two separatist outfits - National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) - who operate in the state are also sheltering and availing arms training in the adjoining Bangladesh.

Both outfits have set up bases in Bangladesh and get support from other separatist outfits of the northeast India. They have been demanding secession of Tripura from India.

Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion earlier this month had recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in Satchhari jungles in the northeastern district of Habiganj, bordering India's western Tripura.

The arms and ammunition, belonging to ATTF, included anti-tank weapons, mortars and AF series rifles.

"Though the four-and-half-decade old terrorism has been tamed in Tripura, the state government is averse to taking any chances for some more time," the official added.

The northeastern state of Tripura has 72 police stations. The AFSPA has been in force in 30 police station areas; it is fully operational in 24 police station areas, and partially operational in six.

In view of the improvement of the situation and the lessening of terrorist activities, the Tripura government in June last year reduced operational areas of the AFSPA to 30 police station areas instead of the 40 earlier. The act was earlier fully operational in 34 police station areas, and partially in six.

The act was first enforced in Tripura in 1997, when terrorism was at its peak in the mountainous state.

The central act provides unlimited powers to security forces to shoot at sight, arrest anybody without a warrant, and carry out searches without obstacles and without any one's consent.

It also insulates the security forces from legal processes for any action undertaken under the act.

Local rights groups and political parties, specially the tribal-based Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), describe the act as "draconian" and want it repealed.

"Innocent people are victimised by the security forces in the name of anti-insurgency operations," said Nagendra Jamatia, former minister and a senior leader of the INPT, an electoral ally of the opposition Congress.

"Demand for repealing the AFSPA was one of the issues in our movement against the Left Front government," Jamatia said.

Besides Tripura, the AFSPA is also in force in Manipur (excluding the Imphal Municipal Council area), Assam and Nagaland, and in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila of Manipur has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 14 years, demanding the withdrawal of the act.

Mizo Students Rest House Triggers Tension

By ZODIN SANGA 


 















An activist guards the land at Borapansury.

 Aizawl, Jun 13 : The Mizo Zirlai Pawl’s plan to build a Mizo rest house at Borapansury within the Chakma autonomous district council in southern Mizoram has triggered communal tension.

The MZP, an apex student organisation, has decided to go ahead with its plan to construct the Zofate Chawlhbuk or Mizo rest house from June 25 despite stiff opposition from Chakma organisations, which had even boycotted the June 4 byelection to Borapansury-II MDC (member of district council) seat in protest against the allotment of government land within the Chakma area to the MZP.

An MZP release hoped there would be “no obstruction” in construction of the rest house, land for which has been legally allocated to the MZP by the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department. “It has been decided that work will commence from June 25,” it added.

The MZP said the byelection boycott was “disregard for and violation of democracy” and criticised local legislator and minister B.D. Chakma for taking part in the protest.

It warned that if Chakmas do not allow construction of a Mizo rest house within the Chakma ADC on communal grounds, the MZP would take offence over the construction of Chakma House in Aizawl and the Chakma rest house in Lunglei district headquarters.

Sources said the MZP has been alleging Chakma infiltration in the area from Bangladesh and has felt a strong need to construct a rest house in the Chakma-dominated area to assert ownership of Mizoram territory.

MZP president Lalhmachhuana alleged that the Chakma population had abnormally increased in the Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts of southern Mizoram, both of which border Bangladesh, in the last few years, indicating largescale influx of Chakmas.

“We will take steps to drive out Chakma foreigners from Mizoram. We will pursue the matter with the Prime Minister’s office, as we have high hopes on Narendra Modi who had promised to drive out Bangladeshi migrants from the Northeast,” he added.

Northeast Committee To Submit Report Next Month

New Delhi, Jun 12 : A committee which was constituted to look into the concerns of persons hailing from the North Eastern states will submit its report early next month suggesting remedies and if necessary recommend change of laws for their protection.

"We will submit our report with some concrete suggestions," chairman of the committee and former Union Tourism Secretary M P Bezbaruah told PTI without elaborating anything.

Sources said the committee is expected to suggest strengthening the existing laws and if needed amendment of some provisions of the IPC.

However, the Committee is believed to be still debating whether to suggest enactment of an anti-racial law.

The committee is looking into various concerns of persons hailing from the North Eastern states who are living in different parts of the country, especially metropolitan cities, and will suggest suitable remedial measures which could be taken by the government.

The committee is holding a series of meetings at Nagaland House here.

The committee continues to have interaction with the students, professionals and various persons from the North Eastern states living in Delhi, NGOs, students organisations and other associations for seeking their suggestions in this regard.

Suggestions can also be sent by e-mail at mpbcomm.Northeast@gmail.Com and also by post to S Saha, Member Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Room No 172-C, North Block, New Delhi - 110001.

The terms of Reference of the committee are as follows:- (i)To examine the various kinds of concerns, including the concerns regarding security, of the persons hailing from the North Eastern States.

(ii) To examine the causes behind the attacks/violence and discrimination against the people from the North-Eastern states.

(iii) To suggest measures to be taken by the Government to address these concerns.

(iv) To suggest legal remedies to address these concerns.

Problems Over Bru Refugees' Cut-off Year

Aizawl, Jun 13 : As the Mizoram government is all set to carry out the sixth phase of repatriation of Bru refugees from Tripura, the stalemate over the cut-off year is likely to resurface.

Mizo Zirlai Pawl, the state's apex students' body, has planned to identify bonafide citizens of Mizoram among the repatriated Brus, based on the 1995 Mizoram electoral roll.

MZP, in its meeting today, decided to conduct the unofficial identification process at the two facilitation centres at Kanhmun and Zomuantlang.

MZP, including other influential Young organisations, had demanded that the 1995 electoral roll be the basis for determining bonafide residents of Mizoram from among the refugees lodged in Tripura camps.

'Only names of those refugees enlisted in the 1995 electoral rolls of Mizoram and their descendants be repatriated to their villages. This is because large number of Brus from neighbouring states and adjoining Bangladesh could have infiltrated into the refugee camps during the past 12 years,' MZP president Lalhmachhuana said.

On the contrary, the Bru refugees strongly opposed the demand of considering 1995 as the cut-off year for the repatriation of refugees.

The government has planned to repatriate at least 459 families on June 17 and 18.

A meeting was held on Monday evening between government officials of Mizoram and Tripura concerning transportation and security needs for the repatriation.

Officials from Mizoram led by Mamit DC K Lalthawmmawia included Mamit SP, Home department officials, nodal officers and DIPRO, Mamit while the officials from Tripura included North Tripura DM Sandeep Rathod and other officials.

The two sides discussed cooperation in the process of programmed repatriation.

As per the arrangement made, the Bru refugees to enter Mizoram through Mamit district will be received at two places - Kanhmun and Zomuantlang.

From there, they will be transported to the respective Assembly Constituency, where they lived before fleeing to Tripura.

As has been reported, the 6th batch repatriation shall be self-repatriation. Official identification of those submitting their names have been done.

Village Called Modi paves Own 'achche din' by building road to world beyond

By Rahul Karmakar and Sobhapati Samom

Imphal, Jun 13 : 'Achche din' is in your hands. Residents of a Manipur village named Modi, helped by their neighbours and paramilitary personnel, seem to have conveyed this by paving a 22km road to the world beyond.

An Anal tribal chieftain had 100 years ago chosen a highland in present-day Chandel district of Manipur for his people to settle down. He subsequently lent his name - Modi - to the settlement that grew to become a polling station catering to 158 voters and 567 others from three adjoining villages.

But that did not stop village Modi from falling on bad days, allegedly because of the Imphal Valley-centric Manipur government's indifference to the hill districts. Last month, as India tuned in to 'another Modi', locals set about changing their destiny by working on a road to nearest town Pallel.

"The government's failure to repair the road for years made us undertake the 22km road project connecting Modi village," said Kanral Anal, president of Chandel Naga People's Organisation. The organisation coordinated the work by members of seven tribes across 60 villages, local contractors and personnel of a unit each of Assam Rifles and Manipur Rifles.

The work was completed two days after Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister after announcing 'achchhey din aane waale hai'.

Locals, however, hope the name of their village would catch the interest of the Prime Minister for 'better days ahead'. The hope is fuelled by the possibility of former Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio getting a berth in the NDA cabinet.

Rio's party, Naga People's Front (NPF), is a constituent of NDA although it had been vociferous against the 'Hindutva BJP' during the poll campaign. Village Modi falls under Chandel assembly constituency represented by NPF's Nunghlung Victor.

"Elders tell us the name of the founder of our village means nothing. It should mean everything now," said Modi village resident Pashel Ngamnahring, 27.

World-Class Training Facilities in The Northeast Will Help Football in India

By Rajdeep Sardesai

Forget power cuts, ‘Ache din’ are here for the Indian sports fan. Over the next few weeks, the world will be tied into football fever. We will be dazzled by the artistry of a Messi and Ronaldo; fans in Kolkata will wear Brazilian shirts; pubs in Mumbai will have special screenings; and life in Goa and Kerala will revolve around a ball. We will celebrate the spirit of the beautiful game even as the national team won’t be playing it yet again.

In the 84-year history of the event, we have not participated in the World Cup finals even once. We almost did in 1950, coincidentally also hosted by Brazil, but had to withdraw because we were not allowed to play barefoot. The 1950s and early 60s are perhaps the golden age of Indian soccer: We won the gold at the inaugural Asian Games in 1951, repeated our success in 1962, and finished fourth in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.

Recent years have been sadly more difficult for the Indian football team. We are ranked 154th in the world (Pakistan is ranked 169th, which may provide consolation to some); we lost the South Asian football title last year to Afghanistan and even struggled to beat tiny Maldives. While another pint sized country like Honduras will participate in the World Cup, our best hope of actually being in the finals may lie in hosting the tournament one day.

Ironically, there is some evidence to suggest that interest in the sport itself has never been higher. Television ratings of global football games, especially the English Premier League, are steadily climbing. There is, in fact, more ‘live’ football now than ever before on Indian television. The inter-club tournament is being supplemented by an IPL style football league later this year. The World Inter-club tournament will be hosted by India in 2017 as will a global junior tournament.

The sport has also moved beyond its traditional powerhouses — West Bengal, Kerala and Goa — and discovered fresh catchment areas. Nowhere is the craze for football more visible than in the North-East. Mizoram, quite remarkably, won the national Santosh Trophy this year; clubs like Lajong FC in Shillong have made a mark in top events; and Baichung Bhutia has stirred a football mini-revolution in his home state of Sikkim. And yet, why is the glass of Indian football so painfully half-empty? Why is the world’s only genuine mass game unable to take a great leap forward among the wider masses in the country?

The obvious answer must lie in our near-fatal obsession with cricket. When one sport so overwhelmingly dominates our lives, then what chance for any other sport to survive and prosper? Our original national game, hockey, has already been pushed to the margins, so what hope did football, not blessed with the same golden traditions, ever have? Cricket monopolises talent, resources and attention, leaving us perilously close to being seen as a one-sport nation, although recent successes in the Olympics in individual sports like shooting, badminton and wrestling have offered some respite.

And yet, to blame cricket for the woes of other Indian sports is self-defeating. The fact is, games like football have wallowed in mediocrity for much too long. Kolkatans, for example, have remained content in the battles between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, almost mirroring the plight of a state being left behind by the rest. Kerala too never looked to raise the bar of the sport. Is it merely a coincidence that the Left, which has often looked at sport as an elite luxury, ruled Kerala and Bengal for years?

The solution doesn’t lie in simply getting more foreign players to participate in domestic leagues. Nor will it change by bringing IPL-style glamour into the sport with the likes of Ranbir Kapoor and John Abraham now owning football teams. It won’t change by merely showing more of the sport on television either. In fact, the telecast of global football leagues only underscores the difference between the rest of the world and us.

The key to the future then is two-fold. First, we need to recognise that football requires special physical attributes that are ill-suited to many parts of the country. What countries like Japan and South Korea have shown though is that raw power alone doesn’t win you football games; there is space for speed and quick reflexes. The footballers of the North-East are uniquely blessed in this regard. A focussed programme of football academies and world-class training aimed at this part of the country will have the most direct impact on our football. If Haryana could throw up India’s wrestling heroes, why can’t the North-East produce an assembly line of quality footballers? And why can’t business houses take this up as a challenge and part of corporate social responsibility for an oft-neglected region?

The other long-term solution lies in simply giving our children a chance to play. Per capita playgrounds in this country are among the lowest in the world. We shrink open spaces in our cities and have schools without sports grounds, and yet expect to produce international athletes. Cricket is an exception because there is an eco-system that now rewards excellence; for the rest, there is little chance of growth without infrastructure.

In Mumbai, for example, the Shiv Sena has now proposed to convert the 225 acre Race Course in the heart of the city into a theme park. The idea isn’t bad: A city like Mumbai needs more green lungs for its common citizens to enjoy rather than retain it as a privilege for Turf Club members. A space for people to walk, and maybe for our children to just kick a ball, isn’t that a way to a healthier and more ‘sporty’ future?

Post-script: Since the football World Cup doesn’t evoke the nationalist passions that cricket does, I am, like many Goans, seeking refuge in our colonial past. Portugal and Brazil are my teams for the Cup!

Rajdeep Sardesai is editor-in-chief, IBN 18 network

Bangladesh Allows Transit of Foodgrain To Northeast India

By Sujit Chakraborty

Agartala, Jun 13 : In a highly significant move that was evidently cleared at the highest level, Bangladesh is allowing India to ferry foodgrain to the landlocked northeastern states using its territory and infrastructure.

"To begin with, the Bangladesh government has under a special transit facility agreed to transport 10,000 tonnes of foodgrain for Tripura via its territory," Tripura's Principal Secretary (Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs) B.K. Roy told IANS.

"After getting a green signal from the Bangladesh government, the FCI (Food Corporation of India) initiated the process of transporting foodgrain and essentials using the Ashuganj river port (in eastern Bangladesh) and the roadways connected to the northeastern states."

The foodgrain would be ferried by small ships from Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh to Ashuganj and then by road to Tripura in Bangladeshi trucks. Ashuganj is 31 km from Tripura capital Agartala.

"The FCI had earlier floated tenders to select Bangladeshi transporters. After a series of diplomatic and administrative parleys involving various Bangladeshi ministries and India's food, finance, shipping and external affairs ministries, the long-pending matter was settled recently," the official added.

Earlier, in 2012, Bangladesh had allowed India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to ferry heavy machinery, turbines and cargo through Ashuganj for the 726 MW Palatana mega power project in southern Tripura. The Indian government had spent several millions of rupees to develop the port and related infrastructure.

"After Tripura, foodgrains would be ferried through Bangladesh for other northeastern states, including Mizoram, Manipur and southern Assam, to save time and costs, besides ensuring certainty," an FCI official said.

"Due to shortage of rail wagons, inadequate storage facilities and various other bottlenecks, the northeastern states have been suffering from poor supply of food grains for most part of the year, especially during the monsoon (June to September)," Tripura's Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Bhanulal Saha told IANS.

"In view of conversion of railway lines from metre gauge to broad gauge, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) would stop train services in Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam from October. In view of this, transportation of foodgrains and other essentials from different parts of the country to northeast India via Bangladesh is very vital," the minister added.

The eight northeastern states, including Sikkim, are largely dependent on the bigger states of India for foodgrain and essential commodities.

Surface connectivity is a key factor as the mountainous region is surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China, and the only land route to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal.

During the monsoon season, road transport becomes very difficult due to floods and landslides. For ferrying essentials, goods and heavy machinery from abroad and other parts of the country, India has for long been asking Bangladesh land, sea and rail access to the northeast.

Agartala via Guwahati, for instance, is 1,650 km from Kolkata and 2,637 km from New Delhi. The distance between the Tripura capital and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about 350 km.

The FCI would carry the foodgrain via Bangladesh in association with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).

Indian and Bangladeshi waterways connect West Bengal and Assam. The IWAI and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) are operating vessels on these routes.

The two neighbours share 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of riverine boundary and also share 54 rivers, including eight rivers flowing from Tripura.

Northeast Committee Meets DU Vice Chancellor

New Delhi, Jun 13 : A committee examining the concerns of people from the northeastern states living in other parts of India, Thursday met i and discussed the steps taken by it for students from the northeast.

The committee, headed by M.P. Bezbaruah, was set up by the home ministry after Nido Tania, a 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh, was beaten to death in Delhi in January.

"It was a regular meeting. The committee members asked the university about arrangements made for the northeast students. The main issue discussed was about security, sensitisation and bringing students to the mainstream," Malay Neerav, DU joint dean student's welfare and media coordinator, told IANS.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour.

During the meeting, the university official told the committee about setting up of nodal officers in every colleges to look into issues related to students from northeast region.

The committee is visiting educational institutions in metropolitan cities across India.