Day after Naga peace accord: No crackers, no festoons, it’s cautious optimism in Nagaland

In Dimapur, the state’s business centre, students attended schools and colleges, shops and offices remained open.



It was life as usual in Kohima Tuesday.

A day after the NSCN(IM) signed a historic “framework agreement” with the Centre moving a significant step closer towards ending an armed separatist movement, nobody in the state seemed ready to make any specific comment on the outcome without knowing the exact details of the agreement.

There were some who saw the scope of creating political space for the NSCN(IM) leaders. But most political leaders here did not see any immediate possibility of Muivah and his associates seeking political space within the framework of the Constitution.

Chief Minister T R Zeliang refused to hazard such a guess so early. “It’s difficult to make any observation without looking at the details of what the agreement has,” Zeliang said.

“It is too early to talk about creating political space for Muivah and his team. Moreover, going by what government interlocutor RN Ravi has said ( about “shared sovereignty”), we will have to wait for the details of the agreement that was signed on Monday,” Chuba Ozukum, president of Naga Hoho — the apex body of all tribal communities of the state said.

Meanwhile, there was no celebration or bursting of crackers, no banners or festoons to mark the occasion. In Dimapur, the state’s business centre, students attended schools and colleges, shops and offices remained open.

NSCN (IM) cadres seek transit help from Mizoram

Aizawl: Around 50 NSCN(IM) cadres holed up in the jungles of eastern Bangladesh have told Mizoram authorities that they might need transit assistance.

The shortest route from their Bangladesh base to Nagaland goes through Mizoram.

Sources said “Colonel” Apum,  NSCN(IM) commander in Chittagong region, contacted authorities Tuesday to intimate them of a possible return to India through Mizoram. 

NGOs & Churches To Collect Donations To Help Myanmar Flood Victims

Aizawl, Aug 5 : Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and churches will be collecting donations to help flood victims in the neighbouring state of Manipur and ethnic Mizo inhabited areas of Myanmar.

Zo Re-unification Organisation (ZoRO) leader R Zamawia today said the ZoRO convened a meeting of major NGOs and political parties yesterday and agreed to collect donations from the people of Mizoram for helping the flood victims in the Mizo inhabited towns of Kanan, Khampat, Halkha, Falam, Tahan and Kalemyo in Myanmar and several villages in Manipur.

Association of singers and musicians - the Mizo Zaimi Insuihkhawmpawl (MZI) and People United to Promote Music (PUMP) would also organise charity concerts on the streets of Aizawl this week to help the flood victims.

The Presbyterian Church's Mizoram Synod issued a circular to all local churches asking for donation to help the flood victims in Myanmar and also appealed to the church members to hold special prayer services for flood victims.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla sent a condolence message to his Manipur counterpart Ibobi Singh as several died in Chandel district due to the floods.

Lal Thanhawla said the people of Mizoram were praying for the people of Manipur at this time of disaster and grief.

12 New Railway Lines Being Constructed in Northeast India

New Delhi: Work on 12 new railway lines with a total length of 1,248 km is being taken up in the northeast, an official statement said on Tuesday.

"Against a national average of 20 km per 1,000 sq km railway network density, the northeastern states have an average railway network density of 10.1 km per 1,000 sq km," Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday.


Work on 12 new railway lines with a total length of 1,248 km is being taken up in the northeast, an official statement said on Tuesday. "Twelve new line works have been taken up in northeastern region having a total length of 1,248 km at a total cost of Rs. 38,416 crore (Rs.384 billion)," he said.

According to the minister, Rs.2,279 crore was allocated in 2012-13, Rs.3,392 crore in 2013-14 and Rs.5,200 crore in 2014-15 for new lines, gauge conversion and doubling the existing lines in the region.
"An increased outlay of Rs.5,338 crore has been provided in 2015-16 for speedier execution of projects in the northeastern region," Sinha said.

Watching porn: Mizoram Tops List; Delhi at 2nd Spot, Maharashtra 4th

New Delhi, Aug 4 : While most of us don't openly talk about porn and sex, the words itself attract the attention of almost everyone across the globe.

Condemning the culture, the government of India has recently ordered blocking of more than 800 porn websites in the country.

The government's move has been criticised harshly with some even calling it 'Talibanisation' of India.
According to a survey, the northeastern sate of Mizoram is marching ahead of other Indian states on internet porn access.

Delhi occupied the second spot whereas Maharashtra stood at number four in watching porn websites.

Apart from Mizoram, three other Northeastern states- Nagaland, Meghalaya and Assam are in the list that lead in watching porn sites.
On a world wide basis, it is said that India ranked at the fifth spot in number of visitors to the porn website.

India, Naga Rebels Ink Peace Deal To End Longest Insurgency

 

PM Narendra Modi with leaders of NSCN (IM) at the signing of peace accord at 7,RCR on Monday. (Photo credit: You Tube screen grab)

New Delhi, Aug 4 : The government on Monday evening signed a historic accord with a leading Naga group, NSCN (I-M), promising an end to India’s longest running insurgency that caps almost two decades of peace talks.

With National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) leader Thuingaleng Muivah by his side at his 7, RCR residence, Modi praised the Naga leader and Isak Chishi Swu, who together founded the group, for their wisdom, courage and efforts that led to the pact.

“It is a lesson and an inspiration in our troubled world,” Modi said after the agreement was signed by the Centre’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks RN Ravi and the 79-year-old Muivah.

Swu, who was unwell and was not present at the ceremony, too, had signed the deal. His son Pasheto, however, was present at the ceremony.
It was not immediately clear how the agreement addresses NSCN (I-M) demand for the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas in the Northeast across Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam -- the biggest stumbling block in the protracted negotiations.

The details of the pact and the execution plan would be made public shortly, a government statement later said.

The agreement, said sources, had worked out a mechanism to guarantee Naga pride, their unique history and their ethos.

The signing of the pact is the culmination of over 80 rounds of negotiations, with first breakthrough in 1997 when leaders of the NSCN (I-M), then the most lethal insurgent group, agreed to a ceasefire.

“The Naga political issue had lingered for six decades, taking a huge toll on generations of our people,” Modi said about the insurgency that has cost over 3,200 lives.

Muivah was equally effusive in his praise of Modi. “Under Modi, we have come close to understanding each other and have worked out a new relation with the government,” the Naga leader said.

The negotiations received an impetus after Modi assumed power in 2014 when he pushed for a lasting solution and outlined the broad parameters for the pact.

The PM set the tone for the accord, which had been kept under the wraps, when at 6.15pm he tweeted about an “important and landmark event” minutes later at RCR.


Modi described the accord as “historic”. “Today, we mark not merely the end of a problem, but the beginning of a new future,” he said.

The government, however, still has to contend with another major Naga faction led by SS Khaplang that broke the ceasefire agreement earlier this year and was responsible for the Manipur attack in June that killed 18 soldiers.

National security adviser Ajit Doval and Ravi are believed to have been working overtime in the last few months to reach the accord.

A credible resolution is expected to provide a framework that will support stronger ties among Nagas across the region without substantially changing the jurisdictional and administrative authority of neighbouring states.

Besides Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh, many top government functionaries attended the ceremony, which was also witnessed by NSCN (I-M) leadership.

Mizoram plans for aid, charity events for flood-affected ethnic Zo communities in Myanmar

Some Mizo singers and musicians have also announced plans to hold a mobile charity concert in state capital Aizawl.


Local residents wade through a flooded road in Bago, 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Aug 1, 2015. (Source: AP)

Various organisations and political parties in Mizoram have appealed for aid and prayers for ethnic Zo communities affected by floods and heavy rains in Myanmar as well as in Manipur.

The Zofa Global Network and the Mizo Zaimi Insuihkhawm (MZI), a body of singers and musicians, have announced plans to hold a mobile charity concert in state capital Aizawl this week, proceeds from which would be sent to flood-affected ethnic Zo communities in the neighbouring country.

Both the Mizo National Front and the Mizoram People’s Conference have issued appeals to residents of the state to pray for and contribute to aid meant for ethnic Zos in Myanmar who have been affected by the heavy rains and winds in the wake of Cyclone Komen.

Various groups and political parties also met at the Zo Reunification Organisation’s offices on Monday to discuss how best to collect and send aid to the flood-affected regions, saying ethnic Zo communities have been severely affected by flooding in towns across Chin State and Sagaing Divisions such as Tahan, Falam, Kawlphai, Kalemiau and Halkha.

Other groups such as the central committee of the Young Mizo Association have also called meetings to take part in the aid effort as pictures and videos on social media and news reports from across the international border continue to inform Mizoram residents about the natural calamity.

Ethnic Zos are spread over Myanmar’s Sagaing Division, Chin State and the Arakan region.

Manipur Floods: Waters Receding But Life Hit

New Delhi, Aug 4 : Even as the central government rushed in the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), thousands of people in Manipur`s Thoubal and Chandels districts are trying to come to grips with life in relief camps after their houses were submerged by flood waters.

Water-filled paddy fields have been covered by sand and community and residential ponds have been rendered unusable.

"One person was killed while he was trying to protect his home at Serou village from the surging waters of the Sekmai river on Saturday evening," Robert Leisangthem, a resident of Kakching in Thoubal, told IANS on phone.

This takes the toll to 21 after 20 people were killed in a landslide at Joumul village in neighbouring Chandel district on Saturday.

"The water level of the Sekmai river is coming down but the impact of the floods is still being felt. Paddy fields are covered with sand and filth and community and residential ponds are filled with dirt," Leisangthem said.

It is the agricultural season and the over 600-sq km area, known as the rice bowl of Manipur and inhabited by over 500,000 people, has been hit badly.

According to reports, the entire Thoubal and many parts of Chandel district have been hit by the worst floods in the last 200 years.

The Asian Highway No 1 connecting Imphal with Moreh on the Myanmar border has been cut off.

The Chakpi river, known for its uncertain flow of water, has flooded the entire Serou region in the southern part of Thoubal district. Water is flowing near the danger mark of the the newly constructed Serou bridge.

"Though the water level is coming down, people whose homes were submerged by the flood waters are living in relief camps," Leisangthem said.

"The director of Manipur`s health services was seen distributing medicines. Doctors have been appointed in relief camps. Local people are distributing rice and other essentials among people affected by the floods."

The Sengvai and the Chakpi rivers have also been creating havoc.

"Waters are ceding. The bridge over Sengvai river, though not destroyed, has developed cracks on the side," Hechin Haokip, a resident of Pallel in Thoubal district bordering Chandel, told IANS.

"Another bridge over the Chakpi river collapsed on Friday," she said.

According to Haokip, as of Sunday evening, rescue teams were struggling to reach Joumul village in Chandel district as two more landslides occurred on the way to the disaster-hit area.

"Since communications have been disrupted, I am not very sure if the rescue teams have been able to reach the area," Haokip said.

Northeast India Varsities To Offer Skill Training

The National Skill Development Corporation and major universities in northeast India have inked deals to introduce skill-based training in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of educational institutes

Kolkata, Aug 4 : The National Skill Development Corporation and major universities in northeast India have inked deals to introduce skill-based training in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of educational institutes, a statement said on Monday.

The move is to introduce skill-based training in undergraduate as well as postgraduate programmes of colleges/institutes/departments in these universities in a phased manner, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) said in a statement.

The universities' list comprises Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University, University of Guwahati, Dibrugarh University, Tezpur University (Assam), Sikkim Manipal University (Sikkim), Tripura University (Tripura) and Indra Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University (Arunachal Pradesh).

The courses will be introduced in the second year of undergraduate programmes and cover four semesters in the second and third year of undergraduate programmes. The courses will help boost India's recently launched 'Skill India Mission'.

"The students will be given a choice to select any one skill-based course from the identified sectors in addition to the regular academic subjects.

"However, it shall not be mandatory for a student to join such skill development courses. The choice is left to the student," the release said.

Dilip Chenoy, the managing director and chief executive officer, NSDC, said, "To link skill training to meaningful and fulfilling careers, we are also helping them in placements through Sector Skill Councils and Training Partners who will be participating in the implementation of the programme."

The NSDC will ensure 70 per cent placement of students post training.

Up to eight sectors will be made available initially for the participating colleges/institutions to choose from.

Before the commencement of every academic year, these universities will review the existing skill development programmes in the colleges/institutions with the NSDC.

These will consider introducing new sectors and courses as per the demand of the industry and the willingness of the participating institutions.

The fee of the courses will be mutually decided by each university and the NSDC in consultation with NSDC approved training partners and NSDC approved Sector Skill Councils, according to the statement.