Sadar Hills District Body Meets Chidambaram

By Devesh Gupta

New Delhi, Aug 23 : The Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram at his residence here on Sunday to discuss their demand for creation of a full fledged district of Sadar Hills.

While giving a review of their meeting, one SHDDC delegate said Chidambaram had advised Manipur Chief Minister Ibobi Singh to resolve the issue amicably and hold talks with SHDDC leaders.

Chidambaram further added that Sadar Hills matter is unique and cannot be contested.

The delegation had earlier submitted a memorandum to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Chidambaram expressing their inconvenience on Sadar Hills not being given the authority and the power to function fully as a district and made a subordinate to Senapati District.

The memorandum also stated that the facilities, which are given to a district, are not available to them.

The six Autonomous Hill Districts of Senapati, Sadar Hills, Ukhrul, Chandel, Churachandpur and Tamenglong were created by an act of Parliament in 1971.

“Sadar Hills District Demand Committee was formed 37 years ago and nothing concrete has been done till now and people in the region are not satisfied with it. The region qualifies in every aspect to become a full-fledged district. We have 3 3 constituencies, 3 sub-divisions, 3 MLA’s and the population of the area is also higher than any other district in Manipur”, said Tongkhotang Kipgen, Chairman of the Sadar Hills Chief Association.

Since July 31, the SHDDC has imposed an economic blockade in Manipur. The blockade was initially for seven days but it now transformed into a general strike.

The protestors have blocked National Highways 39,150 and 53, which has massively hit the prices of the essential commodities in the region. According to the latest reports the essential commodity goods are now ferried to the Imphal valley in security cover.

Nearly five people have been killed in the blockade and about 20 people have gone on an indefinite fast unto death since last five days.

C Doungel, one of the members of SHDDC during a news conference in the national capital said: “The blockade will continue until the government agrees to our demands.” He added the longer the blockade continues more will be the damage to the government.

But the Nagas living in the nearby areas have completely ruled out this demand of SHDDC.

Under the aegis of United Naga Council, the All Naga Students Association, Manipur and the Naga Peoples Organisation, Senapati they have completely refused for any kind of bifurcation of any Naga areas without their consent.

Thangkam Lupheng, the Vice President of the SHDDC said,” When Ukhrul, Churachandpur, Senapati was created, we never raised any objection then why these people are raising objections. Till today we have not even tried to contact UNC, though they earlier extended us the moral support before we began our agitations. It is the problem of our people and I advice that the other groups should not interfere into it as it is not their business.”

Sadar Hills has nearly two lakh people and is inhabited by Nepalis, Nagas, Kukis and Meiteis.

Manipur Slams Indian Media For Ignoring Irom Sharmila

Imphal, Aug 23 : Civil rights campaigners in Manipur are upset with the mainstream Indian media for blowing up activist Anna Hazare’s anti-graft fast that entered its sixth day on Sunday and ignoring the over decade-long hunger strike by Irom Chanu Sharmila against rights violations by the security forces in the region.

“There is a general sense of feeling that we, the people of the northeast, have always been neglected, discriminated, and looked down upon by the rest of India, including the mainstream media.
See how Anna’s fast has hogged media headlines and see our very own Irom fasting for nearly 11 years,” Singhajit Singh, a civil rights campaigner and elder brother of Sharmila, said on  Sunday.

Dubbed as the “Iron Lady of Manipur,” Sharmila began her fast on Nov. 2, 2000, after witnessing the killing of 10 people by the army at a bus stop near her home.

Now around 40, she was arrested shortly after beginning her protest — on charges of attempted suicide. She was sent to a prison hospital where she began a daily routine of being force-fed via a nasal drip.

Sharmila is frequently set free by local courts, but once outside, she resumes her hunger-strike and is rearrested. She is campaigning for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that enables security forces to shoot on sight and arrest anybody without a warrant.

“The attitude of the Indian public is sad in the sense that something happening in the northeast is seldom recognized by the mainstream media. The whole attitude is discriminatory,” said Babloo Loitongbam from a local human rights group.

AFSPA was passed in 1990 to grant security forces special powers and immunity from prosecution to deal with raging insurgencies in the northeastern states and in Jammu Kashmir.

Sharmila is currently being held in an isolated cabin at the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital here.

“If Anna was born in Manipur and Sharmila born in New Delhi, things would have been just the reverse. For the mainstream media, northeast or things happening in the northeast hardly excites them,” Singh said.

Manipur is home to 2.4 million people and about 19 separatist groups which have demands ranging from autonomy to independence.

Irom Sharmila May Not Give Unconditional Support to Anna

He needs to show some concern for her struggle against AFSPA, say her aides

Kunal Majumder
New Delhi

Support to Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption will not be unconditional, a close aide of Manipuri-activist Irom Sharmila told TEHELKA. Sharmila in her earlier statement had supported Hazare’s method of protest but she is still to decide if she is going support his cause. Team Anna had sent feelers to Sharmila's supporters seeking support, her aides confirmed. “Though the method is same, the causes are entirely different,” said Sharmila’s aide. “While we are sympathetic to Anna’s fight against corruption, he needs to show some concern for our struggle against AFSPA.” He pointed out there can be no blanket support. Sharmila’s final decision is expected tomorrow.

Sharmila, 38, who is under house arrest at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Imphal, has been on a fast for the past ten years demanding a repeal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) from North East. The AFSPA, has been imposed in Manipur since 1961 and most of the Northeast since 1972, allows Armed Forces wide powers to shoot, arrest and search. By the government’s own admission, more than 20,000 people have ‘disappeared’ in Manipur since then. In Jammu & Kashmir, where AFSPA has been in force since 1990, activists claim that between 8,000 and 10,000 people have disappeared in the custody of army, paramilitary forces and the police.

Perhaps if Anna’s protest had been here in Manipur, the response would not have been so vigorous: Irom Sharmila

As thousands back Anna Hazare’s protest against the Jan Lokpal Bill draft, the theatre of action remains the national Capital. In the periphery of this vast country, another Gandhian has been on fast for 10 years. Irom Sharmila continues her fast to compel the Centre to withdraw Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In this exclusive interview to Ratnadip Choudhury, she speaks her heart out on how the protest against AFSPA needs the support of the entire nation.

Irom Sharmila

Anna Hazare, another believer in non-violence is fasting as a means of protest…
I have heard of Anna Hazare’s protest. Non-violence, taught to us by the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, is the only means to achieve solutions. It is really good that the nation has woken up to corruption and the protest is centred at New Delhi so the lawmakers will be able to understand the intensity. We also once tried to take our fight to New Delhi by staging protests at Jantar Mantar but we did not get support from the rest of the nation, perhaps because AFSPA only affects the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir. But the country should take it as an issue concerning the nation. We are protesting here at Imphal and New Delhi is far—perhaps if Anna’s protest had been here in Manipur, the response would not have been so vigorous. The Centre has never tried to lend an ear to our cause, the national media barring a few has not been sensitive to Northeast, and this is a symbolic example of discrimination.

You have been on hunger strike for 10 years. What inspires you to carry on?
My crusade is to awaken the slumbering minds of our society. My own conscience is the sole infallible inspiration to carry on this lone fight. And there is the constant support of the people.

The Guwahati High Court has asked the Manipur government to act upon the probe report on the 2004 rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama Devi. Do you feel justice will be delivered?
In my lifetime, I have never seen the punishing of any criminal who commit horrendous acts like the brutal killing of Manorama and Luningla Elizabeth after gangrapes or of the SDO Kishen by our concerned administrators. There is no justice in Manipur. And yet I am positive.

Now a nationwide campaign has been launched in your support. How do you see this development?
The support for my cause is a symbol of God's vigilance for a human being's spiritual fight for justice to mankind. If you believe in the creator of the universe with devotion, please go against the prejudicial perception of others as inferior or superior in accordance with their caste, colour, appearance or language. Discrimination is the main factor of growing insurgency.

Fake encounters and fake surrenders continue unabated in Manipur. In the recent past, TEHELKA has unearthed many such stories. Where lies the problem?
The anti-terrorism drive is emboldened by the black law AFSPA. Our legislators embolden it via bribery. The draconian law has given them licence to kill at will.

In Manipur there is a tendency to put the blame squarely on security forces for any conflict. What about the accountability of the administration and legislators?
During to their incorrigible conduct, security forces well deserve the blame for any conflict in Manipur. But in truth, our social conflicts stem from corruption which is the root cause of all evil deeds. Not only politicians but each and every department's top officials take bribes from each and every job-seeking applicant, excluding dear ones and close relatives.

With elections round the corner in Manipur, do you think the AFSPA issue will unnerve politicians?
A poverty-stricken society like the Manipuris would easily be persuaded as usual by seasoned, brazen politicians who have been doling out dirty money for securing votes long before the election comes. The AFSPA issue will be effective only when voters wake to self-realisation, to make a difference in our society. But that’s a long way off.

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

Arundhati Roy Blasts 'Saint' Anna Hazare

New Delhi, Aug 22 : Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy launched a scathing attack Monday on the "aggressive nationalism" behind the anti-corruption drive led by hunger-striking campaigner Anna Hazare.

In a column entitled "I'd rather not be Anna" published in a newspaper, the novelist, essayist and rights activist condemned both the style and substance of Hazare's campaign that has mobilised public opinion in India.

In particular she questioned Hazare's use of the hunger strike and other tactics and symbols co-opted from his hero -- India's independence icon Mahatma Gandhi.
"While his means may be Gandhian, Anna Hazare's demands are certainly not," Roy said.

The focus of Hazare's protest is a new anti-corruption bill.

The 74-year-old activist says the current draft is too weak and wants Parliament to pass his own version which gives more scope and power to an ombudsman who would monitor politicians, bureaucrats and the judiciary.

While agreeing that the government bill was so flawed "that it was impossible to take seriously", Roy said Gandhi would have been dismayed by Hazare's vision of an all-powerful, centralised ombudsman.

"It will function as an independent administration, meant to counter the bloated, unaccountable, corrupt one that we already have. Two oligarchies instead of one," Roy said.

Hazare, who has not eaten for six days and took his fast public on Friday, has drawn huge crowds to the open air venue where he is staging his hunger strike in Delhi.

But Roy, a vocal government critic, said she was dismayed by "the props and the choreography, the aggressive nationalism" of the Hazare movement.

"They signal to us that if we do not support the fast, we are not 'true Indians'," she said.

"Who is he really, this new saint, this Voice of the People?" she asked, accusing Hazare of remaining silent on other issues like farmers' suicides in his home state of Maharashtra.

Anna's Backstage Helpers Who Oversee The Ramlila Show

New Delhi: Scores of youngsters look busy and hassled, a few are working on their laptops. A short young woman instructs a fellow volunteer to get food for all of them. It is a small band busy managing the Anna Hazare show at the Ramlila ground here.

From food, ambulance, security, crowd management, maintaining links with the media, and transcribing speeches --the 100 plus volunteers from India Against Corruption (IAC) group are the lifeline behind the 74-year-old Gandhian activist's fast that has gripped the world's attention.
With the hunger strike entering the sixth day Sunday, the volunteers say they have a lot to tackle. And with thousands of young and old packing the Ramlila ground, some go without sleep at night.

"We are ready to run from pillar to post. Our leader Hazareji is not 74, he is 14 years old and the battery of this movement," IAC's media manager Aswathi Muralidharan, who has not gone home for many days, told IANS.

Agrees her colleague Sneha Kothwale, a 23-year old graduate of journalism from Delhi University who prepares power point presentation and other inputs for the media.
"It is like connecting the dots. We have the task of pooling in all the resources, coordinating with the media, people, even those who do not know anything about the movement," she explained.
The face of the Hazare campaign for a Jan Lokpal Bill -- as opposed to the government-sponsored one -- is of course a group of half a dozen who are the Gandhian's closest aides.

This includes RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, former police officer Kiran Bedi, lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan, and social activist Swami Agnivesh.
But with most of them detained or jailed Aug 16 along with Hazare, it was left to the younger lot to keep the flag flying.
Kejriwal said it was this team that provides oxygen to the campaign against corruption. "It is the volunteers who have been managing it from the scratch."
Almost all volunteers are in their 20s. Many have been associated with Kejriwal, a Magsaysay award winner. Some volunteers admit they strayed into the campaign only because of Hazare.
"Earlier my parents used to ask me to choose a stable career as this (activism) would not get me a salary or name," Sneha told IANS.

"But the April fast by Hazareji was a life changing moment. My parents never said a single word to me about this work after that," she said. Her reference was to the five-day hunger strike by Hazare here that ignited nationwide passions and forced the government to talk to him about an anti-corruption legislation.
There is plenty of work to be done -- day and night. All developments related to the Lokpal Bill is monitored. The media is regularly briefed. Hazare's health needs to be checked.
There are logistic issues to be tackled -- managing the sprawling Ramlila ground, arranging food for the thousands who throng the venue, providing security, accepting donations, and so on.
The IAC relies a lot on other volunteers to provide security to Hazare. Police frisk everyone entering the ground, even people like Kejriwal. Hazare began his fast Tuesday when he was taken to the Tihar Jail. He was in prison until Friday when he shifted to the Ramlila ground.

Source: IANS
Image Source: AFP

‘For Northeast Peace, ULFA and NDFB Must Quit Garo Hills’

REBEL OUTFITS in the Northeast are falling apart, a phenomenon hitherto unseen in the region. And perhaps for the first time in the history of insurgency in the region, one rebel outfit has openly criticised others. The Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) of Meghalaya, that agreed to a ceasefire in 2004, has given a 20-day ultimatum to the Paresh Barua-led anti-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to quit its bases in the Garo Hills and stop helping the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA). A similar ultimatum has been issued to the Ranjan Daimary-led National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). A day after ANVC issued this ultimatum, Ratnadip Choudhury caught up with the group’s spokesperson Torik Jangning Marak to know why the ANVC has dared to dare ULFA and NDFB. Excerpts from an interview.

Torik Jangning Marak, Spokesperson, ANVC

Photo: Avalok Langer

What made you issue an ultimatum to ULFA and the NDFB to leave Garo Hills?
First, these groups are creating chaos in the Garo Hills. Second, they are helping the GNLA terrorise Garo-populated areas by assisting in kidnappings, killings, extortions, etc. Third, they have foreign connections — they are hand-in-glove with Pakistan’s ISI. Fourth, they want to derail the ongoing peace process with the Indian government. Fifth, if they remain in the hills, they will disturb the peace initiative in Assam. Plus, they don’t belong in Garo Hills.

For seven years now, ANVC has been talking peace with the Centre to work out a solution to long-pending Garo issues. GNLA came up as an outfit with the help of NDFB and ULFA and made a similar demand with the support of both anti-talk groups. They want to derail us to prove their power. They have tried to confuse the government by adopting similar names as that of ANVC leaders. Demands, killings and kidnappings took place for which they kept blaming ANVC. We are serious about the commitments we make to the Centre on the table. We have endured for years in the jungle but all our endeavours to come to a peaceful solution seemed to have provided a way for the GNLA to rise. The only way out for restoring peace is to drive away all who are against this initiative. If it was not for the NDFB and ULFA (anti-talk factions), it would not have been as crucial as we see it today, and I assure you, if we do not take this step they will surely disrupt the ongoing peace process with the pro-talk groups in Assam.

When ANVC was active, it had links with both ULFA and NDFB, particularly after Operation All Clear in Bhutan. Why has the relationship petered out?
They did try to strike an understanding with us in the past. The scaling down is simply because we do not want our land and people to be exploited.

Reports say that it was the ANVC that helped Assam rebel groups build up bases in Garo Hills for easy transit to Bangladesh. After the ceasefire, does the ANVC own up to these actions?
This is not true, but we do not rule out other smaller elements that tried to crop up during the time with their help and taking our name to help them. People, especially on the border, are in a very pathetic state — they may do anything for a little sum of money, but ANVC has always been firm in not allowing any other organisation to set its base in Garo Hills.

There are reports that the ANVC had taken ULFA’s help to set up base in Bangladesh. ULFA was linked to the ISI and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence even then. Why did you not object then?
See, ANVC did not need ULFA, but ULFA needed ANVC to use Garo Hills as a corridor and to use it as their hideout for creating terror in Assam. ANVC did not endorse that idea.

How does ANVC see the GNLA?
Our mindset is different and training is focussed in such a way that we create leaders. GNLA is not our off-shoot, although some leaders like Soham were earlier a part of ANVC. We never treated him as an enemy. But they kept poking and attempting to disturb our cadres and the peace process. Now, they are threatening our own people with dire consequences and we have to take a stand. We have not come this far to see another form of exploitation.

The ANVC is in ceasefire from 2004. Do you feel that the GNLA’s overtones will disrupt the peace process in any way?
Yes, because ANVC wants peace and GNLA wants to disturb the peace. Where does this leave us? After seven years of ceasefire and putting up with all kinds of things we want something for our people.

The GNLA and ANVC locked horns over the 16 August bandh call. Now we are told that locals are feeling threatened. What’s your reaction?
People should not fear ANVC because we want to protect them; rather, they should fear GNLA, which is under foreign influence. They are becoming desperate and may do something silly to prove their ability. They started the fire, and we drew the line.

The peace negotiations between the Centre and the ANVC is going at a very slow pace.
We know what is going on and where the holes are, but do not want to comment on that. We will get there once Garo Hills is peaceful.

Will the ANVC step in if the Meghalaya government asks it to solve the GNLA problem? What would your stand be if Champion R Sangma (self-styled chairman of GNLA) also declares that his outfit wants to join the ongoing negotiation?
Nobody has authority over us, no one can tell us what to do. We are in a peace process and do not appreciate someone dictating terms. We make our decisions depending on the situation. For GNLA and even for Sangma, their only way out is to surrender.

When ANVC took up arms, the call was for a separate Achikland. Now you have scaled down the demand to an autonomous district council. Why? If negotiations fail, will the ANVC again resort to military action?
Scaling down the demand was not our idea but of society elders, and they had a point, they had a vision. They did not want Meghalaya to be divided further. Things cannot be expected to get better unless politicians change their attitude and take initiatives for the sake of the people. Armed struggle without political initiative is meaningless. We were made to look like clowns sometimes. But we can assure you this, seven years have taught us a lot and we are wise enough to make our own decisions now.

With inputs from Purbasha Bhattacharjee in Shillong

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

Floods Along the Brahmaputra River And its Tributaries [Pic]

acquired August 20, 2011 download large image (5 MB, JPEG)

acquired May 28, 2011 download large image (4 MB, JPEG)

Floods along the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries affected residents of eastern India and Bangladesh in late August 2011. The Times of India reported that sudden swelling of Brahmaputra tributaries inundated villages and left thousands homeless in Assam.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired these images on August 20, 2011 (top), and May 28, 2011 (bottom). Both images use a combination of visible and infrared light to increase contrast between water and land. Vegetation is green and clouds are pale blue-green. Water appears in varying shades of blue, and it is silvery blue where sunlight reflects off the water surface.

Rainy season in this part of the world typically begins in June. The image from late May shows the region before heavy rains have begun. The image from late August shows a transformed landscape. The Brahmaputra River flows through braided channels in eastern India and Bangladesh. By late August, water in the channels has merged, especially in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, in eastern India (image upper right), tributaries to the Brahmaputra have swelled conspicuously.

1. References

2. The Times of India. (2011, August 18). Floods continue to ravage Dhemaji. Accessed August 21, 2011.

NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: 

Aqua - MODIS

Dhaka ‘Chalo’, PM Says To Mizoram CM

Aizawl, Aug 21 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has formally invited Mizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla to accompany him to Bangladesh when he visits the neighboring country next month.

Sources said the Prime Minister plans to visit Bangladesh on September 6 and 7 to cement ties with the neighboring country.

India is committed to forging a strong and enduring relationship with the people and government of the neighboring country.

Your presence would reaffirm India s commitment to have better relationship, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying in his letter to the chief minister.

The Prime Minister also said he had instructed the External Affairs ministry to make sure that the chief minister was kept informed of any of his visits to the neighboring country.

Mizoram shares 318 km border with Bangladesh. Official sources said the Mizoram government has been taking expeditious steps to implement Indo-Bangla border trade.

Border trade center at Kawrpuichhuah in south Mizoram will be commissioned in the near future.