Northeast Student Bodies Stage Stir in New Delhi

Guwahati, Oct 2 : The North East Students' Organization (NESO), comprising student bodies from all the seven states of the region, on Saturday staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi seeking a solution to multiple issues ranging from demands for expedition of the peace processes with militant outfits to repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and protest against mega-dams being built in the region.

The students opposed the transfer of land as part of the India-Bangladesh land swap deal. The students' organizations also sought sealing of the international borders with the region to curb the ongoing influx across the borders.

Neso chairman and Aasu advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya, who led the dharna in New Delhi, said the sit-in was staged to protest against the Centre's lackadaisical attitude towards the northeast in all respects.

Aasu general secretary Tapan Gogoi said the NESO delegation was seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to submit a memorandum.

"We are strongly opposing giving away of Assam's land to Bangladesh as part of the land swap deal. The agreement is yet to be ratified by the Parliament and so we will be pressing the Prime Minister to keep the deal in abeyance. We will also be asking for his intervention in stopping the construction of mega dams in the region as suggested by experts. The government has been saying that it would like to take the opinion of other experts. We welcome this, but at the same time, the construction should be stopped till the experts carry out more studies on the issue," the Aasu general secretary said.

He added that Irom Sharmila's elder brother Irom Singhajit also joined the dharna.

Apart from Aasu, the student organizations that joined in the protest were Khasi Students Union, Garo Students' Union, All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union, Naga Students' Federation, All Manipur Students' Union, Mizo Zirlal Pawl and Twipra Students' Federation.

Fate of Sadar Hills Stir To Be Decided Soon

Imphal, Oct 2 : The people of Manipur, who are reeling under a commodity crisis due to a two-month-long economic blockade along two important routes in the state, might finally get some respite. The agitating Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee (SDHHC), which has choked the key supply routes - NH 39 (Imphal-Dimapur) and NH 53 (Imphal-Silchar) - since August 1, will convene a meeting to decide whether or not to end the blockade. According to a recent notification, NH 39 has become NH 2 and NH 53 has become NH 37.

The decision to hold this meeting was taken in a public meet held at the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi area in Sadar Hills on Saturday, a key leader of the SHDDC informed this reporter. "We will continue the agitation till the next meeting, the date and venue for which are yet to be fixed," he said.

The United Naga Council (UNC) has also called similar stir on the same routes to denounce the state government's alleged attempt to create new districts after bifurcating 'Naga areas'.

SHDDC's Saturday meeting, which also reviewed the 61-day-old agitation, was attended by committee representatives, former and sitting legislatures, members of the Sadar Hills autonomous district council, chairman and chiefs of various villages and church leaders.

"As resolved in today's public meeting, we (SHDDC) will decide whether the stir will continue or not. Though the date is yet to be decided, we may hold the meeting either at Motbung or at Sapermeina," the SHDDC leader said.

Meanwhile, the UNC said in a statement that the Nagas wish for peace and harmony with the neighboring communities, based on mutual respect for each other's right over land and its traditional ownership.

"We respect the genuine aspirations and rights of all communities just as we wish that our aspirations and rights are also respected by others," said the statement, sent by the Naga apex body's publicity wing on Saturday evening.

It said the Nagas have their traditional boundaries, but the state government, despite being fully aware of this fact, has made a deliberate attempt to bifurcate and carve out 'Naga areas' by constituting a committee for Reorganization of Administrative and Police District boundaries to fulfill its design of creating a new district without consulting the Nagas.

"The Nagas are one and will stand together as a people and the economic blockade along the national highways is the collective decision of the Naga people. We are not against any individuals, groups or community but against the state government and its nefarious divide-and-rule policy of pitting one community against the other," the statement added.

Hundreds Go Missing in India's Northeast

By Stella Paul 

For records, law and order situation has improved a lot in India's North East region of late. There are fewer killings, fewer attacks and fewer people wounded. Now, just when you are all tempted to say ‘how wonderful!’, comes the news: there are people vanishing, in thousands, every year, all over the region.

Topping the list is Manipur where over 300 people disappear every year. Every morning, as you open a newspaper, you will come across 7-10 faces of the “missing persons”, listed on the last page of the newspaper.

Some will be found eventually; their bodies, often decomposed beyond recognition, are retrieved from remote and isolated locations. Visit the morgue of state capital Imphal and you can see uncovered bodies, lying on the ground, unattended. You can tell that they are victims of extrajudicial killings. Majority of these bodies will never be identified nor claimed by families. They will be hastily examined, and then disposed off by the municipality. They will not be given any names, their stories will not be written, and miniscule records of their passage in the morgue will be kept. In an ultimate denial of their humanity, no religious rituals will be performed.

But, what about those who are not dead? Where do they end up, if not in the morgue?

The answer isn’t difficult to guess: trafficked, to other parts of the country. Yes, human trafficking is growing at an alarming rate all across India and North east is emerging as the greatest source of this trafficked human goods, mostly women and children.

Official data is hardly ever there, but there are indicators to validate such comments. A look at Assam Police’s annual list of missing persons shows up hundreds of images and two third of them belong to young women, between 18-35 of age. And this is just the list of 1 year (2009). How many women have since then gone missing? You can only guess.

Nagaland is no better.  In Nagaland, one person goes missing every 3 ½ days. According to a study conducted by a local NGO called Prodigal Home, 68% of them are children, 35% of whom will never be found again.

There is another scary fact about Nagaland: the state has become the main transit point for human trafficking and this is officially validated fact, provided by state police. According to a senior police officer SP Tuensang Roopa, girls from border areas are brought to Nagaland through ‘agents,’ trafficked to other parts of the country. There, they are forced into prostitution. Some are employed as domestic help in individual households.

(There are 3 lakh brothels in India today with 2.5 million prostitutes in about 1100 red light areas, who are also mostly trafficked and forced into prostitution.)

The biggest hurdle in curbing or even tracking this trafficking menace is that half the times missing cases are not registered. Data collection, therefore, is a mission nearly impossible for those wanting to research the issue. Sometimes, one gets suspected and threatened, simply for asking ‘too many questions.’  Community members, including the relatives of the missing persons too go into a shell the moment they see you taking notes.

Is implementation of laws such as Child Labor (Prevention and Regulation) Act, alone the answer to this menace? Or, is this a larger issue of poverty elimination and creation of livelihood opportunities? It’s time to start asking those questions, aloud.

Stop Lending Names To Non-Mizos: Mizo Church

Aizawl, Oct 1 : Mizoram Presbyterian Church’s social front has appealed to the Mizos to stop lending their names to non-tribals.

Voicing serious concern over this illegal practice, the church’s social front said, ''By lending our names to non-tribals, we are draining our economy for the benefit of outsiders,'' the social front’s communiqué said.

There are over 264 Mizos who earn between Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 monthly just by lending their names to non-tribals so that the latter get trade licences. These non-tribals who use Mizo names are beetle shop owners, iron dealers and even contractors and suppliers.

There are also a number of non-tribals who married Mizo girls in order to run business in the tribal state in the name of their wives.

In this process, the state government has also lost a huge revenue as the non-tribal traders have evaded income tax by trading under the guise of Mizo tribals who are exempted from the income tax, the communiqué said.

The social front further accused non-tribal contractors/suppliers, doing the business under Mizo names, usually used/supplied sub-standard materials.

This illegal practice, the social front feared, posed threats to the social and economic security of the indigenous people of Mizoram who are specially protected from the threats of assimilation since the British time.

''The British imposed the Eastern Bengal Frontier Regulation of 1873 in Mizoram since 1930 to protect the Mizos from the plainspeople who were much more advanced in trading activities and larger in number,'' it said.

The Church’s appeal came after the Young Mizo Association, the state’s biggest NGO, launched a state-wide campaign against such benami traders. The YMA has prepared a list of them and submitted it to the state government to take action.

HPC(D) Rejects KNO Merger, Impeaches President

Hmarkhawlien, Oct 1 : The Hmar People's Convention-Democratic (HPC-D) informs to have impeached one Pu Lalhmingthang Sanate from the party as well as his designation as president of the party, on September 29.

According to a note from the group, the said Pu Lalhmingthang Sanate has “severely failed to represent and uphold the interest of the party and the aspiration of the Hmar peoples.”

“After having convinced that the narrow selfish interest pursued by Pu Lalhmingthang Sanate stands against the Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) and the Hmar people that it represents, the executive council of the Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) is compelled to impeach him,” a note from the organization said.

The said Sanate is accused of signing an agreement merging the group with the Kuki National Organization without informing and consulting the executive committee of the HPC-D. The HPC-D declared the agreement signed by Sanate ‘null and void.’

“The Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) is convinced that the act of Pu Lalhmingthang Sanate is untoward, immature and undemocratic,” the note, appended by the group’s ‘information publicity officer, and ‘secretary information,’ said.

“The HPC-D sincerely apologize to the Hmar people for allowing a traitor to lead the party and the people that it represent,” the note said. “From this day Pu Lalhmingthang Sanate should not take the name of Hmar or the Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) for any purpose.

In the interest of the party that it represents and in the larger interest of peace, security and understanding, Pu Lalhmingthang Sanate must accept his serious mistake and his impeachment,’ the note added.

India's Look East Policy Provides Opportunities For Northeast Trading, Business Community

Shillong, Oct 1 : India's Look East policy that focuses on promoting trade with South East Asian countries is creating huge opportunities for the trading and business community of the north-eastern region.

During the recently concluded ten-day International Shopping Carnival in Shillong, the Thai merchant sells artificial flowers and other decorative items and is trying hard to establish her business in India.

The Industries and Trade Fair Association of Assam (ITFAA) organized the fair with an aim to promote trade with South Asian neighbors under the Look East Policy.

Several other traders from Thailand, Singapore, Kenya, Bangladesh and other neighboring countries participated in the carnival. Several big companies also made their presence felt.

"We are trying to take advantage of the Look East Policy and have started working with several countries like Thailand, Bangladesh and Ghana, as we want to promote the trade in Northeast India. Vo: It was not all business at the fair, which ended with a spectacular dance performance by a Thai troupe," said Rajeev Das, secretary, ITFAA.

U Ncharee Capanoglu, a merchant from Thailand, said: "We have many similar features like our looks, the way of talking and others. So I believe if we do business together in future, it will be very good and helpful to each other."

"If Thai and Indian government can work together as business partners, then our economy can grow at a good speed. Also we will not face other problems about importing and exporting goods," said NOI another participant from Thailand.

"I feel very good to come here. The customer response is very good and they buy goods in huge quantities, which is good for both the sellers and buyers," said Amnish Mitra a participant, Kolkata.

Currently trade with Bangladesh stands at 3.9 billion dollars, 1.026 billion dollars with Myanmar, over 3.4 billion dollars with Thailand and 30.6 billion dollars with Singapore.

The central government has taken several initiatives over the years to promote trade with South Asian countries.

The Myth of United India

Bangalore, Oct 1 : In South, a state is at stand-still demanding separation; in Northwest, a region is plagued with extremism which always wanted to break free, Northeast, a league of states frustrated at the tyrannical rule of the central government; and above all, another group of extreme leftists fighting to topple the government - A panoramic view of real India, a fact hard to digest but impossible to ignore. I wonder if the myth of united India has any more relevance or rather, it ever had?

The burning issue of Telangana seems to be an endless crisis with normal life being affected badly due to the ongoing protect. The city of Hyderabad is at a standstill ever since the agitations turned violent and rigorous. As many of the government employees are taking part in the strike by all sections of people' for the cause of a separate Telangana state, the public offices are mostly closed down in the state.

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimates the loss caused by the protest at around 500 crore a day.

The alarming situation is not just the Telangana issue, but the resultant demands from other parts of the country for freedom from their mother states.

After the center conceded to create a separate Telengana state, there have been demands for nine other new states including Gorkhaland in West Bengal, Coorg in Karnataka, Mithilanchal in Bihar and Saurashtra in Gujarat. The demands are mostly from different organizations like Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Dal and some from individuals.

The other demands are for a Vidarbha state in Maharashtra, a new Greater Cooch Behar state from parts of West Bengal and Assam, a Bhojpur state comprising areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and Bundelkhand state from many districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The realization of a Telangana state can give rise to widespread protests and agitations from different parts of the country demanding separation and creation of many new ones.

May be India can win a war on Kashmir, but can never win the hearts of Kashmiris. The dissident character is here to stay because it's deeply into their blood. The tactics of different governments seemed to have failed there over the time as intrusion and violent protests are on the increase in the state.

According to a recent poll conducted by think tank Chatham House, Nearly half of the people living in the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir want an an independent country for the disputed and divided state.

Between 75 percent and 95 percent people from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley support freedom both from India and Pakistan.

Twenty one percent of the population said they would vote for the whole of Kashmir to join India, and only 15 percent said they would vote for it to join Pakistan.

The results visibly indicate a quest for freedom beyond the religious lines. Nonetheless, the violent form of agitation is giving sleepless nights to government as the issue has been progressively gaining a global attention.

The severity of protests and agitation seems much less in Northeast as compared to the Kashmir valley, but people are definitely is not happy with the Indian rule.

Irom Sharmila Charu, the 'Iron Lady of Manipur' has been on an indefinite hunger strike since November 5, 2000 demanding the government to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

Life has never been safe and peaceful in the northeastern states as human right violation is not a rare incidence there ever since the army took over the security control. The sense of belonging has been forcefully erased from the minds of the people from the seven states of northeast India over the years who are often viewed as different' by many.

The Indian state ignored the villages, left them underdeveloped and unemployed to a point where the people have naturally opted for other methods to retaliate and today it's called Maoism.

The official data reveals that naxalism has reached 165 of the country's 604 districts and as many as 15 of Indian states are living under the threat of this gravest internal security threat.

The sympathizers argue that naxals have been dispossessed, isolated, neglected, raped, murdered, pushed out of their land, and so and so on for many years by the government and the police force. However, they have on many occasions outlined their strategies and aims that is nothing less than toppling the democratic government.

The divide is becoming wider, intellectually and emotionally. The myth of united India has vanished, if at all there was one. It's high time that the government to hunt for practical confidence-building measures for the dissident masses.

In this era of fast dissemination of information, a revolt such as the Jasmine Revolution in the Arab, can bring in anarchy and instability to the state.

‘Manipur To Be Sporting Capital of India’

Imphal, Oct 1 : Revealing lofty contents of its Vision Document 2025, BJP national convener Sunil Deodhar hold out the party’s plan to transform Manipur into a sporting capital of the country.

Deodhar arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit and took first hand account of the prevailing situation which was conveyed to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari.

While briefing the media at the party’s State office here, Deodhar said he has come to take stock of the prevailing situation arising out of the ongoing economic blockade on National Highways of the State and to reveal State-specific contents of Vision document 2025.

Through Vision document 2025, the BJP will transform Manipur into a sporting capital of the country given the talent pool of the State, he said.

He lamented the gross injustice prevailing in the State with the crisis emanating from economic blockade on National Highways for 58 days and counting. The visiting leader expressed shock that an LPG cylinder is being sold at a whopping Rs 2,000.

Deodhar said the party will submit a detailed report of the situation in Manipur to the Prime Minister and President of India upon getting back from his trip and put pressure on the Union Government for prompt intervention to solve the matter.