Myanmar Ready To Study Mizo Accord: Zoramthanga

Zoramthanga addresses MNF workers at Hnam Run, the party's headquarters, in Aizawl on Monday.

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Feb 3 : Myanmar’s government and leaders of its 16 ethnic rebel armies have agreed to visit India and study the Mizo Accord as a step towards restoring peace after spending more than six decades fighting each other, said former Mizo rebel leader and two-time Mizoram CM Zoramthanga, who is an emissary between the two groups.

The Mizo Accord was signed between the Rajiv Gandhi government and the then rebel Mizo National Front (of which Zoramthanga was a prominent leader and which he now heads) in 1986 to end two decades of violent conflict. It is often hailed as one of the most successful peace agreements between a government and an armed ethnic insurgency.

Zoramthanga was invited by Naypyidaw and the United Nationalities Federation Council (UNFC), a grouping of Myanmar’s ethnic rebel armies, to help restore lasting peace between the two sides after years of unsuccessful negotiations and often failed cease-fires.

The former rebel leader was sometimes called “Vajpayee’s right-hand man in the North East” during the previous NDA government for his role in trying to broker peace between New Delhi and various ethnic insurgencies in North Eastern India.

Zoramthanga said he was contacted first by Kachin leaders about four years ago to act as an emissary, but that he had told them the then UPA government was unlikely to allow his involvement since the MNF is the Congress’ main rival in Mizoram.

He said his involvement picked up pace only after the NDA swept to power last year and after Ajit Doval, who was instrumental in negotiating with the MNF, was appointed National Security Adviser by PM Narendra Modi.

“I found that both sides really wanted to have peace but were unable to find a way towards it. In my view they are like an aged bachelor and spinster who really want to marry but just do not know how to set the ball rolling,” Zoramthanga said.

Govt Nod To Set Up BPOs in The Northeast

Implementing agency looking for private partners for project

The government has given its approval to setting up BPOs in seven Northeast states, taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream a step closer to reality.

Now, the Software Technology Park of India (STPI),  which is the implementing authority of the programme, is planning to float a request for proposals to identify private partners for the centres.
As per the plan, the government is planning to set up BPOs, with a total of 5,000 seats, in Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.

 

 

The government has set aside a budget of Rs 50 crore for the projects, which would be set up under private-public partnership.

"The government has given its approval three days ago. Now, we are in the process of creating the RFPs. We have to identify the partner agencies which will actually run those call centres and BPO operations, based on a competitive bidding," said Omkar Rai, the director-general of STPI.

"It will be based on the viability gap funding per seat. So the bidder who provides the lowest funding will be the winner," he said.

Prime Minister Modi has been talking about the creation of jobs in the North-East, especially in the BPO sector.

According to Rai, the government estimates show that there is plenty of talent available in the North-East for the BPOs, not just for servicing the domestic clients but also global ones.

"There is no issue with the availability of skill-sets in the Northeast. Only, some leadership positions have to be moved to those places and it can easily be made available," he added.

In the past, the government has been a number of initiatives to enhance IT skills of this region. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has started the initiative to develop IT skills in the region with the help of National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology.

The BPO (also known as the business process management or BPM industry) today employs over million people. In FY14, the industry reported exports of $20 billion, a growth of 11.4 per cent over the previous year. The growth figure is expected to rise going forward with most of the industry players starting to focus on the domestic Indian market.

Bru Tribals Get 6-month Ultimatum To Return

By Adam Halliday

Aizawl, Feb 3 : The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has agreed to organise a final six-month repatriation process for internally-displaced Bru tribals, after which all those who do not return home from Tripura will be removed from Mizoram’s electoral rolls and further relief to them will also be stopped, Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana said on Monday.

It has also been decided that Tripura, where tens of thousands of displaced Brus live in squalid conditions across six relief camps, would meanwhile improve living conditions there and double the current financial aid allotted to each displaced Bru tribal.

The decisions were taken on January 30 at a meeting between MHA Joint Secretary Shambhu Singh, Director (North East) J P N Singh, Tripura’s Additional Secretary for Revenue K M Das and Officer on Special Duty to Mizoram’s Home Department David H Lalthangliana.

The decisions reached at the meeting will be included in an affidavit to be filed before the Social Justice Bench of the Supreme Court, which is currently deciding on a couple of petitions about the welfare of displaced Brus who fled Mizoram en-masse in 1997 following ethnic violence.

“The MHA has decided that all those who currently remain in the relief camps should be repatriated to Mizoram within six months and that whoever does not come back in that time will be removed from Mizoram’s electoral rolls,” R Lalzirliana said, adding the MHA will no longer consider them “refugees” and stop aid.

Official records show almost 4,000 Bru families who have voting rights in Mizoram continue to live in the relief camps. The state Home Minister also said that Mizoram and Tripura have been asked to draw up a detailed action plan and submit them to the MHA.

Bright Start by Mizoram

By P. K. Ajith Kumar

inShare

INTENSE ACTION: Phool Chand Hembram (white jersey) of West Bengal and Mizoram's Albert Zohmingmawia (jersey no. 11) fight for the ball. Photo: S. Ramesh

Mizoram showed why it is the team to watch out for in National football at the moment. It opened its campaign in the men’s football event of the National Games with a convincing 2-0 victory over Bengal, which had won gold in the last edition of the Games held in 2011.

Mizoram’s relentless attacks and all-round skills were just too good for Bengal at the Corporation Stadium on Monday.

Mizoram succeeded in putting early pressure on the Bengal goal taking the lead in the 15th minute. Receiving a pass from R. Malsawmtluanga, David Lalrinmuana cut swiftly into the box, went past a couple of defenders and placed the ball over the advancing Bengal goalkeeper Raju Ganguly.

In the second half, too, it was the red shirts of Mizoram who showed more urgency. With B. Zoramthara, Albert Zohminmawia and Rohminthanga, coming in for the injured Malsawmtluanga, making life difficult for the Bengal defenders, a second goal was always in the air.

After missing out on a few scoring opportunities, Mizoram finally made it 2-0 in the 71st minute through Laldampuia.

In the other Pool-A match, Punjab scored a comfortable 3-0 win over Services.

Punjab went ahead when Ravinder Singh curled in a 30-yard free-kick in the 37th minute. In the 41st minute, Ajay Singh finished off a move that also featured Harjinder Singh Sr. and Sajandeep Singh. The final nail in the Services coffin came from Rajbir Singh in the 81st minute.

The results: Pool A: Punjab 3 (Ravinder Singh 36, Ajay Singh 41, Rajbir Singh 81) bt Services 0; Mizoram 2 (David Lalrinmuana 15, Laldampuia 71) bt Bengal 0.

Demand To Rewrite Mizo History

This undated photo shows a ceremonial slaying of a gayal. Such photos of traditional Mizo rituals are extremely rare (above); Lushai (a Mizo tribe) chiefs at Kolkata during a meeting called by the British. The photo is from 1872, soon after the first military expedition into what is now Mizoram, following violent conflict over land rights.


By Santanu Ghosh

Aizawl, Feb 2 : The Mizoram Institute of Advanced Studies will ask leading intellectuals and historians of the state to draw up a consensus on rethinking of Mizo history.The institute is a newly floated think-tank in Mizoram on historical and contemporary studies, funded jointly by the Centre and the Mizoram government.

The state's health minister, Lathanzara, who presided over the first conference of the institute at the secretariat in Aizawl last week, said there was a long-pending demand for a renewed appraisal of the origins of the Mizo people.

Mizo is a common name for the conglomeration of different Indo-Mongoloid tribes, who had migrated from Southeast Asia from the beginning of the 17th century.

Lalthanzara said a number of present-day Mizo historians and intellectuals have felt that the history of the Mizo people, as documented by administrators and army top brass during the British rule, has been wrongly documented.

Hence, he added, there is a need to "rethink and rewrite" the history of the Mizo people and their migration from Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, to Mizoram, in the light of new documents and recent appraisals by contemporary historians.

Some of the documents and the histories of the Mizo people by the British rulers and army men are G.A. Grierson's Lingustic Survey of India, Edward Gait's A History of Assam, W.W. Hunter's A Statistical Account of Assam, Major T.H. Lewin's Chittagong Hills Tract and Dwellers Therein, J.M. Lloyd's History of Mizo Church and Alexander Mackenzie's The Hill Tribes of Northeast Frontier of Bengal.

Other books by British authors are E.R. Leach's Political Systems of Highland Burma, A.G. McLall's The Lushai Chrysalis, N. Parry's The Lakhers, C.A. Soppit's A Short Account of Kuki Lushais and J. Shakespeare's The Lushai-Kukie Clans.

Prominent Mizo Cult Leader Dies

Aizawl, Feb 2 : Lalzawna, a prominent religious cult leader in Mizoram, died due to pneumonia at a private hospital in Aizawl today, hospital sources said.

Lalzawna, 68, is survived by wife Lalhmangaihzuali and his two-year-old son Ephraim Lalramzawnchhuaha.

Born on January 1, 1948, Lalzawna joined the underground Mizo National Front (MNF) movement in 1966 when the MNF began armed insurrection and was in the underground capital headquarters in Arakan in 1971.

He claimed to have received a vision from God while in Arakan and came overground in 1979 to spread his 'vision' across Mizoram.

He established a cult and a church of his own at Tlangsam and called it 'Pathian Kohhran' or the 'Church of God' which he headed till demise.

Mizoram Launches Website For Cleanliness

Aizawl, Feb 2 :  As part of its initiative to become the cleanest State of India, Mizoram has launched a website where people from all parts of the State may upload pictures and texts on cleanliness drives which are carried out anywhere anytime within the State.

Developed jointly by ICT and School Education department, the website www.cleanmizoram.com was inaugurated by School Education Minister H Rohluna in a function held at ICT Conference Hall here recently.

People who have accounts in three popular social networking sites, namely facebook, twitter, and instagram will be able to upload photos and stories on the initiatives on cleanliness campaign. One will first have to upload the photos and/or texts about cleanliness drives in his or her status and then add #www.cleanmizoram.com which will automatically put it to the website.

Inaugurating the website, School Education Minister H Rohluna called for full support and active participation of the people, saying Clean Mizoram Movement is not an exclusive programme of Government employees and Education department, but of and for the people.

“For the success of the movement, collective effort of the people is required”, the Minister said.

“Once cleanliness, purity and well-keeping are rooted in the minds of the people, the many beneficial consequences like health, progress, intelligence, and many other qualities will automatically follow”, he added.

Parliamentary Secretary Joseph Lalhimpuia said that the initiative of the State Government on cleanliness has begun since last year. “The State Government is thankful that we now have a Prime Minister who is most concerned for cleanliness which is a great encouragement and a blessing for the success of the mission”, he said.

Lalhimpuia added that once Mizoram becomes a clean place, it will also bring in tourists.

PTI adds:‘Mizoram Faina Beihpui Hnatlang’ or mass voluntary movement for cleanliness was launched yesterday across Mizoram with Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla inaugurating the movement here on Friday.

Organised by Young Mizo Association (YMA), leaders, local volunteers, students and teachers were cleaning the streets, public places and drains while people also cleaned their own compounds. Government employees also swept their respective office premises and the streets.Cape Clean - India's Top Facade and Window Cleaning

India To Complete Myanmar Port Project in May

By Pratim Ranjan Bose

Forex volatility pushes up final cost of Sittwe project 29% at Rs. 450 crore

Kolkata, Feb 2 :  India will complete the reconstruction of Sittwe port and the associated river transport facilities, as part of the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar, in May this year.

The project cost, however, is expected to be 29 per cent higher at ₹450 crore, compared with the initial estimate of ₹350 crore, largely due to unexpected volatility in exchange rate, say sources.

The rupee-denominated project was awarded at a time when one dollar was fetching ₹44 and Myanmar Kyat 900. Both the currencies are now ruling at much lower levels.

“The port and the river transport facilities will be ready for operations within the extended timeline of May 2015,” a Government official told BusinessLine.

While the commissioning of the port-cum-waterway will surely boost bilateral relations, India has to wait for years to start transhipment of goods to Mizoram in the North-East, as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is yet to kick off the road transport part of the Kaladan project.
Landmark initiative

Having originated at Chin Hills in Myanmar, Kaladan river flows through Mizoram and back into Myanmar’s Sittwe Delta in the gas-rich Arakan peninsula.

Once one of the two most important river ports in Myanmar, Sittwe was used to ferry supplies to the northeast of India during the British Raj. From Sittwe, the cargo was taken by waterway 170 km upstream at Paletwa – where the river encounters rapids – for further travel by head-loads to neighbouring Mizoram. According to a 2008 agreement between the two nations, the MEA proposed to revive this route to establish easy access to North East.

Apart from trade and commerce, the project has immense importance in ensuring India’s political and military interests in the region rivalling China.
Road project hanging fire

Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project has proposed to revive the river transport route up to Paletwa and build a 129-km-long two-lane highway (NH-502A) through the hilly terrains of Myanmar to connect NH-54 at Lawngtlai in Mizoram.

This would reduce the distance from Kolkata to Aizwal by less than half from the existing 1,550 km. In 2010, Delhi awarded a turnkey contract to improve the navigability of both Sittwe port and river channel, build terminal at Paletwa and handover six self-propelled barges to Naypyidaw. The project is now nearing completion.

But the road project, estimated to cost ₹2,900 crore in 2010, is hanging fire, as contracts are yet to be awarded. Enquiries by Business Line in both Myanmar and India failed to throw any light on the reasons behind the inordinate delay.

“We have no news to share,” said Khin Maung Lynn, Joint Secretary I of Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies, a Yangon-based think tank. Talking on condition of anonymity, an MEA official blamed poor project monitoring and fund crisis as two probable causes. “While the prolonged delay escalates costs, the budgetary constraint of the ministry come in the way of implementing projects,” the official said.