Day: December 3, 2011

Translated by Chitra Ahanthem.
It is the day that left its mark on time. If only human beings were able to relate to nature and her form: the breeze, the birds in the skies, the insects chirping away. If only human beings were able to live without being petty or mean minded like the living beings around us, there would not have been the ongoing war to be better off than the other. There would not be a relentless drive to suppress the other person to get your way in life. But men seem to have only learnt from how animals in the jungle prey on weaker animals and their bloodthirsty instincts. The use of weapons of destruction like guns has led many a young lives to leave their homes and taking part in the theatre of war.

Many lives have been affected and a thousand marital ties are affected by the unending struggles. Men’s inability to trust nature and God’s creation has led to the quest for artificially manufactured things and the transient comfort they can give. This has encouraged the race for getting more and more money leading to violating what is due to other people. People have forgotten to be humble and only learnt how to forgo truth.

The state and nature of a society and its people are reflected in the nature of its political leadership. Over time immemorial, different communities have co-existed peacefully with one another in harmony. The people of the hill and the valley used to share the products of the land. If the produce of the land was low, the produce was still shared equally. The roots of the rush to acquire more land and other trappings of power and influence are an outcome of a weak and diluted leadership. While one cannot take along their belongings once they pass away, the practice of fighting over who gets to control which part of the land has led to divisions between communities and the call for breaking away. So long as leaders are more concerned in amassing wealth for themselves and counting their money, who is it that will lead the way? The leaders are the ones who should be the backbone of the society. It is their duty to revitalize people who are tired and worn out. It is their mandate to soothe down the minds and hearts of people.

I hear many things that leave me astounded. I hear these stories from the people around me. They tell me that they stand in line at petrol pumps. They say that they start queuing much before the day breaks till about 3 in the afternoon only to be told that the petrol stock has got over. They tell me that they feel sleepy and exhausted after their quest for petrol. And I think to myself: this petrol that is so necessary is something that is not of our state. Then I think about how our ancestors lived. They had limited world exposure but lived self sufficiently. They did not have to depend on other people. Would their way of life be inconvenient for them? Today, we seem to be getting lost in the gloss and glitter that exist around us. Is the quest for glitter making us lose our heads and in the process taking away our mind faculties? Will it not be possible to think that such gloss and glamour do not exist and then reorganize our lives accordingly? It is only when we know our own selves as we really are that we can begin to think of collective good. The ability to think of collective good can only contribute to the betterment of a society.

I do know and I do hear that among the daily wage earners who have been newly recruited, 54 of them came up with Rs 3 lakh each to give to a doctor who is related to the Chief Minister. The total amount, coming to a little over a Crore and a half was taken as ‘favour money’ but later, the joint government order mentioned that there could not be any demand for their job regularization. The trade for a government job has reached suffocation point and for this tiny state that is yet to be able to stand on its own, it only leads to disillusionment among the youth of today who are well educated and have the ability to contribute to the development of the state. People who are equipped with degrees are left out of gaining employment if they cannot get the amount that is required to guarantee a job. They remain wasted while the state and society stay in dire need of their attention. This state of affairs has only contributed to the malaise that is prevailing in Manipur today. It is this discontent that is the root cause of all that ails the state.

The pursuit of government jobs happen because someone with a government job is ensured financial security in the form of his pension and other entitlements. The race for government jobs means that people sell off their ancestral property and other holdings to collate the amount that is required. The subsequent efforts to recover the money spent for a government job results in government departments being crippled with corruption. The sense of duty has entirely disappeared in every sphere, be it the judiciary, health care system. That is why we get to see confrontations arising out of disgruntlement from the common men who are fed up with the way the system is operating.

The emergence of the select few who have power and money at their disposal have emboldened them and led to treading on the lives of the less fortunate. It has become common for them to exploit those who earn on a daily basis by taking way their basic human rights just as it has become normal to hear about crimes against women. The powerful and the wealthy are well connected to the leaders who are leading the pack of thieves and are hence not wanting for anything in their existence. But the rampant exploitation of the poor daily wage earners and the farmers who are at the end of the social and economic spectrum leaves them without the resources to live comfortably on one hand and leave them without the means to have their grievances addressed. Left without the backing of powerful, they face an uphill process when they attempt to air their life stories of unaddressed issues.

My beloved people!
Just as all living beings have faith are drawn to Mother nature as one to her bountiful lap, let us place faith in our mothers who have borne us. Our mothers who are like no one else, keeping guard in the dead of the night with a fire torch in hand. May the light in your torch lead us to a better society where love and harmony exists between different groups. May it bring together all the fragmented pieces. May Mother nature continue to bless us with her bountiful gifts to feed everyone.

May people have access to health care for every-one. May anger and disillusionment go away. May those who stone and set fire to vehicles that are carrying food and other supplies for their fellowmen leave behind their destructive nature. May the seething anger that leaves us half dead and half alive and caught between hunger and excess, May all that is uncalled for go away. May we be able to live in peace as nature does. May we strive to be selfless. May we be able to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice. May the movements that started with a vision to serve the people and all those who set out to work for the people by getting into governance find their way back to what they set out to do. May all their wrong doing and their pretensions of doing good turn into what is right. May all that is wrong, get resolved. May we be able to find the way to a better Manipur! May we be able to give up setting fire to the centers of learning. May we be able to save the pillars of our society from HIV/AIDS so they are able to stand together as one. May we be able to save lives. May a new beginning be heralded that brings justice to every one. May all that is evil and wrong be changed by truth.

The above text was handed over, to be distributed to all media outlets, as Irom Sharmila was being led towards the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Nov 30, 2011.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/a-message-from-irom-sharmila-chanu/

By Suhas Chakma
The proposal of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain parts of Jammu and Kashmir has exposed the fraught being played by the Central government playing on the basic tenet of the constitution i.e. federalism. As the Ministry of Defence opposed Chief Minister Abdullah’s proposal tooth and nail, the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to extricate itself from the controversy sought an opinion from the Law Ministry. On 18 November 2011, Attorney General Ghulam E. Vahanvati informed the MHA that the Governor of the State is the final authority for declaration and revoking of the AFSPA as per Section 3 of the Act. The AG based his opinion on the Supreme Court Judgement of 1997 that upheld constitutional validity of the AFSPA in the case of the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights Vs Union of India.

The AG’s opinion is all but absolute mis-interpretation of the SC judgement in the case of NPMHR Vs Union of India. The SC judgment did not examine as to whether it is the Governor, who is legally bound to operate on the advice of the State’s Council of Ministers, or the State Government, which is the actual authority for declaration or revoking of the AFSPA. The constitutional validity of the AFSPA was examined in the specific context of whether the Act is violative of the Constitution because ‘public order’, which is addressed in disturbed areas through deployment of the Central forces, is a State subject. The SC upheld that the AFSPA “is not a law in respect of maintenance of public order falling under Entry I and List II.” The Court also held that the AFSPA “does not displace the civil power of the State by the armed forces of the Union and it only provides for deployment of armed forces of the Union in aid of the civil power.”  The Court further clarified that “The expression ‘in aid of the civil power’ in Entry 2A of List I and in Entry 1 of List II implies that deployment of the armed forces of the Union shall be for the purpose of enabling the civil power in the State to deal with the situation affecting maintenance of public order which has necessitated the deployment of the armed forces in the State”. Therefore, the SC judgement reiterated the primacy of the State government and did not justify any discretionary power of the Governor as being interpreted by the AG. If there is no civil power in the State, Governor’s discretion would mean declaration of emergency and/or President’s rule under 356 of the Constitution. 

The AG has further failed to appreciate that the AFSPA cannot be considered as a stand-alone Act. The AFSPA comes into effect only after an area is declared “disturbed” under Section 3(1) of the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act which is unequivocal about the role of only the State Government. Section 3(1) states “where a State Government is satisfied that- (i) there was, or (ii) there is, in any area within a State extensive disturbance of the public peace and tranquility, by reason of differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such area to be a disturbed area”. There is no reference to the role of the Governor under the Act and once the “disturbed area” notification is revoked by the State government, the AFSPA simply goes!

Major political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, the AIADMK and the Trinamool Congress have been opposing the Communal Violence Bill on the ground that it poses a threat to federalism. However, these political parties have maintained silence on the opinion of the AG, while the BJP on record opposed the revoking of the APSPA from J&K.

It is essential to bear in mind that the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act was enacted in 1976 to provide for speedy trial for certain offences through the establishment of Special Courts. While Special Courts have seldom been established, the Act has been abused discriminatorily against the States ruled by the minorities. At present, the areas declared disturbed are the entire  State of Manipur  (except Imphal Municipal area), Nagaland and Assam, Tirap and Changlang  district of Arunachal Pradesh, 20 km belt in the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya having common border with Assam and 20 out of 22 districts in Jammu and Kashmir. The most curious case is Tripura which in September 2011 further notified 34 out of 70 police Stations as fully disturbed and six police stations as partially disturbed. According to the Tripura Police, 32 insurgency related incidents took place from January 2010 to September 2011 in which only one civilian and two security forces were killed. Though the Naxal affected States have been witnessing far more violence, the Centre has not declared areas from these States to be disturbed as they are ruled by the powerful State governments.

The declaration of certain areas to be ‘disturbed’ has effectively come to mean bringing these areas effectively under the Central rule without declaring the same publicly or under the Constitution of India. Those opposing the Communal Violence Bill need to take a principled stand. After all, the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act in essence addresses the very issues of the Communal Violence Bill and not the insurgency or national security problems. If the Central rule can be imposed through the backdoor by abusing the Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, there is no reason as to why the Communal Violence Bill would not be invoked for the same. Armed conflicts are increasing by day and time has come to lay down the law clarifying the role of the Centre vis-à-vis the armed conflicts including the Naxal conflict. Ethnic origin and religious belief must not be seen to be the criteria to judge the competence of the leaders or Indian-ness of the people they govern.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/ags-opinion-on-afspa-is-nonest-in-law/

By Bobo Khuraijam
With all its wit and might the babus and the bheiyas were gearing up to celebrate. Having little to lose and yet nothing to gain, fishermen who have dwelled on the phumdis of Loktak lake aired their grievance coming out on the streets. As per the new rule, set by the Akhang Ahei(s) of the state, fishermen are not to be allowed to dwell in their phumdis, anymore. These fishermen, since the days of Moirang Kangleirol, have been dwelling in the phumdis. The present day Akhang Ahei(s) were not born that time. To tell you the truth, they must not have seen Loktak Lake properly. They must have seen it, typically like a tourist, from the photographs, from the calendars of DIPR; from a picnic trip to Sendra, or at the most they must have seen it from the aeroplane. We are told that aeroplanes before they land on the Tulihal turf, they take a nice golai at an arm’s length with Thangjing range, just above the Loktak.
THE ASSIGNMENT: They (Akhang Ahei) were assigned to do the ‘thinking’ as well as the ‘doing’, they came for their mundane official visit, termed ‘field visit’ on their official vehicles to the lake. After spending a few flickering moments, after going through a soporific study of the ‘field’, they returned to their official offices. Heavy with information(s) and wrapped up with knowledge(s) and powered by the office, they took official decision. The decision: fishermen dwelling on the phumdis must be evicted..Err!!!…phumdis floating on the Loktak Lake must be cleared out, they are junks, floating and dirtying the lake. In the eyes of these Akhang –Ahe(s), the five leikais who dwell on the floating biomass are nothing but mosquitoes which are to be eliminated. Well, we affirmed, that the decision taken by the officialdom has got to do a lot with the information they digested before sitting their entrance. Their vision is to preserve the lake by dividing it into this and that zone. To preserve something by ruining the livelihood of hundreds of families is wisdom worth prescribing in the text books of the children; particularly to those children whose parents have been indulging in the noble profession of cheat and lie, who has been feeding their children with money earned by khadrak and nothing but khadrak only. The amount of money spent in buying an official chair could be much higher than the commercial value of the phumdis. The unfathomable cord of the umbilical between the Loktak and its native fishermen, the insight of the organality they share with each other will be hard to understand. No matter a thousands birth the authority may take. As a token of benevolence the fishermen are allowed to fish in some specified area. And for that they have to take permission from the almighty authority. As a symbol of scholarly idiocy any kind of research work is to be done with the kind permission of the authority. Is not it true that this land of ours belongs to the then Kings and Lords who were the supreme of all Supremes, who were the ultimate of everything? The leaves should rustle with the permission of the authority. The grass should take permission to be green. The sky cannot be blue without any permission either. That is the only reason why the resented fishermen had come down to street to protest against the decision taken by the sarkar. They were dealt with an iron fist; their temporary settlement in a community hall was ransacked, cooked foods were destroyed by leader boots of the cops. They were forced to go back to their village. Never bother to think that they would be welcomed by their empty homes, where the gloomy sky would be their only roof, the dark horizon would be their protective wall.

DESTINATION: The tourism festival started with this as a backdrop. Rightly called the Sangai Festival, the rumbling from the south of the capital was comfortably swept under the carpet. True to its colour, the festival started with a bang and also ended with a bang. Is it not a wonder that the psychos who infiltrated a thunder bolt amidst tight security ring did not take DC Paarmit. The fire brigade vehicle which came to douse a food stall caught in fire did not take permission to dump its front wheel inside the earth, just after crossing the entrance. Permissions apart, the name and the emblem of the festival is SANGAI which has little to do with the Loktak Lake, with the floating phumdis, with the floating park; as per the official thinking and doing. Good enough, we saw video actors canvassing the event through the local television network. Inviting us; yes, the local population to become tourist in their own courtyard, unlike the neighbouring state who endorses their tourism destination and events on satellites channels and other mass media which caters to people far and wide. The gyan of the Akhang Ahei(s) and the lousing of the Thikadaarship did not permit them from doing that. A few foreign stalls selling cheap products at unreasonable prices are not enough. For the first time we heard the local police being polite: police ki maigei dagi ningsingjari. They kept a halt of their usual show of strength of beating up anyone who appeared up on the stage. Of course, the cultural evening is a delightful destination despite the chill. We pray the organizers to have a thorough screening of the content of the items. One such item took us beyond the frontier of human imagination; by staging a ‘save Sangai’ campaign, torturing us with conceptual blunder.  At the backdrop of the stage was the motif of the dancing deer, which again did not, reminded to any of us of the Loktak, the Phumdis and the Fishermen? You have to take permission from the authority for that. Time did not wait when Manipur celebrates.

FOOTNOTE: every time very-very important person coming from Delhi is greeted with empty streets, except for the staged mobilization of public. Leipung Ningthou calls it, “ahaangba atiyada khusem gi leichil na leitengba”.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/preserving-a-tourist-destination/