Forgive us Sanatomba; we could`nt mourn for you then

By YambemLaba On the 30th of June 1993 the day R.K.Sanatomba was shot dead by suspected UNLF activists the bulk of journalists who mattered in Manipur was in Darjeeling as

By YambemLaba

On the 30th of June 1993 the day R.K.Sanatomba was shot dead by suspected UNLF activists the bulk of journalists who mattered in Manipur was in Darjeeling as a part of AMWJU trip to Arunachal Pradesh,Sikkim and Darjeeling.PradipPhanjoubam and Pokanapham`™sEigyaGopal were also there besidesme.We got the news the next day through an agency despatch that got carried in the Calcutta papers.

Not many of us knew who Sanatomba was but I knew that he was R.K.Nemai`™s brother and for about half an hour we discussed about who the assailants might have been but when it was told that he was Editor of a journal called KanglaLanpung we knew that it had something to do with the on-going strife brewing up in the UNLF,the one led by R.K.Meghen aka Sanayaima now interned in Gauhati Jail and he once trusted aide NamoijamOken.We did not even stood in silence for a minute then in memory of the departed soul maybe because he was not a member of the All Manipur Working Journalists Union or maybe because we were not just sensitive enough to the scenario opening up for scribes in Manipur.

Sanatomba was not a numberedmember of the UNLF that he should have been caught in the fratricidal wave that was sweeping across Manipur was not thinkable then..He was just another youth who loved Manipur and was caught in the cross currents of the turbulent history of Manipur and maybe he followed the lateAchouToijamba too closely and became the founder general secretary of the Manipur National Federation or the Man Federation as it was known then.AchouToijamba or Tachou as we used to call him during the Pan-Manipuri days used to spend a lot of time at our household as my cousin was the late YambemTejendra former General Secretary of the Pan Manipiuri Youth League and Editor of the Lamyanbajournal.Tachou is no more with us today but he was a master organiser and later became the founding Chairman of the KYKL when it was finally formed in January 1994 amalgamating factions of the KCP and Prepak and UNLF Cadres who chose to follow Oken.The killings did not stop with Sanatomba and the KYKL hit back with full gusto culminating in the killing of ArambamSamarendra founder General Secretary of the UNLF .He was killed on the 10th of June 2000 and the KYKL later owned up responsibility for the action.Sometime later thanks to the efforts of the Prepak hostilities between the UNLF ceased and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

However the killings of journalists did not cease.Itspreaded to the hill areas and A Lalrohu Hmar editor a Hmar Language daily ,Shan was shot dead by the Hmar Revolutionary Army in October 1999.Then came the turn of 70 years old ThounaojamBrajamani Editor of the Manipur News.He was shot dead on 20th August 2000 by an armed organisation who did not own up the Killing.The same group that did away with Brajamani is also believed to have fired the fatal shots that killed YambemMegha an upcoming social activist and a correspondent of the North East Vision a TV channel on 14 October 2012.
.Again there was no owning up.And all that the scribes could do was to stage a day long dharna in front of the Keishampat Power house on both the killings.The police registered their mandatory FIRs and all was forgotten soon.

Then came the killing in 2008 of Konsam Rishi Kanta a young scribe with the Imphal Free Press by suspected Manipur Police Commandos.This time the journalist fraternity really woke up and put enough pressure on the State authorities that they were compelled to order a CBI probe into the killing. In January 2012 anothert journalist in Churachandpur by the name of KhupkholinSimte was also gunned down.He was the editor of Lenlaimagazine.Then came the killing in the not so recent past of another fellow TV journalist,NanaoThangjam in the line of duty when he was shot dead by police personals in Tangmeiband on 24 December 2012.This time the entire who`™s who of the State machinery turned up at the Press Club to pay their last respect to our slain comrade as a fallout of the infamous molestation case of budding Manipuri film starlet Momoko in Chandel.The Press now a much more cohesive body the AMWJU was able to wrest out a big compensation for his killing and a government job for his widowed wife.

While the Press could stand up against wrongs done to its fraternity it still could not get away from the vortex of the non-state actors.On 9th February RatanLuwang then General Secretary of the AMWJU was shot at by one of the numerous factions of the KCP who wanted a quick and easy name for themselves as a deadly force perhaps to ease their path to extortion and labelled baseless charges against Ratan to justify their action-which was not only contradicted by himself in person but also by the KYKL.Ratan survived the deadly attack but had to undergo intensive medical treatment and is today a national leader of the Press fraternity.

The Press continues to be part of the game plan of the numerous group of `patriotic`™ armed non-state actors many of whom have not even fired a catapult(Naori) shot even at an unarmed home guard personnel but is active in planting bombs at residences of SOs,Pradhans and contractors all in the name of liberating Manipur.They would like to diktat their terms of what to print or not to print or broadcast prompting the AMWJU to come with a set of `working rules` and as a result the then President of AMWJU AhongsangabamMobi got a bomb hurled at his house which incidentally exploded.

I was present on Sanatomba`™s 12th Death Anniversary-this being the first time I was invited and listened to Prof.RajendraKshetri`™sdiscourse on Media and Contemporary Manipuri Society as a part of the observance.He was full of praise for the Manipuri media but I found him lacking in the role of the Press in Manipur as the 4th Estate in the literal sense of the term.I recollect running a column called the Acute Angle in the Imphal Free Press which was actually playing the role of the opposition in the State Assembly revealing scams after scam.The opening salvo of the Acute Angle was entitled `Potrait of a Minister as a Conman` and a series of articles thereafter contributed in my humble opinion to the fall of the then Rishang Government in 1997.While Nipamacha could garner enough votes on the Assembly Floor to topple Rishang the public opinion against Rishang Government was built up by the Acute Angles.I am mentioning this because Prof.Rajendra had mentioned about how ArunShourie`™s article led to the dismissal of the A R Antulay Government in Maharastra.

Then there is also the infamous case of the Lottery Scam-when the then Finance Minister in the NipamachaGovernment ,H.Lokhon attempted to wave Rs.1.67 crores due to the State from three Lotery Agents of Manipur all in the name of resource mobilisation.OjaNipamcha was forced to withdraw the waiver order and constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee to probe the Lottery dealings in Manipur.Then after sometime the sub-committee was constituted I had a very surprised visitor at my office in the form of former fellow scribe and then a Cabinet Minister in the Nipamacha ministry, PuT.N.Haokip-he was a member of the Cabinet sub-committee and came to me with a request to me to make available copies of the Government documents in my possession ,for according to him the Finance Minister had burnt all the documents relating to the lotteries in Manipur.This then was and is still Manipur, a failed State which for us scribes is a `Reporter`™s Paradise`.

Relating to the coverage of the National media on affairs in Manipur I cannot speak about other national media but The Statesman for which I had served as a Special Correspondent between 1990 -1998 was more pro-active in coverage of events in Manipur than many of our local media.For instance two articles which I wrote,the first entitled `UNLF`™s Long March to Geneva` and the second was` PLA:A New Dawn` was according to many legal experts could have been termed seditious in nature was published in The Statesman.And also during the Naga:Kuki killing days I got three by lined headlines stories printed on three consecutive days in my paper.Also how one handles the head office either in Calcutta or Delhi can determine how they treat our despatches-for where in India do you find MLAs armed with guns in hand seeking out to kill the Speaker in the Assembly building except in Manipur and how we package our story with a national relevance is what matters for coverage in the national media in my most humble opinion.
I took a 14 years Sabbatical from active journalism during which I had served as a Member in the Manipur Human Rights Commission and later also as Director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy but in 2012 I returned as the Special Representative of The Statesman and am currently facing a Rs.50 Croes defamation suit from UtlouChaoba President of the Manipur BJP for exposing his corrupt deeds at RIMS and elsewhere.

Anyway thanks to the efforts of Sanatomba`™s elder brother R.K.Nemai who by his own account is one of the most incorruptibleand steadfast officer that Manipur has seen in recent times Sanatomba lives on in the minds and memories of Manipur and also lending recognition and encouragement bestowing an award to a selected scribe thereby encouraging and supporting the media fraternity in the State.

At this juncture my humble appeal to the powers that are at the All Manipur Working Journalists Union is to put up a scroll of honour at the Press Club depicting the names of the journalists who had been killed in their line duty beginning with Sanatomba and ending with Nanao irrespective of whether they members of AMWJU or not, with a lot of space below for more journalists might be shot dead in the near future still

And as for me all that I can say and that too I think represents the feelings of many of my fellow scribes is `Sanatomba,forgive us for we could not mourn for you,when you died`

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/forgive-us-sanatomba-we-couldnt-mourn-for-you-then/

Immigrants then and now

The question is not an easy one by any standard. Just how is the issue of immigration, economic, political or otherwise, expected to be tackled by those who are at

The question is not an easy one by any standard. Just how is the issue of immigration, economic, political or otherwise, expected to be tackled by those who are at the receiving end? The answer would, to a very great extent depend on the perspective one takes. Against the context of the universal notion of human rights, as enshrined in the UN Charter of Human Rights, economic and political migration is deemed as a basic right. This humanitarian outlook is however premised upon the position that the host nation or region is far superior economically and demographically, and therefore is under no threat from such migrations. Sadly, this condition is not always a reality. The predicament of the Northeast is adequately the proof. Assam today for instance is virtually an extension of Bangladesh, and it is said indigenous Assamese today are no longer a majority in Assam. It is said if the various ethnic communities, like the Bodos, Cacharis, Misings etc were to be excluded as a separate tribal category within the broader Assamese identity, the percentage of Assamese Hindus and original Muslims, would be reduced to a significantly smaller minority, forming perhaps even less than 30 percent of the total population.

It is not as if migration is a new phenomenon in Assam and the rest of the Northeast. But in the olden feudal days, when the power structure was radically different, migrants sooner than later assimilated themselves to the identity of the host communities that their new feudal masters belonged. Hence, Bengali peasant migrants from East Bengal would in no time adopt the Assamese identity (Amalendu Guha: Planters Raj to Swaraj), so that along with the continuous immigration, would be a growth of the Assamese population. This was demonstrated in pre-independence census exercises. Guha also explains, that for the poor illiterate Bengali peasantry who migrated to Assam from the mufossil districts of the then East Bengal, to identify with the powers that be in Assam gave them a sense of greater identity and would readily indigenise. Had they known there was a much greater Bengal and Bengali identity were within their immediate reach, this might not have been. Indeed this was the case with the Hindu Bengali Bhadralok from East Bengal. They wanted to identify with what was then often referred to as the Bengali Renaissance in Bengal rather than rural and backward Assam of the time, creating another layer of ethnic tension. We need not go too far to appreciate this indigenization process Guha refers to, for this was also to a great extent the case in Manipur when it was still a monarchy. The Muslims, again from the then East Bengal, readily became the Pangals, and Brahmins from Kanauj in the modern day Uttar Pradesh and other places from subcontinental India too willingly became absorbed as the Bamons. As long as the indigenization process of immigrants remained a natural phenomenon, demographic frictions were either altogether absent or else within easily manageable limits.

Enter modern times and democracy, and the scenario altered radically. Identity consciousness and knowledge also expanded immensely. To take the Assam example again, in the modern era immigrants from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) are not willing to compromise their origin identity. Viewed against the compulsion of massive immigration on the eve of, and immediate wake of, the Partition of India, this became a huge issue, for then the indigenous Assamese began to see a threat to their own identity by a demographic takeover by Bengalis. Assam even refused to have the Hindu majority Sylhet become part of Assam when the Hindu Bengalis of the district desperately wanted it so in order to be included in India at the time of Partition, and as a result this populous district was forced to join East Pakistan. Sketching the scenario at the time, Sanjib Baruah, another well known Assamese scholar, quotes the memorable and bewildered remark by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru upon reading Gopinath Bordoloi`™s letter, that the way the Assam chief minister was reacting, he might as well treat Assam as an independent country, adding an ironic remark that Nehru`™s remark proved prophetic, that many youth in modern Assam would indeed come to want such a fate. Perhaps not an exact parallel, but the Assam story is generally also the undercurrent behind much of the xenophobia the northeast has now come to be afflicted by. In the democratised world, immigrants no longer are willing to indigenise, setting them apart from the populations of the host regions. Struggles for power and economic spaces between them are the inevitable consequences. Democracy being ultimately a system of deciding who gets to hold the reins of power by a headcount, xenophobic tensions are also only natural. This, in our opinion, is one of the most fundamental challenges in tackling and overcoming the xenophobia issue in the northeast.

Leader Writer: Pradip Phanjoubam

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/immigrants-then-and-now/

MDAVO objects to 15-day deadline for Chadong villagers to shift

IMPHAL, July 2: The Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation strongly objects the office notification of the executive engineer, Thoubal Project Division I, IFCD Manipur published in local newspapers on June

IMPHAL, July 2: The Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation strongly objects the office notification of the executive engineer, Thoubal Project Division I, IFCD Manipur published in local newspapers on June 30 warning the villagers of Chadong to shift within 15 days.

A statement of the association signed by its chairman Themson Jajo said the very notice is an imposition and illegal as it contradicted para 8 (page 52) of the rehabilitation plan of the oustees 1998 where it states that `the rehabilitation plan would be completed before 1 year of the completion of the project`.

Additionally, the current notice is also a violation of the High Court stay order of April 25, 2012 in which it is clearly stated that `agreement dated September 24, 2011 for RnR package shall not be given effect to until further order, it said.

It said Chadong is gradually being submerged and like animals the villagers are asked to move to a government designated site.

Rehabilitation and resettlement is about rebuilding a new village with all amenities and new life skills that allows better life as they have sacrificed the ancestral homes for the greater common good, it observed adding that the farmlands have been submerged long since.

The statement said it may be mentioned here that except for ground leveling, the land allotted for `relocation`™ is bereft of the basic requirements for a person to live with dignity and respect. It is almost as if the human rights of the villagers, having been snatched with the construction of the dam, may be abused and violated over and over again. We are concerned and extremely suspicious of the present government who have the audacity to ask the villagers to move to a place where there is not even amenities for drinking water- a basic right to life and survival? There have been no proper plans for livelihood, it said.

The criminal intent and action will be met with legal action and resistance by the villagers who have withstood this far and still continuing, it said.

MDAVO would like to reiterate in a final note that the final comments and recommendations by the Expert Review Committee (ERC) on RnR constituted by the government of Manipur on January 18, 2008 as per Order of Governor of Manipur letter dated No. 20/1/2005-IFC(Pt) be made at the earliest before the angst and agony of the submerging village and villagers take over, it said.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/mdavo-objects-to-15day-deadline-for-chadong-villagers-to-shift/

Mass rally public meeting on edu by DESAM

DESAM organised a mass rally cum public meeting participated by around 3000 students at Bishenpur under the theme Disturbance free education zone Source Hueiyen News Service

DESAM organised a mass rally cum public meeting participated by around 3000 students at Bishenpur under the theme Disturbance free education zone Source Hueiyen News Service

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Panchayati Raj fund swindled in Manipur

The annual technical inspection report on Panchayati Raj Institutions PRI in Manipur which was placed before the current Assembly session has expressed strong suspicion of misappropriation of fund Source Hueiyen News Service

The annual technical inspection report on Panchayati Raj Institutions PRI in Manipur which was placed before the current Assembly session has expressed strong suspicion of misappropriation of fund Source Hueiyen News Service

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Bodies intensify stir against MRVTMW Bill

A mass rally was taken out on Thursday by students from various schools of Imphal West underpinned by various women’s bodies and other civil societies demanding immediate withdrawal of MRVT MW Bill, 2014 during the ongoing Assembly session Source Hu…

A mass rally was taken out on Thursday by students from various schools of Imphal West underpinned by various women’s bodies and other civil societies demanding immediate withdrawal of MRVT MW Bill, 2014 during the ongoing Assembly session Source Hueiyen News Service

Read more / Original news source: http://e-pao.net/ge.asp?heading=17&src=030715

Archbishops appeal

Archbishop of Imphal, Rev Dominic Lumon and Bishop of Kohima, Rev James Thoppil have appealed to Mao Council and SAPO to settle the present standoff through dialogues Source The Sangai Express

Archbishop of Imphal, Rev Dominic Lumon and Bishop of Kohima, Rev James Thoppil have appealed to Mao Council and SAPO to settle the present standoff through dialogues Source The Sangai Express

Read more / Original news source: http://e-pao.net/ge.asp?heading=16&src=030715

Paraolon pets restored to their owners

Abandoned pets of Paraolon and adjoining villages which were rescued earlier by People for Animals Manipur and Claws and Paws Vet Clinic were restored to their owners on Wednesday Source Hueiyen News Service

Abandoned pets of Paraolon and adjoining villages which were rescued earlier by People for Animals Manipur and Claws and Paws Vet Clinic were restored to their owners on Wednesday Source Hueiyen News Service

Read more / Original news source: http://e-pao.net/ge.asp?heading=30&src=030715

ACOAMLup celebrates 15th foundation Day

All Clubs’ Organisation and Meira Paibi Lup ACOAM Lup , Kangleipak has celebrated its 15th anniversary today at Manipur Press Club Source The Sangai Express

All Clubs’ Organisation and Meira Paibi Lup ACOAM Lup , Kangleipak has celebrated its 15th anniversary today at Manipur Press Club Source The Sangai Express

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State level aquarium exhibition

The five day long third state level aquarium exhibition cum flower show kicked off on Thursday at Manipur Science Aquarium, DM College campus, Imphal Source Hueiyen News Service

The five day long third state level aquarium exhibition cum flower show kicked off on Thursday at Manipur Science Aquarium, DM College campus, Imphal Source Hueiyen News Service

Read more / Original news source: http://e-pao.net/ge.asp?heading=28&src=030715

Zelu Council lambasts ZU statement on Dziiko valley

The Zelu Council Manipur and Nagaland in a statement reacted strongly against the statement of the Zeliangrong Union AMN which was published in Manipur based dailies on May 31 wherein it had asked both the parties to declare Dziiko valley as the ‘n…

The Zelu Council Manipur and Nagaland in a statement reacted strongly against the statement of the Zeliangrong Union AMN which was published in Manipur based dailies on May 31 wherein it had asked both the parties to declare Dziiko valley as the ‘no men’s land’ Source The Sangai Express

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Encroachment at Langol reserve forest questioned

MLA Y Irabot drew the attention of the Forest Minister Th Devendra during the ongoing monsoon session of State Assembly on the inaction of the forest department about the land encroachment at Langol reserve forest area Source Hueiyen News Service

MLA Y Irabot drew the attention of the Forest Minister Th Devendra during the ongoing monsoon session of State Assembly on the inaction of the forest department about the land encroachment at Langol reserve forest area Source Hueiyen News Service

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ATRPFM submits memo

All Tribal Rights Protection Forum, Manipur ATRPFM has submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of Hill Areas Committee HAC requesting him to take up steps to pass a separate budget and develop a five year’s annual plan for hill areas in the State Le…

All Tribal Rights Protection Forum, Manipur ATRPFM has submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of Hill Areas Committee HAC requesting him to take up steps to pass a separate budget and develop a five year’s annual plan for hill areas in the State Legislative Assembly Source The Sangai Express

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BJP meeting on Sports Varsity

BJP, Manipur Pradesh is organizing the Second Public Consultative Meeting on the establishment of National Sports University in Manipur on July 6 at MDU Hall, Yaiskul Police Lane at 1 pm Source Hueiyen News Service

BJP, Manipur Pradesh is organizing the Second Public Consultative Meeting on the establishment of National Sports University in Manipur on July 6 at MDU Hall, Yaiskul Police Lane at 1 pm Source Hueiyen News Service

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Student bodies to monitor shady restaurants

The Manipuri Students’ Federation MSF , Pangal Students’ Organisation PSO , All Manipur Arts and Culture Students’ Union AMACSU and the Manipur Enat Kanba Lup have joined hands to monitor shady restaurants where immoral or raunchy activities are su…

The Manipuri Students’ Federation MSF , Pangal Students’ Organisation PSO , All Manipur Arts and Culture Students’ Union AMACSU and the Manipur Enat Kanba Lup have joined hands to monitor shady restaurants where immoral or raunchy activities are suspected Source The Sangai Express

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Private School Regulation Bill in next Assembly session Okendro

Education Minister M Okendro told the State Assembly on Thursday the Government was putting efforts to introduce in the next Assembly session a ‘Private School Regulation Bill’ aimed at supervising and managing all private schools in the State Source…

Education Minister M Okendro told the State Assembly on Thursday the Government was putting efforts to introduce in the next Assembly session a ‘Private School Regulation Bill’ aimed at supervising and managing all private schools in the State Source Hueiyen News Service

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MDAVO objects IFCD’s order against Chadong villagers

Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation MDAVO said on Thursday it strongly objects the office notification of the Executive Engineer, Thoubal Project Division I, IFCD Manipur published in the local newspapers on June 30 last that warned the vill…

Mapithel Dam Affected Villagers Organisation MDAVO said on Thursday it strongly objects the office notification of the Executive Engineer, Thoubal Project Division I, IFCD Manipur published in the local newspapers on June 30 last that warned the villagers of Chadong to shift within 15 days Source Hueiyen News Service

Read more / Original news source: http://e-pao.net/ge.asp?heading=20&src=030715