Manipur News

IMPHAL July 1: Chief-whip of the SPF and MLA of Thanga constituency T. Mangibabu clarified that the allegations made against him by one Tongbram Robindro who was arrested by police for smuggling drugs and that his arrest was perpetrated by the MLA himself is unfounded.

Talking to reporters at his office at the old secretariat complex today, Mangibabu contended that he had nothing to do with Robindro’s arrest and he was hauled up by police for his clandestine business activities.

“How can I instigate the police to arrest someone, Robindro was known as a smuggler after the Delhi police arrested one Napolean from Delhi airport with 200 kgs of Ephidrine on April 4, Robindro was named as the mastermind behind the smuggling in the media. His allegation in the local electronic media that he is not involved with drug trafficking and that I was responsible for his arrest is baseless”, the MLA added.

The MLA contended that he had been involved in politics since the early 80’s has never used any unfair means to get ahead in his career. “Let anyone stand for election, it is a person’s democratic right but I feel that he should be centered in bringing about peace and development, not in criminal activities”, he said.

The MLA and his workers voiced that Tongbram Robindro has political aspirations and to contest the forthcoming elections.

Meanwhile Robindro who belongs to the same constituency as the MLA is said to be related to the MLA.

Mangibabu replying to the fate of fishers after the introduction of the Loktak Protection Act said that the Act has to be there to protect the lake, but if the clauses in the said act becomes anti people, then it needs to be amended, he maintained.

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Leader Writer: Hrishikesh Angom

In the midst of stringent movement for “quality education” launched by various students’ bodies in the state, many educational institutions are fast moving in the so called trend of “commercialized education”. One may find large colourful ads on some popular local papers about this and that school with lucrative offerings to the students. It’s quite commendable for the proprietor to make such big offers which could bring a big change in the education scenario of the state. But then looking at the commercial side of education, one may obviously sense the motive for making such advertisements by these schools. Often it happens with less popular schools which want to draw public attention by repeatedly casting some of their bright students on newspapers and television. These institutions are more or less business establishments where everything is meant for profit-making only.

From where does the need for making advertisement in education arise? Why do less popular schools spend huge money on ads? Are they simply making for the sake of students? These questions will surely haunt the commonsense of the people who see the ads of schools and coaching centres everyday. Quite simply “profit making” is the motive behind such ads. Moreover, the lucrative offers are designed only for some meritorious students who will indeed be the name and fame of the school. The school will then make money from numerous average students enrolled with the hope of getting quality education. Here, one may investigate the actuality of these schools. The essence of education seems to be lost by making such advertisements. There is no need to spend huge amount of money on making advertisements to seek more enrolment of students. The education institutions have been turned into business hubs by some commercial mined people. It is an undeniable fact that nothing in this world works without money and so is the education. But, the trend of commercializing education is a stumbling block in the path of achieving quality education. Moreover, most people of our state are economically backward and they would not be able to afford so much on education. The higher cost of education in private schools is due to huge expenditures made on advertisements. If the advertisement is made once or twice for announcing new admission by highlighting some of the facilities of the schools, then it is quite acceptable. But casting some bright students time and again on newspapers and television irritates the people. It seems the students are models promoting some kind of commodity called “education” in the market.

As far as possible education should not be considered as a “commodity” as claimed by many people. It is true that we pay money for education but that does not necessarily mean that it should be commercialized like in other business sectors. The purpose of “education” should be made clear so as to sensitize the people towards achieving quality education in the state. A good school will be good and it will be noticed by people without much publicity and advertisement. On the other hand, the schools run by profit mongers will try to catch the public attention by making all sorts of publicity and advertisement in the media offering to sell their product of purported “education”. It is high time for the people to come to senses and look thoroughly to the actuality of schools and coaching centres which make attractive advertisements on newspapers and television luring the students to get enrolled at their schools and coaching centres. It will be good for the school management groups to invest more in enhancing education than in making advertisements to get more enrolment.

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Much has been already said of why the guardians of the law breaking the law is far graver than ordinary people doing so. By the same corollary breaking the law by those who are challenging it should come under a much more different yardstick. But this play with words aside, there is an important issue which needs to be clarified. This has to do with one argument which continues to persist in any talk on the need to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA, and the felt need by many rights activists to have the Army accountable for whatever acts of unwarranted violence they perpetrate. Without seeming to support the continuance of this draconian act, the argument goes that violence committed against civil population are much more by insurgents, and even by the state police which is not covered by the AFSPA, than by the Army which is empowered by the AFSPA. In other words, it is not the AFSPA which is responsible for the trouble in Manipur and the Northeast, but insurgency and its resultant violence. In a more subtle way, this is also saying that the AFSPA is in good hands and would not be misused beyond understandable limits, and on a comparative scale has not been used to perpetrate violence as much as the state police and insurgents have done, though no such laws empower them. Further it also amounts to saying that violence will continue with or without the law so long as the conditions for violence exist on the ground.

There is much truth in this argument and indeed violence and atrocities committed on the common citizen by the state police and insurgents may be a lot more than those perpetrated by the Army and other central paramilitary forces covered by the AFSPA. However there is one vital difference. Leave the insurgents for the time being, for they function on a different plane of logic altogether, and instead make a comparison between violence committed by the state police and the Army. Since the 2004 climactic moment in the protest against the AFSPA in the wake of the Thangjam Manorama custodial rape and murder case, and the subsequent removal of the act from the seven Assembly constituencies of the greater Imphal area, on the plea that the Imphal area can be handled by the state’s own counter insurgency force, who in local parlance have come to be known as police commandos, it is true that acts of violent confrontation has been confined largely between the police and insurgents, leaving the Army somewhat out of the picture. Plenty of atrocities on civil population also have resulted out of this. The point then is, if the police still can commit and harass civilians in unwarranted manners although not covered by the impunity guaranteed by the AFSPA, should not this much reviled act be given its due and redefined as less draconian, if at all, than it has been made out to be?

This seems like a compelling argument. However, there is a very important point missed here. The AFSPA gives sweeping powers to the Army acting in an area declared as “disturbed” under the Disturbed Area Act. This include the power of a non-commissioned officers to kill on suspicion somebody may commit acts of violence, destroy houses again on suspicion it may be used as shelter by people with violent intents inimical to the law, etc. So when the Army perpetrates violence of the nature, it is doing it by the provisions of the law, unlike the police which would be committing similar violence but in disregard of the limits set on them by the law. What the police does is in this sense illegal and if they are not hauled up for it, it reflects on the will and intent of the government in power. In the case of Army acting as per the AFSPA, the acts of violence and impunity does not reflect so much on the government but the law itself. There should be no dispute which of these two scenarios is more sinister. One is a question of breaking the law to perpetrate violence on civil population, the other is of the law not only sanctioning such acts but also giving legal immunity to those who may be challenged as having jumped their already grossly excessive briefs. This certainly would be one of those peculiar ironic twists of circumstance when those breaking the law may actually appear less sinister than those acting by the law. The moot point is, the flaw here is not of those who are executing the law and its provisions, but the law itself which is flawed and in a manner extremely disparaging to the democratic credentials of the country.

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IMPHAL, June 29: Security forces have apprehended four individuals along with banned wild life products in separation search operation conducted yesterday, informed a statement of the PRO IGAR (S).  

In the first incident troops of 31 Assam Rifles along with lady police apprehended three women along with banned wild life products from a Bolero vehicles with registration No. 04A 3113 while conducting an operation in the general area of Khudengthabi on June 28.

The arrested women were identified as one Kikim Haokip, 42, w/o Robat Haokip of Checkon, Imphal, Ruth Liangmei, 35, d/o John Liangmei of Lanka, Senapati and LK Hokep, 39,w/o Hamang of Songluna, Motbung.

It further said that 12 kgs of Pangolin Shells, two mobile hand set and Indian currency 4040 were recovered from them.

They were later handed over to the customs office, Moreh, it added.

It said in another incident, troops of 29 Assam Rifles along with lady police have arrested another individual along with banned wild life items while conducting an operation in the general area of Sita Track yesterday.

The individual is identified as one Panewat, 33, w/o Yangam of Moreh. 1800 number of Pangollin shells, one mobile phone and Indian currency 505 were recovered from the person who along with the recovered items has been handed over to the chief conservator, Forest department, Imphal, it further adds.

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