Tag: Articles-Opinions

By: Jiten Yumnam

Hectic negotiation marks the ongoing efforts to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with Sustainable Development Goals in a post 2015 development agenda definition process in UN, with the developed, developing and least developed countries aggressively pursuing their interest. One wonders if the re-definition of current development discourse in the post 2015 will ever led to a rethinking of the current development model and processes pursued across Manipur and other parts of India’s North East. For instance, will there be a rethinking into the proposed plans to built colossal mega dams all across the rivers of Manipur and other rivers in the region for a more sustainable and alternative options? Or will there be a rethinking in introducing other extractive industries and other large infrastructure projects that will destroy the rich biodiversity, flora and fauna of the region with serious implications for indigenous communities inhabiting the state and across region. Will the new SDGs led to more involvement of communities in defining development priorities and processes?

The outcome document of the Rio+20 global Summit on Environment and Development held at Rio De Janiero in June 2012 sets the momentum towards defining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The limitations of the MDGs in terms of content and also its definition processes further provided impetus for SDGs. As diplomatic efforts and intensive negotiations among different stakeholders unfold, there’s clearly an obvious reality, of overwhelming focus on privatization of development, to entrust and legitimize corporate bodies’ role and involvement in all development processes throughout. Other pressing decision making process on key development challenges such as UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which gears up for a significant decision by 2015 year end also witnessed delegating maximum responsibilities to private sector development processes with limited or extremely weak accountability mechanisms. Hopes fades fast as one perceives the pattern of decisions shaped in defining SDGs primarily at the UN HQs.

The current discourse is already marked by refusal of many States of UN to refer to the term “human rights based approach to development” or HRBA in defining sustainable development goals. The overt emphasis on private sector led growth as the ultimate model of development in the Mexico High Level Meeting (HLM) of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) and as also visible in the post Rio+20 processes without establishing a clear set of rules for accountability and respect of human rights of communities already provoked wide condemnations from CSOs and will only contribute in deepening inequality and human rights violations all over.

The international discourse is strongly experienced in Manipur too, of increased effort to privatize people’s land and their survival sources in the name of development and clear cut refusal to uphold indigenous peoples’ rights. Manipur witnessed series of development policies formed in the last decade, interestingly in the last few years, to promote corporatization and privatization of community resources and commodification of peoples live and future, such as the Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act, 2006, the Manipur Tourism Policy, 2011 and the most recent controversy is the Manipur Hydroelectric Power Policy 2012 and the New Land Use Policy, 2014.

One also wonders if there can ever be just and sustainable development when corporate bodies, which only prioritize on profits, led such kind of development, especially at this time of multiple global crisis? Given the aggressive pursuance of policy deregulation towards corporatization of communities land and resources with militarism, the simplification of processes to seek such approval (single window clearances) and exclusion of community voices and space to air in their grievances and alternatives, one wonders if this will lead to sustainable development in Manipur. One wonder if emphasis on colossal projects in Manipur such as mining, mega dams etc, that will entail massive impacts be considered as sustainable and be pursued as key components of SDGs.

Manipur today witnessed increased intrusion of multinational companies both from developed and developing countries, whichever has the best capacity to loot, destroy, burn and ruin communities land, resources, their lives and future. In the case of ongoing process to drill and explore oil and natural gas in Manipur, oil companies and the State unleashed both misinformation and denial of information. There is serious accountability issue with the oil company, Jubilant Energy and Oil and Gas Corporation of India, as both failed to take the free, prior and informed consent of communities who depend on their land for survival. Rather there’s bribery of community leaders and manipulation of traditional decision making process, which creates confusions within and among communities.

In India’s NE, the definition of development priorities continues to be defined by International Financial Institutions with State facilitation, which promoted enabling environment for private sector/business rather than communities in an atmosphere of exclusivity and lack of transparency and accountability. Such process lacks a full scale impact appraisal, denial of information, misinformation, upsetting the fragile ecological integrity and destroying cultures. The adherence to human rights standards, such as, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, 2007, is absent. In India’s North East alone, more than 200 mega dams are being pursued with several constructed in Brahmaputra-Barak River Basin. These dams have already threatened indigenous farming in India’s North East States by submerging vast tract of agriculture land, wetlands and forest. And with lack of accountability of most of the corporate bodies involved in large scale destructive development, such as the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in the case of destruction of Loktak Wetlands by its 105 MW Loktak Project, one wonders if there ever will be development justice in Manipur? A development justice, which places people – that is the majority poor and the marginalized – at the front and centre of development as the primary agents and subjects of change. A development justice, where development process is designed and adapted in response to the aspirations of the people and their available resources, and not imposed by technocrats and so-called high-level experts for all time and for all peoples.

There is no difference between the way how decisions are made on development processes, for specific development projects and policies introduced at the local context. The trend of development introduced in Manipur and across North East India is now a serious matter of alarm and concern. The focus of the region in global economic development, mostly to foster trade and development between South Asia and South East Asia through construction of gigantic highways, railways and other mega infrastructure projects along with promotion of extractive industries and big mega dams targeting the rich natural resources in the region will intensify social, environmental, cultural, health impacts and complicates the already worse human rights violations records in the region. Already, the Trans Asian Highway project and the High Transmission and Distribution Lines with Asian Development Bank and World Bank respectively and passing through Manipur had already displaced several communities from their agriculture and residential land areas. One wonders if the development decision making process in Manipur and across India’s North East works exclusively to the international decision making processes and other advances in development rights regime. There’s a strong disconnect. Marginalized communities most affected by such exclusive process will continue to be impacted, impoverished and pauperized. How can such development process bereft of taking communities into consent be considered sustainable and just? Development fostered under the current development architecture has already ruined lives, destroyed futures of many indigenous communities, displaced fisher folks, small scale farmers and women from their survival sources not only in Manipur, but also across communities worldwide.

One may also ponder if long standing complaints of affected communities to listen to the inconvenience and violations by those projects are ever listened to and considered for necessary action. There are even cases of community members including women killed, assaulted and threatened for demanding just development, for fair rehabilitation and resettlement, for review of destructive projects, for calling for rightful space to air in calls for alternatives and impact assessments. Three people affected by Khuga dam lost their lives in police firing in December 2005. In 2008, Ms. Lungmila of Louphoung Village affected by Mapithel dam in Manipur remain paralyzed after hit by tear gas canister fired by personnel of Indian Reserve Battalion. How can development process which involves taking lives of communities and militarizing their land for asserting their legitimate rights be considered as sustainable and just development?

Given the indications of exclusion of community representatives, stakeholders in the officials decision making process in defining sustainable development goals in the ongoing post 2015 processes in the UN HQ has already led to widespread condemnations. The process, now solely confined for participation and decision among the member States of the United Nations is already arbitrary, exclusive and undermines international advances on just development, to ensure participation of communities and other stakeholders and also undermines the very spirit and outcome of the Earth Summit in 1992 and also the Rio+20 summit in June 2012.

There are several countries, from both developed and developing countries which seriously positioned to exclude civil societies and representatives of communities from the official decision making on defining SDGs and further to curtail mentioning “Human Rights” or even “Rights” for that matter. There are even countries that refuse to acknowledge that ‘land’ is life for many, but rather perceive it as yet another “productive resource” for corporate exploitation and expansionism. Developed countries are clear during negotiations, to protect and advance the interest of their corporate bodies and their intellectual property rights regime, the basic premise of their corporate operations to consolidate wealth and profits. One may ask whether the current efforts to find sustainable development goals will really be sustainable and helpful for the communities and nature, already subjected to multiple layers of deprivation, conflict and devastation of their lives. Or will the process contribute at least in restoring the health of our mother earth and in ushering development justice for many communities victimized and marginalized by the dominant development discourse.

The need for a just development is increasingly felt all over the world with states insisting on consolidation of the dominant development model and paradigm. As organizations worldwide prepares to observe the global day of development justice on 21st July to remind ourselves of the development injustice and the multiple impacts on marginalized and impoverished communities in deep corners of our earth, it is high time to remind ourselves if whether the current development process in Manipur actually serves the needs and also compatible to the wishes and aspirations of communities. Or whether it serves the interest and needs of only multinational corporate bodies and those in the State that actively support them. Pursuance of development aggression with intensified militarism will never lead to sustainable development, which actually is all about promoting communities intrinsic rights and democratic decision making processes. For indigenous peoples, recognizing their inherent rights over their land and resources and respecting their right to free, prior and informed consent for any development decision making in their land and territories is key for sustainable development in their land.

Promoting human rights based approach to development, fostering a community led development initiatives, promoting rightful participation, transparency and accountability will be crucial to foster development justice in Manipur. A significant step to promote development justice is to rethink all development processes for its compatibility to standards of human rights based approach to development. Reviewing policies detrimental to the rights of communities and to environmental integrity, and if necessary to repeal, such as Hydroelectric Power Policy, 2012, Manipur Loktak Lake Protection Act, 2006, Manipur tourism policy, Manipur Industrial policy etc, India’s PPP policy etc, Manipur Land Use Policy etc is fundamentally crucial.

Development justice can be best ensured if development processes is rooted in the wishes and aspirations of communities and in promoting health and sustenance of our mother earth. A significant consideration of whose development, who defines and who benefits need be seriously explored. Any development process negating human rights and inconsiderate of the human rights based approach to development will only led to multilayered conflict and confusion and will only reinforce development injustice. Fostering a development process that respect indigenous peoples right to freely assert their self determined development is extremely important to secure development justice in Manipur and beyond. It is high time to advance Development Justice – a transformative development framework that aims to reduce inequalities of wealth, power, and resources between rich and poor, between men and women and between countries. The larger process of defining the Sustainable Developments Goals in the post 2015 process also need be sensitive to the realities of deprivation and inequality prevailing among the most marginalized and the violations within perpetuated by State, Corporate bodies, military and other powerful development actors, as in the case of Manipur and also be sensitive to their voice, aspirations as expressed in their concerted struggles for change and justice.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/manipurs-development-debacle-in-post-2015-context/

By B.G. Verghese

Praise is due for the quiet, skilful diplomacy that has brought several Indian nurses and others home from captivity by the new Caliphate in Iraq. Many workers remain and there is a huge Indian population hostage to periodic political disruptions in the region. The situation remains potentially volatile. The proclamation of a caliphate may not portend much as yet; but it is a straw in the wind that Islamic fundamentalism is pushing forward and India is among its prime targets. Danger also lies in one brand of fundamentalism fuelling another.

It is disconcerting that at this time, communal agendas are being propagated anew in India. Recent manifestations of book banning and moral policing are disturbing. The RSS is asserting itself. The latest riot in Moradabad was spurred by a BJP MLA and his cohorts defying a ban on a maha-panchayat called to uphold the right of a local Hindu temple to use its loudspeaker during Ramzan. Protesting Muslims claim that loudspeakers have never been used in this temple before (at Ramzan), a fact that the BJP challenges. This is a needless provocation in the fraught post-Muzaffarnagar situation. In the process a police official has possibly lost an eye. It is a shame that festivals, religious processions and sacred places have become occasions and sites for what is essentially political contestation. And why cannot any legitimate conflict of interest be amicably settled? Mischief is afoot.

The BJP government too has not come out well in virtually black-listing GopalSubramaniam from the list of four approved names selected for elevation to the Supreme Court bench. The Chief Justice is outraged and has said that this kind of interference should not recur. The common belief is that the BJP disapproved of Subramaniam’s views as amicus curiae in the sensitive Sohrabuddinfake encounter case. Be this as it may, the intervention was crude and sends out a wrong message. The independence of the judiciary must not be allowed to be compromised.

Yet, governments of all hues want to bend public institutions to their will. More Governors have been eased out in the past few weeks merely because they are appointees of the previous regime. Yes, selections have been poor and partisan on occasion; but, honourable exceptions apart,merely substituting one such pensioner with another will not pass muster.

The Maharashtra government in turn has shown its reluctance to grant fuller autonomy to its police force under the Maharashtra Police Amendment Ordinance, February 2014. While incorporating some improvements in terms of the Supreme Court’s directive in the Prakash Singh case, the Ordinance falls short of the main thrust of police reforms made by successive high-powered commissions since 1978 in important respects.

To immunise the process of selection fromundue influence, the Supreme Court specifically required that the Chiefof Police be selected from a panel of three candidates chosen by the UnionPublic Service Commission. The Ordinance omits this, and allows the Chief ofPolice to be appointed on the sole discretion of the state government.
Instead, the DGP should be empanelled by the State Securities Commission established under the Act and have aminimum term of two years, irrespective of his date of superannuation.

There are problems with the composition of the State Securities Commission in the Ordinance. There is no judge as a member of the SSC as suggested by the Court. Instead, the executive is represented by the Home Minister, the Chief Secretary, and the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), thus compromising its independence. Again, the Court had stipulated that the recommendations of the Commission shall be binding; but the Ordinance makes them “advisory”. The status and powers of police establishment boards and police complaints board have also been diluted to give Government the final word.

Why is the Government shy of police autonomy? It is because all governments wish to keep the police as their hand maidens.And when the police is under the thumb of the political establishment one knows what happens. The Trinamool Congress MLA, Tapas Paul made the most indecent and murderous comments against his Left opponent, that went viral on video, but was let off with a grudging apology by Mamata who treated the matter flippantly as a routine party affair. The police was immobilised. The Centre was loath to move whether there or in Uttar Pradesh.

Sections of the media have been as irresponsible. The hugely sensational and even defamatory coverage and commentary on TV on the controversy raised over SunandaPushkar’s autopsy was disgusting. Rather than await due investigatory process, the media set itself up as a crude kangaroo court, mixing salacious gossip with charges of poisoning, murder and family and institutional intrigue. This cacaphony went on non-stop for days on end with all manner of busybodies channel-hopping to join the raucous debate. Equally pointless has been the time devoted to the PreityZinta and Ness Wadiaover a tawdry issue by of bloated self-importance by these socialites while far more urgent and important issues were ignored or glossed over.

The upheaval over the campaign to overturn Delhi University’s year-old innovation of a four year degree course, with optional intermediate stages, was also instructive. A bold move to introduce some freshness into DU’s stale curriculum was joyously aborted by mindless opponents and status quoists and those afraid of innovation and creativity. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dinesh Singh achieved a breakthrough in Indian higher education that has stagnated for years only to be thwarted by educational backwoodsmen. College autonomy too has been frustrated in many cases by those that fear change and accountability.

A silver lining in these clouds was the inauguration by the prime minister of the Udhampur-Katra section of the Jammu-Srinagar railway. While this will facilitate pilgrim traffic to Vaishno Devi, the real significance of the link is the historic opportunity it offers to make a politico-economic turnaround in J&K. This opening has scarcely been understood, let alone seized by the mandarins in Delhi and Srinagar. The media too has been asleep. Everybody ogles at the proposed China-Pakistan Karakoram corridor and the opportunities it promises. But what about the Delhi-Jammu- Srinagar corridor that has far more immediate promise for connectivity, community, trade, employment, Pandit resettlement and reconciliation. Has imagination fled?

www.bgverghese.com

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/caliphs-and-clowns/

By Pradip Phanjoubam

Is Manipur’s spring on the way? Is the state and its people coming out of dark days and beginning to open up to the outside world for a breath of fresh air? Is there any room for optimism that better days are ahead?

Macabre metaphors are tempting. With apologies to T.S. Eliot, in half jest, dark though it may be, it is difficult to resist asking, have all the bombs unknown miscreants plant routinely at peoples’ gates and market places begun to sprout? Rather than terror growing out of them, is there a promise of an outbreak of a riot of colourful blossoms? Have this flicker of optimism, if at all, left far behind the cynicism of the common denominator of “government contracts” to which politics, bureaucracy, insurgency and business have been reduced to in unparalleled absurdity? Is the inverse proportionality between bad public infrastructure and opulence of these contractor classes coming to earn public indifference and abhorrence rather than awe?

Signs are encouraging, although too early for celebrations. The old ways of the state which put itself and its people in the dark era is unlikely to end in a hurry, but the paradigms of people’s aspirations, goals in life, sense of self-actualisation can shift elsewhere. The corrupt would continue to wallow in their mammon worship, let that be. The new generation of the meek and industrious must find a road independent of the vulgar influences and standards set by the corrupt generation. In this brave new world, achievement must come to be defined by contributions each makes to the fund of creative energy of the society.

Often considered as the manifesto of the Christian religion, the “Beatitudes” of Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount”, have this to say on this matter: “Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth.” Teachings of all religions, most pronouncedly Buddhism, are indeed built around this beautiful idea. Ultimately, it is those who are honest with themselves and their works who will inherit the earth. When all draws to a close, as all must someday, it is work, not lucre, which will be the ultimate worship.

We do have some shining examples of men who have earned towering statures and reputations in society by the creativity and generosity of their work and not by the number of luxurious apartments they own everywhere. We also have numerous small entrepreneurs of artists, artisans, mechanics, and professionals in various services, creating employments, creating livelihoods. It is they, and the aggregate of their individual contributions, however small, which reflect the genuine strength of the places economy.

Of the signs which indicate potential for change and a new churning is the seeming growth of tourism in Manipur in the past two or three years, ever since the Protected Area Permit, PAP, (virtually a second visa) that foreign visitors were required to acquire to enter the state was removed. Foreigners are no longer a rare sight in the hotel lobbies and streets of Imphal. Understandably, there has also been a corresponding growth of quality hotels, and still more are in the pipeline. All this is happening despite those who continue to sow bombs and not paddy.

Two observations about tourism I took notes of from various interviews are interesting. The first pertains to foreign tourists and is made by a spokesman of Japan Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, one of the few overseas chambers of commerce of the country as we were told, during a luncheon rendezvous in Bangkok for a group of Indian economic journalists organised by the Asian Development Bank. He said for Japanese investors, the flow of Japanese tourists to any place is a valuable litmus test. Wherever Japanese tourists begin travelling, it is more than likely Japanese businesses would also follow, he said.

The thought is interesting not because a Japanese said it, but for its rationale which would quite obviously be understood universally. The general impression of a place where ordinary people in large numbers like to vacation with their families would first and foremost be one of all round security. Such places would also be seen as friendly and welcoming. All of these qualities understandably would be very important to potential investors.

If tourism is an important herald for an investment climate, tourism itself is a revenue making, employment generating industry in its own right. It is in this regard that I want to consider the second observation common among hoteliers and resort owners in many popular tourist destinations in India such as Gangtok, Kullu, Manali etc. For small and medium hotel and resort owners, who incidentally make up the backbone of any tourist industry, domestic tourists are far more important than foreign ones.

In an economy witnessing an unprecedented growth of the middle class, India’s leisure seeking travelling population is huge and still expanding. Young honeymooners, huge noisy joint families often extending three generations, company staff on group excursions… the section of India’s population on the move is formidable, and as in China, its tourism industry can actually thrive even without foreign tourists.

It obviously is for this reason that today in tourist destinations like Darjeeling and Sikkim, many hotels and restaurants run by Tibetans and Newar Nepalis, communities known for their love of beef and pork, do not have these meat items on their menu anymore for fear they would shy away orthodox Indian tourists. I have had to be content with vegetable momos on popular stalls along the Darjeeling highway, once known for juicy steaming pork versions of them.

In other words, Manipur must prepare and encourage both varieties of tourists. Each have their own important places to fill in the growth of the tourism industry.

It is with these considerations in mind that we must look at the three months long state wide celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Imphal and Kohima which concluded last week. Thanks to the organizers, the celebrations were befitting, with respectably high level official representations from the Britain, Japan, Australia and the USA attending the functions.

Much has been said of the World War II experience of Manipur, and how although forgotten all this while, this battlefront was one of the most important turning points as well as bitterly fought of the entire war. As Field Marshal Sir William Slim wrote in his book “Defeat Into Victory”, and so many other war historians have endorsed, these crucial and brutal battles were the turning point of the Japanese Imperial Army’s fortune leading to its ultimate defeat in 1945.

Till then, in the Asian theatre, the Japanese were virtually invincible having bulldozed away Allied troops from the entire SE Asia, the last of which was from Burma. They were then not only stopped in Imphal and Kohima but also given a crushing defeat. A total of 45,000 Japanese and INA troops perished. The Allied forces which had almost complete air superiority, lost 17000 troops (figures vary but not radically). The scale of casualties itself is an indicator of the intensity of the battles. The sufferings all involved must have gone through, the Japanese in particular, but also the Allied troops, and not the least the local people on whose soils these foreign wars were fought, is anybody’s imagination.

Unfortunately, for a long time these skirmishes were virtually forgotten, for reasons that had probably to do with the geographical remoteness of these battlefields thereby, a reciprocal psychological remoteness to the empires waging these wars. But quite by coincidence, or providence, or better still ‘karma’ if you prefer, as the 70th anniversary of these battles approached a series of events somewhat broke the decades of silence. Foremost of these was a poll in Britain which voted these battles as the most crucial in Britain’s war history, ahead of even Stalingrad, Normandy and Waterloo.

The second is an awakening to the reality of the history of this war at home, the agent provocateur of which are certain enterprising men behind two campaigns to publicize the matter, first of which is Battle of Imphal and Kohima which runs a website and a WWII guided tour service. Following on its heels is Imphal Campaign WW2, which runs a commendable private museum, a website, and keeps a voluntary team of men to discover WWII battle sites and artefacts.

So much for the brief recap of the run-up to the 70th anniversary celebrations, but the important question now is, what next? While most of the participants in the concluding function engaged in recounting the roles their nations played and heroic sacrifices their soldiers made, one speaker, Dr. Hugo Slim, grandson of the Field Marshal Slim, the chief architect behind turning defeat into victory for the Allied troops here 70 years ago, may have provided a fine clue to the question.

The academic grandson of the army general suggested that the approach should be one of pilgrimage and reconciliation. It is a supreme irony that it was war that brought the world to meet in Manipur 70 years ago he noted, and it is again memories of that war which is bringing the world back to Manipur. The occasions for the two meetings are different yet connected, just as war and peace are different yet integrally related. If the earlier exposes the violence embedded in humanity, the latter demonstrates the same humanity is capable of remorse, therefore still sane. The Manipur chapter of this war experience must now be about promoting this sanity.

Dr. Slim suggested, or bought into the idea of converting the Slim Cottage in the Kangla, the house where his grandfather, Gen. Slim planned out his defeat into victory strategies, into a war museum. Not a museum dedicated any particular nation or army he was quick to add, but to all who won, all who lost, all brave soldiers who died, all victorious soldiers who lived to tell the tale, all non combatants and civil population who were caught in the crossfire, all shattered dreams, all trophies won, all the shames and sufferings of failure, all the joys and rewards of success.

In short, this suggestion is about shaping this museum be a monument to recall the human capacity for reconciliation, remorse and conflict resolution. What a wonderful idea for governments to pick up from and translate into a tangible policy. Indeed, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan, Y Kawamura, fully agreed and said he would be following up the proposal with his embassy in New Delhi and home government in Tokyo. Hopefully, the Manipur government would also do its own bit of homework and following up.

Last fortnight, three cities of the former Pyu Kingdom in Myanmar were declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for the ancient temples located in them. It is worth a consideration why the government of Manipur should not take up initiatives to bring UNESCO to notice the importance of the Imphal-Kohima battle sites and given similarly recognition.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/turning-memories-of-war-into-yearnings-for-peace/

By M.C. Linthoingambee

There has been no dearth of news with regard to drug busts in Manipur or of various organizations coming forth to take the battle against drugs head on. Interestingly, the word ‘drug’ has been so abused on its own that only negative connotations are associated with it. Mention ‘drugs’ and the immediate reaction is to associate it with those that are abused even though it is a generic word for all medicines! Some drugs do come into the category of good or grades as general A average due to their inner chemical components that helps in treating various diseases and illnesses. While legal drugs are made available in the market for treatment, there are also those drugs that exists in a very parallel universe termed and marked illegal but as always are sold over the counter.

Drug Trafficking is a common offence in most places. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has published data in 2012 indicating that the highly active states involved in the majority of drug trafficking cases are led by Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and so on. There are two acts currently leading in the framing of the main drug policies in India which extends to the whole of India and all its Indian Citizens and to any ships or aircrafts registered in India. All major delegation of litigation fighting to such affect is dealt in the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 shorty acclaimed as NDPS Act where it states that it is illegal for a person to produce, manufacture, cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. One of the main motive in this drug policy was also to establish the Narcotics Control Bureau that does every bit of work to control anything related to the above actions. There is also the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Today, there are also news of the Foods and Drugs Administration joining hands with the Narcotics wing to control the spread of further drug trafficking. Possession of drugs in itself is an offence under the NDPS ACT where it doesn’t matter it if was for a personal use or for any other purpose. The punishment depends upon the quantity of drugs he possesses. However, if he is charged with either possession of small quantities of drugs or with consumption of drugs and he voluntarily seeks to undergo medical treatment for de– addiction from a hospital or an institution maintained or recognized by the government or a local authority, he shall not be liable for prosecution. This immunity from prosecution may be withdrawn if he does not undergo the complete treatment for de–addiction.

All of us do not need to take part in making indifference choices. The society isn’t bold without its people. With more and more youngsters introduced to drugs at a young age we see more people consuming these illegal substance and intoxicants. When a person is heavily intoxicated, they loose the ability to think and this situation as one might say hasn’t very much put us in a very good place. The underage drunks, the college students who smokes because they think it’s cool when their other friends do it, those many who delve into intoxicants under peer pressure, maybe it wont be so wrong to ask them to stop but, “Who’s going to stop?”, “No one”. Until they try it for themselves, “No smoking in public places”, “Smoking is injurious to health”, etc the leading advertisements are just another ignorance. Its always a walk in the park until the side effects come alive where it is indeed true as they say – We reap what we sow.

While in Manipur, news come by every now and then of women folks like the Meira-Paibis, other voluntary organizations like AMADA, CADA, etc making initiatives of catching anyone in possession of any of these Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances with certain displays of burning and destroying them on TV. The involutary liability one gives for drug addiction is being uncontrollable when the supply or stock of the Narcotic or Psychotropic Substances run out. Drug use also crime rates as it induces those who abuse them to make errors in judgements and hence, take to theiving, robbery, assaults and even killings in the cloud of their ‘high’. Yet, this does not mean that drug abuse need only strict policing as it is a public health issue. The involvement of people who have been into drug abuse and who fought to stay clean and clear from them to communicate with people who continue to use drugs may be a good beginning.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/the-fight-against-drugs/

By Soibam Haripriya

Empathy could be, in this context, thought of as identification with the tormented. The word identification is surprisingly beautifully described in the dictionary as “the process by which one ascribes to oneself the qualities or characteristics of another person”. Another entry describes it as “the perception of another as an extension of oneself”. The latter word is potent enough to keep one thinking as to why is the word ‘solidarity’ is used when extending our ‘solidarity’ to another struggle. Identification is certainly a more difficult location to inhabit, to perceive another as an extension of oneself is certainly an investment that is deeply enmeshed with set identities that prevent this.

An extension of the earlier discussion of certain cases of violence sees mobilisation on starkly certain lines. The few months old discussion of racism which has certainly died down now too sees this trend – that many are in solidarity with the campaign and yet couldn’t draw lines of identification with it. Tragically it will be another spurt of violence that will revive the discussion on racism. Crime against women, to reiterate the previous discussion is not a solitary issue. It is enmeshed with identities or the lack of it, drawn across class, caste, ‘racial’ity, ethnic otherness, etc. An age old question that gets regularly asked of groups of women fighting against crime, inequality and gender subjugation is of the possibility of building a larger solidarity of women. It is certainly not necessary that women derive their primary identification with the fact of belonging to a certain sex and gender, just as it is impossible for men too. It is however, another idea that I want to pursue, that is of individual identification building up to a larger idea of commonalities of purpose.

Identification, “the perception of another as an extension of oneself” could lead to empathy. The various crimes against women gets entangled with values of ‘shame’, ‘honour’ of a community rather than becoming a deeply felt individual violation in itself too, which it is. Certainly, there is no denying that crimes against women are tools used against communities, ethnic and class and caste others. The intersectionality of the fact of being of a certain sex, gender and caste and class and many other identities do make one be at the receiving end. The same intersectionality also gives certain other people the belief that they can with impunity commit certain crimes. While one can draw commonalities and be in solidarity with a certain individual affected by crime of such nature which gets conflated as many other things, the highly individual nature of the outrage is to be recognised too.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/the-impossibility-of-empathy-part-ii/

By Dr Khushboo Shah Sawant

With the arriving monsoons it becomes very essential to be aware of the importance of water, along with the diseases that can be caused through water. Diseases caused due to consumption of contaminated water are known as water borne diseases. They are extremely prevalent especially during monsoons, where there may be chances of water logging, mixing of contaminated water with clean water, or simply contamination of open water bodies like lakes, ponds or rivers.

Consumption of water contaminated by human or animal excreta, waste matters which contain pathogenic microorganism’s causes water borne diseases. Flood water can carry along with it, while open sewage, human and animal faeces, chemical wastes, or any other form of dead or decaying matter can also give rise to diseases like diarrhea. Infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and protozoa are the most common and wide spread health risks associated with drinking water. In a country like ours, a major chunk of diseases are caused due to water borne microorganisms. Children specially are most susceptible to them, giving rise to water borne diseases being one of the leading causes of childhood deaths and more so with diarrhea.

Waterborne diseases are contagious and require high standards of hygiene and sanitation in order to prevent it. However, it is essential to know first how the infection takes place. The micro-organisms present in human or animal waste enter into a healthy human body and cause disease. The most common way by which the micro-organisms are spread is through drinking contaminated water. However apart from that, water borne diseases can be spread through various other means such as, through clothes, hands, food, materials used for cooking eating and drinking. There are also some micro-organisms that can enter the body through an open wound, eyes, and nose as well.

Water borne diseases are extremely harmful and lead to some severe illnesses and may sometimes be fatal. They reduce the body’s resistance and also rip off various vital nourishment, and make the body furthermore susceptible to diseases. Therefore it is important to be aware of a few common waterborne diseases:

Amoebiasis: It is a parasitic infection caused by ‘entamoeba histolytica’ due to ingestion of faecal matter of an infected person, usually from an infected water supply source. It causes severe diarrhea, stomach pain along with cramping.

Cholera: Caused due to the ‘vibrio cholera’ bacteria is an epidemic whose outbreak is caused by contaminated drinking water. The symptoms of cholera are severe watery stool, vomiting, and cramps in the legs. Dehydration occurs in the people affected and can even lead to death.

E Coli: is caused by a bacteria ‘Escherichia coli’ that festers in undercooked beef or other meat cooked in unhygienic conditions, unpasteurized milk etc. An E Coli infected person may have symptoms such as diarrhea which may even have blood in it along with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever.

Giardiasis: The causative organism is a parasite ‘Giardia lamblia’ and is present mostly in contaminated water. The symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, excessive gas formation in the stomach, nausea and an overall upset feeling of the stomach.

Hepatitis A: commonly known as Jaundice, it is a viral infection caused due to food prepared in unhygienic conditions, contaminated water, shell-fish, raw salads and vegetables which have not been cleaned properly. The symptoms are dull low fever, fatigue, weakness, pain in stomach, nausea, aversion to food, dark yellow coloured urine, yellow discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes etc.

Typhoid: Caused by a bacteria ‘Salmonella Typhi’ happens mainly through consumption of contaminated milk or milk products, poultry, eggs, meat, meat products etc. Symptoms of typhoid include consistent fever, headache, constipation as well as diarrhea, vomiting loss of appetite, and an abdominal rash.

Viral Gastroenteritis: by far one of the most common water borne disease and caused by ‘calicivirus virus’. A viral gastroenteritis is caused typically after consumption of contaminated water or food prepared in contaminated water, eating raw fruits or vegetables which have not been washed etc. The symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting nausea, headache, body ache, cramps in the stomach, tiredness, fever etc.

The common symptoms that run through most of the water borne diseases are diarrhea and vomiting which happens to be the main reasons of children death. The main risk in diarrhea or vomiting is dehydration, which means the loss of vital fluid content of the body hindering its normal functioning. It is very important to watch out for the signs of dehydration, which are extreme or continuous thirst, reduced frequency of urination than normal, the colour of the urine becoming dark yellow, inability to sweat, fatigue, dryness of the mucous membranes around the lips, eyes etc, loss of moisture in the skin, light headedness etc. By the time these signs develop, the dehydration may be advanced and so it is very important to replenish the lost fluids and essential salts called as electrolytes.

All said and done, there is a simple solution for water borne diseases: prevention. Taking simple hygienic and sanitary preventive measures can help avoid the same. Drinking water that is boiled, cooled, stored in hygienic vessels which are washed and cleaned daily; washing our hands every time before and after a meal and after defaecation with a clean soap; eating food that is freshly cooked; cooking food at a high temperature so that all the pathogens are killed; avoiding eating stale food or food that has been stored for a long time; ensuring meat is well cooked; covering yet to be consumed food with a lid to avoid pest infestation; avoiding eating raw vegetables or fruits without washing them properly; avoiding eating or drinking food from roadside vendors; using proper toilets for defaecation; washing hands and feet each time after coming from outside; keeping nails clipped and clean; avoiding bathing or washing clothes in open stagnant water etc are some easy ways of prevention. However, if a person ex
periences any of the above mentioned symptoms even after taking all precautionary measures, he must visit the doctor immediately for further treatment.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/watch-your-water/

By Dr. Jayadeva Ph.

One fine morning while taking a shower, Tombisana found a small lump in her breast. That night she kept thinking whether to be concern of the lump or ignore it. She is 32 years old, unmarried and otherwise a healthy and active person. Tombisana was always a bit shy and this prevented her to go to a doctor and consult about the breast lump. She eventually decided to ignore it.

3 years passed, the lump was painful and her skin over it was red and thick. After consulting a doctor and taking appropriate investigations, she got the shock when the lump turned out to be a cancer!

She thought for a while and regretted that she should have thrown her shyness away and done a check-up at the earliest when the lesion was pre-malignant.

What mistake did she do?

Breast cancer is the most common cause for death in women around the world.Global breast cancer incidence increased from 641,000 (95% confidence intervals 610,000 -750,000) cases in 1980 to 1,643,000 (1,421,000—1,782,000) cases in 2010, an annual increase of 3•1%. Over 100,000 new breast cancer patients are estimated to be diagnosed annually in India.

Previously, it affect women living in the western countries more often, probably due to their lifestyle and eating habits. Now, India is increasingly facing the problem of breast cancer. Same can be said for places like Manipur, where women may face breast diseases like any of her counterparts in the world.

Many newer investigations are present in the world to detect breast cancer. But the first test is always the self-examination. Women of any age can do a thorough self-examination of both the breast to check for any lump or swelling.

The most common mode of examination for detecting breast cancer is the mammography. Mammography is a type of specialised X-ray machine which can detect both benign and malignant lesions. Mammography is recommended for patient who are above the age group of 35 years but not recommended for patients who are pregnant, lactating or below 35 years due to radiation hazard.Mammographic positioning is also painful for the patient.

Even though PET and MRI scan has higher accuracy, its availability is a concern.

The easiest and the more comfortable type of investigations is ultrasound screening of breasts. Ultrasound is a specialised device that uses high frequency sound waves (inaudible to human and similar to sound waves used by bats!) to visualise the soft tissue of the body. It does not uses radiation like mammography. So, ultrasound can be used in any individual whether she is pregnant or younger individuals which are unfit for radiation exposure.

The sensitivity for detecting breast cancer ultrasound ranges from approximately 80 to 90 per cent, which hold very good for patients who are young or pregnant and even for those who cannot afford other higher imaging modalities like MRI and PET or patients who does not want to be exposed to unnecessary radiation for screening purpose by mammography.

Ultrasonography is indeed a simple and inexpensive tool for evaluation of breast lumps. Not only it provide prompt diagnosis but also it is safe and painless.

Ultrasound detects early stage cancers in women with mammographically negative dense breasts, with higher contribution in women younger than 35 years .It is useful in the evaluation of palpable masses not visible in mammographically dense breasts, abscesses and masses that are not completely evaluable with mammography and in young patients who are susceptible to radiation.

Fine needle examination of any breast lump done blindly may yield false negative cases, i.e. it may wrongly take the sample for the biopsy from the area which may be of benign nature, other than taking the sample from the exact malignant site. False negative results are seen in 4-10% and are most common in fibrotic or well differentiated tumours

With the help of the ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration, the aspiration of the malignant cells become more reliable. Thus, making the patient worry lesser!

New development in the field of ultrasonography like Elastography has been developed which follow the simple rule of elasticity , telling that the more the lump is hard, the more likely it is to be malignant. Other newer techniques includes contrast enhanced Sonography.

Nowadays, not only women are affected by breast cancer. Many cases of breast cancer in man has also been reported. But most of the cases goes unreported or gets reported very late in life as the usual false presumption that man does not have breast! That they have chest!!

Every men that I know have breasts. It may be a rudimentary gland for them, but they do have breast glands which can very much develop breast cancer at any stage of his life. Men should also be aware as much as their female counterparts. Actually, men should worry more as breast cancer is often more aggressive than women;the breast tissue in men are very close to the chest wall and it can metastasis (spread) faster than breast cancers of women.

Every year, October is taken as the month to create awareness for breast cancer. In US and many other countries, prominent personalities, breast cancer survivors and any individual who want to share their knowledge to tackle this dreaded disease.

Lastly, the mistake that our friend Tombisana did was nothing. She was simply unaware of the consequences of the simple breast lump. She was not aware that the simple breast lump may turn out malignant. She does not know what could be the next step for diagnosis and treatment. Now that we all know some few simple test to be followed if you find a breast lump. Never to ignore even the smallest of them!

(Author: Dr. Jayadeva Ph., Md., Consultant Radiologist, Advanced Hospital & Research Centre, Imphal.)

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/07/breast-lumps-to-worry-or-not-to-worry/

By RK Lakhi Kant

The poor are getting poorer in spirit, and this time
they are being stripped of their ordinary way of life,
which leaves them neither here nor there;
Why is there lack of care for the poor?
They do deserve praise for the good amount of work
on the fields and other physically demanding work.

In any public work that the country takes up,
the division of labour and the spoils are heavily
loaded in favour of the richer class, although
the poor do all the hard work,
while the rich only do sedentary work;
Try lifting a few bricks some time, to know.
Now we pay for our houses to be built, but in remote
areas, the houses are built by the neighbours,
relatives and friends of the house owner;
Houses for the common man in India
being built by paid labour used to be unheard of,
so much were community ties close and effective.

With 20 percent effort the rich get 80 percent amenities,
and want to employ the poor in this work; really smart!
The poor work physically through the day to get less than
20 percent amenities for their contribution;
With an 80 per cent poor in India,the establishment is
even despotic, the way things are going as of now.

The roads for instance in the cities,
have no pedestrian allocation, and it’s quite obvious
the poor are being exploited and not being given the
recognition for their work in other areas as well;
How to give them an even playground?
Not with loads of money, but principles to steady them.

There’s a big hu ha about money, but it’s not a
very great thing which cannot be taken care of;
Take note of the fact that Indian myths is not actually
a myth but a living history, an instance of how we live
in a state where all the so-said myths are still alive;
The Ganga for one is still the same.

Flowing down the Indian landscape for ages,
it still has the same name,
and its stories mentioned in the history of religion,
are alive today, as are hundreds of other landmarks
which have come down history,
like names, monuments, places, clothes;

In India we can be sure that the same features
that marked the pre-ancient times,
are still there, in some way or the other;
And the moral strength its purity gives
to the people is evident of the link,
even in ordinary day to day life.

The roads are injustice to the poor who are in tatters,
and nowadays more susceptible to be cheated;
Where’s the water, power, education for them;
Denying them these things the people
have the heart to live in buildings built by the poor
without acknowledging the existence of the poor.

Let’s equate not in terms of money,
but of emotional content;
A state cannot be a state, unless
the common citizenry is accepted;
Money is hardly of importance if principles of life
are to be a driving force behind any public works.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/poverty-an-aid-for-the-rich/

Suraj Singh is first son of N Girani and N (O) Jamini Devi of Chingmeiron Maning Leikai, he is born on May 18 1993 and he has two younger brothers and one elder sister.

Suraj is 21 years old and studying at Pravabati Collage in Bachelor of Arts second semester standard.

While Suraj has participated in many competitions at inter collage, state, district and national level and he achieve many position, gold medal and overall champion title in the field of body building.

Suraj Singh has participated in Junior Mr. Manipur of 2011 and bagged silver medal in 75 kg junior category, organized by All Manipur Body Building Association, in the same year he attend at 4th Satish Sugar Classic (National Open Championship) which is held at Karnataka on December 8 he got 5th position for 75 kg category organized by Indian Federation of Body Building.

In the Eastern India (National Open Championship) held at Jharkhand in the month of May 2012 Suraj Singh was awarded gold medal for 75 kg category while in the month October 21 of the same year he bagged overall champion title in Junior Mr. Imphal East for 80 kg category. The contest was organised by AMBBA at Khundrakpam, Imphal East district. Again in the month of November he received same overall champion title of Junior Mr. Manipur 2012 in the same category, the contest was organised by AMBBA at Asha Hall, North AOC, he also bagged the same title for Senior Mr. Shajou for 80 kg category at Thoubal district in the year October 11 2013 which is organised by Manipur Amateur Body Building Association (MABBA), in the same month he also participate in Senior Mr. Kangleipak which is organised by MABBA at Asha Hall, North AOC, and he bagged Overall champion in 80 kg category.

After becoming champion of Senior Mr. Kangleipak he gets the privilege to flex his beautiful muscles in Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar from November 23 and 24, 2013 for Mr. Eastern India (National open Championship), he bagged overall champion in 80 kg category, and the competition was organized by Indian Body Building Federation.

In the month of December 14 and 15 for the year 2013, The All Manipur Gymnasium Welfare Association organised Mr Moirang Khamba at Moirang in this competition he bagged overall title for Senior Mr. Moirang Khamba in 80 kg category.

For the year 2014 he bagged overall title in series in 80 kg category at Subhas Chandra Boss Classic (National Open Competition) held at Assam, Hojai on January 19, organized by IBBF, in Inter College Open Competition on January month organized by Manipur University and his last achievement for this year is Junior Mr. India held at Khuman Lamapak, Indoor Stadium Imphal from February 14 to 16, the competition was organized by jointly AMGWA and IBBF. Phew! The list seems to be too long for a 21 year old body builder. Here is a brief chat with the young champion.

IFP: Why did you choose body building from all other games?

Suraj: Since childhood, I love to play games a lot. My father was a body builder too, seeing him play inspired me.

IFP: How did you felt when you participated in the contest for the first time?

Suraj: It was an unbelievable moment for me. The first one was in 2011 Junior Mr Manipur title contest organised by the All Manipur Body Building Association. I was really excited to get the Silver medal in 80 kg category.

IFP: Since when did you start building your body and which gym did you played?

Suraj: After finishing Matriculation in the year 2008, I started playing under my father’s instruction in my locality at Chingmeirong Youth Gym for two-three months. Thereafter under instructor Ningthem of Unique Gym, I started playing at Khuman Lampak for seven to eight months, in year 2011. I started playing under I Bipin of YBB Gym of Pishum. Then, I played under instructor Gogen of Royal Gym, Ningomthongjao. He taught me stage performance. I would like to give credit to all my instructors for the junior title of Mr. India 2014.

IFP: Tell us about other contests that you have participated.

Suraj: All together, I have taken part in 12 contests, both at the state and national level so far. I got 6th position in the National Open Competition held in Karnataka in 2011. In 2012, I begged the gold medal in the Eastern India Competition held in Jharkhand.

IFP: How did you felt achieving such prestigious titles?

Suraj: I felt good, naturally. But winning titles inspire me to work harder and harder.

IFP: Tell us about the exposure one could get after having contested with players of other states?

Suraj: I supposed the players of other states are advanced in terms of techniques from our state. But I take it as an opportunity to learn from them as well.

IFP: How about you bagging the junior Mr India title as your latest achievement in the competition held at Khuman Lampak Indoor stadium in Imphal.

Suraj: I was not sure of winning the contest as it was an all India competition. There were 28 states participating in the competition. But I got the title and I am extremely happy about it.

IFP: Any offer for job opportunity so far after from any quarters after getting the title?

Suraj: No, nothing as such. I will be happy if I get.

IFP: Well, what are your future plans?

Suraj: Simple. To play more and achieve more titles, and Yes, I do need a job to support myself.

IFP: How do you manage body building with academic studies?

Suraj: It’s pretty hard, you see. I have to play for two hours every day. And I have to increase it by additional two hours during the time of competitions. But I do make it a point to sit for the exams in the college as well.

IFP: Any words for the upcoming players?

Suraj: One must be hard working, respect for the fellow players and above all discipline in all front, to the instructors, discipline in diet etc.

IFP: We wish you all the best for your Mr World 2014 contest in November.

Suraj: Thank you.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/meet-the-young-achiever-of-body-building-suraj/

By Paonam Thoibi

Q1. I don’t know whether my question is going to be too general. I have been thinking about this for quite some time, and I feel I can ask this one since we have observed International day against drug abuse and the like recently. My question is, is there a viable explanation from a psychologist’s point of view on why our state, particularly the youngsters are prone to drug abuse? Meena, Naoremthong, Imphal

Ans: Dear Meena, you are asking one of the most relevant questions about one of the issues our people are facing- i.e., drug use and abuse. It is true that many people, especially our youngsters are prone to getting into substance use habit. As a psychologist, I lay much emphasis on co-existing factors like mental stress, anxiety and depression as one of the many reasons. People resort to taking drugs- an unhealthy coping mechanism, to take a break from nagging thoughts, beliefs and disturbing memories. Getting ‘high’ is one of the ways to escape from realities which is not tolerant to them. Teenagers are susceptible as they are faced with many conflicting situations at their age both at home and outside. It is also the time of ‘experimentation’ about the new things they have come across in the media. The environment which exposes them to ill treatment, abuse and neglect by others, especially parents or dysfunctional relationships in the family also lead to drug use behaviors. Peer pressure and the need to ‘belong’ to groups and communities which uses drugs for pastime and recreation is another factor. Research studies also pointed out evidences of genetic factor in drug use. A drug use parent leaves their children susceptible to high risk of substance use.

The observance of international events like the ones you have mentioned is one of the many ways to sensitise people on the issues of drug dependency. Various other factors causing drug dependency- which includes accessibility, availability, social systems and dysfunctions like conflict situation, political systems, cultural practices, etc., in isolation or in combination, should be understood and policy and framework mechanisms to fight against it and how to stay at bay from drugs should be implemented.

Q2. I have heard about something called ‘habitual liar’, what is it? I have a friend, who narrates so many made up stories about himself, about his family. I mean, some of us as his common friend know that he is lying. But we pretend to believe him. How do we correct him without hurting him? We study in the same college. Binny, Poana Bazar.

Ans: Dear Binny, there has been debates going on whether to categorize habitual lying as a distinct mental condition or just a common symptom of several other mental conditions and illness. It is difficult to recognise if one is showing the characteristics of pathological lying- wherein they feel no guilt or remorse and lie without control regardless of how it affects them or others; or lying for several other reasons like out of fear, to conceal something etc.

I feel rather than concluding that your friend is habitually lying, a more understanding approach and confrontation will be more beneficial for your friend and also your friendship. If need be, your friend can be encouraged to meet a counselor so that he can also open up to other underlying issues or problems he may be facing due to which he distorts facts quite a lot of time.

Q3. Madam, this is about a question which you answered it so beautifully regarding about the choice of subject for the young students who have just passed 12 standards. I agree, there has been too many pressure from the parents, or rather expectation from their children. I agree with you madam, we should give ample freedom to our children while making a career choice. My kids are still in viii and ix standards, and we have decided not to force them into what we want.The problem is we cannot educate all the parents on this matter. I wish, you could write more on this, say as an article on this paper, you can still continue with the same column also, Bijaya, Palace Compound, Imphal

Ans: Dear Bijaya, it’s quite motivating to be encouraged to write on more on the issues of children and their freedom of making choice. I am also happy to know how you have decided not to force on your children in their decision of career. Here, I believe you also understood that it’s not totally leaving the children alone in their choice of career when they have reached the stage and the age to take up or pursue a career. Parenting involves making helping the children at an early age to shape up their opinions and encourage them to their sense of decision.

I hope I’ll be able to write more on this very soon as it is impossible right now while responding on the overwhelming number of queries each week. Thank you for the interest.

Readers are requested to send in their queries at mindmifp@gmail.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/mind-matters-3/

By L. Memo Singh

After several months of enforced idleness in Delhi, Laldenga, the leader of MNF (Mizo National Front) was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 – the day she was assassinated. The situation compelled him to leave for London. He returned early in August 1985, with the expectation of signing the Mizo Accord with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

After five years in the Chittagong forests of East Pakistan and several years outside, he returned to India in 1976 and in February that year signed an accord with the Government of India. After Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was swept away from power, Laldenga made approaches to the Janata Government and later to Charan Singh ;s Government. He did not succeed in fulfilling his political ambition of being installed as the Chief Minister of Mizo land. When Mrs. Gandhi returned to power in 1980, Laldenga again started the dialogue.

A retired Army Havildar, Laldenga founded the Mizo National Famine Front in 1956-57 when the Assam Government failed to deal with the “Maotam” famine in the Lushai Hills. That was how the land of Mizo’shad bourgeoned embryonic before it becomes a Union Territory. The word Maotam owes its origin to the flowering of the wild bamboo once in 59 years. The bamboo fruit, relished by rodents contains an alkaloid which enhances their fertility many times over. Rats multiply and destroy crops and consume all the grain.

On 22 October, 1961, Laldenga formed the Mizo National Front(MNF) and its armed wing, MNA. He openly came out for cessation and independence and after a few bloody clashes with the security forces crosses over into East Pakistan. He was arrested and brought back to Assam in 1963. Chaliha, the Chief Minister of Assam saw in Laldenga the potential to neutralise the Anti congressMizo Union Party.Laldengaresponded positively to Chaliha’s overtures and even managed to secure an acquittal from the charge of treason. On 28 February 1966, he suddenly declared independence of Mizoram and again started the insurgency.

During the last tenure of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the venerable and elder diplomate with a long record of service to the country, who had been conducting negotiations with Laldenga for almost four years was G. Parthasarathy (known as G.P). He was the policy planning Advisor to the Prime Minister in the Ministry of External Affairs, a close advisor to Indira Gandhi,Parthasarathy enjoyed the rank of a Cabinet Minister.

After the signing of the Assam Accord on 15th August, 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had taken up the Mizo issue. He studied the draft of an agreement and a note by G. Parthasarathy. He marked certain paragraphs of the draft in bold fluorescentyellow and orange colours. The draft had been ready for the past ten months. The Prime Minister suddenly decided to take away the negotiations from G. Parthasarathy and hand them over to R.D. Pradhan, the Home Secretary who had worked closely with Rajiv Gandhi in the past eight months on Punjab and Assam.

Handing over a sheaf of papers to the Home Secretary, the Prime Minister said,”Pradhanji, I won’t agree with this,” He added, Laldenga is becoming impossible. I want you to handle the negotiations henceforth. Make sure that he understands that the Government of India will not sign any document containing these paras in orange. Those in yellow will not be modified.

Earlier, the Home Secretary, R.D. Pradhan hardly knew anything about the Mizo’s and their land except for knowing that the Union Territory was situated on India’s eastern borders. For him, the Mizo National Front(MNF) and their leader Laldenga were names that he had seen in the Home Ministry’s files.

After handing over the sheaf of papers to R. Vasudevan, his Joint Secretary dealing with the North-East, the Home Secretary glanced through sme tourist literature on Mizoram to get a general idea of the place. He was fully confident of his Joint Secretary who belonged to the IAS cadre of Maharashtra. R. Vasudevan was a quiet, efficient officer through in his work. The Home Secretary spent a couple of hours with R. Vasudevan, with great thoroughness; the Joint Secretary also briefed him about the issues involved.

The Home Secretary also went to Parthasarathy’s office to get a briefing from him about his talks with Laldenga. G.P. with the serenity and detachment that was his hallmark, explained to him the various issues. He also offered to help him, in whatever way he could. Parthasarathy also told him of the good impression he had formed of R. Vasudevan, the Joint Secretary.

Laldenga was already in Delhi. He was the guest of the Government of India. The Indian security agencies were looking after him and his colleagues from the underground who had come over the assist him. Laldenga’s past was not only colourful; it also showed he was untrustworthy. He had visited China, East Pakistan, West Germany and even Kabul and Karachi in search of support for his cause. There was a suspicious that some international agencies might be helping him. On the other hand the Indian security agencies had also kept in close touch with him. S. Swaminathan, a Senior RAW Officer who had established a good relationship with Laldenga, was also a very old friend of R.D. Pradhan. This luckily coincidence and his link with Laldengawas to prove very useful to him. R.D. Pradhan felt safe indealing with a high-profile insurgent, who had in the past two decades earned a reputation for his cunning and craftiness in negotiations.

In the early part of September, 1985, the Union Home Secretary, R.D. Pardhan invited Laldenga to his office. Laldenga had assumed that agreement on all matters had been reached with Parthasarathy and that the meeting with the Home Secretary was a mere formality. He was accompanied by two of his aides from the underground. The Home Secretary greeted Laldenga and his colleagues. Laldenga was stiff and formal. He was dressed in a carefully pressed brown suit and a bright red tie. A small compact-bodies man, he looked remarkably fit. His two associates were of athletic build. They were from the Mizo National Army (MNA) and had undergone years of hardship in no man’s land, across borders in Burma, East Pakistan (Bangladesh). They had small piercing bright eyes, and their body language showed that they were trained to survive in the jungles.

On entering the room of the Home Secretary, Laldenga, with his steel-rimmed thick glasses wore a puzzled look.Perhaps he found it infra dig to be summoned to meet the Home Secretary. He was dealing with a Cabinet level official and was looking forward to meeting the Prime Minister to formally conclude the accord.

After making sure that Laldenga had a few minutes to contemplate the new situation in which he was to soon find himself, the Home Secretary looked at his Joint Secretary, R. Vasudevan to make an opening move. Vasudevan had earlier met Laldenga in Parthasarathy’s office. He enquired whether they were being properly looked after. Laldenga replied curtly and for information for the Home Secretary, “Too well !we have been in Delhi for several months. In fact, last year I was to meet Mrs. Gandhi on 31 October the day she was assassinated”.

It was true that with the generosity of the Government of India after the unfortunate occurrence Laldenga had gone to London to spend Christmas with his wife and daughter. The Home Secretary enquired about the progress of his talks. Emphasising each word, Laldenga said in his clipped accent, “Mr. Home Secretary, I presume the meeting is in the nature of a courtesy call. My talks with Mr.Parthasarathy have advanced a great deal. In fact, except for making arrangement for my people in the underground to come out in the open everything has been finalised. I am waiting to meet the Prime Minister to sort out the political issues.”

In the past, on four different occasions, Laldenga had either reneged on the agreement or left Indian in a huff because he could not get theChief Ministership of Mizoram, as a price for giving up insurgency and the demand for independence.The Home Secretary, keeping in view Laldenga’s political bargain that was equally important for him and his unpalatable acts, as politely as he could told Laldenga that henceforth he would have to talk to the Home Secretary instead. The Home Secretary also hinted that some matters that Laldenga had discussed with Parthasarathy required looking into a fresh.

Laldenga’s reaction was predictable. He was visibly upset. The Home Secretary could sense the anger building up within him. There was a reddish glow on his face and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. His two colleagues were looking intently at their leader. Controlling his anger he said, “Mr. Home Secretary, if you propose to reopen and go back on what has been agreed upon I shall return to the jungles and take up arms. There will be bloodshed again and you will be responsible for that.”

Just then tea was served. Taking the opportunity in stirring sugar in his cup the Home Secretary thought of his reaction. He did not forget the brief given to him by the Prime Minister himself : to engage Laldenga in talks and retrieve some of the ground that had already been conceded to him. He said,”Mr. Laldenga we are meeting for the first time. you don’t know me. I don’t know you.” After a pause, “But, I do know that you are still the leader of an insurgency. Today you are in Delhi under some kind of guarantees regarding your persons.”

After the pose of a few second, the Home Secretary added, “If I have heard you right, you have threatened me. You have talked of bloodshed. You are in the room of the Union Home Secretary. If what I have understood is correct, I shall have to take action that the law requires me to take.” Laldenga looked at his colleagues and turning his head looked intently at the Home Secretary. Almost eyeball to eyeball. The Joint Secretary, R. Vasudevan was anxiously looking at both of them. Then, instead of a volcanic eruption of temper, Laldenga broke into laughter and said, “Mr. Home Secretary, it seems I can do business with you. You appear to be a pretty straightforward person.”

Laldenga must have known the trust that the Prime Minister reposed in the Home Secretary who had regarded Laldenga as a consummate actor and admitted that he had proved his charismatic leadership and how otherwise would hundreds of young Mizos spend the best years of their life in the underground, in one of the most inhospitable of jungles.

The talks of R.D. Pradhan, the Union Home Secretary with Laldenga thus started. The difficult task which the Home Secretary had on hand was that he had to ‘withdraw’ certain concessions already made by Parthasarathy and also obtain Laldenga’s agreement on a couple of new points raised by the Prime Minister himself.

One important matter in these talks with Laldenga was the modalities for his armed men underground to come out lay down their arms and be helped to integrate in their beloved Mizo society. It was the exclusive preserve of the Home Ministry. The Home Secretary took full advantage of that to drag out the negotiations, till he had achieved the task that PM had entrusted to him.

During the subsequent long process Rajiv Gandhi kept his understanding with the Home Secretary. Despite several efforts on behalf of Laldenga to make direct overtures, PM did not meet him. He did not want to come on the scene himself too soon. The only senior minister whom Laldenga could meet was S.B. Chavan, the Home Minister, who allowed the Home Secretary to full freedom to handle Laldenga. He came in only when the talks got bagged down. The Home Secretary also wanted to ensure that all major concessions were made by the Home Minister. It was his privilege.

As soon as Laldenga came to know that some matters settled between Parthasarathy and him were proposed to reopen, the crafty leader began to make his own moves. He started meeting opposition leaders, as probably advised by his counsel, SwarajKaushal, who later became the Governor of Mizoram during V.P. Singh’s regime. In the beginning of October, 1985, Laldenga even leaked to the press the full text of the agreement reached between him and Partharasathy. He obviously wanted the world to know that Rajiv Gandhi was going back on what had been agreed. That was one way of putting pressure on the Government of India.

One day when Rajiv Gandhi met the Home Secretary, the Prime Minister asked him addressing as such, “Yours good friend Laldenga.” The Home Secretary responded, “He’s great. Our love affairs has just started. I must have some more time to allow our relationship to flowers !” laughingly Rajiv Gandhi said, “Take your own time. I will not accept anything that contains those objectionable portions.”

Basically, there were three issues that rightly bothered the Prime Minister.

The first related to the assurance that with the signing of the accord all prosecutions against MNF members would be withdrawn, whatever may be the nature of the offence committed by them during the entire period of insurgency. They were to be granted pardon.

Secondly, no Act of Parliament in respect of resources under the land in Mizoram shall apply, unless the State Assembly resolved that it should apply.

The third demand was for statehood, a separate High Court and a university.

On the first point, the Prime Minister’s objection was consistent with the policy followed by the Home Ministry since independence. There was no question of granting pardon to those who had committed a heinous crime. The second objection arose from problems that had arisen in Nagaland, where under Art. 371(I) of the Constituency, no Act of Parliament in respect of “ownership and transfer of land and its resources,” would automatically apply to Nagaland. There had been a series of problems because of the three words ‘and its resources’. ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Commission) had not been able to carry out its exploration work smoothly; several other agencies of the Government of India were facing problems. Some central government officials had even been murdered. PM did not want a repeat of that in Mizoram. Nagaland issues were already before the Supreme Court on the third issue there was no difficulty in principle.

Laldenga tried his best to stall the negotiations at the point they were ‘concluded’ with Parthasarathy. On the part of the Home Secretary, he took the line that unless he was ready to reopen those issues, there would be no agreement on any scheme for the MNF army to come out in the open. In fact, at that stage, the negotiations were being closely monitored by the so called commander –in-Chief of the Mizo National Army, Tawnluia. He invariably accompanied Laldenga in his meetings with the Home Secretary.

Laldenga was becoming increasingly relaxed and friendly. Once he thanked the Home Secretary and with a good gesture the Home Secretary told him, “Laldenga, in an interview with Surya magazine, you have said that you are the Government of India’s guest. We must look after you that’s our tradition.”

Laldenga had a hearty laugh. Taking advantage of his good mood the Home Secretary said, “Now let me tell you something more important-you have also said in that interview: “until I sign an agreement, I won’t call myself an Indian. In a more serious vein the Home Secretary said, “As Home Secretary I have no business to negotiate with a foreigner. In fact, because you abjured violence and gave us a written understanding that you would discuss within the frame work of the constitution, I am meeting you now.

Laldenga was showing the effects of the soft life. Months of enforced idleness in Delhi, interspersed with occasional talks with the Home Secretary or courtesy calls on the Home Minister, were showing its effects. He longed to be with his people but he would not go to Mizoram, fearing assassination. Nor could he go to London empty handed. He talked to the Home Secretary about his arifeand only laughter, who were in London. The Home Secretary learnt from his friend Swamy, the RAW official how they were being taken care of. As Christmas of 1985 approached Laldenga became increasingly homesick.

The Indian Government had made arrangement for his return to London to spend Christmas with its family. Swamy had even arranged for him to take Christmas presents for the family. Laldenga was delighted.

While Laldenga was away, RD Pradhan, the Home Secretary visited Aizwal. Lt. Governor Dubey looked after him and Lalthanhawla, the lunch for him where he met all his ministers. Besides, the Home Secretary met a number of political leaders. He found the Mizos warm, friendly and always smiling.

He flew in a helicopter all over the southern and eastern parts of Mizoram. He was fascinated by the emerald green forests covering rolling hills all along the Indo-Burma border. He did a reconnaissance by air of the areas where the MNA were expected to come out in the open. He thought of his task to work out a detailed scheme for Laldenga’s army to enjoy the fruits of freedom.

In the beginning of February 1986, there were reports that Laldenga was getting restive in London. He started making enquiries at the India High Commission as when the Government of India wanted him to return. When Swamy told the Home Secretary that in his desperation Laldenga may say or do something foolish, he spoke to PM. He sent a message and got Laldenga back in Delhi.

No longer, the Home Secretary had initiated talking about the scheme to enable Laldenga’s army to come out. Talking of the surrender of MNA personnel the former became conscious of the inner turmoil a ‘soldier’ must undergo when, after two decades of insurgency, he is asked to disarm. To ensure that there was no feelings of humiliation, the Home Secretary worked out a drill. As the MNA members crossed the border at Parva, situated in the southern most point, each person would enter a hut and deposit all his arms inside. He would come on and walk for a couple of hundred metres before being met by the Indian army personnel. The act of laying down arms was to be made in privacy so that there would be no humiliation.

Laldenga appreciated all the consideration shown to his army personnel and the acities that would be awarded to them, once they came out. The Home Secretary’s objective was clear : to let MNA’s so called commander-in-chief known that the Union Home Secretary was a reasonable and sensitive person, he respected a soldier – even a rebel. If the accord did not come about, it was because of the unreasonable attitude of their Chief, Laldenga.

There was yet another reason. It was not sure whether the MNA would honour the peace accord reached by Laldenga with Government of India. For several years, Laldenga was living in comfort, far away from his hard-core followers, who were somehow surviving for over two decades in one of the most in hospitable jungles of South-East Asia. His devited aide Zoramthang was at that time with the MNA and much would depend on his influence with so-called army officers. It was the assurance of the Home Secretary that Laldenga, through his trusted emissaries, could establish contact with Zoramthanga and get firm, assurances from the latter that all MNA personnel would come out with their arms and ammunition. Once that was assured, the Home Secretary would take firm steps to move forward to reach the accord.

In the beginning of June, the Home Secretary told Rajiv Gandhi that the time was ripe to put pressure on Laldenga. Arjun Singh, the Vice President of the Congress Party took responsibility to deal with Laldenga for political matters. An ace diplomat Arjun Singh kept him talking. On 25 June Rajiv Gandhi asked the Chief Minister Lalthanhawla to be present with his entire cabinet. A political agreement was signed between Arjun Singh, the congress (I) Vice President and Laldenga in the presence of the Congress President and the Chief Minister and his colleagues. These outlined the coalition arrangements in the Interim Advisory council to the Lt. Governor of the Union Territory. That was the first time Rajiv Gandhi met Laldenga since R.D. Pradhan, the Home Secretary took over negotiations, but refused to talk to him about the details of the ongoingnegotiations.

That morning, before signing the agreement with the Congress(I), Laldenga came over to meet the Home Secretary. He was in a happy mood. He was already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. He told the Home Secretary of high hopes and jubilation in Aizawl and other places in Mizoram. The Home Secretary took Laldenga to Buta Singh, the Home Minister and they assured him of an early solution to the pending issues. That evening the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs was briefed of the stage of negotiations. The Home Secretary was authorised to push ahead. Now a satisfactory political arrangement had been worked out.

The Home Secretary, RD. Pradhan was due to retire from service on 30th June, 1986. He also wanted to complete the task before laying down his office. He found himself captivated by Laldenga’s enigmatic personality and the easy informality of a Mizo who had, by that time begun to trust him.

June 27 was the birthday of RD. Pradhan, the Home Secretary. He invited Laldenga for a cup of tea and told him that in three days he would lay down office. It was for Laldenga to consider seriously whether he was willing to agree on the terms suggested to him. He assured the Home Secretary that he would go back to his legal advisor, SwarajKawshal and also speak to his colleagues, most of who were in Delhi. The Home Secretary did not hear from his for two days.

Around 2:30 PM on the 30th June, Laldenga came to see the Home Secretary alone. This was the first time he had done so. The Home Minister had done so. The Home Ministry had arranged a farewell function, when Buta Singh and other ministers had been invited.

The Home Secretary nostalgically recalled to Laldenga their first meeting in his office and about the mutual trust and understanding that they had developed, as two individuals. One cup of tea, he said, “Mr.Laldenga, I have fallen in love with your land and the Mizos. Perhaps one day, very soon, I can greet you and your family there.”

Laldenga became emotional. After a pause to clear his throat he said “I wish I could have concluded the accord with you.”

The Home Secretary said, “It’s too late. In three hours I will not only leave this office but stand retired from government service.” But suddenly he said, “Laldenga, if you are ready to be flexible, perhaps we can reach a settlement before I leave this office. You could later sign the accord with my success.” He added most sincerely“But as a friend, I ought to warn you that if you do not have a settlement with me, you may have to go on discussing pending issues with my successors for years to come. I do not know how many.”

Laldenga appeared anxious and said “Can I consult my colleagues and come back to you?” The Home Secretary replied, “Please go ahead but return before 4:30 PM. Thereafter I must go and bid farewell to the Home Minister and the Prime Minister and be back for the function in the Ministry.” Replied the Home Secretary.

Laldenga left in a hurry. The Home Secretary and his Joint Secretary felt that a breakthrough was in sight. The Joint Secretary adarised the Ministry officials to postpone the farewell to the next day, the reason of which is known to him only.

The Home Secretary spoke to the Home Minister and quickly briefed the PM. He was asked to persist in his efforts and not lay down office.

At 4:30 Laldenga came over with his team. In less than one hour they sorted out their differences of perception on outstanding matters and cleared a draft. A couple of really vital points were left for the final decision of the Prime Minister, on the clear understanding that none of the matters settled between them would be reopened by Laldenga in his meeting with the PM. The Home Secretary warned him that the clock was ticking away for him.

A short while later, both the Home Secretary and Laldenga went over to 7 Race Course Road, the PM quickly cleared the two pending points.

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs met at short notice and approved the draft of the agreement, with the task accomplished, the Home Secretary bade goodbye to the Ministers. As he was about to take his final farewell of the PM, the latter said, “Pradhanji you have worked hard in shaping the accord. I want you to sign it before you retire. Do it within half an hour so that it comes over the 9:30 Prime Minister TV news. “The Home Secretary was deeply touched at the PM’s gesture.”

It was already 8:30 PM. The Home Secretary’s mind was very clear that under the Civil Services Rules, he already stood retired after office hours and thus he could not affix his signatures to a formal document. He mentioned the fact to the PM. He looked at the Home Secretary and said in all seriousness, “Why can’t I give you an extension?”

It was fully within his powers. But the Home Secretary had decided long back that he must retire on that day. He said to PM, “Sir, have publicly declared that you will not give any extension to any retiring office. I would beg to you not to make an exception in my case.”

Rahiv Gandhi was determined. He asked the Home Secretary to consult the Law Secretary in his presence. The Home Secretary got the Law Secretary over the RAX. He advised that if the Home Secretary had not formally handed over charge to his successor, he would stand retired only at midnight PM was happy. He asked the Home Secretary to hurry over to his office and sign the accord with Laldenga.

Rajiv Gandhi asked V. George to make all arrangements for Doordarshan to cover the historic event. He wanted to witness it on the TV screen.

By 9:00 pmLaldenga has arrived with his wife and his colleagues. A few ministers from Mizoram, including the Chief Minister Lalthanhawla were already seated at the tong table.

In the short time available, R. Vasudevan had efficiently, prepared the document titled “Memorandum of Settlement on Mizoram.” They had affixed their signatures respectively: Laldenga for the MNF, Lalthanhawla on behalf of the Mizoram government and the Home Secretary RD. Pradhan on behalf of the Government of India.

Laldenga said a few words into the microphone. The Home Secretary was overcome with emotion. Here is gist of what he said, “I thank the PM for allowing me to handle these negotiations. I am grateful to him for giving me the unique distinction to say farewell to my service career. I would like to convey over Doordarshan my grateful thanks to the nation for all the opportunities got to serve it and to seek fulfilment in my work. I wish the Mizo people all the happiness and prosperity on this joyous occasion.”

He was grateful to Laldenga as well. He paid his regard as such, “A realist, Laldenga had fought for a cause, patiently negotiated for an honourable settlement and clinched peace at the right moment.”

The Home Secretary walked out of Gate No. 4 of the North Block with a sense of relief. He was happy as he could help the PM to translate his hope and vision into accords.

In July, 1986, Rajiv Gandhi went to Mizoram himself in quest of peace. A seventy two hour tour of good will was the follow up to his Mizo Accord. Laldenga became the joyful leader of the interim governrment. With the surrender of arms by the Mizo National Front guerrillas, after 20 years of strife, Rajiv Gandhi promised statehood to Mizoram, the introduction of Mizo as an official Indian Language. Gandhi emphasized that the centre would not tolerate renewed violence. On August 7, 1986, the Indian government conferred statehood on the territory of Mizoram. The Mizos were also promised constitutional protection for the religious and social customs and laws of the Mizo people.

In implementing the Mizo Accord, there had arised some difficulties. Opposition parties like the Janata party, the BharatiyaJanata Party, The Communists, and Congress(S) opposed the Mizo Accord, condemning it as “buying peace from armed rebels” rather than seeing it as a victory for national interest.

On the other hand, Rajiv Gandhi’s conclusion of the Mizo Accord was built upon earlier unsuccessful efforts of both Indira Gandhi and Moraji Desai to bring peace to the region. Rajiv Gandhi had already taken a view publicly that welfare of the people was more important to him whether the Congress (I) remained in power in Mizoram or not. (Rajiv Gandhi – Accords & Discords – P.98) Much of the opposition to the Mizo Accord was based on politics, not on the Accord, which was the result of long years of consultation and negotiation. Rajiv’s success bringing an end to twenty years of sustained jungle warfare was a victory in itself. It is doubtful that a rebellion of such magnitude will occur again among the Mizos.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/the-mizo-accord/

By Ram Wangkheirakpam

It is a worrisome trend that all the streets of Imphal have become car and motor bike parking area. The whole stretch on both sides of Babupara road where offices like BSNL, Old and New Secretariat, Transport Department, Police Department, CM Bungalow and Post office are situated have become parking lots. The roads of Paona Market, Nupi Keithel and Thangal Market have become parking area for cars and motor bikes and are a nightmare for all. Even those who wanted to come and buy things are not able to access the market easily anymore.

Try cycling or even walking on both sides of PWD office, it is full of cars and motor bikes. They have occupied almost half the road space. Then also try inside Gandhi Avenue area, Nirmalabas School, Nirmala Hotel, Shops – you are just overwhelmed by vehicles parked over there and mindless honking of cars and bikes.

While in some places, walking spaces have been converted into car parks like the one in front of the electricity department, cycling has become extremely difficult as the safer road side has been taken over by parking lots. Even the footpaths of Imphal Hotel have become a car park – imagine the boldness of the hotel owner to put ‘Parking’ signs on a Footpath.

Why is it that municipality, traffic department don’t understand the need to leave road sides free from parking as this space is used by pedestrians and bicyclist. The fact that these departments are allowing cars and bikes to park on road side indicates their sheer insensitivity to those who cycle and sheer lack of understanding that by making cycling difficult you are pushing them to take up cars or bikes as means of transport which then increases traffic and need for more parking, and that too in a state where there is no public transport system.

In a recent announcement, the government decided to convert underground of Nupi Keithel into a car park. This is the second such space, after the covered Naga River which was supposed to accommodate cars and bikes for parking so that they do not enter the bazar area. We are also informed from reliable sources that there will be more multi parking spaces coming up in Imphal area. An indication of insatiable car parks from ever increasing car owners!

The faulty logic of all these is that, we need to provide space for parking for the ever increasing number of cars and motor bikes; and the thinking of car owners that it is their right to get a private parking space in a public land (such as road). The idea of providing more and more spaces for parking to cars and motor bikes is a skewed motor friendly policy where it only helps increase in their population. And in the absence of a pro cycling and walking environment or a policy, you end up forcing those walking and cycling to shift to cars or motorbikes.

One should ask, whether the roads of Paona and Thangal Market and other places around the market will be freed from parking if the cars and bikes goes under Ima Keithel or will it be that it will become an additional occupation of yet another ‘free’ space by an ever increasing demand by car and motorbike owners!

If we agree that our streets are crowded, jammed and polluted and that cars and motor bikes are eating up our roads and cycling and walking spaces, and that we cannot continue to expand our roads anymore then we must find a solution all together.

Urban land is valuable and scarce. The government must levy high parking fee that represents value of land occupied possibly equivalent to the real estate value. Graded parking fee can recover the cost of the land, which might mean that car parking in Paona Market can cost 50-100 or more for an hour which currently is 20 for whole day! If there are arguments such as those of households in the market area, then they must make their own parking within their plot. They cannot expect to use public road for their private parking. And for those shopkeepers, cars and bikes are not the best way to come as it adds up to the traffic and the noise. And if one is buying bulky items then there can be service available such as home delivery, rickshaw or bike carrier or even a trolley that can help you carry to your car or home. There are also arguments of the shopkeepers that they are not able to sell goods if Paona and Thangal market is made vehicle free. The alternative argument is that, once you free up the road from vehicles then more buyers can access the market which otherwise is occupied by vehicles. Most importantly, it will be pollution and noise free which is good for the health of shopkeepers in the long run. One need no reminder here that there is real health effects when exposed to vehicular emission and noise.

Public transport vehicles and non-motorised modes of transport should be given preference while designing roads and for allocating parking space. They should be privileged for the fact that they pollute less and carry more people unlike a car which in most cases carry one or two passengers and occupies more space than a public transport. Like in the past, buses can be allowed to ply through Paona and Thangal market with proper stops where commuters can hop in or hop out and can even can carry their goods. In case of other parking lots, like the stretch of CM Office and Secretariat the government can discourage parking by charging fees that matches economic and social cost.

The moot question is about, reducing cars and their parkings and not increasing it. In fact, more provision for parking means encouraging car buyers and car users. Cutting parking spaces will mean cleaner city, less pollution, less noise, and a better place to live and work – in short a livable Imphal.

(The writer is President, Manipur Cycle Club)

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/parking/

By Chitra Ahanthem

Just the other day, a young parent on a social networking site remarked about an incident wherein during a pre-flight spell, a 7 year old local boy spouted in Hindi a commentary about the flight being ready to take off and how one should be ready with set belts et el. She was concerned that the young boy’s outburst was in cartoon speak mode and made the note that her own young daughter spoke like that. As is the norm with such sites, many have joined in the conversation pointing out how parenting is a challenge while quite a lot of parents have joined in saying how their own children were in cartoon speak mode. Considering how the TV remote often ends up being in the hands of children (in almost every household) and the fact that channel packs have 24 hour cartoon channels, it is almost a given that they would be hooked. But to go back to the friend who made the post: she went to add that the lingua franca of the young children would get corrupted.

In the wake of the outrage over the nudge to Hindi being the official language for communication in Government machineries (now being toned down to ‘where Hindi is the pre-dominant language only’), this parental anxiety lays bare a political and cultural paradox: where the world is opening up and influences have worked into the lives of the younger generation while the older generation frets over ‘roots’ and the purity of culture.

There have been many instances where various cultural vigilantes have frowned upon what they call the onslaught over ‘our culture and language’ with their varied actions centered around ensuring that non local words are not used in films and literature besides other such. But social scientists will point out that culture is not a limited entity but an ever growing process, that throws up certain aspects from time to time, some that endure and some that fade away. With language too, there is always a tendency for words to fade away and new ones to creep in, a global phenomenon that cuts across all cultures and all languages. We see this in the way the English language has swelled in terms of the range of its vocabulary strength starting from its early influence from Latin and Greek and now happily becoming a melting pot of numerous languages. Leave alone, the influence of other languages being absorbed into the English vocabulary, the trend now is for social media to throw up new words that are being added globally across any barriers of language or culture (case in point being words such as ‘selfie’) or for existing words to take on added meanings as in the case of the word ‘tweet’ which earlier used to be used to denote a bird sound but now means a 140 character limited status update on a very popular social networking site. The vocabulary range of the Manipuri language have for long absorbed many words that never existed earlier: cases in point being “tersing’ for ‘kerosene’, ‘laten’ from ‘lantern’ and many others.

With children, the interplay of what they see and hear around them in terms of everyday exposure is what shapes them. With cable TV that comes along with 24 hour cartoon channels being an integral part of their daily exposure, it is natural for them to be influenced in terms of their social interactions. In extreme cases, we have come across news reports of children imitating superheroes and in the process, sometimes falling to their deaths from heights or sustaining severe injuries (this has happened in other parts of the country). With nuclear families being the norm and career parents being busy with their work and the household and other social obligations, the TV becomes a very soft and available option for holding the attention of young children. One may well ask why is it that they are not taking up reading or other pursuits but the answer is an easy one: the peer pressure of being in the TV and by extension, the cartoon and TV advertisements of the latest toys or packed food products induces those who have started out not being into too much of TV watching.

End-point:
Are cartoon shows a bad influence? The answer to this is a yes and no. It is a ‘Yes’ when it becomes addictive and a ‘No’ because with parental guidance, cartoons are just another medium of entertainment. But between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ also lies a grey area where young children are increasingly becoming confused with what they are seeing. As an example, I would cite the popular cartoon character ‘Chotta Bheem’ who lives in the fictional kingdom of Dholakpur. My 9 year old wanted to know where the rest of the Pandavas were since he thought that Chotta Bheem was the younger version of Bheem, the second of the Pandava brothers.

Like many young children, he too speaks in cartoon lingo and intonation but I prefer to look at the bright side of things: at least, he is picking up Hindi and at a much faster pace than I was at his age. With Hindi getting into the limelight, it’s good for him and his generation if cartoons are what it takes to aid their grasp over the language. My son has also picked up a smattering of Japanese from a Japanese cartoon show and recently asked me if he could change his name to that of one of the characters therein! And the other day when he was refusing to take his bath and I was at my wit’s end, I tried a cartoon voice. It worked, because he was totally kicked that his mother knew about the ‘kid stuff’ he watched!

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/childrens-culture-of-cartoon-language/

By Pradip Phanjoubam

Manipur remains deeply riven along ethnic lines. Not only do different communities not see eye to eye, but they continue to see and draw mutually contradictory conclusions from the same events, and memories. Nobody is willing to budge an inch from their original hostile stances, yet in the same breath continue to talk as if they were messengers of peace with no other interest than resolving the conflict situations destabilising the state. The picture of intellectual ennui is oppressive, and as in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, everybody at the drop of the hat with enthusiasm say “Let’s go” but none ever moves.

Elsewhere the organized looting of the state coffers by the officialdom continues, as if this was a natural service perk. On one side, from lowly government clerks to the top functionaries of the government, all have become part of an elaborate bribe extraction network, and the loot is shared across the hierarchy of the officialdom as if by long established consensual formulas. On the other side, from petty contractors to desperately insecure job seekers, too are part of this system corroding game. Everybody naturally also cover each other’s back to ensure this circle of corruption and its unholy dividends remain unbroken.

This absurd theatre would have evoked universal laughter had it not been so tragic. Indeed, whenever one spies a LandRover or Pajero SUV on the land’s potholed roads, the gut reaction is not of awe at the owners’ achievements. In this land so bereft of captains of industries (you can still actually count people who have made it big by talent and enterprise on the fingers), the only ones so obviously, openly and shamelessly opulent are those in the government contract cartels and government officials who moderate the allocation of these contract works.

Wealth here therefore is not a sign of economic growth. It also does not contribute to the state’s residue of economic dynamism. It would not be a factor in the multiplication of employment or build the regenerative capacity of the economy or add to the fund of life skills and competitive entrepreneurship of the place. It can only be spent to satiate avaricious consumerist passions, therefore the increasing surreal sightings of super expensive cars and marble palaces amidst the expanding slums and decaying infrastructures of Imphal and other townships in the state.

This is tragic because as many anthropologists and archaeologists studying the disappearances of civilizations have noted and warned, one of the biggest factors behind certain societies becoming unable to stand the incessant winds of changes of time are those which have been extremely inward looking and narcissistic, where the individuals have become unable to see beyond their selves and narrow self interests.

Consider these five factors identified as common to all peoples and societies which have failed to survive the onslaught of time. Anthropologist and author Jared Diamond lists these in “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fall or Survive”. One is climate change. This can be either external, such as the cycle of Ice Age of the cosmic storms on the sun’s surface which can radically alter earth’s climate. It can also be, and often is, brought by the people on themselves through irresponsible and short-sighted damages they cause to their own living environments.

Another factor is hostile neighbours. These scientists also note that often the society which fell to hostile neighbours did so because they had been weakened by other factors, among these is the economy becoming inadequate to support and sustain their population, therefore resulting in internal political and civic strifes.

The falls have also often been a cascading effect, in which the fall of one society leads to the fall of other interrelated societies. This is not difficult to imagine. Even the most rudimentary societies learn to exist in a symbiotic relationships, and therefore the prosperity of one, unacknowledged or acknowledged, is vitally dependent on the prosperity of the other neighbours. In Manipur’s case for instance, it should not be difficult to imagine how if the hills become unliveable because of environmental degradation the valley will not have it easy, and vice versa. The mantra is, only mutual prosperity can ensure continued prosperity of all. When the tide rises, all boats rise.

The last of the factors is, self absorbed, insensitive, narcissistic elite. Be it the fall of the Greeks, the Roman Empire, Mughals, Mayas, Incas, Khmers this factor has been common to all. The saying “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” encapsulates this scenario succinctly. Like Nero, the Maya priest kings were also busy throwing ever more grand feasts and accumulating wealth, while the Mayan society sank progressively into chaos and disorder, foreordaining the ultimate demise of all.

It is scary to think all these factors seem familiar to the Manipur scenario today. This generation may survive the damages, but what about the next? And this question is not just for the children of parents who have not made grade this generation, but even for those at the top rung? What would even the best skilled and educated amongst the next generation be left to do other than migrate to other parts of the country and world, or else join the bribe scramble in the state to garner the increasingly limited government jobs? Even if the coming generation manages somehow through inheritances form their “resourceful” parents, what about the generation after them? A society which wishes to, and has the resilience to, survive must be able to look at least that far, and much beyond too. Does Manipur look like it has this quality, is an honest introspection all need to do honestly before it becomes too late. At this moment, its elite seem unconcerned, and this thought is disturbing.

On June 18, in Imphal and other valley townships, the death of 18 on this day in 2001 was commemorated. The 18 died tragically in outraged rallies and riots at what had seem was a move to disintegrate the territorial integrity of Manipur by the then NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, when it declared the formal extension of the ceasefire with the NSCN(IM) “without territorial limits”. The heavy price they paid with their deaths, won the day for Manipur, and the clause “without territorial limit” was removed from the ceasefire declaration to maintain status quo ante.

While their martyrdom cannot be forgotten, and the losses that their loved ones suffered must be shared by all with gratitude, it must not be forgotten that this alone is unlikely to heal the wounds of division in the state. It is not a coincidence that while preparations were being made for this solemn observation, the UNC called a bandh in the Naga areas. Obviously there are others who see the stakes differently, and no matter how painful, this must be acknowledged by all interested in the return of peace in this beleaguered land.

The truth is, Manipur continues to live in the past. This is true equally of those who believe Manipur has always had a united existence as “state bearing” peoples from “time immemorial”, as much as it is true of those who contend the hill-valley relationship has always been and still is marked by the valley exploiting the hills. Beyond all the power of emotive rhetoric, it is difficult to be convinced how Manipur is emotionally integrated at this moment. Beyond similarly emotionally charged rhetoric, it is equally difficult to imagine, or figure out, how the valley continues to exploit the hills. There are differences, but are these the result of anybody’s intent? Or is it impersonal forces such as those of geography? Even if these beliefs and grudges are found to have a basis, it is the challenge before all to work out amicable a solution which does not leave anybody with a sense of injustice.

The people of the state, those who believe in preserving the integrity of Manipur as well as those who think this is preposterous, must sit down and put this question not to any others but themselves. The honesty with which these questions are answered, will be the beginning of a more permanent resolution to the conflict of interests which so frustratingly have stymieing this shared homeland of ours. This would be in the enlightened self interest of all.

I take the example of this particular friction, for it is currently blazing. But what is said of this scenario would be true of the other internal ethnic frictions as well. The Sadar Hills question for instance. Or the delimitation of new constituencies, to think of another case.

Take the latter case. Delimitation would not have been difficult technically and legally, had the hills and valley belonged to the same revenue system. For instance, there would be very little issue if Imphal West or Thoubal were to be divided into five districts each. Likewise, it would not be difficult to divide Ukhrul or Tamenglong into five districts each. But when the delimited territories overlap reserved and non-reserved districts, the trouble would begin, for if non-tribal populations get incorporated into reserved districts, intractable legal questions of citizenship rights would arise. But provided the parties are ready to sit down and thrash things out, place reasons above emotions, and above all, are willing to accommodate in the democratic spirit of give and take, there should not be any problem which cannot be resolved.

It is time for Manipur to exorcise itself of the ghosts from the past. Before it is too late, its people must begin looking for ways to shape a future of equitable justice for all. This vision of justice must however not be confined to just the immediate political economy, but encompass the larger living environment that takes into consideration issues of ecological conservation and relationship with all neighbouring communities and indeed the rest of the world

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/corrosive-narcissism-must-not-be-allowed-to-destroy-manipur/

By M.C. Linthoingambee

There has been huge discussions over and over again in determining an offfiial language of the country. A family in large numbers often have difficulties reaching to a conclusion and likely to most every day events we are just being families fighting over who gets the last candy. The National Democratic Alliance Government has kicked off with a proposal to give more prominence to Hindi with increasing effect through the social media.

It was announced that there were two official languages for India: Urdu and English but as time calls for new occasions the Prime Minister had made vehement remarks to make Hindi the official language that represents India. “Who better than Mr. Modi to promote Hindi as an official language of the country?”, this statement has been in the media highlights recently over the controversies in ascertaining that all states of India must uphold Hindi as its official language. There have been those who have come out in support of the proposal, not to mention the hefty oppositions that deeply intersect to negate the thought of making it a reality. Several leaders has called for the non-imposition of Hindi as the official language of communication like the Tamil Nadu CM and DMK Chief slamming the door shut on such an approach and claiming that such impositions should not be made on non-Hindi speaking sections of the country.

The Official Language Act, 1963 has its own perks of promoting the linguistic heritage that each people of every region holds and thus the Tamil Nadu CM has acclaimed the recent plan as being “against the letter and spirit” because in a global world where social media has reached more doorsteps than we can ever sought to enter in our lifetime if they cannot understand our words than how can we communicate. The people located in ‘Region C’ with whom the Government of India’s communication needs to be in English will not have access to any public information if it is not in English. In the words of several leaders that have been standing by their notion of non-acceptance of imposition, they acclaimed as to why should Hindi be given more priority over other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the BJP in its election 2014 manifesto, had promised to develop all languages with a rich history and culture. He also called for declaring all 22 languages in the VIII schedule of the Constitution, including Tamil, as official language and “thus put an end to the Hindi imposition controversy.” Another circular announced a prize money of Rs 2,000 to two employees who do their official work mostly in Hindi. Rs 1,200 and Rs 600 will be given to the second and third position holders respectively.

Truth to the matter is there is not a country like India with its rich cultural and linguistic diversity and yet, co-exist as one. It is also true that the features of one person in the north is different to that of the south and the feature of the person in the west differs to one in the east. This is something we cannot deny and over the years, the country has paid immensely in order to make its huge family function. It is true that for most people in the northeast or in the southern states of India, Hindi bears an unfamiliarity as we are not in use to it frequently. But when we travel to the northern states, our daily dose of work requires us to talk to vendors, rickshaw walas, etc and we eventually tend to learn the rudimentary basics, which is just enough to make small conversation but we cannot be calling ourselves a total genius over the command of the language. Truth be told, it is hard. Learning things do not come by usually in a day or two specially if it comes as an imposition. We exist in what we would like to call as a democratically sound country and not that of a dictatorial ground so it would be wrong in giving special benefits by making Hindi bias on people’s parts. In the words of every great leader, we are all children who has been raised well enough to abide by our own decisions and in knowing that we are given the expected freedom in making these choices.

The decisions of any person speaking and having a preference to any language should be left on them. It would be fundamentally incorrect to dictate a certain affiliation into making a person of non-Hindi speaking state grasp on the language. As citizens, it we should make it a duty to safeguard the listed and non-listed categories of language that is outspoken by the majority and those unknown minority. Let’s face it, it’s not everyday that language barriers are broken and yet, we can communicate and make it through signs even without vocabularies.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/hindi-on-the-fast-lane/

Part1

By Soibam Haripriya

December 16th rings a bell; no one needs to explain more. The date is fixated on many minds as a day of a horrendous crime. That was two years ago. Does 27th May ring a bell? For a few yes, perhaps very few. Very few aftermath protest marks this crime. There is certainly no outpouring on the streets of Delhi. No one feels ‘It could have been me’; ‘It could have been my daughter/my sister/my wife’ (the rightful discomfort that women feel on being put in the category of sister/daughter/ wife/mother will not be discussed here). A thought that was shared by many in the aftermath of December 16th is certainly not a thought shared in the aftermath of May 27th.

Patriarchy and its oppression works out not as a standalone system but is woven with all the other oppression socio-economic, class-caste configuration etc. It is but a hope that our sense of indignation also DO NOT work in a similar configuration but it does. The Badaun rape case, -On the 27th of May of two sisters (post mortem report has confirmed rape) were raped and strangulated and hung from a tree a mere kilometre away from their home. To this and the dismal record of the safety of women in his state the Chief Minister’s response (to a reporter was) –“You are safe right?”

Rape is one of the many brutal acts of domination. In the aftermath of December 16th, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had (in) famously said in Silchar “Crimes against women happening in urban India are shameful. But such crimes won’t happen in Bharat or the rural areas. You go to villages and forests and there will be no such incidents”. (That the Prime Minister of the country is a member of the RSS whose chief made this statement should be a cause of worry. This is certainly not a digression). Contrary to Mohan Bhagwat it is in his Bharat (as always) that a low class, caste, untouchable, woman has more chances of getting raped because of the inaccessibility to the police systems that work on the same line of caste configuration, political patronage and social political clout of the other group. There is almost an unwritten law of “who can be raped, molested and assaulted” with more impunity than the others. We all know “who can be raped” in this country because of (low) caste, (militarised) (rural/urban) region, (visual/ “racial”) differences. This also signals who amongst us will be indignant at what crime and where. There is a demarcation of boundaries beyond which we do not care to be indignant, a boundary beyond which there is an impossibility of empathy. It is certainly a tragedy that while many student’s groups fight for a “sister” getting raped in the capital, the strong drawn lines of identity prevents us from en masse protesting the Baduan rape in the heart of the country.

This is not to pitch one protest against another. There are many issues the December 16th protests raised and the everydayness of the evenings’ events before the rape certainly is what many could identify with. However, when other identities get enmeshed with violence against women one sees a lack of engagement with the violence itself. For instance the uproar in the valley after the molestation of a meitei actor is made to lead to the molestation and an attempt to sexual assault of two minor girls because they belonged to the community of the accused. Thus logically the protest is not a condemnation of the act of molestation per se it is because of ‘who’ had committed a crime against ‘whom’. The prevalence and embeddedness of other identity should not subsume the brutality of sexual violence and other crime against women. The universality of the crime should be recognised and therefore resisted.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/you-are-safe-right-the-impossibility-of-empathy/

By Dr Khushboo Shah Sawant

Heart attack is one of the leading causes of deaths in India. It is in fact one of the most common causes of death worldwide. But what exactly is a heart attack?

To put it in layperson terms, it is a commonly used name for one of the most frequently seen forms of heart disease in which the blood vessels which supply blood to the heart become narrow or blocked, and so are not able to supply the required amount of blood to the heart, or in case of a completely blocked blood vessel, not able to supply blood at all. What causes the blood vessels to narrow or get completely blocked? There are various factors, which increase the risk of heart diseases with many of them not being within control and hence inevitable. However, there are enough risk factors which are well within the means of man and thus are controllable.

Some of the risk factors that are inevitable include old age, as progressing age increases the chances of heart disease. This factor of age is fast changing due to changing lifestyle and poor quality of life with the trend now slowly affecting not just the older generation but also the middle age group . The tendency for a heart disease is far greater in males than in females, as it is commonly seen that more men die of heart ailments as compared to women. In case of women, the tendency to heart diseases increases greatly after attaining menopause. Family history plays a vital role towards the tendency of heart diseases. This means that if a person has a history of immediate relatives like parents, siblings etc. who have been affected by heart disease then the person himself also naturally stands a risk for heart ailments.

Still, there are many heart disease risks which can be controlled. By making some lifestyle changes a person can actually reduce the risk factors towards heart diseases. One risk factor that is controllable is smoking. Smokers have more than twice the risk of heart disease as compared to non smokers. So it is best to not smoke at all, or reduce smoking gradually and eventually quit. Increased cholesterol levels is another factor that increases the risk of heart attacks greatly. People should go for annual cholesterol check ups after the age of 35. The main aim should be to keep the total cholesterol count under 200 mg/dL, and increase in the HDL (High Density Lipids) levels which is the ‘good cholesterol’ while reducing the amount of LDL (Low density lipids) which is the ‘bad cholesterol’. It is always advisable for people with an abnormal cholesterol profile to visit a doctor to seek their opinion regarding starting medications to control the same.

High blood pressure also plays a vital role in increasing the risk towards a heart attack. It is in fact one of the most common heart conditions in India. Ideal blood pressure of a person must be 120/80 mmHg. If there is an increase in the blood pressure, then like cholesterol, its interpretation must be sought from a doctor and treatment should be individualized taking into account a person’s entire risk profile. Diabetes contributes another significant amount to the risk factors of heart disease. Controlling diabetes by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and regular medications is known to reduce the risk.

Increased body weight and sedentary lifestyle also are other risk factors. Increasing weight gain puts unnecessary strain on the heart and also worsens several heart condition risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol etc. Exercising or maintaining a healthy weight by controlling the diet can help. Exercising infrequently or not exercising at all has a higher rate of tendency towards heart ailments. It is a healthy practice to do mild to moderate physical activity. Even leisurely walk or activities like gardening can significantly lower the risk. Eating a healthy diet that is low in salt content, saturated fats, cholesterol, refined sugars etc is a ‘heart healthy’ habit. It is also healthy to increase the intake of foods rich in vitamins and other nutrients especially antioxidants which have been proven to lower the risk of heart diseases. Also consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts is a very healthy habit.

Stress can contribute greatly to heart disease. While stress is a natural part of life, learning to cope with it is of vital importance. Dealing with stress by venting it out in the form of anger or violence only adds to health issues, rather than reducing it. Poorly controlled stress or anger can lead to heart attacks or stroke. It is important to learn stress and anger management techniques, by practicing relaxation exercises, practice yoga, learning to manage time, setting realistic goals, and also learn to accept failure and cope with it. It is important to spend quality free time doing things that a person likes or feels relaxed with.

While the inevitable risk factors are beyond control, it is best to follow a healthy and balanced lifestyle keep the controllable risk factors at bay.

(To be continued)

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/attack-the-heart-attack-factors/

By Korou Khundrakpam

A Roadwidener does just that. It widens roads. I was only six when I first saw a Roadwidener myself. I was walking along the east-dyke when I saw it lazing around sprawled on top of a mound of earth. It was lying perfectly still. I would have thought it was dead if not for its grin and the tongue slipping out from between its blunt teeth occasionally to lick the damp earth beneath. A single lap every five six minutes. I stood there slouched against the earthen wall for about an hour observing it, so I know. In those days they were few in number and very hard to find. So it was natural for a six years old child to be intrigued by an actual sighting of the beast. Far from the uninspired picture of the Roadwidener in my school textbook, seeing this huge beast in real was very overwhelming, what with the rows of booted legs and the perpetual grin on its face. And it was not that it was grinning at me. It didn’t even notice my presence. They are extremely shortsighted creatures, a thing I learnt later on, and its other organs of perception are equally blunt. The grin was a permanent attribute of its face, it remained so whether it was grazing or walking or drowsing off. And it had these long rows of horns sticking out along both sides of its belly. Like the kind of huge ships you see on TV with oars sticking out from both sides of its hull. They looked dirty and worn out, with mud still dripping off from it. It is just back from work perhaps. After quietly observing it for some time I thought I would let it let it rest in peace. Also, I had to reach home before it grew dark.

This is how I first saw a Roadwidener. That was almost twenty years ago and since then; their population has steadily kept on increasing. In fact, since the last few years some people have started voicing their concern about the alarming rise in their number and the impact it may have on our lives. I was never too interested in the validity or even the nature of their concern. But all these years I have been fascinated by the sheer enigma of the beast’s existence! I have spent a fair share of my idle days scouting for a Roadwidener and observing it at length when I found one. It is only since the last three years that I stopped doing so on account of my weakening ankle. I even used to maintain an exclusive sketchbook where I made sketches of the beast from observation. These sketches, now yellowed, are strewn with notes I made on its behaviour. It is again that time of the year when you can’t take a walk around the neighbourhood without passing by at least three of them on the way. They are often seen idly basking in the summer sun. Not that I claim to be an expert in the physiology or behaviour of the beast, but I learnt a thing or two about it from my observations. They are solitary creatures and fiercely territorial. While on the move, and terribly slow they are, it makes a peculiar rattling sound from its huge belly. One would think its rib bones are all broken and hanging like wind chimes inside. Some say it sounds like drum beats, and some like a hailstorm.

How they first came to our village is still a conundrum. Some say they were brought with the influx of migrants from the west. Some discern they have been here since the beginning of mankind, citing primitive charcoal drawings found in the southern caves that vaguely resemble its form. Recently, a rumour is doing the rounds that they are in fact reincarnation of our Gods. And that they are here to save us from our predicament.

The most fascinating of all idiosyncrasies regarding the beast is the Roadwidening Parade. However it is not as much an aspect of the beast as it is of us humans. It is a ritual carried out with much furor and an almost religious zeal. It takes place when the Town Lord decides a particular road needs to be widened to let in a free flow of good fortune. The Parade is led by the Town Lord wearing a grin on his face as a reverence to the Roadwidener. He holds a long barbed leash in his hand. The length of the leash is equal to three fifth of the width of the town along the path of the sun. Next in line is the Roadwidener led by the barbed leash. But the length of the leash is such that there is a span of several days between the times the Beast and the Lord reach a particular place. And by the time the beast arrives, the road would have been properly dug up by the barbed leash like a freshly tilled field ready for sowing seeds. The beast then goes down to work, widening the road like it was born just for that; its movements brisk and economic, as if guided by an instinctive impulse vital for its survival. One of the fourth cousins of the Town Lord rides on the back of the beast. It is often someone with a tongue black from frequent contact with the leather of black polished boots. He lashes his tongue at the beast in an effort to either push it on or slow it down. I was never too sure about it.

Believers from all over the town gather to witness this ritual which, they are convinced, will bring them great fortune from beyond. They follow eagerly behind the beast as it advances forward. Those who were standing along the path of the Roadwidener either runs off to a safe distance or joins the crowd behind the beast where it is both safe and hopeful. Those who somehow happen to be on the path of the beast are either crushed by the horns on its belly or trampled upon by its rows of booted legs. But it is a rare incident as people themselves are cautious of their life and the Town Lord takes special care to avoid such mishap. At times when such cases arise, it is the general consensus that it be deemed a sacrifice necessary to bring in great fortune to the town.

It is customary for new creatures from outside the town to join the crowd as the parade advances. The people of the town reckon them to be symbolic of the fortune promised of the Parade and, with the consent of the Lord, build shrines all over the town where the creatures are shown reverence and gratitude with offerings of fruits of the town.

Today, after a few years, I am spending a few idle hours again observing a Roadwidener in a Parade. I have taken out an old sketchbook with a few blank pages for the occasion. I am scribbling this on my sketchbook as I sit on our porch watching the beast inch along our street. I am waiting. Hoping I can manage a detailed sketch this time: Of a boot perhaps!

(Korou Khudrakpam is an artist-writer-filmmaker based in Manipur)

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/roadwidener/

By Paonam Thoibi

‘Sleep disturbance becomes a medical condition when it is serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning and it has got a lot of classifications and types.’

Q. 1. Dear Madam, I have been following your column. And it is very educative. I am referring to one of the questions from last week column. You have mentioned that a the effectiveness of counseling on drug user depends on the person’s willingness and support from the family etc. I agree with that. But is there ways and means to instill the sense of willingness, I mean, can we go the other way round like educating the family members first? Sunil, Thangmeiband

Ans: Dear Sunil, it is indeed a pleasure to know that this attempt to make the public aware about mental well-being is reaching the public.
All health professionals will positively agree with your question on how important the family’s role is in managing psychological issues, not just drug use and its management. In the previous column, my answer revolves around a person who was 25 years of age and how his individual decision to get rid of his drug use behavior becomes the utmost important resolution in the drug treatment. When it comes to younger individuals, the family’s decision is very important. All in all, “psycho-education” about the substance the person is using- its mechanism and how it works on the body and how behavior is influenced or altered; what health issues may be encountered, the progression of treatment and the short and long term goals of the treatment program; measures to avoid relapse, etc., ‘should’ be discussed with the family member or whoever is the immediate care-giver of the person in question.
Also, family therapy/ counseling may be necessary most of the time as a person’s drug use habit affects the people around him, mostly the family members who are taking the role of care-givers and making them more vulnerable to stress and burn-outs which can also adversely affect the progress of the drug-use treatment.

Q. 2. Dear Madam, I often get into violent rage if things don’t work my way or when I have to spell things out to people even very simple things. Am I being a control freak or showing symptoms of borderline personality disorder? Name withheld, Singjemei kshetri leikai.

Ans: Getting angry is a basic human emotion and everyone experiences it most of the time when things don’t turn out as expected or planned; when people disappoints you or when you are upset with your own doings. Its takes a bit of introspection or going deep in the ‘situation’ which triggered the anger and sorting out the issues before it goes out of hand. If the problem is something which is difficult to manage, on a regular basis, an ‘anger management’ session becomes necessary for certain individuals.
The particular issue raised here needs a thorough study and check to conclude on anything. I would suggest you meet a counselor at the nearest health Centre with counseling facilities so that you can discuss the problem more accurately by citing incidents and situations; or if necessary going through some series of self-administering tests to know what exactly is the problem. Also, I would advise you to avoid making assumptions about yourself by deriving symptoms which you must have come across from the internet or any medium; because by doing so you may be inducing more stress upon yourself making situations worse.

Q.3. Is sleeping disorder a psychological problem? I have been going through this problem of staying awake whole night. I will sleep only for three hours wee hour in the morning. Dipanker, Imphal west

Ans: Most people have experienced sleep disturbances at some point in their lives. Sleep disturbance becomes a medical condition when it is serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning and it has got a lot of classifications and types. Also, it is very important to know the duration of disturbance in sleep cycle or if there is any underlying conditions like stress, allergies, infections of the upper respiratory system, digestive system or other emotional or medical conditions. A check on your lifestyle and habits – like the amount of coffee/ tea intake, any mood altering substance like alcohol, cigarettes etc., work routine and pressure, physical exercise and exertion, use of mobile phones or the internet for long hours, all becomes very important to know the cause of your sleep disturbance.
The complaint you have put across is likely that of ‘Insomnia’ which is difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, if there is no obvious cause and if had lasted for the past four weeks or more.
Most of the time management of sleep disorder/ disturbance should focus on the underlying conditions. My suggestion for you would be to promptly visit a doctor to know the cause of your sleep disturbance and follow a management regime- either with medication or behavioral therapy or both combined.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/mind-matters-2/

By Tungshang Ningreichon

During one of the Christmas games we play in the village I fell down like an eagle that missed a swoop. The game as silly as its name, “eloping” is mostly for the youth where boys and girls form into pairs and we race towards the goal post that stands like captain Barbossa’s legs.

My game partner obviously was faster and stronger. I could not keep up with his speed so I toppled like a witch with stone tied around her legs. My chest hit hard against the ground and for once I thought my heart that even bad love and romance could not break had broken into pieces this time. For days I was in pain and became almost immobile. I tried a few home treatments including heat fomentations but the pain continued so I went to Imphal to see a doctor.

The impatient person that I am, I suspect the fall aggravated this unique quality we all possess, so to save time, I decided to go to a private hospital hoping that it would be less crowded but I was wrong. The hospital was packed! It seems to say that people were impatient like me or more possibly they were either very rich or prefer to spend a little more instead of going to a government hospital. The consultation fee was rupees 200 then compared to rupees 5 in the nearby government hospital. The fee must be higher now with the rising temperature and temper of people around us.

As we stood in the queue, some people were breaking the un-spelled discipline shoving papers and money from the corner, and our receptionist was attending to them. Later, he got up, left his seat, got himself a cup of tea and was behaving typically like an SBI staff we often encounter during our trips to the bank. My time bomb was ticking. It had to explode as the fuse is shorter by default than the rest. I went and confronted the receptionist. He was not to be outdone. He shouted back at me. But like the wave in an ebb, the rest joined in and we raised the same voice, harmoniously! The receptionist had to get back to the job while this ‘villain of the moment’ got the ticket and went in to see the doctor.

The doctor after examination said I should continue the heat fomentation as the chest is still swollen. I was also given some medications and was asked to report back after two days which was unusual, without X-ray, scan or other reports. I said I live in the village so it would be difficult to return unless very necessary. As I stood up to leave the doctor said ‘wait’ like he was to scribble more illegible names of medicines (in medical studies handwriting and cursive writing is not a subject you see).Instead, he ordered coffee, asked me what I do, where I live as I remember that there were five or more patients waiting after my turn. He gave me his contact details like I would badly need his emergency advice. I was amused and so was my cousin who was with me. We both enjoyed the coffee anyway since we were hungry. We left confused!

After a Christmas well spent it was time for me to go back to my ghetto. On the flight I was seated with a father and his daughter who must have been about my age or perhaps younger as her skin was softer, fairer and without the freckles that decorate my face. We struck a few pleasantries and the she said “I get scared when I fly so allow me to hold you when I get sick”. I was not prepared for what came next. She cautioned me but her warning was a little too mild. Every time the plane rocked she would hold me so tight, pinch my hand and squeeze me like I owe her some money! She had major flying phobia and flying over Delhi during winter you know can be a horrible experience with the thick fog and smog. Our journey was getting obnoxious. I was getting sick too. The role reversal was getting unpleasant. I drank some water and few minutes later I was strong again to be her catharsis bag.

The journey came to an end. The father handed me his card. He turned out to be one well known pediatrician whose name I have heard often. He was attending a conference in Delhi so there was a car waiting for them and they offered to drop me. I declined. They insisted. The direction we were heading towards was the same so I sat in the car thanking my stars for the few hundred I saved from the prepaid taxi to reach my hostel, had I taken one. Before I got off the father said that I must come and visit them the next time I am home. That never happened.

That was more than 5 years ago or so. Today I recall these two episodes in my life and I laughed like I was on a few drags of ganja and the effect dawning on me. Two men. Same profession. Different memory.

To the doctor on the flight I wish I had gone and met them when I came home few months later because a pediatrician should be your second best friend when you become a mother, a parent.

To the other doctor I went to, I say ‘thank God it was just the chest and not a more private anatomy’!

(Tungshang Ningreichon is a happy mother from Langdang, Ukhrul and writes occasionally for the love of stories, histories and memories.)

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/two-doctors-of-a-flashback/