Tag: Articles/Opinion

VIEW: ON THE PATH OF TRUTH: IROM SHARMILA CHANU

On the path of truth Since our childhood, we read in our books, we heard… more »

On the path of truth

Since our childhood, we read in our books, we heard from our teachers and parents that the best path to move is the path of truth. In fact, truth has been considered as a virtue of spirituality, truth has been considered as a quality of mankind. Truth is confidence, truth is courage. These all phrases, when we heard, we were children, children with pure heart and fresh minds. Our minds were blank and anything that we saw, we heard, we talked and wrote has become part of our memory. Following the path of truth was one of those, stories of martyrs and saints impressed our hearts and minds and we started behaving as a true person. By the time when we grew up, we learnt techniques of telling lies, though these were childish lies and thus our truth remains unaffected. Even, at the present time, everybody who is living in society has different mindset, attitude, principles etc but still there is no conflict among various social groups on the matter of truth. Truth is all time favorite quality of all. At present, when we all are divided on many views and other identities, it is the truth that easily gets support from all sides sooner or later.

Now, once again there is a story in front of our eyes, the story of Irom Chanu Sharmila. We all are witnessing an era of a woman moving on the path of truth in spite of all even and odds. This is a story of turning a common human being as an uncommon revolutionary. Probably she was the child who received many morals from those stories, and probably she was the girl during her college days who observed truth everywhere, probably she, when worked for people, favored truth in all conditions, without fear. She is the lady, who is fighting for people, without fear. This courage, the courage of being on hunger protest since eleven years, truly reflects the power of truth. She, once again, proved that truth is neither helpless nor weak; instead it can multiply the courage within one’s heart. Continuous struggle of Irom, once again drew attention of all towards this peaceful struggle.

Undoubtedly, the struggle is tough, it is more difficult than any violent protest, but more acceptable. She fight, but she doesn’t need to search any hideouts. She is always ready to face anyone, she is always ready to answer and she is sure that her protest has no adverse effect on anybody. In fact, she is clearly sending a message that truth can never be defeated. She reflected that those who move on path of truth, get followers and their impact multiplied. Those who move on the path of truth, give birth to new thoughts and philosophy themselves and society absorb their teachings to move on the same path for various reasons during various times.

Message of her struggle should be received by government of India as soon as possible. Government by understanding importance of the whole issue; should give recognition to her protest because by taking initiatives. It is demand of time due to various reasons. First, to encourage non violent protest, and it can lead the way of reduction of armed struggles because they can get diverted when they will find that non violent protests are better way to spread the message of demand, second, it can give ample benefit to affected people , third, it is moral responsibility of government to give recognition to values of truth, humanity and non violence and last it can bring a fruitful result, mutually acceptable to all stakeholders, for a common benefit of public . We all hope that we will very soon be able to see the initiative of government and thus will witness a full story of truth once again, we read somewhere.

–
From:
Ravi Nitesh
New Delhi
Blog: www.ravinitesh.blogspot.com

DISCLAIMER:
Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely mine and my employer is not related/responsible for any material of this mail. The sole responsibility will be mine, in case of any dispute.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/view-on-the-path-of-truth-irom-sharmila-chanu/

Why Tibet Matters

  By Bianca Jagger (Founder and Chair, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation) His Holiness the… more »

 

By Bianca Jagger

(Founder and Chair, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation)
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in London today to receive the Templeton Prize in recognition of his outstanding achievements and spiritual wisdom.

Tibet has a long-standing connection to Britain. Prior to the Chinese invasion in 1949-50, Britain was the only country to formally recognize Tibet as an independent nation. British representatives were stationed in Lhasa from 1904 to 1947 to liaise with the Tibetan government. In 1949 the newly-victorious leader of the China Communist Party Mao Zedong announced, over the radio waves, his intention to “liberate” Tibet from this “foreign imperialism.”

Over the past 60 years, Tibet has been anything but “liberated” by the Chinese Communist Party.

On the 10th of May I delivered two reports to 10 Downing Street. The reports, by the Society for Threatened People and the International Campaign for Tibet, document the devastating impact of Chinese Communist Party rule in Tibet.

I appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron to support the Tibetans at this critical time in their struggle.

In recent months we have seen harrowing images and footage of Tibetans who have set fire to themselves as a form of protest. Since February, 2009, 35 Tibetans have sacrificed themselves, in an act of desperation, which emerges from the anguish of oppression. Tibetans who have self-immolated include monks, nuns, a 19-year old female student, a widowed mother of four, and a Tibetan reincarnate lama in his forties.

This is one of the most significant waves of self-immolation for the past 60 years, eclipsing the number of self-immolation protests by Vietnamese monks, those associated with the Vietnam War and the pro-democracy movement in South Korea.

The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn has observed, “To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance.”

Although we do not know the last words of all the Tibetans who have poured kerosene over themselves and lit a match, we do know that most have died offering prayers for the Dalai Lama to return home, and for freedom in Tibet.

It is time for us to listen to what Tibetans inside Tibet are saying. It is time for the international community to listen to them and to act.

Over the past four years, the Chinese government has engaged in a comprehensive cover-up of the torture, disappearances and killings that have taken place across Tibet. They have engaged upon a virulent propaganda offensive against the Dalai Lama.

On the international stage, Beijing has subverted and politicized international forums where its human rights record has been challenged and refused to answer legitimate questions from governments about the use of lethal force against unarmed protestors, or the welfare of individual detainees.

Over the past 60 years, the Chinese government has instituted increasingly hard line policies that undermine Tibetan culture and religion. The Tibetan people have been denied freedom of expression. Their language has been downgraded. And their economic resources have been misappropriated by the Chinese state, with increasing numbers of Chinese migrants moving to the Tibetan plateau.

China`s economic strategies are literally re-shaping the Tibetan landscape and endangering the fragile ecosystem of the world`s largest and highest altitude plateau. The survival of one of the world`s only remaining systems of sustainable pastoralism is under threat, as nomads are being displaced from their ancestral lands and settled into remote concrete encampments under an urbanization drive.

Why should Tibet matter? It matters because of the terrible suffering of its people, and because of the need for this ancient religion and the Tibetan cultural identity to survive. This is a culture based on the concepts of wisdom, compassion and inter-dependence. These are valuable teachings for the Tibetan people, and for the world.

The survival of Tibet is not just a moral issue. The country is situated in a strategic geopolitical position, between two nuclear giants, India and China. The future of Tibet is tied to Asian and international security.

Tibet is known as the earth`s `Third Pole`, with the largest supply of fresh water in the world outside the two Poles. Most of Asia`s major rivers have their sources in Tibet, meaning that development policies, damming and land degradation in Tibet can affect hundreds of millions of people elsewhere. China cannot claim that Tibet is their `internal affair.`

This is a critical year for China. Divisions in the Chinese Communist Party have been exposed amidst a new clamor for genuine reform. At this historic juncture the international community should be actively engaged in finding a solution to the crisis in Tibet.

In our letter to David Cameron, we urged him to lead a multilateral effort in support of Tibet. The UK government should coordinate its efforts with other like-minded countries and call on the Chinese government to review the policies towards Tibetans that are the root cause of the self-immolations, the ongoing tensions and unrest, and which are threatening the unique culture, religion, and identity of the Tibetan people. The UK government, together with the European Commission should maintain and where possible expand targeted programmatic assistance for Tibetans including support for sustainable, culturally appropriate development assistance to Tibetan communities; educational and cultural exchange programs targeted to Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile.

Amnesty has also requested that the Chinese government allow independent monitors, for instance the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, into the country.

The international community should engage in regular dialogue with Tibetan representatives, including the Dalai Lama and his representatives, and Lobsang Sangay, the new Tibetan Prime Minister in exile, to address the immediate crisis in Tibet.

I urge President Obama to take concrete steps to demonstrate his commitment to the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people, and stand by his words of January 19th 2011, when he professed `America`s fundamental commitment to the universal rights of all people. That includes basic human rights like freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and demonstration, and of religion — rights that are recognized in the Chinese constitution… Even as we, the United States, recognize that Tibet is part of the People`s Republic of China, the United States continues to support further dialogue between the government of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people.`

The religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people is under threat in Tibet today. The Tibetans are standing up to the vast and expanding power of the Chinese state with nonviolent resistance through religious practice, song, literature, and even self-immolation. They are struggling to preserve their religion and cultural identity. As a consequence they are subjected to imprisonment, torture, deprivation and worse. Yet they persevere. Their bravery should serve as a call to action. I call upon the international community to act now on behalf of Tibet. Time is running out. The very survival of the Tibetan people hangs in the balance.

Bianca Jagger is Founder and Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, Member of the Executive Director`s Leadership Council of Amnesty International, USA, and Member of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/why-tibet-matters/

Protecting children in conflict situations

  By Suhas Chakma From 18th to 20th May 2012, a team of the National… more »

 

By Suhas Chakma
From 18th to 20th May 2012, a team of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) will be visiting Manipur for investigation into alleged encounter deaths of children in the State. This is one of the most significant steps taken by the NCPCR under the leadership of Chairperson Dr Shanta Sinha to address the gaps in the implementation of the juvenile justice in the areas afflicted by internal armed conflicts.

Manipur is emblematic of the absence of juvenile justice in the conflict affected areas. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) remains in force in the State but when the AFSPA was enacted in 1958, there were no juvenile justice laws. Consequently, the AFSPA does not differentiate between children and adults. For effective purposes, the armed forces treat the juveniles as adult. In the entire discourse on the AFSPA, the need for special protection of children has not been addressed adequately.

It is universally accepted that on matters relating to children, specific laws relating to children shall prevail. This overriding principle is set out in article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which provides that “in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”.

Indian judiciary too has recognised the supremacy of the Juvenile Justice (Protection and Care of Children) Act, 2000 over all other Acts including on the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002. The Madras High Court in the case of the arrest of G. Prabhakaran (15 years) under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 upheld the supremacy of the Juvenile Justice Act. The Madras High Court while dismissing the trial of Prabhakaran under the POTA stated “The rights of a child are an integral part of human rights, yet the protagonists of human rights hardly ever focus their attention on the exploitation and abuse of the rights of children. ….The POTA court, in the present case, has exceeded its jurisdiction and trespassed into another territory and the mischief has to be undone.’’

In Manipur, children have been consistently arrested, detained and tortured. In many cases, they have also become victims of extrajudicial executions or encounter killings. ACHR has regularly been intervening in a number of cases and it shares two specific cases which have been concluded.

On 13 July 2003, three children namely Kamkholal Haokip (17 years) and his younger brother Sumkhosat Haokip and Satkholun Haokip (15 years) were killed by the Assam Rifles personnel in an alleged encounter at Sipijang area under Senapati district. The Assam Rifles claimed that all the three children were hardcore members of the Kuki National Front. However, the villagers stated that the Assam Rifles had an encounter with the militants following which they cordoned off the four villages – Gelbung, G-Solung, Matjong Thangbu and L Khumnom and called out about 50 youths from their respective homes at about 3.30 am. All the 50 youths were taken to the playground at Gelbung village. Later on at about 6.30 am, three children were picked out from the group while the rest were told to go home. As the rest were on their way home, they heard loud gunfire shots. Later the Assam Rifles personnel called out another 12 youths from the villages and told them to carry away the bodies of the three youths which bore multiple bullet injuries. Kamkholal Haokip was a Class X student of Salem Higher Secondary School while Sumkhosat and Satkholun were employed in a hotel at Imphal. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) intervened following a complaint filed by ACHR but let off the Assam Rifles solely based on a “No Objection Certificate” forcibly taken from the villagers certifying that they were not harassed by the Assam Rifles!

However, the Assam Rifles could not hide with respect to alleged encounter killing of Saikhom Samungou (20 years), Sanasam Ngongo Meitei (15 years) and Thiyam Sunder (23 years) on 11 January 2005 under Yairipok Police Station in Thoubal district.  A Press Information Bureau (PIB) Defence Wing handout claimed that all of them were cadres of the banned United National Liberation Front. However, the villagers claimed that Saikhom Samungou and Sanasam Ngongo Meitei were students. The police in its report to the NHRC following a complaint from ACHR stated that while Thiyam Sunder was a hardcore member of the UNLF, Sanasam Ngongo Meitei and Saikhom Samungou Singh were “innocent civilians”. The Ministry of Defence also admitted that Meitei and Singh were civilians but it continued to refer all the three as “militants” and “terrorists” in its report dated 13 June 2006 to the NHRC. The NHRC in its order dated 31 August 2007 directed to pay Rs 100,000 to each of the next of kin of the deceased but under what circumstances Meitei, a juvenile, was killed remained unexplained.

In all the conflict affected areas, arrest, detention, torture, sexual abuse and encounter killings are rampant. There is little knowledge about the Juvenile Justice (Protection and Care of Children) Act, 2000 amongst the law enforcement personnel in conflict situations. The institutions defined under the Juvenile Justice (Protection and Care of Children) Act, 2000 such as Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Welfare Committees, Juveniles Homes, Juvenile Special Police Units etc do not exist in the disturbed areas/conflict situations. And large parts of the country are indeed affected by armed conflicts. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 21 out of 28 States are affected by internal armed conflicts. These includes Jammu and Kashmir, seven northeastern States and 13 Naxalite affected States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

In order to address the gaps for administration of juvenile justice in conflict affected areas, there is a need to adopt “Standard Operating Procedures” that the security forces must comply. Further, the institutions of juvenile justice ought to be made functional. Otherwise, children living in conflict affected areas will be deprived of what is provided to children in rest of the country.

 

Related articles

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/protecting-children-in-conflict-situations/

1st Imphal Metal Convention (Review)

Ist IMPHAL METAL CONVENTION Imphal the 14th of April, 2012 Review by Lukhendro Keisham The… more »

Ist IMPHAL METAL CONVENTION

Imphal the 14th of April, 2012
Review
by Lukhendro Keisham

The 1st Imphal Metal Convention was held on the 14th of April, 2012 under the banner, Metal Age Reloaded at YAC Range Ground, Imphal. With a witness of around 2000 metal heads from the state the convention featured six bands along with a photo exhibition and a honorary invitational tribute to the rock legends (1960-1990) of Manipur.

It was an event organized through a congregation of youths from the state and various parts of the world with a common motive to encourage original music. They aim at building a strong plateform for the local and underground bands to strive to international benchmark. Free from any political and exoteric social connections the organizers crafted and showcased one of the finest work of promoting art to the culturistic people of the country.

It was 7 o’clock as the whole set up was good to go. Sandrembee spark up the evening with the djent, New Millennium Cyanide Christ by Messuhggah. Due to the late start of the show and limited window for the rest of the band they winds up with their version of Post Mark’s Metal Age as a tribute to the band. Opening for the show the band gained it share of applause from the fans. They gave up their slot with just two songs so that every band gets an enough slot. A loud C-H-E-E-R-S for Sandrembee.

The death-core Dead Mobster was the next. They began with Recent from Chelsea Grin. It was wild and chaotic watching them do the brutal way. Pushing the tempo to the limit they pour out 18th, an original based on the Great 18th June Incident in Manipur followed by Killers Don’t Cry, featured in the recently releases Rock Music Manipur Vol. 1 album compilation. With horryfing death growls and pig squealing the band ends up their day with a cover from Job For A Cowboy, Entombment of a Machine. “The 1st Imphal Metal Convention was a rock show with the best sound experience we ever felt in Manipur”, they commented later.

Dark as the night Azure Delusion, the young metal heads from Nagaland was the third on the line. They started their first ever gig in Imphal with Refuse Resist, a cover from the Lord of Thrash, Sepultura. Followed by Roots Bloody Roots, another Sepultura cover they went on to invade the 1st Imphal Metal Convention to one memorable metal party. Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse was their final set list. Never a moment it was felt that Jenthui (bass guitar) and Asetuo (lead guitar) were temporary members of the band just for the Imphal gig. It was quite a warm gesture from Walo Keppen, who uttered Chak Charabra (meaning: Had food? in Meitei language) while meeting the band at the backstage after their slot. This bring us the feeling of oneness and brotherhood between Manipuris and Nagamese to the world. A technically comment about the band: Best guitar tone ever from a Korg AX1000 in live shows.

Painted signature face, seven string guitar, five string bass and self-carried drum accessories, the Cleave were a beast let loose. Beginning with ART, inspired from people living with HIV the band put up an electrifying start. With gothic keyboard intro and melodious guitar solos they made the crowd lost in the world of fantasy with their original, Instantly Silent. Adding on with the instrumental Incepting Me Own it was certain that the band was on serious business. Their final number was 7 Years Devastation, another original dedicated to the Manipuri martyrs who fought against the Burmese invasion during 1819-26. A fan among the crowd shouted, “Moi mangaire Manipur’da neirise!” which means “These guys are the one ruling in Manipur”. Ithoibi Potshangbam, manager of the band too shared that it was the best sound experience the band ever felt in Manipur. And from the fans, it was Cleave’s best gig ever.

As one of the band featured in the recently released RMM Vol. 1 compilation album Chem Weed F.M was the next on the track. The band showcased an impressive demonstration of both technicality and maturity in their sound. They started the day with an original, Demons Nightmare. Progressive in nature they took the crowd for a ride to hell with Walk With Me In Hell by Lamb of God, then followed by Ghost Walking by LOG again. Favoring the band fans scream their throat out heading for the front barricade.

The much anticipated band of the evening, Yonsample was on the prime time list. They grind up the heads with non stop mos pit and crowd surfing. With an experimental touch in their sound these Technical Post-Thrash Matalheads from Kolkata gave a good fight with melodious chorus and nostalgic riffs. Backstage head banging, raising horns and a rush among the crowd to take pictures/videos in their mobile phones was a sight to be cherished. Enriched with melodic dual vocal and aggressive guitar acts they were the craziest maniac of the day. It was mean as hell beginning their set list with The Instauration. Shredding only originals they went on with Break Through, Reincarnation, Passage and their newly released single, Espial Abyss Afloat. Crowds went chaos as they lash out Chaos Theory. The band had won various rewards at national compitition and is now busy touring the entire country heading its way towards bigger fames.

The final and the headlining act of the evening was Post Mark, a pioneer heavy metal band from Manipur who is making a comeback after 18 years of invisibility. The band was disarmed due to the death of its original vocalist, Abungcha Kshetrimayum (R.I.P – 1999). Replacing Abungcha was Uttam, a successful local artist in the Manipuri music scene. They en thrilled the crowd with songs from their album “Stamp On You” dated 1989. Their set list includes Metal Age, It’s So Funny and Soar High. The event witnessed a glimpse of Thabal Chongba (a traditional festive dance of Manipur) instead of mos pit during Soar High. Uttam’s vocal was an exact replica of the original recorded version of the song.

Apart from the mainstream musical sessions, along with the photo exhibition the organizers put up a CD stall where the recently released Rock Music Manipur Vol.1 was put up for sale. The photo exhibition featured 46 antique photographs collected and contributed by individuals, friends and families related to the rock legends of Manipur. This indeed is a very valuable contribution towards the memory lane of rock music in the country.

Paul Kamei, the vocalist of the then MACHINE HEAD (early 80′s) and THE CANNIBALS (1985) expressed his gratitude towards honoring and bringing forward the lost history of rock in the state. Regarded as the best front man, Lien Gangte (vocalist of Phynix/Phoenix) retold the past memories of rock artists, their struggle and experiences with limited reach to the outside world. He termed Bobby Namairakpam (drummer of Phynix/Phoenix) as the finest drummer in the country who on various gigs and festivals had won many prizes and awards all over the country. Bobby, who stood beside Paul and Lien thanked the fans for the respect and honor shown to the senior artist of Manipur.

From a convention this way to the multi channelled live streaming of the entire show, from the recollection of vintage photographic memories of yesteryear’s rock pioneers with a photo exhibition to the honoring of rock legends (1960-1990) by inviting them in a show this big, in front of all the fans these Today’s Rock Music Community of Manipur has acheived a remarkable milestone in its short but energying journey of musical goodwill.

Flashing shutter lights, muddy mos-pit formations, crowd surfing and screaming cheers made that half-full jammed packed YAC Range Ground glow till midnight. From the decades old humble beginning to the many internationally acclaimed events happening in the country this Imphal Metal Convention will sure acquire the much needed attention of the world. No matter how and what individuals contributed in formulating the event both mental and manual efforts of the organizer and volunteers were paid off with it’s huge success. Kudos to Sandrembee and The Greens who in association with Riverboat Event Management generated and initiated the ideas behind this marvelous event respectively. A huge applause for the Rock Music Manipur and it’s volunteers for their selfless contribution towards organizing and coordinating the entire event. They plans to bring back the convention next year with much bigger surprises.

***

Event Name: 1st IMPHAL METAL CONVENTION
(Metal Age Reloaded Festival, 2012)

Date: 14th April, 2012
Vanue: YAC Range Ground, Imphal
Time: 5 pm onwards
Ticket Rate: Rs. 100/- per head

Bands:
AZURE DELUSION (Nagaland, IN)
CHEM WEED F.M (Imphal, IN)
CLEAVE (Imphal, IN)
DEAD MOBSTER (Imphal, IN)
POST MARK (Imphal, IN)
SANDREMBEE (Imphal, IN)
YONSAMPLE (Kolkata, IN)

Sponsors:
Boss Juices
E-Pao
Likla
Rock Music Manipur
Scot Edil Pharmaceutical Company Stockist, Imphal

Sound:
Hills Sound Reinforcement, Senapati

Lights:
KISS Keishamthong, Imphal

**Special regards to those who without any personal gain or relation to any of the organizers and the initiators came forward to help and support the cause unanimously.

SANDREMBEE are:
Eroz (vocal)
Chingkhei (guitar)
Chickubi (guitar)
Themis (bass)
Jacky Chan (guest drummer from Chen Weed F.M)

DEAD MOBSTER are:
Vavananda (vocal)
Samson (guitar)
Kenyo (guitar)
Bungbi (bass)
Molly (drums)

AZURE DELUSION are:
Walo Keppen (vocal)
Akhrielie Gangmei (drums)
Jenthui (bass: for Imphal gig)
Asetuo (guitar: for Imphal gig)

CLEAVE are:
Tinki a.k.a Sonamani (vocal)
Bipin (guitar)
Vavindra a.k.a Tutu (bass)
Roseen a.k.a Abow (keyboard)
Thoi a.k.a Khunjaoba (drums)

CHEM WEED F.M are
Bulu (vocal)
Jiban (guitar)
Jackson (bass)
Jacky Chan (drums)

YONSAMPLE are
Arka Das (vocal)
Soumik Roy ‘Jojo’ (guitar)
Anirban Banerjee (bass)
Tuhin Paul (drums)
Anudhyan Chakrabarti (keyboards)

POST MARK are
Uttam (vocal)
Ingocha Thingom (guitar)
Boycha Konjengbam (bass)
Bipin Sanjenbam (drums)
(**Post Mark was formed in 1988 and it’s birth name was Death’s Guitar)

Bands whose photographs are put up in the exhibition:
The Kids (early 60′s), Waikhom Umakanta and Angom Pratap (early 60′s), Magnetoz (late 60′s), Makhons (1971), Runaway Tracks (1972), Phoenix (1980), Phynyx (mid 90′s), Cannibals (1985), Hell’s Angel (1985), Dark Krusaders (1986), Drixian Empire (mid 90′s), Brain Damage (1987), Death’s Guitar (1988), Post Mark (1989), Heavenly Finger (1989) etc.

Few Rock Personals Seen During The Concert
Angom Pratap, Bobby Nameirakpam, Lien Gangte, Mick, Nutan Elangbam, Paul Gangmei, Ringo Golmei, Sando Laishram, Thanlian, Vivek Sharma etc.

Organized by:
Sandrembee and The Green

in association with
Riverboat Event Management

supported by:
Rock Music Manipur (RMM)
www.RockMusicManipur.in

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/1st-imphal-metal-convention-review/

Richard Loitam, Racism and its Violence

Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by… more »

Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by his fellow students, presumably was not the first student who died resulting from nasty brawl amongst students; and under the criminal justice system of this country, this is also not the first case that concerned authorities have refused to follow up a case properly or sought to cover-up crimes. Given this, one must ask and be honest as to why so many, particularly from the Northeast, have come out crying for “Justice for Richard Loitam”? The answer will invariably bring a context which will speak, not only about the nature of the present case but also the nature of the response against the death of Richard Loitam.

Justice for Richard - Protest at Delhi

Justice for Richard – Protest at Delhi : Click the image to view the gallery

 

Racism and Its Violence: It’s Not a Private Affair Alone

We must ask four questions in order to put the unfortunate death of this young student from Manipur in perspective:

  1.  When those people who reportedly hit him so badly to cause his death, the very act of hitting/assaulting him at that moment, will it be free from a consciousness or sense of Richard being “different” from them? And that this marker of being “different” will not have anything to do with (a) how he looks (his “racial” feature), (b) he does not belong “here” (correspondingly, he is from a particular place) and (c) he speaks a different “language” or come from a different “culture”?
  2. The subsequent conducts of the police or college authorities which sought to cover up the case (amongst others, insinuating that he died of an accident or drug related death) will not have anything to do with the fact that Richard Loitam was a student/person who belonged to a distant/far off place (and hence the response of the police and authorities (sort of, can get away with the cover-up)?
  3. Do the experiences of being marked out or treated differently or having faced outright acts of discriminations and humiliations have nothing to do with the decisions of those from the Northeast to join the outcry here (such as on social network-sites)?
  4. Correspondingly, some sense of outrage or resentment that their friends from the Northeast face undesirable experiences of being marked out/treated differently or discriminations/humiliations in the hands of people from outside the region have nothing to do with their involvement in this outcry?

Answers to the above questions shall tell us something about “racism” vis-à-vis the present case. Indeed, these four questions will reveal that Richard’s case is a larger concern which has a collective stake rather than being merely a case of justice for an individual or a family. For instance, it seems, going by the preliminary post-mortem report and pictures of Richard’s dead body and his room that are being circulated on net, the nature of the injuries that had led to his death were not the results of a regular brawl with his fellow students who did not have the intention of causing injuries that might lead to his death or a consequences of a scuffle in which Richard fell and got injured. Prima facie, these pictures and the preliminary post-mortem report seem to suggest that the injuries that led to his death were results of a brutal assault. It is here that one is forced to think of the intent of those who allegedly assaulted him, and the above first question gets implicated in the present case which simultaneously makes Richard’s death a part of a larger issue of “racially” motivated acts.

Besides, legal fraternity will tell us that large part of the denial or subversion of justice under the criminal justice system in the country starts with the lowest level of the system, that is, the police. From refusal to register the FIR or registering it in ways that are detrimental to the victims to shoddy investigations, the denial or subversion of justice began from there. And more than any other class of people, it is the marginalized and weaker sections of the society who are more likely to face such an experience of subversion of justice is a well known fact. There is no point in denying that there had been an attempt to subvert justice by seeking to brush aside Richard’s death as a natural death and hush up the case. After all, the present outcry has been a reaction to such an effort to subvert justice. This being the case, what are the reasons for the attempt to subvert justice by the concerned authorities? Is it a case of familiar attempts of our criminal justice system which often denies justice to the weaker or marginalized sections of the society (here, the case being that Richard was a member of a particular people from a particular region which is marked by a marginal status vis-à-vis the larger Indian society)? It is this aspect of the present case which implicates the above second question, which, in turn, makes Richard’s death a collective concern over and above being a concern of his family and friends.

Needless to say, the outpouring of resentment and anger against the manner in which he was allegedly assaulted that led to his death and the initial responses of the concerned authorities have been presumably informed by a general sense of being marked out or differently treated or having faced outright acts of discrimination and humiliation by the people of the Northeast and an empathy with them by other citizens of the country. Only a self denial (due to ignorance or vested interests) of those who are used to seeking private solution (such as buying inverter) to a public malaise of institutional failures (electricity) in Manipur would deny that Richard’s case in not merely a concern or affairs of a private kind (family etc) but that of a public and collective concerns which speak of the place and experiences of the people in/from the Northeast. Arguably, it is also precisely because of this public concern that implicates the people from a geo-politically sensitive region that the Govt. of India and political class scrambled to respond to the outcry.

In order to understand the present case, both the unfortunate death, responses to the same and nature of contemporary understanding on racism, we might as well take note of the following two aspects:

  1. Social scientists, researchers and commentators have time and again noted that there is something called “racism without race”, a phenomenon wherein prejudices or acts of marking out a difference and treated differently on the basis of “race” have been attributed/displaced/deflected to other attributes other than the victim’s race. Such responses are not necessarily CONSCIOUS acts; these are done subconsciously or unconsciously.
  2.  Sociologists have pointed out that while the perpetrators of communal carnage commit their acts and justify the same in the name of the “people” (often by conflating that “people” in a majoritarian sense with the “nation” as “we, the people”) while the victims respond to the violence by seeking redressal in the name of “justice”. In short, while the majority speaks the language of (by appropriating) the “nation” that marks out the minority as the “other” while committing the violence, the minority victims speak the language of “citizen”.

The above aspects, the different “languages” of the majority perpetrators and the minority victim are points to be noted for us to grapple with the violence that has led to the death of Richard Loitam and responses to the same.

Need for Informed and Honest Response

Incidentally, and perhaps expectedly, on the other hand, there are some who have a misplaced, if not a sinister or deliberate, attempt to distract the issues at hand by raising the insecurity-driven-xenophobia which are often expressed in terms of “identity assertions” and violence against “outsiders” (or amongst the different communities) in the Northeast. Incidentally, some of these people who raise such issues have never spoken out against such xenophobic violence before they choose to raise the issue in this case. Raising such issue is not only reflective of a lack of understanding between the two forms of violence but also an attempt to distract, wittingly or unwittingly, from the issue at hand. The present case must, therefore, be addressed for what it is through proper investigations, which entails an informed and honest effort to take into account the context of the violence and the responses to the same.

It has been pointed out that the inmates (Jews/gypsies) of the Nazi concentration camps were/are not the only ones who were/are traumatized by the experience; the camps guards also suffer from the de-humanizing experience. However, juxtaposing the trauma of the camp guards to de-legitimize or sideline the dehumanizing and traumatic experiences of the inmates of those camps can only be a misplaced concern at best and at worst, a sinister move to deny the sufferings of the inmates and justify and perpetuate racism which had produced the Holocaust.

We must also remember that fight against “racism” in any form or manifestation is not an anti-state act. Indian State, constitutionally speaking, is not a racist State. Article 15 of the Constitution makes any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex or place of birth illegal. If the spirit and letter of the Constitution are not respected or followed by the Government or parties, one must not be apologetic about standing against the same. Notwithstanding the Constitution, we must know that our lived world is not entirely determined or covered by the constitutional provisions or laws. We might eulogize Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Indian Constitution. But, I suppose, Ambedkar must also be acknowledged for his insistence on or preference for “social transformation” over “political transformation”. Perhaps, the Constitution is like an “interview guide” that researcher uses while engaging with the realities of the “field”; the actual outcome depends on what the researcher actually “does” with it. In short, the kind of “transformation” that he had in mind must therefore be judged by what we do with the Constitution. In fact, Ambedkar’s concluding remark in the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 on “those who are called to work it happen” must speak a lot to us today.

In short, the case of Richard Loitam brings home the familiar lacunae in our criminal justice system and the reality of “racism” with or without “race” which has often been underplayed, if not actively denied, in this country, including by those who are incidentally at the receiving end of “racism”. Sooner we realize this and seek corrective measures, better it would be for one and all.  Seeking justice for Richard Loitam must be a part of that effort.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-racism-and-its-violence/

Richard Loitam, Racism and its Violence

Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by… more »

Richard Loitam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore who died reportedly after he was assaulted by his fellow students, presumably was not the first student who died resulting from nasty brawl amongst students; and under the criminal justice system of this country, this is also not the first case that concerned authorities have refused to follow up a case properly or sought to cover-up crimes. Given this, one must ask and be honest as to why so many, particularly from the Northeast, have come out crying for “Justice for Richard Loitam”? The answer will invariably bring a context which will speak, not only about the nature of the present case but also the nature of the response against the death of Richard Loitam.

Justice for Richard - Protest at Delhi

Justice for Richard – Protest at Delhi : Click the image to view the gallery

 

Racism and Its Violence: It’s Not a Private Affair Alone

We must ask four questions in order to put the unfortunate death of this young student from Manipur in perspective:

  1.  When those people who reportedly hit him so badly to cause his death, the very act of hitting/assaulting him at that moment, will it be free from a consciousness or sense of Richard being “different” from them? And that this marker of being “different” will not have anything to do with (a) how he looks (his “racial” feature), (b) he does not belong “here” (correspondingly, he is from a particular place) and (c) he speaks a different “language” or come from a different “culture”?
  2. The subsequent conducts of the police or college authorities which sought to cover up the case (amongst others, insinuating that he died of an accident or drug related death) will not have anything to do with the fact that Richard Loitam was a student/person who belonged to a distant/far off place (and hence the response of the police and authorities (sort of, can get away with the cover-up)?
  3. Do the experiences of being marked out or treated differently or having faced outright acts of discriminations and humiliations have nothing to do with the decisions of those from the Northeast to join the outcry here (such as on social network-sites)?
  4. Correspondingly, some sense of outrage or resentment that their friends from the Northeast face undesirable experiences of being marked out/treated differently or discriminations/humiliations in the hands of people from outside the region have nothing to do with their involvement in this outcry?

Answers to the above questions shall tell us something about “racism” vis-à-vis the present case. Indeed, these four questions will reveal that Richard’s case is a larger concern which has a collective stake rather than being merely a case of justice for an individual or a family. For instance, it seems, going by the preliminary post-mortem report and pictures of Richard’s dead body and his room that are being circulated on net, the nature of the injuries that had led to his death were not the results of a regular brawl with his fellow students who did not have the intention of causing injuries that might lead to his death or a consequences of a scuffle in which Richard fell and got injured. Prima facie, these pictures and the preliminary post-mortem report seem to suggest that the injuries that led to his death were results of a brutal assault. It is here that one is forced to think of the intent of those who allegedly assaulted him, and the above first question gets implicated in the present case which simultaneously makes Richard’s death a part of a larger issue of “racially” motivated acts.

Besides, legal fraternity will tell us that large part of the denial or subversion of justice under the criminal justice system in the country starts with the lowest level of the system, that is, the police. From refusal to register the FIR or registering it in ways that are detrimental to the victims to shoddy investigations, the denial or subversion of justice began from there. And more than any other class of people, it is the marginalized and weaker sections of the society who are more likely to face such an experience of subversion of justice is a well known fact. There is no point in denying that there had been an attempt to subvert justice by seeking to brush aside Richard’s death as a natural death and hush up the case. After all, the present outcry has been a reaction to such an effort to subvert justice. This being the case, what are the reasons for the attempt to subvert justice by the concerned authorities? Is it a case of familiar attempts of our criminal justice system which often denies justice to the weaker or marginalized sections of the society (here, the case being that Richard was a member of a particular people from a particular region which is marked by a marginal status vis-à-vis the larger Indian society)? It is this aspect of the present case which implicates the above second question, which, in turn, makes Richard’s death a collective concern over and above being a concern of his family and friends.

Needless to say, the outpouring of resentment and anger against the manner in which he was allegedly assaulted that led to his death and the initial responses of the concerned authorities have been presumably informed by a general sense of being marked out or differently treated or having faced outright acts of discrimination and humiliation by the people of the Northeast and an empathy with them by other citizens of the country. Only a self denial (due to ignorance or vested interests) of those who are used to seeking private solution (such as buying inverter) to a public malaise of institutional failures (electricity) in Manipur would deny that Richard’s case in not merely a concern or affairs of a private kind (family etc) but that of a public and collective concerns which speak of the place and experiences of the people in/from the Northeast. Arguably, it is also precisely because of this public concern that implicates the people from a geo-politically sensitive region that the Govt. of India and political class scrambled to respond to the outcry.

In order to understand the present case, both the unfortunate death, responses to the same and nature of contemporary understanding on racism, we might as well take note of the following two aspects:

  1. Social scientists, researchers and commentators have time and again noted that there is something called “racism without race”, a phenomenon wherein prejudices or acts of marking out a difference and treated differently on the basis of “race” have been attributed/displaced/deflected to other attributes other than the victim’s race. Such responses are not necessarily CONSCIOUS acts; these are done subconsciously or unconsciously.
  2.  Sociologists have pointed out that while the perpetrators of communal carnage commit their acts and justify the same in the name of the “people” (often by conflating that “people” in a majoritarian sense with the “nation” as “we, the people”) while the victims respond to the violence by seeking redressal in the name of “justice”. In short, while the majority speaks the language of (by appropriating) the “nation” that marks out the minority as the “other” while committing the violence, the minority victims speak the language of “citizen”.

The above aspects, the different “languages” of the majority perpetrators and the minority victim are points to be noted for us to grapple with the violence that has led to the death of Richard Loitam and responses to the same.

Need for Informed and Honest Response

Incidentally, and perhaps expectedly, on the other hand, there are some who have a misplaced, if not a sinister or deliberate, attempt to distract the issues at hand by raising the insecurity-driven-xenophobia which are often expressed in terms of “identity assertions” and violence against “outsiders” (or amongst the different communities) in the Northeast. Incidentally, some of these people who raise such issues have never spoken out against such xenophobic violence before they choose to raise the issue in this case. Raising such issue is not only reflective of a lack of understanding between the two forms of violence but also an attempt to distract, wittingly or unwittingly, from the issue at hand. The present case must, therefore, be addressed for what it is through proper investigations, which entails an informed and honest effort to take into account the context of the violence and the responses to the same.

It has been pointed out that the inmates (Jews/gypsies) of the Nazi concentration camps were/are not the only ones who were/are traumatized by the experience; the camps guards also suffer from the de-humanizing experience. However, juxtaposing the trauma of the camp guards to de-legitimize or sideline the dehumanizing and traumatic experiences of the inmates of those camps can only be a misplaced concern at best and at worst, a sinister move to deny the sufferings of the inmates and justify and perpetuate racism which had produced the Holocaust.

We must also remember that fight against “racism” in any form or manifestation is not an anti-state act. Indian State, constitutionally speaking, is not a racist State. Article 15 of the Constitution makes any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex or place of birth illegal. If the spirit and letter of the Constitution are not respected or followed by the Government or parties, one must not be apologetic about standing against the same. Notwithstanding the Constitution, we must know that our lived world is not entirely determined or covered by the constitutional provisions or laws. We might eulogize Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Indian Constitution. But, I suppose, Ambedkar must also be acknowledged for his insistence on or preference for “social transformation” over “political transformation”. Perhaps, the Constitution is like an “interview guide” that researcher uses while engaging with the realities of the “field”; the actual outcome depends on what the researcher actually “does” with it. In short, the kind of “transformation” that he had in mind must therefore be judged by what we do with the Constitution. In fact, Ambedkar’s concluding remark in the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 on “those who are called to work it happen” must speak a lot to us today.

In short, the case of Richard Loitam brings home the familiar lacunae in our criminal justice system and the reality of “racism” with or without “race” which has often been underplayed, if not actively denied, in this country, including by those who are incidentally at the receiving end of “racism”. Sooner we realize this and seek corrective measures, better it would be for one and all.  Seeking justice for Richard Loitam must be a part of that effort.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-racism-and-its-violence/

Indian sports: A defeatist culture

  By Gyanendro Ningombam, Editor of MEEYAM Evening Daily. Who says India is not “MAHAAN”?… more »

 

By Gyanendro Ningombam, Editor of MEEYAM Evening Daily.

Who says India is not “MAHAAN”? Yes, it is Mahaan – still Mahaan because the country, in respect of development of science and technology, information technology network, economic growth and foreign policy etc. It has gone far and far ahead in the pursuit of excellence in diversified field and become an emerging power. But in sports, the country’s performance in Olympics and in several other International competitions is dismal and it continues to be a laughing stock of the world. It has always been more defeat than fruition. Hockey, a wonderful field game, once dominated by this great country has now come to a stage of decadence. The 8-time Olympic champion has been relegated in the background and the country is now fighting for a berth in the Olympic qualifiers. It is amazing to note that in the span of 108 years the Mahaan Country could fetch only 9 golds (8 in hockey and 1 in Individual shooting competition), 2 silvers and 3 bronzes in the Olympic events. The India Olympic Association (The apex body of India Sports) and other federations are responsible for destroying the fabric of Indian sports. The role of the Indian government is also dubious for it provided blanket permission to IOA and the federations to destroy Indian sports. The lack of achievement in the sphere of International sports arena in not because of poverty. It is also not because of lack of funds and facilities. It is because of the unfortunate imprisonment of Indian players in the cunning hands of politicians and stewed mind of bureaucrats. Instead of taking country’s sports in bringing out equitable development in order to replace the present tragedy scene into ovation, they are fighting for their own affluent life style and nothing has been done for the cause of sports in the country. And the sports lovers in the country with a misapprehension mood brings the matter to question as to whether the IOA and federations officials are there to promote the Indian sports in general or are they concerned only about preserving the image or the reputation of their own seats in sports? People still want to be informed as to what is the standing between IOA and the progress of Indian Sports. All talk but no action. Come Olympics and various other major international tournaments or competitions the sports barons and officials will suddenly become alive. Lofty words are spoken, tall claims are made and high sounding statements are issued.

Indian sports have not yet been given the “Freedom” that it deserves although the country has been liberated for more than six decades. The purposed “Sports Bill” which mainly aimed to develop country’s sports is surrounded by controversies. Now a marked question to be discussed at depth is: whether is it possible to make a turn and twist from tragedy to triumph through a sagacious solution so that India uplift the present scene – from the pit of despair to the “Everest of Glory”. Well, if we leave the solution in the hands of these “JAGIRS” it will be a long wait perhaps it may never happen. Rather the further prevalence of the tragedies may result in a highly sustained atmosphere. Now looking into the global development experiences in sports we need therefore, to work hard either by adopting or limiting number of schemes in organisations, administration, management and training even laid by leading sports countries in order to enable to earn excellence on any pursuit. Apparently, we need to make effort with a serious view to make surer solution what all goes on in the corridors of Indian Sports which has sadly fallen on bad days. I’m sure there are people who can do it. I’m again sure India will be able to join in the run up to the world of sports if the administration and organisation is solely held by sportspersons. But it still needs to have to put up a “United Front” and fight ruthlessly against the politicians and bureaucrats (presently holding sports organising bodies and working only in vested interest) who always consider sports as their “DEN”. The time has come. This is the time. It is now or never.

 

Related articles

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/indian-sports-a-defeatist-culture/

Social networking and changing world

By: Karan Laishram The society indeed has changed a lot today from the days of… more »

By: Karan Laishram

The society indeed has changed a lot today from the days of the simple life when people worked hard during the day and sleep well at night to today’s ever busy competitive world.

We can see a lot of changes in our society in such a short span. It was only in the 80′s and 90′s when people of the state were introduced to modern technologies like televisions and telephones.

In the late 90′s computers were introduced in the state and it was only in the beginning of 2000′s that mobile telephony made its presence felt among the people of the state.

And today there may be no one among the youths in Manipur who have not touched by the internet. The latest trend today is the wave of social networking which has dominated the whole world.

 

There are many social networking sites in the world of internet today like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Myspace, Google+, ibibo, Orkut to name just a few.

Today, there may be none who does not know or heard about Facebook and other popular networking sites.

While it is good to have such social networking sites which provide us a platform to get in touch with our friends, meet new friends, chat with them, communicate and share ideas, it is also necessary to check whether these social networking sites are doing only the good to the youths in today.

One can clearly see how Facebook, one of the most biggest and popular networking sites, played an important role in organising and uniting people from different walks of life when Loitam Richard, a 19 years old Engineering student from Manipur was allegedly beaten to death by his hostel mates in Bangalore.

Within days of the incident, facebook users around the globe gathered and supported the cause for justice.

In a span of one week the number of supporters to the campaign cross over 1 lakh, thus recording the highest ever public voices raised against discrimination and crime on NE people.

No doubt, internet is a very successful and useful means of communication in today’s world. However, in our present society, many youths are using this useful service in different ways which may hamper their career and social life.

 

Many are addicted to these internet social networking sites spending their times leisurely without even thinking for their future while many are using these services to organise, gather and instil ideas, generate public opinions and share other useful information among the users.

What is worrisome is the addiction and misuse of these services just for amusement and leisure and creating communal disharmony among the different communities.

It has become a fact that many are a bit hesitant to open their Facebook wall in front of their family members thinking what type of pictures might flash on their screen since many users with fake profiles are uploading porn pictures.

On the other hand, parents lack of awareness of such advanced technology of internet and social networking services which give the youths a free hand in using internets and other related services.

Most of today’s parents are living like blind persons on the activities of their children on computer and mobile phones thereby creating a gap between the generation of the parents and the youths of today.

Taking into consideration of all these issues, it is high time for the youths of the state to think twice while using these useful services for a better and developed society and not for degrading morality and character not only of themselves but also of the society.

It has also become somewhat necessary for the elders to learn a bit about the advanced technologies which provide endless opportunities and information as well as an easy way down the drain.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/social-networking-and-changing-world/

The Fight is for ‘Justice’ for Richard Loitam – not for ‘Racism’ : Facebookers still argue.

By: Bishwajit Okram, LL.B, LL.M, ACCA “Omg! What in the world? How can anyone be… more »

Justice campaign for Richard

By: Bishwajit Okram, LL.B, LL.M, ACCA

“Omg! What in the world? How can anyone be this brutal? Its someones life were talking about here!! All this brutality for changing the channel? Justice should be given!! Please please!! I beg not only the Northeasterner students or people working in Bangalore but to all the right thinking citizens of India should take a stand and fight for Justice!! R.I.P Richard!”

The Garden City, Bangaluru, one assumes, is a very safe city unlike its counterparts in some parts of India. And yet odour of ‘racism’, a stink given out by the facbookers as an intention suspected behind the murder of Late Richard, emanates from this garden city.
Reporting the dead as related to drugs and the accident the victim had two days ago, was the most idiotic thing to do by the local media.
Putting salt to the wound was the indifferent attitude of the dean of the Institute- the Acharya NRV School of Architecture- Bangalore. He was quoted mentioning some habits and temperaments of the late Richard, as though reprimanding him posthumously not being enough with the fact that the poor boy was no more alive, then; this was totally against the sanctity of respecting a departed soul!
The saddest of all was the extreme casual approach of the law enforcing agency, the Bangalore rural police which has the jurisdiction of this case. ‘Mysterious circumstances of the death’ as often cited by the police sounded like the mysteries often endured in the crime fiction book- Sherlock Homes of Arthur Conan Doyle.
The two rogue hostel mates punched him dead; simple! How mysterious could it be?
It took a Mark Zuckerberg’s company-the facebook, to unravel the ‘mystery’ for the code to be unlocked, for the world to see the gruesome image, and cry in horror with disbelief; the writing in the wall of the facebook became clearer – in all probability (Late) Richard was done to death with a strong vengeance; this is the verdict at the minimum by the facebookers.
The first facebook wall arrived on the 24th of April. The soulless face in the facebook came seeking justice for his death all around the world.
His face smeared with blood all around, the battered mouth that oozed out blood shocking the pillow, the sore and swollen face that of like a beast bitten by another beast, the brutally smashed late Richard Loitam lay asleep in his dead as seen in the facebook wall that arrived on the 24th of April.
One would often wonder why such a thing had to happen within a well secured four wall of a hostel governed by able administrators inter alia the well educated and qualified dean of the institute.
Questions are still not answered: why none of the hostel mates came forward to intervene the assault? Why nobody reported the deadly incident to any authority?
As mentioned in some report, the warden did see the assault, then, why was not he bothered to examine the injuries sustained by late Richard if it was grievous or not?;
Why the Bangalore police was playing pooh-pooh with the case – sometimes saying the death was due to accident, under mysterious circumstances; it was a case of homicide but not murder; but now it is a case of murder but the suspects can’t be arrested; they need to wait for x,y,z reports.
The police tried its best to prove that the case is that of a accident; a television footage showed the police inspector showing to the media personnel the helmet worn by the victim two days before his death-trying to make his point that the severity of the damage caused to the helmet could mean Richard’s death was due to the accident.
The dean also played its part well to shrug off the matter lightly. It took him nearly a fortnight to expel the suspects from college. Under normal circumstances, action should have been initiated the following day – pending police investigation; not for the killing but for breaking the hostel norms and rules, if assaulting and killing is not part of the hostel norms. But he didn’t!

Facebookers , more than 2,00,000 of them are still profusely condemning the killing and, they are appalled by the fact that no arrest has been made so far.
It is reported as the author writes this feature, the suspects are under hostel arrest; it is a kind of ‘ house arrest’ we often come across in high profile politically peculiar cases.
A beautiful quote says, “Racism isn’t born, folks, it’s taught……”- Dennis Leary.
India’s constitution is one of the finest constitutions in the world, particularly the article 19 to 21 are enough for every citizen to feel secured and enjoy the best of the freedoms one can think of.
But, quite often questions arise again and again; there seems to be having a stark difference between what is on the ground and what is guaranteed in the constitution-a total disconnect.
May not be taught in a black and white- but the inaction of the authorities in such cases may imply for it, what the quote above mentioned tries to say.
Many pioneer facebookers of that wall wailed, yelled and, the same were echoed by other fellows on the same questions-racism and justice.

Loitam Richard, aged 19 from Manipur, studying Architecture Engineering at Acharya NRV School of Architecture in…

Posted by Youth Of Indians on Thursday, April 26, 2012

Many cast racism and regionalism when they wrote. One can only hope that was not the case.

Manish Rawat could have yelled on the top his voice when he wrote-” We @%*** INDIAN BREED STILL DONT KNOE NORTH EAST IS INDIA TOO………..”

Marak Jeffrey further shared a past experience, -“…that happened some years ago in Chikmanglur to a fellow NE brother. That incident though was quite conveniently covered up. I hope Richard gets justice.”
Lobsang Tshering Bhutia wrote -“This is racism to the limits…. Heights… People should look beyond barriers of caste nd creed… The people guilty of this dreadful incident should definitely be hanged irrespective of their social and economic status…. Justice should prevail!!! “

Imti Piratelord Ao : “All students from NE and other parts of India studying in Bangalore stand up n fight for him. put damn pressure on the police until they make this case a strong one so that it doesn’t happen 2 u too in the future… “

Issac Buns : “regionalism pure brutal regionalism. . . It is just not happening . . the treatment .tat a student of NE gets is not at all tolerable . We just need answers n justice . It is not justifiable tat he was a drug user witout any sort of evidence . May his soul rest in peace . N justice is just his soul needs . .”

Lhüvevolü Rhakho : “Omg! What in the world? How can anyone be this brutal? Its someones life were talking about here!! All this brutality for changing the channel? Justice should be given!! Please please!! I beg not only the Northeasterner students or people working in Bangalore but to all the right thinking citizens of India should take a stand and fight for Justice!! R.I.P Richard!”

Tshering Choden Bhutia : “northeast ppl r always discriminated.. Only we ppl can understand..”
Mrigank Bhattacharya “R.I.P. Richard…..those monsters who hv done dis wid u, willl burn in hell…..if dere iz GOD….”

Neil Singh: “ ths is the second time in a week tht a northeast student has been killed……”

Deepankar Roy: “If such Incident of a Student from Mainland India Dying in North East would have come Up, The Publicity and the Swift Justice that, All the Mainland States would have demanded invariably can make the Life of North Easterner Hell in MAINLAND INDIA!!! But Unfortunately, We are looked upon as UNTOUCHABLES by our Own Brother and Sisters from MAINLAND INDIA, meant only for Exploitation be it Human Resources or Natural Resources !!!
Heights of INSANITY! WAKE UP u all People from MAINLAND INDIA before its too LATE!!!!!!!!!”

Gaurav Dikshit: “RIP..really sad..Worst form of racism exists in India”

Pry Singha: “har gali mein to kutta bhi sher hotey hai……saley north indian people 1nce u cme 2 north-east dn wl so u…..”

This is, however , not to say that there are no people looking at this issue, rationally from different perspective. Many also explain logically their own perspectives.
Vishnu Vishwanathan: “R.I.P Brother! No matter north east north west , south or north India ! India govtt. has no law strong laws for safety of students …Neither do they concern about student problems ….Thats why there is ragging everywhere …Feels sad but its the truth as i myself was once a raging victim however i escaped death n a story dat wud have circled up d whole f networking sites if i wud have been dead den…Common students lets get n unite togather as community not race based groups to fight Raging in campus ………………!!!!!!”

ALan Sibia : “Its heartbreaking! There can b no justification for taking someone else life. Whethr he ws a drug abuser or not, had a tiffd wt hs mates or not, no person or group hav a rit to end the life of Loitam or any human. It forces me to percept: a) was ther any racial motive behind the killing? b) was he used by the seniors as an object to show off their courage n skills whch comes out only when the number of ther associates are high? c) was ther any deliberate plan of harming him even to the extend of killing him- (complimenting to the level of torment tht one can presumed frm the pic). These are questions whch time wl b answer IF the murderers are to be properly trialed before a court of law. RIP Richard n i doubted if peace n harmony are to exist in the minds n lives of the killers for quite a long time. “

Vishal Chaudhary: “guys it not about regionalism its about the miss done done by some bloodies who should be punished bitterly”

Thankfully, majority of the facebookers maintain the composure except to rent their frustration, which were quite human.
Samsad Ahmed: “saitan banna asan hai par kya insan bane rahna itna muskil hai”

Raj Tewary : “…….acharya institute it shud be burnt down. alongwith those murderers”

Dicky K Gangte Meizap : “This is 3rd degree torture and murder”

Gopal Bhandari : “I think the management should be honestly dealing by compensating and justifying his family as well as all the culprits should be given hardest punishment. Or else this will lead to a big social unrest .”

Hrishi Singh: “the person who hve done this, ussko ko saale ko ssube saamne aise he marne ka order diya jaye,,,,,,,this iss the only way to stop such kind of things”

Milind Wankhede : “So sad yaar. ……. Oh god Where r u”

Monica Witschi Tenzin Chokzin : “Horrifying…..”

Lizza F Hinzz :” is da word humanity not in them…may his soul rest in peace…”

The bottom line is, punish the guilty and deliver the justice to the victim without further delay. For this to happen, it would need an extra ordinary courage for a robust justice system to work. Effectively then, if at all there existed racism, that will automatically go of its own.

Still, the rationality is

“You don’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity.”-unknown

This article is sent to KanglaOnline by Bishwajit Okram

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/the-fight-is-for-%E2%80%98justice%E2%80%99-for-richard-loitam-%E2%80%93-not-for-%E2%80%98racism%E2%80%99-facebookers-still-argue/

Child Trafficking In Manipur- A Perspective

  By Priyadarshini Laishram At an age when the whole International community has geared up… more »

 

By Priyadarshini Laishram
At an age when the whole International community has geared up to combat the complex problem of human trafficking and specifically child trafficking, the menace of this deplorable crime has not spared even this tiny State of ours called Manipur. Though the Social Welfare Department, Police department and several NGOs have been putting in their utmost effort with various approaches and initiatives to combat this problem yet, there seems to be an increasing trend in the graph for occurrences of child trafficking in our state. There are lacunae and gaps perhaps in the approaches, strategies or initiatives taken up because of which the organized crime is able to show its ugly face time and again and with the recently reported cases of children missing from homes or being trafficked purportedly to be recruited as child soldiers, the matter all the more needs a deeper speculation and analysis.

The 1989 U.N Convention on the Rights of the Child states that a child means every human being below the age of 18 years though some countries have chosen to set the “age of majority” lower than 18.The Convention on the Rights of the Child, a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations provides protection and support for the rights of the children. In adopting the convention the International Community recognized that people under 18 years of age often need special care and protection. To help stem the growing abuse and exploitation of children worldwide the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 adopted two Optional Protocols to the convention to increase the protection of children from involvement in armed conflict and sexual exploitation. The Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict establishes 18 as the minimum age for recruitment in the armed forces and requires the State to do everything they can to prevent individuals under the age of 18 from taking a direct part in hostilities. Though the optional protocol as such is not in a binding nature, yet every state and non state actors who are protagonists of the philosophy of human rights and human dignity are expected to set their rules and regulations and standards in line with the convention guidelines. Despite all the conventions, protocols, recommendations and declarations the malaise goes unabated.

From the trend and information available regarding child trafficking in Manipur it may be drawn that our state is the origin and not destination of child trafficking. Children may be trafficked for forced labour, for use in drug trade as couriers and then “paid” in drugs so that they become addicted and further entrapped, forced begging by sometimes maiming them, military purpose etc. Children may be trafficked for military purpose to be used as child soldiers taking direct part in hostilities, in other supporting roles such as messengers, porters, spies, look-outs or for political advantage either as human shields or in propaganda. In our state too with decades old insurgency movement creating a situation of unrest and uncertainty, society at a crossroad with numerous issues, cases of children being trafficked outside the state have been reported and today again news has hit the headlines that children are missing from their homes and trafficked purportedly for being recruited as child soldiers in some armed outfits. Because the local media, both print and electronic came out with a good reporting about the deplorable episode of the abduction of children purportedly for being recruited in armed outfits and the public raised a hue and cry that it has become pronounced and clear that people are out and out against such kind of abuse of children. It is not lost in the minds of the public that it is after all the protests and demonstrations that the three young children from Lamsang were found/ rescued from Moreh and another one from Chandel. It is for all to understand why the boys have been quoted as saying that they left their homes on their own to join the armed outfit. The writing on the wall is clear and while the incident has sparked wide public outrage it is just that the folks behind the crime do not have the moral courage to admit and declare their stand. There are numerous unreported cases of young children including girls even below the age of 15 yrs who have surrendered to the security agencies. A good number too who have been arrested are in their early twenties their recruitment in the armed outfit dating back 6-8 yrs which means they were recruited at the age of 15/16 years. All these go to indicate that they could have been drawn towards the outfit more by co-ercion or by force less voluntarily. Even where the children have volunteered to join the outfit for whatever reasons it is expected of the non state parties in their wisdom to scrutinize that children have no ability to make informed decisions especially in such delicate matters as taking up arms and fighting for a cause. It should not be too late for the non state actors to address such issues or else the possibility of people in unison questioning the ideologies and tall claims of the revolutionary movement cannot be ruled out. From the account of Jimmy Briggs, a noted journalist who has done research in the issue of child soldiers for six years in his book “Innocents Lost” of the horrendous episodes of child soldiers across nations affected by armed conflict, genocide, and war like Columbia, Rwanda, Sri- Lanka, Northern Uganda, Afghanistan, etc it has been noted that the longer conflicts continue the more likely that children will be exploited as soldiers. The more adults are wounded, killed or captured the more youngsters become the inevitable recruiting pools and whenever children are exploited the whole society is jeopardized. Taking a cue from the observation and in the face of the conflict situation that Manipur is in, the need of the hour hence, is to direct our thought process towards the impact of conflict on young children and what we can do to save our society though immediate solution for the conflict may not be or is not within the mandate of the society.

Everybody agrees and opines that children are the future pillars of the nation but this will be rendered a mere rhetoric if we do not make an effort to safeguard and protect them and ensure a conducive atmosphere for their physical and mental development. Hence, in the face of the ascending trend of children being trafficked for exploitation, the state, society and all stakeholders cannot afford to remain as mute spectators. It is imperative to look at the whole issue of welfare of children from the right perspective and specifically work out ways and means to check the abhorrent crime. In trying to analyze the causes and consequences of Child trafficking, the social, economic and cultural factors as well as civil and political contexts of the places and communities need to be considered. All the stakeholders need to put heads together and analyze why and how the trend has set in, what could be the factors both “pull ‘and “push” factors which may have played a role. The pull factors in connection with the episode of trafficking of children to other parts of the country maybe a demand for cheap labour, drive to extort maximum benefit or profit by using children from this part of the country who could be isolated from families, who could face communication problem and hence not try to complain or run away. For the recent incident of trafficking children for being recruited as child soldiers the pull factor maybe a decline in the number of human resources in the armed outfit/s owing to death of the cadres either in combat or otherwise, arrests and surrenders, desertions etc.

The push factors for the recent spurt in the incidences of child trafficking is definitely the call of the Government, the law enforcement agencies, NGOs and the whole society. Though political will, effort of the Government in terms of provision of health and educational care, legal safeguards are definitely in place for the welfare of children, poverty in certain cases, economic disparity, ineffective mechanisms for dissemination of beneficiary schemes specially at the grassroot level, lack of awareness, sometimes seer apathy of the people towards the problem etc can be accounted as elements contributing to the ascending degree of child trafficking. There are also a whole range of issues which are slowly eating into the vitals of our society. The craze of our children for toy guns maybe counted as a manifestation of their minds getting corrupted and drawn towards the gun culture. There is an alarming need to orient their thoughts towards other constructive issues as it may enhance their vulnerability to be easily trafficked when accosted by unscrupulous elements with the promise of handing them real guns. This is where intervention by the community as a whole is needed. As a mark of protest against violence and gun culture and to drive home the point that gun kills , is antithetical to peace and has an impact on the psyche of children there has been news of burning down of toy guns at Keinou and Thoubal. Several NGOs are also focusing on this issue and such efforts which is so relevant in today’s scenario maybe lauded and further encouraged. The threat posed by substance abuse or drug abuse to our children and the menace itself facilitating child trafficking can hardly be lost sight of. Once the young children gets chained in the addiction their reasoning power whatsoever little is weakened and makes them susceptible to be easily diverted on wrong paths. Traffickers can easily lure them by promising them the substance they are craving for. Here again the government,the law enforcers, NGOs and community have a responsibility to check the engulfing menace which has also been accounted for placing Manipur in the HIV/AIDS map of the world.

A healthy and good environment with necessary dietary and educational care is required for the healthy upbringing of a child. Though most part of the task of a good child upbringing rest with the family of the child, not all children are blessed to be nurtured under the protective care of their parents, to have all their needs provided, materially, financially, emotionally. There are numerous unfortunate lot who face adverse situations in life at their tender age due to poverty, broken family, loss of parents, lack of sustainable livelihoods etc. Though all these factors do not count as causes of child trafficking, these may be counted as factors which exacerbate the vulnerability of these groups of children to be easily trafficked. Identification of such vulnerable groups and families followed by implementation of programs and measures for improving their economic status so that reasonable alternatives are available to them could be a strategy, long term though to check the trafficking crime. The outreach may also include enhancing access to affordable quality education, awareness programs on the need for community participation in tackling the issue etc.

Another aspect is the law enforcement part. Stricter legislations with emphasis on prosecution for the traffickers and recruiters is to be given due importance and effectively enforced. Successful prosecution of child traffickers is the surest way to send a message that child trafficking will not be tolerated at all. Traffickers carry out their clandestine activity by means of deception, co-ercion or force. They can be caught at the instant they try to coax the young children or at the time of movement. In this regard stricter border control is also an essential element. Grass root surveillance at the community level can also thwart attempts by unscrupulous elements. Institution of a hotline which is active 27×7 and where public can dial to report any suspected cases of child trafficking is another step which has been mooted to keep round the clock vigil.

Victim assistance is another aspect which forms an integral part of the solution to the menace. Identifying victims of trafficking and developing suitable programs to provide individualized and supportive physical and psychological rehabilitation to them will go a long way in curbing the problem. Consideration of cadres or over-ground workers of armed outfits who are at their tender age at the time of their arrest as victims rather than culprits and dealing with them within the purview of Juvenile Justice Act along with sheltering them in juvenile homes or child welfare committees for proper rehabilitation may contribute in bringing about a holistic solution. Story of Deepa, 17 yrs(name changed) of Koirengei, a cadre of an underground outfit who surrendered to a paramilitary unit and who is undergoing rehabilitation through a child welfare committee is a testimony of the effort made by security agencies in this direction which should be acknowledged and lauded too.

Maybe it is because we attach a special emotion and endearing connect with children for their innocence and naive nature about the worldly affairs that we find the news of children being trafficked for forced labour, forced begging or recruitment as child soldiers offending our collective conscience, principles of human dignity and violating basic human rights. The heart rending episodes have shocked all of us and every section of the society irrespective of their affiliations have voiced their disgust.

Number of children have been rescued earlier. Four of the boys have also been found/ rescued recently. Whole Manipuri society is relieved and is rejoicing the re-union of the children with their families. There are still more parents wailing at the loss of their children hoping against hope that their children would be rescued and would join them soon. The people of Manipur have moved on with life ,moved on with time, frustrated with happenings, helpless at their mouths being gagged, cursing at times their own fate at the sordid state of affairs but in this mind boggling issue of targeting and trafficking the young ones, robbing them of their childhood bliss, of their fun and innocence and luring them into a path of which they are not sure of, the people of Manipur will be resilient no more, will be gagged no more, will be indifferent no more but go all out against it, hammer and tongs for, if we do not try to put an end to this our next generation will definitely question us for their crumbled tomorrow.

Moral responsibility and accountability- these two words maybe missing in the dictionary of the perpetrators and recruiters but we definitely do have a moral responsibility and accountability to shape our own society and every unit of it in the best possible way. Answerable they may not be to us for their ill intent of trying to /using the young children but they ought to be at least to the mothers of those children who are spending sleepless nights, wailing and just looking forward to their children returning home. The slogan for the moment is that their tender hands are definitely not meant for rigorous work enslaved in hazardous environment or playing with real guns.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/child-trafficking-in-manipur-a-perspective/

Manipur and The Development Demands: Media, knowledge and all that

  By Amar Yumnam T.S. Eliot once said: “What is actual is actual only for… more »

 

By Amar Yumnam
T.S. Eliot once said: “What is actual is actual only for one time. And only for one place.” Let us apply this to contemporary situation to our land. Manipur’s development challenge today is unique, and the development scenario cannot afford and will not remain the same. If we ever wish to see Manipur sustain as Manipur, things have to change and change massively. Here I would like to recall two recent analyses of economists working on African and Asian-Pacific issues. One issue relates to the role of media (read press in the context of Manipur), and the other to use of knowledge for development. It would be interesting to appreciate the dynamics on these two aspects in the case of Manipur too.

Media Research: Economists now emphasise the fundamental role of media in causing governance improvements and fighting the menace of corruption. In Africa as well as the rest of the world, studies have established that deepening of democratic norms does help the emergence of responsible media. Once the media has emerged in a democratic framework, the primary responsibility of the media to evolve as an effective social tool for moving forward is critical. They have to rise to the challenge and play the role expected of them. But this is easier said than done. It necessarily demands a committed team in the media working persistently for a positive change in the society they function. This point has been considered significant particularly because in societies of critical development challenges, there are many forces working to influence the media. The latter should be able to hold their ground under pressure. We need to examine how our press in Manipur has been in recent times.

Knowledge and Development: Knowledge is now being appreciated as a key input while endeavouring for development. A new dimension to this understanding has now been added by incorporating management aspects into the development designing, development interventions and development administration. For a decade or so, the invisible hand as the ultimate framework of development has swayed the economists by relegating the state to the background. Now this has been subjected to heavy revisions consequent upon the global meltdown. While not asking for return of the state in the development arena as in the past, it is now emphasised that regulation is needed for ensuring the desired outcomes.

Development intervention cannot just be left at that. Development interventions are to be managed in such a way the manifest outcomes tally with the desired goals. While the desired goals are the long term objectives, the manifest outcomes are the results of short period completion stages of development interventions. Now this management of development interventions is not an easy task. It has to be based on a deep understanding of the social context where the intervention is being put in place and robust analysis of the contextual pros and cons. This understanding and analysis have to be applied without being swayed by contemporary personal biases and selfish errors. We need to examine if this is a characteristic of Manipur as well.

Media in Manipur: Media in Manipur today are no longer the same as they were two decades back or so. They now show signs of vibrancy. But courage and objectivity are still question marks. As stated above, media for development have to relentlessly stress and fight for truth and objectivity. They should be performing the task of change for development protagonists. The forces of corruption and rogue elements forming pseudo social change workers have definitely emerged as strong negative agent in contemporary Manipur. They have been working hard to subject all the media, institutions, organisations and the state under their thumb. It is the primary onus of the media to rise to the occasion and resist the pressure from this front. But it is exactly here that I feel the contemporary media in Manipur find themselves weakest. Even supposedly widely circulated newspaper allows herself to be nothing more than a notice board where any Tom, Dick and Harry can post any. In the process, the media allow themselves to be used as a strong channel for character assassination of people without in any way endeavouring to indulge in the primary task of news confirmation and truth enquiry. This has made our media in Manipur fail to perform the task of a change agent for development.

Knowledge In Manipur: The fundamentality of knowledge is now a most widely emphasised element in development analysis anywhere in the world. The Asian Development Bank is a major institution in Asia to apply this element on a large scale in order to ensure sustainable development in this continent. Now this application of knowledge for management of development entails three things. First, it appreciates the problems and weaknesses (including biases, whims and prevailing errors) in any society. Secondly, the first understanding should never be used as opportunity for personal aggrandisement either by the knowledge agents or any social group or individuals. Third, while applying the knowledge to management of development (read projects) attention has to be given as to how far any short-term result dovetails or conflicts with the long term objective.

Here Manipur today suffers from three critical weaknesses. First, the endeavour to understand the social context and apply knowledge in the way to ensure development is minimal at best in so far as the development intervention is concerned. It is true both for the state agents and those working presumably on behalf of the state. Second, the forces of corruption and the rogue elements have joined hands in working for development. This definitely is a very wrong use of knowledge and a very contemporary error of social functioning in Manipur. Here we can imagine the recent emergence of contractors as architects in many executions of development projects. Third, the resultant outcome of development intervention naturally moves far away from the desired goals.

Upshot: In fine, I have tried to look at the prevailing atmosphere of development administration and development thinking in the context of Manipur from the angle of emerging lessons from countries in Asia and Africa. In order to give proper context and direction to the whole issue of development in Manipur, there is an imperative for the press in Manipur to rise to the occasion and move beyond the medium for character assassination by behaving as bill-boards. There is also a primary need to push the significance of knowledge for development in a way much more genuinely significant than the forces of rogue elements and corrupt forces.

 

Related articles

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-and-the-development-demands-media-knowledge-and-all-that/

Richard Loitam: An Alien In His Own Country?

By Arijit Sen On the afternoon of July 15, 2004, 12 women disrobed themselves and… more »

By Arijit Sen
On the afternoon of July 15, 2004, 12 women disrobed themselves and stood naked in front of the Indian paramilitary headquarters in Imphal. Together they held a single length of white cloth that had “Indian Army Rape Us” emblazoned on it in red paint. No corner of India had witnessed such a display of anger, ever. The Manipuri women were protesting the gangrape and murder of a 32-year old woman, by paramilitary forces. It was only after this protest by the ‘Imas’ or mothers of Manipur and the publication of photographs of their protest in some newspapers that the rest of the mainstream media woke up. Reporters were sent to Imphal. Stories were carried and awards won. Unfortunately, the principal demand of the protest, the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, fell on deaf ears. Manipur, again, dropped off the national mainstream news cycle. Ironically, in December 2008, the same group of 12 women travelled from Manipur and staged a sit-in protest in Delhi. The media did not find the protests newsworthy.

It is not without reason that Indians from the Northeast corner of the country often feel neglected and ignored. The apathy displayed towards the region by the so-called mainstream Indians is perverse, if not criminal. Currently, the death of 19-year old Richard Loitam and 21-year old Dana Sangma has hit the national headlines. There are protests, debates and efforts to bridge divides. Even then a large number of educated Indians display surprising ignorance. Some believe that the entire debate of ignorance of the Northeast is a myth. Some, still, do not think twice before cracking a joke on the region. In metropolitan India, the dominant image of the region still remains that of a wild frontier.

At Delhi, few months ago, an award winning Indian film critic was looking back with much love at a few days she spent in Nagaland. Or was it Manipur? She couldn’t exactly remember. But she was certain it was the Northeast. That was what mattered most. She seemed happy to have done her bit of exotic tourism. “But oh the roads and the time we spent to travel to “what was the name of the capital city” from Dimapur?, she asked me. “I could have reached Paris in that time”, she underlined. Global citizens have their way of drawing comparisons. I couldn’t fathom the Paris-Kohima trade off even if it was in half-jest. But our cine pandit’s bharat darshan kahaani let my mind go back to what an Ivy League-educated American economist had once asked me, “Tell me frankly, are there any cannibals in Northeast?” I thought there wasn’t much difference between these two entitled and illuminated global beings. Be it an elite Indian or an elite Westerner, for most, the idea of Manipur and that of the entire Northeast even in 2012, still remains that of an area of darkness. It’s an idea that comes with a healthy dose of colonial hangover. Gazeteer’s records hidden away at archives in London, the fountain head of civilisation, have ravingly racist descriptions of Northeast India. In the 19th Century, according to Lord Dalhousie, it was an area full of “pertinacious savages”. An idea not too far removed from what is thought about the region now. In 2008, an Indian television anchor reporting from Nagaland famously said that “the further I travel inside Nagaland, the further I move away from civilisation”. The foundations of the British Empire still appear unshaken in such statements.

The biggest instrument of such a civilisation, democracy and in turn elections, has established itself comfortably in Northeastern Indian states. When it comes to governance in a place like Manipur, for most observers and policymakers what remains of interest is the number of people who cast their votes in elections. In this democracy overdose, many also tend to ignore that Manipur was the first corner in South Asia that elected a government on adult franchise in 1948. That assembly was dismissed, the King of Manipur was put under house arrest in Shillong. A treaty of accession was signed in 1949 under direction of the then Home Minister of India Sardar Vallabbhai Patel of the Indian National Congress. Late Mr. Patel probably would be a happy man to find Manipur’s speedy rise in India’s electoral politics in the last sixty years. A newfound status of a C Category State (from being an Independent Kingdom that was making the transformation to democracy) in 1949 to 60 MLAs and at least 30 militant outfits in active resistance in 2012 the journey has been stupendous according to some, disastrous according to most. Not to forget the inescapable darkness of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act across the state.

When it comes to building bridges with the rest of India, one extreme suggestion is to overlook problems and talk about success stories. Ignore the insurgency chatter, ignore the problems and put the winners, the successful on the hoardings of Incredible India.  I met the incredible-then thrice world boxing champion MC Marykom at her home in Imphal in 2007. I clearly remember how she said that for many Manipuris sport remains the passport to a better life, or a job in the police or two meals a day in a training camp. Marykom’s story is one of incredible success against all odds. Yet, for her recognition has been incremental. Not a continuous one as is the case in cricket or tennis. It is almost to hide the embarrasments of racial hatred against people from Northeast India, an embrace of a Marykom seems imperative.

That embrace, however, fails to erase certain facts. The Ministry of Development of Northeast Region has released 138 billion rupees in the last ten years. However, the funds have either been misdirected or not used at all. According to the Human Development and Infrastructure Index mentioned in the Twelfth (2005-10) Finance Commission Report, the seven Northeastern states rank the lowest in infrastructure development.  Basic facilities like elecricity, water, roads are absent in most of Northeast. There are local militias calling the shots in various places and in many places the ideology of resistance has been replaced by the convenience of money-sharing arrangements between local militias and bureaucracy. The Justice Manisana Commission report (2008) on the misappropriation of funds in North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council mentions how funds meant for development work were chanelled to militants and some departmental officers in Assam received their due share. In 2012, an Austrian Company moved out of oil exploration work in Assam, after they were asked to pay 70 lakh rupees by a faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam.  There are at least 30 active militant groups in the region. The government is negotiating with at least 15. Every year, like a ritual, signing of ceasefire agreements and surrender ceremonies keep alive the lies and deception of peace building in Northeast India. Behind all changes in the region, this remains a constant.

What also remains constant despite all efforts is the attitude of the Indian bureacucracy towards the region. In 2007, an Indian Police Service official wrote a booklet for students from Northeast who come to study in Delhi. In “Security tips for Northeastern students” racial profiling was the underlining theme. It had instructions for women from the Northeast to avoid wearing revealing clothes and dress according to the sensitivity of the local population. “Avoid lonely roads/bylanes when dressed scantily”, it counselled, clearly implying that women from the Northeast display too much skin. It also objected to Northeastern food habits, especially the cooking of akhuni and bamboo shoots, saying “smelly dishes should be prepared without creating ruckus in the neighbourhood”. Ironically, the booklet was written by an IPS officer from the Northeast who considered these exhortations to be in the interest of ‘emotional and patriotic integration”.

Suddenly, when it comes to Northeast civil liberties seem to have been defenestrated. And in a free India integration seems to be taking place at gunpoint. This integration was probably never there and with the deaths of Richard and Dana seems to have gone horribly wrong. Take a look at the the profiling of Northeast India that takes place comes out in various ways. Jonathan Glancey of The Guardian mentions a report of the Indian media in his travelogue, Nagaland: A Journey to India’s Forgotten Frontier ( which too is guilty of making the area appear exotic), where someone suggests that the thriving monkey population of Delhi should be sent to Nagaland because, “the locals will have no problem dealing with monkeys; they will eat them”. This year in February during a dog menace in Punjab, the MLAs decided to write to the Nagaland government.  Then MLA Makhan Singh, a member of the Vidhan Sabha Committee wrote that “besides looking for a provision in law to kill stray dogs we are working out the possibility of sending the canines to Nagaland, where dogs are commonly sold for meat”

After the death of Richard Loitam and Dana Sangma and a campaign for justice for them, Indian Parliament discussed Northeast last week. Arun Jaitley and P Chidambaram spoke with much passion. They spoke of helpline numbers for the students.  They spoke about sensitizing the rest of India about the region. I am told most of Manipur could not catch them on TV. The region just gets one hour of electricity in a twenty four day.
Email: arijitsenmail@gmail.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/richard-loitam-an-alien-in-his-own-country/

`Who Else is the Beneficiary of CSD Liquor?`

  By Maj Gen Chander Nandwani (Veteran) Way back in 1995, I was posted as… more »

 

By Maj Gen Chander Nandwani (Veteran)
Way back in 1995, I was posted as Additional Director General of Supplies & Transport in Army Headquarters. Apart from my routine responsibilities, I was also given additional charge of managing Army Headquarters (AHQ) canteen, as its Chairman. It wasn’t much of a prized post, since a retired Colonel appointed as the Canteen Manager with around 50 to 60 civilian employees working under him, was essentially accountable, for the day-to-day functioning of the canteen.

Soon after taking over the additional responsibility, I decided to pay a visit to the AHQ canteen during the lunch hour break to get a ‘Feedback’ from the employees with regard to their working conditions as also motivate them to provide better service to the customers. After patiently listening to their woes and giving ‘on-the-spot’ decisions to improve their working conditions, I made a remark that while being posted at Delhi on three earlier occasions, I had never patronized AHQ canteen, as more often than not, all the attractive consumer items including popular brands of liquor were seldom accessible to the customers. Therefore, my area of focus would be to strictly monitor the indenting and sale of such items. For this purpose, computers would be installed in the canteen and sale of liquor strictly regulated through issue of new cards after due verification of the cardholders. Further, the existing liquor cards in use would be discontinued straightaway and destroyed.

The next day, all hell was let loose against me. Big posters were pasted at every nook and corner of Sena Bhawan and South Block, making serious allegations against me. Radhe Shyam (name changed), a labourer and the union leader of AHQ Canteen civilian employees, having three buses and two flats in Delhi, threatened that there would be ‘Mass Joint Self Immolation’ by all employees at Jantar Mantar on the Republic Day (due after 10 days or so), if Maj Gen Chander Nandwani was not immediately removed from the post of Chairman of the canteen. News items on similar lines were also published in the reputed national dailies. The allegations made against me included taking of a big bribe for purchase new computers, favouring purchase of specific liquor brands, coercing women employees for sexual favours and so on. I was particularly tickled by the allegation of sexual favours and cheekily informed my wife that surely my standing in this regard was now far better than what she had imagined during past several years of our married life!!!

I was immediately summoned by the Quarter Master General (QMG), under whom the canteen functioned, and was asked to brief him on this sudden turn of events when everything was going on so smoothly before I took over the charge of the AHQ canteen. I requested for a couple of days time to make discreet enquiries. Before I could say ’Jack Robinson’, there was a note from the MOD signed by a Director level officer asking the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to comment on the allegations made against me and take all possible measures, including removing me from the post of Chairman, to avoid any embarrassment to the Govt., should the threat of ‘Mass Self-Immolation’ materialize, just prior to the Republic Day. What a joke! The matter did not end there. This note from MOD was followed by another note through which, a memorandum signed by 13 MPs and addressed to the Defence Minister, was also forwarded to the COAS, urging him to remove me from the post. This raised the hackles of the then COAS, late General BC Joshi. He called the QMG to his office and asked him to take the matter very seriously and put up a draft reply to both the notes of the MOD, for his approval. In the meanwhile an interim reply was sent to the MOD that the matter was being investigated.

My preliminary investigations revealed that a perfect nexus existed between the canteen civilian staff union leader Radhe Shyam, a few officials of MOD and a large number of politicians, to whom liquor was being supplied from AHQ canteen, on a regular basis. Of course the demand increased manifold during the time of elections. What intrigued me the most was the ‘modus operandi’ of smuggling out of such large quantities of liquor, with the Military Police and several other security agencies working in the highly sensitive areas of Army Headquarters and MOD. The actuality came to light when a disgruntled ex civilian employee of the canteen spilled the beans to me on promise of strict anonymity. I was shaken out of my bones when the truth came to light and immediately ran to the office of QMG to give him the details. He dis-believed me and decided to get the facts verified through a field security agency of the army and learnt to his horror that what I had disclosed to him was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Well this is how the system worked. The union leader had in his custody hundreds of old liquor cards of servicemen and/or ex-servicemen who had either left the station or had died. He drew choicest brands of liquor from the canteen in the names of these personnel and had simultaneously perfected a distribution system through which the liquor was delivered right at the doorsteps of the selected MOD officials and several politicians apart from other influential clients in the ministry. Surprisingly, right next to the AHQ canteen was the parking lot of VIP staff cars and some of these staff car drivers had been bought over by Radhe Shyam by giving them free bottles of rum and other lucrative canteen items such as expensive watches etc. During the lunch break when security was lax, these drivers would reverse their cars next to the canteen bulk store, wherefrom crates of liquor were loaded into the dickey of these staff cars. Radhe Shyam instructed these drivers to deliver the liquor crates at various locations after dropping the VIPs at their respective residences. Wow what an ingenuous idea! The irony of the matter is that the staff cars with the flags & star plates of Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals (including the QMG), without the knowledge of the occupants, were being illegitimately used by unscrupulous individuals for their unholy deeds. Sadly these very senior officers had unknowingly become couriers of liquor for the politicians. No wonder there was such a sharp reaction from all quarters, when I had only hinted at introducing computers to check the sale of liquor from the AHQ canteen!

The Chief on being informed of the facts of the case directed the QMG to give me full protection and total support to cleanse the system. I obtained legal advice from a leading civilian lawyer. He advised me to request for an enquiry against myself since I had taken over the post barely 10 days earlier and had nothing to hide. Thereafter, on my specific request on file, a court of inquiry was ordered by the QMG to investigate into the allegations made by Radhe Shyam, which were supported by the MOD and the MPs. The court of Inquiry proved these allegations to be false, baseless and malicious with the sole aim of having me removed from the post due to ulterior motives. To avoid several heads from rolling, the MOD and the MPs were politely told by the then COAS verbally that the matter had been thoroughly investigated by a high-powered court of Inquiry, which had opined that there was no truth in the allegations made by the union leader. Hence the matter was not being pursued further to save all concerned from grave embarrassment.

On directions of the QMG, the services of the union leader were terminated under my signatures and the whole system revamped with the introduction of computers, thus bringing to an end the sordid drama of “The Canteen Liquor Connection of MOD!”

My only regret still remains that the allegation of my so-called sexual exploits with women employees was also quashed in the bargain, thus proving the obvious!!!

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/who-else-is-the-beneficiary-of-csd-liquor/

Punish the murderers of Richard Loitam of Manipur

  By Jagdamba Mall “Bhaiya mat maaro” were perhaps the last words of Richard Loitam… more »

 

By Jagdamba Mall
“Bhaiya mat maaro” were perhaps the last words of Richard Loitam – a 19 year Meitei Hindu 1st year student of architecture at the Acharya NRV Institute of Architecture, Bangaluru on 17th April 2012 who came to Bangaluru with the dream of becoming an architect but died instead after being attacked by two of his seniors – Vishal Benerjee and Syed Afzal Ali – both from Jharkhand in his college hostel on that fateful day. The two seniors had attacked Richard Loitam following an argument over watching an IPL match in the college hostel.

As per the report gathered from the fellow students who were present at the time of brawl, Loitam’s head was forcibly pushed against the window rods of hall. His head and vulnerable and sensitive parts of his body bore marks of severe assaults with some blunt object and was bleeding profusely from mouth and nose. When the door of his room did not open next day i.e. 18th April 2012 till noon and he was not responding to any loud call, he was found dead when his door was break-opened. Richard Loitam was a cheerful and obedient son of his doctor parents in Imphal, Manipur. He was an avid footballer, a music lover, cordial, sincere and bright student.

Instead of showing a human sympathy to the innocent victim student and his wailing parents and family members, the police and management concocted the story of Loitam being a drug addict who met with an accident because of which his death occurred. Even on the lapse of 21 days of filing this report on 9th May 2012, the culprits – Vishal Benerjee and Syed Afjal Ali are still not arrested and are in the hostel under police protection. They are neither rusticated nor punished in any manner even though a case of murder has been lodged in the police station under section 302 and 306 of Cr.P.C. They are attending regular classes.

On hearing the news of death of Richard Loitam, the team of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) under the leadership of Ningombam Sanjeev Kumar – a resident of Imphal (Manipur) and a research scholar Ph.D. student in Management in Bangalore University who is a national executive member of ABVP, visited the place of incident, took the stock of situation, met the College Principal, warden and all other concerned faculty member and employees and submitted a memorandum to Principal expressing the anguish over the inaction of police and college authorities and instead spreading over the mischievous propaganda against the dead – Richard Loitam. ABVP organized protest rally and submitted a similar memorandum to Shri R. Ashok, Home Minister of Karnataka Government as well, but in vain.

Back home, the student bodies in Manipur and other States of North-East Region are continuously agitating demanding the justice from State Government of Karnataka and Union Government. The print and electronic media has given a large coverage to this incident. The agitators clearly say if the victim was from any other State out of North-East Zone and the culprits/murderers were from North-East Region, could the law enforcing agencies under the control of Karnataka Government and Union Government remain as inactive as they are in this case? Such step-motherly behavior of Delhi and Bangaluru adds to already existing segregation and disenchantments in the minds of people of NE Region. The anti-national forces most active in Manipur and other NE States add fuel to the fire. To extinguish the fire of discontent and discrimination, the concerned Governments of Karnataka and Delhi must act decisively to do justice to the victim and his parents to restore the confidence.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/punish-the-murderers-of-richard-loitam-of-manipur/

Not at home at home

By Pradip Phanjoubam (A slightly modified version of this article appeared in the opinion column… more »

By Pradip Phanjoubam
(A slightly modified version of this article appeared in the opinion column of the Crest edition of The Times of India on Saturday, May 12.)

The suicide by 21 year old management student, Dana M Sangma from Meghalaya at Amity University, Punchgaon campus, Gurgaon, on April 24, close on the heels of the violent death of 19 year old architecture student Richard Loitam from Manipur at Acharya NRV School of Architecture, Bangalore, on April 18 have once again brought to the fore the vexed question whether the Northeast has emotionally integrated with the spirit of India, and more relevantly, whether the India that supposedly represents this spirit has accepted the Northeast.

Dana was apparently humiliated in the examination hall for allegedly cheating and Richard was beaten up by hostel mates for the frivolous reason of toggling TV channels during an IPL match.

That Dana turned out to be the niece of the chief minister of Meghalaya, Mukul Sangma, has made the case high profile, this notwithstanding, it is the spontaneous sense of widespread outrage amongst students from the Northeast studying and living outside the Northeast which should be a cause for concern. Probably dozens die in similar circumstance each year so why all the ado in these two cases?

Are people from the Northeast discriminated in the rest of India or is the Northeast being overly sensitive? Probably it is both, each feeding on the other, perpetuating the ugly cycle. The discrimination would not necessarily be overt. It would be more about a cultural milieu which nurtured the popular image of the Indian in which the ethnic profile of the Northeast is an uneasy fit.

For most Northeasterners, the existential question, “who am I?” has had to be renegotiated the day he stepped across the Siliguri corridor or Chicken’s Neck as it is also popularly known, the narrow strip of land wedged between Bangladesh and Bhutan, which connects the Northeast to sub-continental India.

Manipur’s case, though understandably peculiar to itself in many ways, should be illustrative of this alienation. For many middleclass young men and women here, especially among the Hindu Meiteis who have grown up in surroundings of devout Vaishnav culture, with the unwritten will of elders wanting their cremation ashes to be immersed in the holy waters of the Ganga or in the sea at Jaganath Puri, the question “who am I” begins to be troubling normally at college age, which is about the time their parents send them away from for higher studies in better political and academic climes of other Indian states. Till then, most would have had no real problem in believing themselves to be Indians without even the need to reflect on what it means to be Indian.

They would hence cheer for the Indian hockey and football teams without reservation. Cricket is still a little alien, although its fan following is now growing. They celebrate Holi and Durga Puja and other Hindu festivals, and thus share a sense of loose community with Hindu India. Their sense of a letdown when they discover there is more to the Indian identity than they believed it was is often acute. Many end up embittered.

For many Northeast Christian communities, the sense of affiliation to the idea of India is a substantially different equation, for India although politically secular, culturally is still predominantly the land of the Hindus. A good majority of the Nagas in Nagaland, for instance would even today say they are not Indians. But there is a finer distinction here. The “Indian” that the Naga say he is not, is an imagined ethnic category and not always a citizenship status. So when the average Naga says he is not Indian, he generally means he is not the non-Mongoloid, generally darker skinned plainsman that he considers is the ethnic profile of an Indian.

Is the North Easterner an Indian then? On the face of it, yes. He is a citizen of India. He fulfils all the obligations of being an Indian citizen and in turn enjoys all of the Republic’s guarantees, although with some terrible hiccups like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. But the trouble is, being an Indian does not end here. It begins at this point. Quite to the contrary of what the constitution defines, “Indianness” is often intuitively projected as a primordial state of belonging to a unique cultural phenomenon. Anybody therefore can become an Indian citizen but not an Indian. He has to be born one. The trouble is, a good part of the Northeast is outside this cultural phenomenon. This also explains why overseas travellers from the Northeast are often called upon to qualify their claims of being Indians every time they hold out their Indian passports.

To invoke Benedict Anderson, between the reality of the Indian State and the “imagining” that gives it its National character, still falls a shadow. It is a cruel vindication of Anderson again that Richard was assaulted for disrespecting cricket, a widely shared ritual of this “imagined community”.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/not-at-home-at-home/

Manipur: Post-Assembly Elections 2012

By: Shristi Pukhrem** Elections to Manipur’s 10th Legislative Assembly were conducted, in January-February 2012. The… more »

By: Shristi Pukhrem**

Elections to Manipur’s 10th Legislative Assembly were conducted, in January-February 2012. The Indian National Congress [INC] swept the polls and sealed an absolute majority (42 seats out of 60) in the House. The outcome was applauded by the regional and national media as a hat-trick, performed by Mr Okram Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister.

Manipur Map as seen on Google Maps

Manipur as seen on Google Maps

In fact, the results in Manipur came as a surprise, given that the law and order situation was precarious and was marked with uncertainty, frequent bomb-blasts and fierce encounters, necessitating the deployment of additional companies of paramilitary forces. In the wake of the precarious security scenario in Manipur and erratic functioning of the government, the media had, earlier, on a few occasions, described Manipur as a failed state under the same ruling party (INC). To make matters more difficult for the Ibobi Singh government, and his party, various underground militants groups unified against the INC by forming what is known as the Coordination-Committee (Cor-Com) –– an amalgam of seven valley-based militant groups. The elections were marked by numerous bomb-attacks targeting INC candidates and workers. The elections were, thus, conducted under the shadow of a high degree of violence perpetrated by the militant groups. In spite of this, the people of Manipur bravely exercised their franchise and voted the INC to power.

In the backdrop of the recent developments, it might be useful to consider what the elections in Manipur implied. First, regardless of the increased deployment of security forces during the elections, and thereafter, the security scenario in Manipur was volatile (and continues to remain so). For instance, several poll-related violent incidents were reported both in the Valley and Hill districts, including booth capturing at Mao Fudung village and Tadubi in Senapati district; dismantlement of electronic voting machines at Saluk and Unapat polling stations in Chandel and Ukhrul districts; and the death of seven people, including three polling officials, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, a girl and a suspected National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isak Muivah [NSCN (IM)] member in a crossfire at 41/40 Tampi polling station, under Chakpikarong Police Station limits, Chandel district.

Second, the 80 per cent voter turnout clearly mirrored the faith of the masses in democratic governance and the hope for improvement, even though the state was taken hostage by the militant groups that imposed economic blockade on National Highway No. 2 (erstwhile NH-39) for almost 100 days.

Third, it persuades one to suggest that the militants have lost their influence over the masses, which ought to have, otherwise, been under their direct influence, either because of ideological brainwashing or mortal threats. This became very clear when the people elected INC candidates despite numerous threats issued by the Cor-com warning the people not to support/ vote for the Congress candidates.

Fourth, the election also led to the emergence of a new political entity, which is suspected by the Valley people as inimical to the state’s interests. The Naga People’s Front (NPF) won four seats in the Naga dominated areas of the state. The NPF is seen by the Valley people as thriving chiefly because it espouses the Nagas’ demand for Nagalim. It is generally perceived as a potential challenge to the territorial integrity of the state as the proposed Nagalim includes four districts of Manipur, viz. Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Chandel.

The continuing precarious security environment in Manipur has taken a toll on the economy of, and development in, Manipur. The finances of Manipur, like the other states of the North East region, are catered for through 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan from the Central Government. Even as the state is faced with an acute financial crunch, there has been a lack of industrial development and entrepreneurship. Only a few infrastructure projects are being undertaken, but these have, thus far, met with limited success. Besides, poverty in the state has increased in the last few years. According to the 2011 Census figures, the state has a population of 12.5 lakh below the poverty line (BPL); the population of Manipur is 27.21 lakh. Thus, poverty in Manipur is the highest in the northeast region with 45.93 per cent people falling under the BPL category.

Even as the overall situation in Manipur presents a rather depressing picture, the people have not given up hope. They earnestly aspire that the Central and State governments would resolve various issues that have been plaguing the state. Of course, there are some doubts in the minds of the people, which nudge them to wonder if there would be a drastic change in the state of affairs, all the more because the same political party has strode to power for a third consecutive term.

But, it is with the hope of a better future that the people voted the INC back to power. The Ibobi dispensation would do well to understand that the people have reiterated their faith in democracy and have cold shouldered the militants, if not politely shown them the door. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the INC government to take advantage of the situation and not let down the people of Manipur. It has to rise up to the occasion and fulfil their aspirations. It cannot afford to squander the opportunity afforded to it by the people.

** Article was orginally published on April 16, 2012

**Originally published by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (www.idsa.in) at [http://idsa.in/idsacomments/ManipurPostAssemblyElections2012_ShrishtiPukhrem_160412]

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-post-assembly-elections-2012/

The Culture of ‘Bandhs’ and the Absence of Local Governance in the Northeast

Namrata Goswami In common parlance and academic literature, good governance is the prime indicator of… more »

Namrata Goswami

In common parlance and academic literature, good governance is the prime indicator of the success of a state. While many would argue that India’s experience with governance after independence is mostly unique based on a delicate interplay between a modern state and a traditional society, it is also equally true that governance in India depends to a large extent on individual rationality, which is “bounded by the local context and embedded values, based on the perception of sanctions, welfare and identity as well as general trust.” Thereby, the level of governance in a state is conditional on its ability to transform citizens into stakeholders in the process of governance itself. This in turn is co-related to the pay-off structures in which abiding by the rules is viewed by citizens as offering an incentive structure for a better living.

The most important indicators of good governance are institutions based on rules, absence of disorder, riots, murders, unwarranted state closures, and violence of any nature. As far as we can see, the Indian state since independence has been committed to individual rights based on the constitution, and no one group or community has the right to deter the free movement and entrepreneurial aspirations of another.

In stark contrast to this optimal understanding of governance in the Indian context, the culture of ‘bandhs’ (state closure) paramount in the Northeastern states like Assam, Manipur and Nagaland goes against the notion of individual rights, is a stigma on the effectiveness of local governance structures, and is unconstitutional to say the least. For instance, Manipur suffered from ‘bandhs’ almost every day during the two month-siege of the state by Naga groups earlier this year as a protest against Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the NSCN (IM), being refused entry by Manipur to his native village due to security concerns. When the author was in Manipur in August 2008, there were nearly 19 bandhs in that month alone due to protests related to the doping controversy of Monika Devi, the weight-lifter from Manipur during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This resulted in all roads being closed, prices of basic commodities tripling, and a loss to the local economy in crores. While the ‘bandhs’ were underway, called either by armed groups like the United National Liberation Front of Manipur (UNLF) or the Manipur Civil Society organizations, the state functionaries including the Secretariat merrily closed down as well without any accountability whatsoever. For local government officials, it was just one more holiday added to their list of holidays in the official calendar for which nothing is deducted from their monthly pay. So, state government employees might be absent for nineteen days of the month including Sundays and other holidays and effectively work for less than 10 days a month and yet get their full monthly salaries.

This ‘bandh’ culture, while coming down drastically in states like Mizoram and Tripura with a pro-active public and responsive state governments, is a disease in Assam and Nagaland. The call for ‘bandhs’ in Assam are issued by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the All Assam Students Union (AASU), or any other local group through local newspapers, and is strictly observed by the local people. ‘Bandhs’ in Assam have a rippling effect all over the Northeast as most basic commodities like rice, pulses, medicines, vegetables, poultry, etc., reach the other states via Assam either by road or by rail. In Nagaland, ‘bandhs’ are called by either the NSCN (IM) or the National Socialist Council of Nagaland led by S S Khaplang [NSCN (K)] and is followed by the local people for fear of being killed, despite great hardship caused by multiple ‘bandhs’ in a month.

While the fear of the locals to abide by the diktat of the armed groups is understandable, what is perhaps not acceptable is the adherence to these ‘bandhs’ by the local state authorities. The very fact that state governments cannot negate this ‘bandh’ culture, and are unwilling to ensure that common people are secure during the ‘bandhs’ even if they defy it, smacks of the lack of legitimacy and democratic grounding of these governments. It is also an abysmal state of affairs when armed insurgent groups like the ULFA or the NSCN (IM) with a membership of 1000 to 5000, respectively, can hold the entire population of a state amounting to millions hostage by just issuing the call for a ‘bandh’. This culture of ‘bandhs’ has resulted in crores of rupees in losses for the local economies, especially the private sector. The most affected are of course the daily wage workers, who are dependent on day-to-day earning to feed their families.

Governance in the Indian context is dependent on “the ability of the modern institutions to accommodate embedded values, undertake strategic reform and maintain the difficult balance between force and persuasion in the management of law and order,” as argued by Subrata K. Mitra in his book The Puzzle of India’s Governance (2006). It requires not only effective party systems, but also a federalism that works well for the common man. The ‘bandh’ culture in states like Assam, Manipur and Nagaland are not only a negation of individual rights but goes against the strategic choices of many, thereby throttling citizens’ initiatives. The most adversely affected from the ‘bandhs’ are the common people in these three states, while the local state governments absolve themselves of any responsibility to counter this culture, when they should ideally have been at the forefront punishing those who disturb public order. (It is important to note that ‘law and order’ is a state subject in India and hence states in India are obligated to maintain a secure environment based on the ‘rule of law’ for their citizens).

The time has therefore come for citizens of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland to stand up against the negative culture of ‘bandhs’ issued by armed groups who invariably represent only themselves, and hold their state governments accountable for poor governance, in order to enable their future generations to have a progressive and peaceful life.

** Article was orginally published on November 25, 2010

**Originally published by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (www.idsa.in) at [http://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheCultureofBandhsandtheAbsenceofLocalGovernanceintheNortheast_ngoswami_251110]

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/the-culture-of-%E2%80%98bandhs%E2%80%99-and-the-absence-of-local-governance-in-the-northeast/

The Conscription of Children as Ultras in Manipur

Gautam Sen* May 4, 2012 Of late, G. Gaikhangam, the Home Minister of Manipur, has… more »

Gautam Sen*

May 4, 2012

Of late, G. Gaikhangam, the Home Minister of Manipur, has been speaking to the media on the situation of minors below 18 years of age being forced to join the militant outfits in his state. He has been pointing to the increasing instances of kidnapping for conscription, making the case for reversing the situation, and highlighting the action taken by the Ibobi Singh Government in putting all police stations on red alert, etc. This phenomenon of the extremist militant outfits, particularly the Meitei groups, kidnapping Manipuri children and grooming them as their cadres, is not a new phenomenon. However, the situation seems to be gradually worsening.

The forcible recruitment of children, nurturing them during custody, and when in custody, looking after their day-to-day needs of food, clothing and shelter and gradually indoctrinating them to the operating philosophy of the militant outfits, has been evident for over nearly a decade, if not more. This indicates the inability of the state machinery to provide educational facilities and employment opportunities for the youth as well as the abject failure of successive state governments to provide a milieu in which normal life can be led by the citizens. To an extent, the trend also shows that the political parties working within the state have virtually no concern or space for the minors, and even indicates the acquiescence of the local civil society to the decline in social and family bonds, parental responsibilities and control of adults over their children.

This is an unenviable situation. On the one hand, the state does not act decisively against the militants who are destroying the very fabric of family life and the future of the local children. And, on the other, the people at large are either so terrified by the militants and also demoralised by the ineffectiveness of the state machinery that they see no alternative but to submit to the deteriorating situation and cannot organise themselves to reverse the phenomenon.

The militants have been resorting to this method of recruitment owing to the apparent difficulty in maintaining their cadres from grown-up youngsters or middle-aged people. Furthermore, the advantage of having minors who are less expensive to maintain than adults in the age range of 20 to 30 years, and accept the ideology or norms of insurgency by virtue of having impressionable minds, have not been lost sight of by the militants. However, some of the child recruits did get disenchanted while in captivity-cum-controlled environment within the outfits. In small groups, when they organised themselves and tried to break away from captivity and return to their families, exemplary punishment by way of death by shooting them before their compatriots, was resorted to, to instil fear in their minds. It was out of sheer necessity of circumstances and also, consequent on their reappraised methods of functioning wherein, well-knit versatile small groups of militant youngsters operating in a spirit of camaraderie on a long-term basis were deemed more cost-effective and optimum, that the militants embarked on recruiting their child cadres and managed to retain them under their control.

For over a decade, Manipur has been on the downslide in every respect, be it in administrative functioning, policing or financial management. Governance has been on the decline. The political leadership, particularly of the dominant parties led by the Congress, and except perhaps the Communist Party of India led by Dr. Nara Singh, have been accused of lack of probity. Sagacious intercession in the matters of the state by the Manipur Governor, Gurbachan Jagat, has also been minimal. In this backdrop, the serious long-term implications of the forcible recruitment of children or minors do not seem to have been duly considered by the governmental authorities despite periodic public protests. There have been outcries from the affected parents but the state government has only paid lip service to the issue; it has been virtually unresponsive in the matter of taking effective coercive action against the hard-core militant groups. As a result, the common people are in a state of helplessness.

The state of all-pervasive corruption prevailing in Manipur needs to be counteracted in order to bring about a turnaround in the situation. The condition of joblessness among the youth cannot but demotivate the youngsters. Therefore, instances of minors being lured away by the militant outfits with promises of money and mobiles are not uncommon. Only attractive alternatives can wean away the children from the enticements offered by the militant outfits. An approach which is community or locality based could be an alternative, involving the families at least in the Imphal Valley districts. The principals, headmasters and teachers of schools must be required to be associated with the parents of the child students not only in the matter of education but also in the beyond-the-school-hours activities of the students, and promote vocational and youth activities that empower the latter and enable them to achieve gainful employment. The Government of India may perform a catalytic role to activate such community-cum-family based endeavours with particular emphasis on sports-related and youth activities—areas in which the Manipuris naturally tend to excel—inter-alia by promoting tie-ups with youth organisations in other states. This is because the state government machinery has proved to be totally incapable of performing any positive role in this regard owing to all-pervasive corruption abetted by the governing politicians in connivance with the contractors and suppliers with a behind-the scene nexus with the large group of militant outfits.

If action to counter the child conscription phenomenon is further delayed, a generational schism may develop in Meitei society, reinforcing the militancy, anarchism and mafia-like activities presently prevalent in Manipur, thus making it more ungovernable. This would be a sad outcome to a princely state which merged with the Indian Union on 21 September 1949 with a functioning Constitution of its own and concomitant institutions and polity in place, as against the Union of India which was just about to inaugurate its Constitution after independence from the British.

*Gautam Sen served as Financial Adviser of North Eastern Council with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

**Originally published by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (www.idsa.in) at [http://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheConscriptionofChildrenasUltrasinManipur_gsen_040512]

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/the-conscription-of-children-as-ultras-in-manipur/

The Conscription of Children as Ultras in Manipur

Gautam Sen* May 4, 2012 Of late, G. Gaikhangam, the Home Minister of Manipur, has… more »

Gautam Sen*

May 4, 2012

Of late, G. Gaikhangam, the Home Minister of Manipur, has been speaking to the media on the situation of minors below 18 years of age being forced to join the militant outfits in his state. He has been pointing to the increasing instances of kidnapping for conscription, making the case for reversing the situation, and highlighting the action taken by the Ibobi Singh Government in putting all police stations on red alert, etc. This phenomenon of the extremist militant outfits, particularly the Meitei groups, kidnapping Manipuri children and grooming them as their cadres, is not a new phenomenon. However, the situation seems to be gradually worsening.

The forcible recruitment of children, nurturing them during custody, and when in custody, looking after their day-to-day needs of food, clothing and shelter and gradually indoctrinating them to the operating philosophy of the militant outfits, has been evident for over nearly a decade, if not more. This indicates the inability of the state machinery to provide educational facilities and employment opportunities for the youth as well as the abject failure of successive state governments to provide a milieu in which normal life can be led by the citizens. To an extent, the trend also shows that the political parties working within the state have virtually no concern or space for the minors, and even indicates the acquiescence of the local civil society to the decline in social and family bonds, parental responsibilities and control of adults over their children.

This is an unenviable situation. On the one hand, the state does not act decisively against the militants who are destroying the very fabric of family life and the future of the local children. And, on the other, the people at large are either so terrified by the militants and also demoralised by the ineffectiveness of the state machinery that they see no alternative but to submit to the deteriorating situation and cannot organise themselves to reverse the phenomenon.

The militants have been resorting to this method of recruitment owing to the apparent difficulty in maintaining their cadres from grown-up youngsters or middle-aged people. Furthermore, the advantage of having minors who are less expensive to maintain than adults in the age range of 20 to 30 years, and accept the ideology or norms of insurgency by virtue of having impressionable minds, have not been lost sight of by the militants. However, some of the child recruits did get disenchanted while in captivity-cum-controlled environment within the outfits. In small groups, when they organised themselves and tried to break away from captivity and return to their families, exemplary punishment by way of death by shooting them before their compatriots, was resorted to, to instil fear in their minds. It was out of sheer necessity of circumstances and also, consequent on their reappraised methods of functioning wherein, well-knit versatile small groups of militant youngsters operating in a spirit of camaraderie on a long-term basis were deemed more cost-effective and optimum, that the militants embarked on recruiting their child cadres and managed to retain them under their control.

For over a decade, Manipur has been on the downslide in every respect, be it in administrative functioning, policing or financial management. Governance has been on the decline. The political leadership, particularly of the dominant parties led by the Congress, and except perhaps the Communist Party of India led by Dr. Nara Singh, have been accused of lack of probity. Sagacious intercession in the matters of the state by the Manipur Governor, Gurbachan Jagat, has also been minimal. In this backdrop, the serious long-term implications of the forcible recruitment of children or minors do not seem to have been duly considered by the governmental authorities despite periodic public protests. There have been outcries from the affected parents but the state government has only paid lip service to the issue; it has been virtually unresponsive in the matter of taking effective coercive action against the hard-core militant groups. As a result, the common people are in a state of helplessness.

The state of all-pervasive corruption prevailing in Manipur needs to be counteracted in order to bring about a turnaround in the situation. The condition of joblessness among the youth cannot but demotivate the youngsters. Therefore, instances of minors being lured away by the militant outfits with promises of money and mobiles are not uncommon. Only attractive alternatives can wean away the children from the enticements offered by the militant outfits. An approach which is community or locality based could be an alternative, involving the families at least in the Imphal Valley districts. The principals, headmasters and teachers of schools must be required to be associated with the parents of the child students not only in the matter of education but also in the beyond-the-school-hours activities of the students, and promote vocational and youth activities that empower the latter and enable them to achieve gainful employment. The Government of India may perform a catalytic role to activate such community-cum-family based endeavours with particular emphasis on sports-related and youth activities—areas in which the Manipuris naturally tend to excel—inter-alia by promoting tie-ups with youth organisations in other states. This is because the state government machinery has proved to be totally incapable of performing any positive role in this regard owing to all-pervasive corruption abetted by the governing politicians in connivance with the contractors and suppliers with a behind-the scene nexus with the large group of militant outfits.

If action to counter the child conscription phenomenon is further delayed, a generational schism may develop in Meitei society, reinforcing the militancy, anarchism and mafia-like activities presently prevalent in Manipur, thus making it more ungovernable. This would be a sad outcome to a princely state which merged with the Indian Union on 21 September 1949 with a functioning Constitution of its own and concomitant institutions and polity in place, as against the Union of India which was just about to inaugurate its Constitution after independence from the British.

*Gautam Sen served as Financial Adviser of North Eastern Council with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

**Originally published by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (www.idsa.in) at [http://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheConscriptionofChildrenasUltrasinManipur_gsen_040512]

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/the-conscription-of-children-as-ultras-in-manipur/

Study on North East India expose glaring knowledge gap – Northeast India Image Managers

By: Northeast India Image Managers (NEIim) 87% working professionals can’t name all the states of… more »

By: Northeast India Image Managers (NEIim)

  • 87% working professionals can’t name all the states of North East India
  • 93% of the respondents wish to know more about NE India

In a first of its kind survey about the perception of North East India amongst the people in rest of the country conducted by the North East India Image Managers (NEIim), a voluntary group of communication professionals, it was found that as high as 52% of the respondents have a negative perception about this region of India. Their immediate recall of ‘North East India’ is that of “a region riddled with insurgency and most unsafe place in the country” or “most underdeveloped region with hardly any modern infrastructure and poor connectivity with the rest of the country” or “people with mongoloid features and weird food habit and an alien culture”.

 

Key Highlights

  • 52% respondents have a highly negative perception about North East India

  • 76% have no idea about any peace talks going on between govt. and any militant group of NE

  • 91% have no knowledge about Northeast Industrial Policy

  • 70% respondents won’t believe it if one states the fact that 3 of NE states have higher PCI than national average

  • 30% of professionals will never go and work in NE even if that best suits their career interest

  • 75% respondents don’t know that the current UPA govt. has ministers hailing from Northeast

  • 42.7% advocates changes in the educational curriculum to provide more information about NE

  • 56.3% wants government to run mass awareness drive nationwide to educate people on NE

Another shocking revelation of the study is that 87% of the respondents could not name all the states of North East India. As many as 76% of the respondents had no idea about any peace talks that may be going on between any insurgent groups of North East India and Union Government of India. The findings of the survey indicate that due to the negative imagery that people have about the region even if they are given the best of the job offer and it suits their career interests best 30% of them will never go and work in Northeast while 52% are not sure if it’s a good idea to go and work there. Even if 71% of the respondents agree that the place is full of natural beauty, as many as 30% of them may not go on a vacation to Northeast. “This testifies the fact that the picture has not really changed over the years. The stories of progress and peace from Northeast have not reached the people in the rest of the country yet.” said NEIIM.

While 70% of the respondents can’t believe the fact that three North East Indian states have per capita income more than India’s national per capita income, as high as 91% did not know anything about Central Government’s Northeast Industrial Policy which gives special incentives for investments made in the region. 75% of the respondents don’t know whether the current UPA government has any minister representing any constituency of North East India. 56% of the respondents don’t know that there is an IIT, are Central Universities and a IIM in Northeast. NEIIM said, “This speaks about the failure of the governments – both at centre as well as in the states to actually create awareness in the country. There is definite need to create communication programmes which break the myths about the region create a positive mindset among common people.”

 

The study, interim findings of which were released by NEIiM today, goes on to probe as how such a hiatus of knowledge was created and how to bridge it, 56.3% respondents said that the government should run special awareness campaigns using various media tools at national level to educate people about North East India. A sizeable 42.7% also advocated for changes in the curriculum in schools and colleges so that the children may know more about north east India.

 

Releasing the interim findings of the survey, NEIiM said about the methodology of the survey, “We identified the target audience very selectively and we specifically targeted people who are from media, communication, advertising, public relations, human resources, finance and marketing and whose media consumption is considerably higher than any average person. We did an online survey using special online survey tools for most of our respondents and while for the rest traditional offline medium was used. In total, data from over 400 working professionals based in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and not hailing from Northeastern part of the country were captured during the course of the survey. These people work in the communication and service industry and keep a close tab on daily updates in the country. Now, post the results, we were astonished by the fact that if the majority of our respondents did not know about North East region of India, how any common can man of India would know about them.”

 

When the study further probed as to why they failed to have much information on North East India, a startling 61% said that they do not see much of north east India on national media. The perceived notion that people from north east India don’t mingle with others stand challenged as 51.6% of the respondents said that they started knowing whatever little about the culture and people of north east from their interaction with colleagues or friends from North East India. Almost 61% also believed that North East India provides a good platform for multi national and national corporations to invest. A whopping 89.7 % confirmed that the Union government should give special attention to North East India than what is being given now.

 

What is heart warming and interesting is that 93% of the respondents expressed that their desire to know more about Northeast India. 56% of the respondents feel that Government should run special awareness campaigns using various media vehicles at national level to educate people about Northeast while 43% suggest that school/college curriculum should include more information pertaining to history, geography, culture and economy of Northeast India.

70% of the respondents can’t believe the fact that three North East Indian states have per capita income more than India’s national per capita income

The report throws up shocking revelations of lack of knowledge about a particular region and also a desire to learn and understand. The North East India Image Managers (NEIim) is working on the final draft of the report based on the findings which will also incorporate suggestions on facing the current situation which will be submitted to Ministry of Development of North Eastern region (DONER) as well as other important and concerned authorities for further action.

 

About NEIim:          Northeast India Image Managers (NEIim) (facebookgroup) is a group of PR/ Media / Brand Management/ Communications professionals hailing from Northeastern region of India and working in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore etc. The group is aimed at discussing and finding out actionable issues pertaining to development and promotion of the image of Northeast India, which in the long run is expected to fill up the information and knowledge gap which has been existing leading to confusion about the people, society, economy and geography of Northeast amongst the rest of India.

For further details, please contact:

Abhijit Borah/ Tituraj Kashyap

+91 9654080123/+91 9871918187

neiim.delhi{at}gmail{dot}com

*This survey report is sent to KanglaOnline by Northeast Image Managers Delhi

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/study-on-north-east-india-expose-glaring-knowledge-gap-northeast-india-image-managers/