Daijiworld.com | Google News RSS Feed Sarkar, the author of “Mothers of Manipur”, said “a… more »
Daijiworld.com | Google News RSS Feed
Sarkar, the author of “Mothers of Manipur”, said “a powerful new language of poetry was emerging from the extreme edge of the country like Manipurand Kashmir to talk about the troubled times in the state”. “A poem is not a bullet but a nuclear bomb.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/odes-to-turbulent-times-from-indias-bhasa-poets-daijiworld-com/
Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) Application are invited for the following Group-C posts… more »
Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS)
How to Apply : Completed applications should be sent to the Deputy Establishment Officer (R-II), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai-400 085 so as to reach not later than 15/06/2012
complete details http://www.barc.gov.in/recruitment/vacancy111.pdf
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/group-c-jobs-in-barc-may-2012/
Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) Application are invited for the following Group-C posts… more »
Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS)
How to Apply : Completed applications should be sent to the Deputy Establishment Officer (R-II), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai-400 085 so as to reach not later than 15/06/2012
complete details http://www.barc.gov.in/recruitment/vacancy111.pdf
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/group-c-jobs-in-barc-may-2012/
News from isikkim by Google RSS Feed An 18-year old student was allegedly stabbed to… more »
News from isikkim by Google RSS Feed
An 18-year old student was allegedly stabbed to death by an unknown person when the victim did not give him a lighter in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, official reports said today. Jacob, a local school student, was stabbed when the assailant could …
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-student-killed-for-not-giving-lighter/
Business Standard| Google News Rss Feed PTI / Imphal May 21, 2012, 14:05 The… more »
Business Standard| Google News Rss Feed
PTI / Imphal May 21, 2012, 14:05 The Manipur government wants a CBI probe into the death of a student from the state in Bangalore as there has been no conclusive finding so far, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh said. “We have been insisting upon the Centre …
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-wants-cbi-inquiry-into-death-of-student-in-bangalore-business-standard/
By Amar Yumnam We had reacted earlier that the faces in the new cabinet in… more »
By Amar Yumnam
We had reacted earlier that the faces in the new cabinet in the government after the elections in last February do arouse greater expectation, goodwill and trustworthiness in the resultant governance that would arise. This seems to have been proved right. While three young ministers have now attracted large public attention in the positive sense in a State long used to negative synergies of development administration, I would take up two areas of two of them as massively significant in the light of emerging international, national and regional development scenarios.
Highways and Education: I would consider the recent interest, enthusiasm and pronouncements in connection with the road infrastructure and the education sectors by the concerned Ministers as timely, imperative and consequential if taken to their logical conclusions. We have had government after government and ipso facto Minister after Minister in Manipur who were looking after the problems surrounding these two sectors. The land and her people have also experienced the quality of governance or rather the lack of it, and have also borne heavy costs because of it. We have never had during the last two decades or so a kind of sustained governance commitment to improving these two sectors. Any response to any problem in these two areas by the government has been at best cyclical or knee-jerk so far, but the two new Ministers do give a kind of fresh air. It is exactly here that the present two decision-leaders in these two sectors seem to be aiming for bringing about a kind of structural approach to the issues involved rather than being just cyclical; this is exactly the need of the hour as well.
It is now established that inequality is rising in India. It has risen in Manipur as well. The time is now for us to move beyond the utilitarian concept of just per capita income to a more ethical dimension of opportunities. This is urgent and important. The emerging Asian development initiatives do demand of us to be fully prepared so that we too participate and reap benefits of the unfolding scenario. While the resultant inequality may have something to do with the efforts an individual puts in for survival, there is another aspect of opportunity and circumstances where an individual can hardly do anything about. It is in these two areas where the state should play an important role in order to provide an atmosphere of equal opportunities and circumstances. This is exactly where I find the two new faces in the ministry of Ibobi very appealing.
We often say that the people just maintain calm even after months of blockade in the national highways connecting Manipur with the rest of India. We do not realise that the main explanation for this is to be found in the general well-being of Manipur having disconnected with what happens on the highways. In other words, we have observed no sign of Manipur’s growth coupling the country’s growth trajectory. We also complain of the fact that the highways are subject to repeated blockades. Now the explanation for this phenomenon is to be found in two realities. First, the Imphal city has failed to serve as the centre of attraction for employment and other opportunities. This being the case, those settling on the national highways do not incur any tangible cost while imposing the blockades while a deep political point is made. Secondly, it also speaks of the absence of development policy encompassing the entire Manipur. The attention the blockades have drawn is because of the adverse impact it has had on the vocal and articulate sections of the population rather than the adverse effects on the general populace.
Now that the new Minister looking after road linkages has shown needed interest on the condition of the highways, he must now prove that he means business and is looking for structural changes rather than just cyclical enthusiasm. As stated above, Manipur does not yet have a kind of development perspective encompassing the total geographical space. Now that the highways are going to witness improvement and Asian Highways too are emerging, the Minister should apply his mind on how to evolve a kind of network which leaves no village untouched by modern transport facilities. The highways, national and international, would have meaning only when the people in every corner of the land have a stake in them directly or indirectly. When this is ensured, blockades in the highways would be a thing of the past and naturally at that. People would now be more involved in undertaking new productive activities.
The Minister for education too has shown commitment and enthusiasm for bringing about change in this sector. The challenge before him is larger and responsibility bigger than under any other minister. While he has put a time frame of six months, we would be happy if he could put some reforms in place within this period. It is a sector where reforms take time to take effect and bear fruit. But we are encouraged that the minister is talking of structural changes rather than just cyclical outpours. Education in Manipur is today characterised by some very disturbing features. First, we know that there is a large exodus of both students and funds for school and college education. Secondly, the remaining education sector functioning in the State is very expensive, involving a high public expenditure without any commensurate return in terms of service. Third, the first two features generally cause a kind of unexplained remorse, reinforced by the prevailing political-economic scenario, as exemplified by the huge problem of drug addiction. Fourth, the poverty of performance in this sector has also led to the collapse of the collective vision and ethical attitude among the population. In these circumstances, the sector is in urgent need of purge for removing the influence of rogue elements, governance lethargy for reforms in this sector and lack of application of mind of the responsible persons in this sector. We need to make the government the chief, core and effective functionary in this sector.
The Challenge: The two ministers have already aroused the imagination of the people and have given hope for the emergence of new governance in Manipur. We understand that there would certainly be resistance from the forces which have taken advantage of the prevailing scenario. This would arise both from within the government and from without. But Manipur’s future as a land where hope and facilities are equalised and prepared for joining the rise of Asia depends on what happens in the two sectors of education and infrastructure linkages today.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/new-wind-in-governance-from-cyclical-to-structural/
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.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/why-tibet-matters/
Manipuri woman alleges molestation, late FIR Times of India GURGAON: A 22-year-old woman from Manipur,… more »
Manipuri woman alleges molestation, late FIR
Times of India
GURGAON: A 22-year-old woman from Manipur, a victim of molestation and physical assault, has alleged that police were reluctant to file an FIR in the case and also let off the accused at first. She alleged that while the incident took place on Thursday …
Click for full details
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipuri-woman-alleges-molestation-late-fir-times-of-india/
Fibre2fashion.com In order to acquaint the weavers of Imphal, Manipur, regarding various Central and state… more »
Fibre2fashion.com
In order to acquaint the weavers of Imphal, Manipur, regarding various Central and state government schemes for their assistance, the Office of the District Handlooms and Textiles, Imphal West, organized an awareness campaign on ‘assistance to handloom..
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/govt-explains-assistance-schemes-to-manipur-weavers-fibre2fashion-com/
Fibre2fashion.com In order to acquaint the weavers of Imphal, Manipur, regarding various Central and state… more »
Fibre2fashion.com
In order to acquaint the weavers of Imphal, Manipur, regarding various Central and state government schemes for their assistance, the Office of the District Handlooms and Textiles, Imphal West, organized an awareness campaign on ‘assistance to handloom..
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/govt-explains-assistance-schemes-to-manipur-weavers-fibre2fashion-com/
News24online Bandh in Manipur hits international trade Hindu Business Line PTI Indo-Myanmar trade at the… more »
 News24online |
Bandh in Manipur hits international trade
Hindu Business Line PTI Indo-Myanmar trade at the border town of Moreh in Manipur’s Chandel district has been severely affected due to a 72-hour bandh called by a local tribal organisation from May 12. There has not been any trade at Moreh, about 120 km south east of here … |
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/bandh-in-manipur-hits-international-trade-hindu-business-line/
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.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-and-the-development-demands-media-knowledge-and-all-that/
By: Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh The Meitei of Manipur have some similarities to the Japanese,… more »
By: Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh
The Meitei of Manipur have some similarities to the Japanese, especially in their ingenuity, as recorded by British colonial officers in Manipur, more than one hundred years ago. It became my ambition to visit Japanafter watching the Hollywoodmovie, Sayonara.
This Japanese word Sayonara meaning Goodbye is very popular worldwide, beginning from restaurant, song and hotel names to the Tamil girl singer Sayonara.
Sayonara was made popular by the Hollywood movie of its name, starring Marlon Brando and Ricardo Montalban – the first Mexican leading man in Hollywood, with his Spanish accent. I remember seeing this film with Khuraijam Dhiren at the Odeon in Delhi in 1957. The film was a post-war attempt to re-humanise the Japanese with scenes of the 1950s. It was set in Kobe in a military setting and Japanese women were portrayed as delicate doll-like creatures.
In 1994 I went to Yokohama to present a paper at the 10th International AIDS Conference at the Pacifica Convention Centre. The opening day Laser show, which the prince and princess of Japan attended was out of this world.
Yokohama is the second largest city after Tokyo with a population of 3.6 million. It lies in the Tokyo Bay Area, south of Tokyo, less than half an hour’s journey by train from Tokyo. It is a prominent port city.
Yokohama was a small fishing village having little contact with foreigners until 1854 when Commodore Perry arrived at just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and Tokugawa Shogunate agreed by signing a Treaty of Peace and Amity.
Yokohama quickly became the base for foreign trade in Japan withy many foreigners settling there, in Yamate. The first English language newspaper, The Japan Herald was published there in 1861. The early 20th century was marked by a rapid growth industry. Yokohama was first destroyed by the September 1923 earthquake. Japanese mobs murdered many Koreans believing that Koreans used black magic to cause the earthquake.
It was rebuilt, only to be destroyed in a single morning of 29 May 1945 by thirty-oddUSair raids during WWII, when B-29s firebombed the city and in just one hour and nine minutes reduced 42% of it to rubble, killing seven-eight thousand people.
During the American occupation, Yokohama was a major transhipment base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the Korean War. Yokohama has no airport of its own. You can reach there from one of two Tokyo’s airports. A multitude of train lines connectYokohamawithTokyo.
The Japanese men commute by train to their offices. They all travel standing up, holding the straps on the support bar, and shutting their eyes (dozing). In the heat of the summer they all wear very thin expensive woollen suits with ties.
Rebuilding of Yokohama with the construction of an entertainment town of Minato Mirai on reclaimed land started in 1983 including the Yokohama Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan. You can go up to the 69th floor (for Japanese Yen 1,000 = Indian rupees 537) to
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have a good view of the city. The elevators are the fastest in Japan. You are up there before you have time to think. For another Yen 1,000 you can have some snack and drink at the Cocktail lounge on the 70th floor or, dinner at the 68th floor.
In 1989, Cosmos Clock 21, the tallest Ferris wheel, like the London Eye, was also opened. I sat in it and looked at the city as the wheel slowly rotated.
Before I went to the conference, I received with the Conference programme, a booklet on Japanese etiquette such as bowing and a few Japanese words, such as Sayonara = goodbye,ohiogozaimasu = good morning, Konnichiwa = good afternoon, origato = thank you, dozo =
Please; and advice to ask school children if one gets lost as English is taught in school. I found that very handy. However it had its limitations.
To go to the Conference centre I travelled from a nearby train station to the Minato Mirai station, which leads into the entrance hall of the Yokohama Landmark tower leading to the giant complex ofLandmarkPlazaand then out to the conference Centre.
One evening on my way back I came out by a different gate. As I lost my way I approached a woman with a young girl. As soon as I said excuse me, the mother and daughter ran away. They probably took me to be a mad old Japanese man.
While shopping in the afternoons, the Japanese shop assistant girls who were very well made up and dressed in bright colourful uniforms would say ‘konnichiwa’ and bow. I would also bow, not wanting to disappoint them. I would then walk up and look at the items (labelled in English and Japanese) I wanted to buy and point to them with my finger.
She would say ‘Hai’ and bow again. As she brought them I looked at the price with Roman numerical on the cashier machine. I would put the money on the tray next to cash machine. She would take the money and as I came out she would say ‘origato’ and bow again. I would bow again. After a few of these I used to have backache.
Bowing is considered extremely important in Japan. Bowes originate at the waist and can be divided into three main types: informal, formal and very formal. Informal bows as I had are made at a fifteen degree angle; more formal bows at about 30 degrees. Very formal bows are deeper. The longer and deeper the bows the stronger the emotion and respect expressed.
Japan is very expensive, three times as much as the UK. At that time, a pint of beer in the UK was £2, but £5 for half a pint in Japan. Food is equally expensive. An ice-cream parfait in a tall glass with scoops of chocolate and strawberry, topped up with whipped cream will cost about 5,000 Yen (2,685 rupees).
For evening dinners I ate only Macdonald fried chicken with chips, a small pudding and a glass of coke for £10 (£3in the UK) from the shop next to the hotel. Unless you eat in the big hotel restaurants, the Japanese restaurants have menus displayed in the windows in replica plastic models – a unique Japanese innovation. All the replicas are handcrafted to perfection, not mere rubbery copies.
Since I did not know what was in them and how much they cost, I avoided them. Japanese restaurants provide diners with single use wooden chopsticks that must be separated apart at the thick end. They are shorter than the Chinese ones and mostly square-shaped. All Chopsticks taper towards the bottom and you eat with that end.
I went to attend a Japanese tea drinking ceremony- set up for tourists. It was very arduous and the green thick creamy tea was horrible, undrinkable – excused for the foreigners. The
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ceremony was in a room in a teahouse located in the garden away from the residence. Three of us were there. We were welcomed with a bow and no words were spoken but we were signalled to sit on the floor.
One woman in a Kimono with the traditional Japanese hair style, helped by another woman knelt and went through elaborate steps to prepare the tea. When ready the assistant passed a bowl of tea to each of us. The main hostess then explained in English the nature and meaning of the ceremony, which is the way of bringing one’s self into harmony with nature and others, and also for tranquillity (relaxation).
Another fascinating show was the elaborate Japanese Kimono dressing. There are kimonos for every season; they explained that the real kimonos cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. You can also buy very cheap second hand kimonos. Kimonos are a much less common sight these days, and are usually worn by older women on special occasions.
Young girls usually wear it at coming-of-age ceremony. Kimono literally means “Clothing”. Modern Japanese women now lack the skill to put on a kimono unaided as they are now replaced by western clothes. Unmarried women wear kimonos with large sleeves and elaborate patterns. Men’s kimonos are usually of one basic shape and of subdued colours and they should fall to the ankles.
A visit to the Yokohama Kirin beer Brewery Company, which played a leading role in Japan’s adoption of beer from the West, was fascinating in that in the whole factory which was fully automated there were only two people – the man guiding us and another in the control room with all kinds of gadgets.
Another racial characteristic of Japan that one can not fail to notice is that in the metropolitan areas at least, all Japanese women are thin with small breasts and of middle height. I understand it is an increasing obsession to remain slim. Because they are slim they are very smart in western dresses. Japan is the safest place in the world the opposite of Manipur.
The writer is based in the UK
e-Mail: imsingh@onetel.com
Website: www.drimsingh.co.uk
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/11/sayonara/
Letter to the Honorable Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singhji, Sitting 10,000 miles away here in… more »
Letter to the Honorable Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singhji,
Sitting 10,000 miles away here in USA I keep on dreaming when I will return to my motherland and will get my dream home. With every passing day my dream is becoming a nightmare.
It all started in year 2006. I invested my life’s saving to buy a flat. Many of us have to take bank loan and with every passing year interest rate is going higher and higher. Project was undertaken by Runwal Group, who are leading builders of Mumbai. We were shown all the clearance paper approved by BMC, also all the loans were sanctioned by the nationalized banks and project was going on smoothly, as per the agreement we were paying loans in installment based on casting of each floor.
Then suddenly there was a bolt from the blue. One NGO Bombay Environmental Action Group” filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Mumbai High courts claiming that these tracts of land on which these housing projects was constructed was forest land prior to 1955. Mumbai High Court stayed any further construction on these lands in June 2005 which subsequently halted the construction.
Five years has passed. We are running from pillar to post, we have tired all possible avenues but so far nothing has happened. Case is swinging in between High court to Supreme Court. Several Committees have been looking into matter with no result.
Mr. Prime Minister please, tell me as a common person how will we ever know that prior to 1955 land was forest land. In that case how BMC gave all the permission, how bank sanctioned all the loans? We all are honest simple person, why should we undergo all these agony?
My other friends have lost all the hopes and they have requested me to write to you that if not during there life time at least after our death put some small roof on their dead body, but I am very optimist, I have been hearing that chief justice of India Respected Shri S.H.Kapadia is an excellent human being. I am sure you will use your good office to see that we get our home and I can return back to my motherland.
We have put our plight on internet.
http://www.petitiononline.com/bdri1234/petition.html
With warm regards
Malathi Krishnan
U.S.A.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/mulund-forest-land-issue-mumbai-maharashtra-india/
By: Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh Below is an email letter from one Mr Haokip (22nd… more »
By: Dr Irengbam Mohendra Singh
Below is an email letter from one Mr Haokip (22nd August 2011). It explains all.
SIR,
Thanks for replying. i would also like highlight that we kukis has history of fightin against the Britishers to saveguards its land. I have also came across a history book by one British historian talking about geographical expansion of kuki inhabitat areas expanding from west bengal till myanmar. though it has become a past and political overturn has made kukis as one of major population of Manipur. Now as KUKI ,i wanting to coexist with people of all communities residing in Manipur is not surprising though bt since i am aware that divisions in the same state will lead us to no whre .but one problem that we do face as hills men is that concentration of the infrastructure in imphal city ,the state govt eversince has shown ignorance towards the hill area.. a stepmotherly treatment given to them . at this 21st century they still long for basic amenities. a hungry man is bound to revolt. The prolonge undue attention not given to hill areas n its people is one of the root cause behind the existing division, according to me. My hope for better MANIPUR is overall growth.
Sir do correct me if im wrong somewhere, i want to do something for the state n im in learning process. HOPE , u will guide me.
Thanks.
L Haokip
With the NH 39 blockade entering into the 5th week the Meitei should now be ready to bear the wrath of the tribal hill people forever.
Iboby Government’s development priority is beyond the pale. It hasn’t learned from the crippling blockade of highways for 52 days by the ANSAM in 2005. Six years on the NH-37, previously known as NH 53 or Imphal to Cachar Road is still a dirt road. Ibobi should be concentrating more on the means of survival than on luxury like the establishment of IT College or another Medical College.
The fury of the Christian hill people is like that of the biblical Christian God who declared: “And thou shall love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and struck those who did not obey him with thunder and lightning.
God had a reason and so have the hill people. Therefore, the Ark of the Covenant is to explore why they are unhappy.
Many years ago, in the late 1950s while I was a medical student, my friend, late Moirangthem Gojendra and I, drove a German and an American woman who came to see Manipur, to Churachandpur. We drove uphill where there was a church.
A Kuki man came out to meet us. He was pleased to see those two white women. He shook hands with them. Then instead of shaking hands with us he threw a bolt from the blue, entirely unconnected with the visit. He said: “You’ve got all the meat and we have got the bones.”
This is just to demonstrate that there is a loathing – better termed prejudice, deeply rooted in the psyche of the hill people against the Meitei. And it is not without justifications.
The Meitei cannot condemn these hill people who hate the Meitei because condemnation condemns the person who condemns as well as those people whom
the condemning person has chosen to condemn.
That will only accentuate the mutual prejudice. “There are more ways than one to skin a cat.”
The hill people do not want lip service such as the Tangkhul are the elder brother of the Meitei or “Meitei-Hao-ichin–inao” ie Meitei and hill people are brothers. They regard it as hypocritical respect. They want funds to improve their lot.
Meitei, Tangkhul, Kuki, Kabui and other hill peoples were never more brothers than they are now. But it had dividends.
It is said that brothers and sisters are the accidents of birth while friends will stick to each other to the end. It is the friendship I am hoping for, not the brotherhood.
The ethnic minority hill people have now gained a strong enough position to challenge the Meitei. They have a thumb on the Meitei jugular, which they can press at will and with surprising ease.
It will take only 15-20 members of the ATUSM backed by a few Naga gunmen to block a small stretch of the highway by heaping stones on the road to block the goods-laden lorries and then intimidating the drivers with a few showers of stones from the top of the hill.
In my search for the root causes of this loathing I have come up with three major ones.
(1) Historical roots: the events of the past history of the Meitei and other hill people though ephemeral have not only characterised ethnic prejudice and hatred but have also fuelled their growth. The prejudice was a tool whereby each ethnic group built its identity as a group for social benefits.
(2) Sociological causes: an inheritance from the past prejudice that accrued from competition for resources due to scarcity or greed that initially made ethnic people hate each other for positive social benefits associated with hatred.
(3) Economic causes: This is the most important cause. I am now referring specifically to the anger and frustration described by Mr Haokip above, which are true but with some reservations. They arise from need on the part of the hill people or alleged greed on the part of the Meitei.
In the historiography of Manipur before the British dominion all the ethnic groups were living in Manipur. It was then in the nature of humans as social creatures to band together to act in groups to advance the prosperity of their group and to then share in that prosperity.
During British Rule, the Meitei did not have any hand in depriving the Hill people of their due share of Manipur’s economy. They were directly administered by the British administration.
Since Independence on August 15 1947 Manipur has been ruled by Delhi with an annual largesse which has been very small in the First Five year Plan. Following the
insurgencies in Manipur and the better growth of the national GDP, the Delhi
Government has been increasing its annual allocation of money to Manipur, culminating in Rs. 300 crores for the year 2011.
It is also partly because mayang Indians in the Delhi Government, who clubbed together all the Northeast Indians as a single entity in the same way the colonial anthropologist did, have now come to understand that the five Sister States have different problems of their own.
In Manipur, the main problem that has been causing turmoil among the hill people concerns the “disparity” in the distribution of this money from Delhi. Manipur has no substantial productivity in any form or kind.
Imphal seems to be having more and more “bright lights” while the hill people continue to survive with only the bare necessities of life. Is this a fact? I don’t know exactly.
Who can answer this question? The incumbent government especially the minister with a portfolio for finance can. Every year during the budget session of the Assembly there should be declarations about the allocated sums of money for each district.
What I do know is that Meitei living in the far flung villages in Manipur are slightly better- off than the Hill counterparts only because of easer accessibility to Imphal to buy essential commodities of daily living.
“There is a demand for a new deal in the management of the affairs” of the hill people. I have borrowed this phrase from President Franklin D Roosevelt (1930), who borrowed it from the British campaign of David Lloyd George, who ran for prime minister in 1919 with the slogan “A New Deal for Everyone.”
Any incumbent government of Manipur will need a collection of political and economic policies, and programmes to deal with the economic miseries of the hill people.
As I suggested in my article – Causes of ethnic conflict in Manipur…July 3 2011, the Manipur political system could be based on the Swiss model by improving the current autonomous district councils. Each council should be allotted a well-proportioned
budget that they can juggle at will.
There should now be two districts for the Meitei in the Imphal valley, leaving a certain square miles of Imphal city that belongs to the Meitei, Pangal and every tribe in the plains or in the hills.
It should be named as Imphal City, Imphal ADC East and Imphal ADC West, in line with Washington and Washington DC (District of Columbia) governed by the same Municipality Council.
The current bright lights of Imphal city must be distinguished from the lights of Imphal valleys which the Meitei mostly inhabit.
Imphal is the capital of Manipur and now a city. It needs “bright lights” as does any capital such as Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai. This means it should have a better infrastructure.
This is because a city or a town is a relatively large and permanent settlement. It has complex systems of sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing and transportation. It
has government institutions, colleges and universities, prisons, hospitals and the police headquarters.
The concentration of development facilitates the interaction of all the people living in different districts and rural areas. It must have modern hotels for people to come and do business in Manipur or for tourists who would bring in a lot of money for everybody.
Imphal has colonies of Kukis such as New Lambulane and for Tangkhuls, Dewlaland and so on. There are many Kabui villages such as Sahib Manai, Major khun. The Langol Hill areas are entirely occupied by the hill people.
The Hill people who live in Imphal city enjoy the same privileges as the Meitei.
We need to study what is going on in India outside of Manipur. Once we have learned the differences between a city and a village we can open our hearts and free ourselves from the chain of intolerance which we have learned from our native cultures by default.
So, now we know what the hill people want – equity.
The writer is based in the UK
Email: imsingh@onetel.com
Website: www.drimsingh.co.uk
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/meitei-should-be-ready-to-weather-the-tribal-tempest-forever/
By Chitra Ahanthem That Manipur has many things to offer to travelers and tourists alike in terms of places to see or as destination points is no secret. So when… Read more »
By Chitra Ahanthem
That Manipur has many things to offer to travelers and tourists alike in terms of places to see or as destination points is no secret. So when a team from the state taking part in a tourism mart came back with the tag of the state being an upcoming tourism destination, it was not a surprise. But one sincerely hopes that tourists and travelers when they do come to this “exciting destination” are not left unpleasantly surprised by how unprepared we are. Since it is the season of media censures and newspaper bans (not to forget the vitriol that will spawn on internet web pages in the form of comments and debates), let me hasten to add that one is not disputing the tag of a great destination. However I will vehemently dispute the nature of the destination(s) in Manipur.
Here are some reasonings behind my take:
– Social networking sites are often choc a bloc with positive comments and inquires following photo album updates of sights, scenes and locations of the state. The more adventurous even want to sample local cuisines (we will look into this too, but later) but anyone has any idea why none of the decent hotels in Manipur have the local cuisine in their spread? Check in any hotel and you will see their menus with the usual Chinese, Tandoori and Continental segments. Yes, local cuisine gets served at conferences and seminars but we are not talking of that.
– Accommodation issues are a sore point once those projecting Manipur as a tourism destination are thinking of taking them tourists to places beyond Imphal. The Government has to really spruce up the Government rest houses in the district headquarters at least. The tourist lodge at Sendra comes to mind mainly because of the buzz over the Loktak lake. Unfortunately, it stinks of urine and one is not clear whether it is open to hosting tourists. There used to be a private hotel (very small, and one that comes with no star rating) in Moirang but it soon became a dingy place. I recently saw the outer structure getting a new coat of paint (some rather hideous colour). One sincerely hopes that they have done something about the inside rooms as well: I distinctly remember a one night stay with a camera team that came in from Mumbai to video shoot the Moirang Lai Harouba. The bathroom had no water in the taps! Unlike tourists, travelers do not look at luxury but there is something called comfort. A clean bed and toilet-bathroom and home-made meals are often what takes it to make a great travel spot.
– Combine the first two points written above and one can see how unprepared we are! As far as the beauty of places go or the excitement factor goes, there really is no lack of places. Think Moirang and apart from Loktak lake, there is a huge scope for making the area the favorite destination for wildlife enthusiasts by introducing activities like camping at the Keibul Lamjao National park for one; angling around Sendra (that would mean taking away the Army psst..psst!). These and more can be done only after there is a proper accommodation set up at Moirang. But the same applies everywhere else once one moves away from Imphal. Think Ukhrul and one thinks immediately of the Siroi peak and the Siroi lily. But again, it is the same accommodation issue here too. Yet, if this factor gets taken care of, other areas in Ukhrul apart from the Siroi peak can be put on the tourist map. Think Nungbi, think of Khangkhui Cave, think Kachouphung Lake. Let’s now imagine a situation where accommodation gets taken care of (and for this, we are not talking necessarily only of big hotels but home stays or community efforts) and then we have the immense potential of bringing local community people as trekking guides (for Siroi peak), pottery tutors (for tourists who want to have a try at making pottery) besides of course boosting the traditional handloom and handicraft industry. The story repeats itself for every other district: think the Thanlon caves, think of river rafting on the Barak but….
– Before the tourists or travelers comes in from outside the state, ever wondered why the tourism department has not looked at home tourists? Most states have week-end getaways with accommodation logistics being developed precisely to generate income from within the state. There is definitely a huge market for this in Manipur as well.
End-point:
This is going to be a bit longer than the usual end-point. Keeping in mind the topic, let me stick to a point format on what can be done or thought about:
– Adopt a heritage walk program for the Kangla. A light and sound show is a must and can bring in locals too, thereby generating money also for the concerned department. But a guided tour (in English) inside the fort is needed for tourists, which is also good news for the educated but unemployed section. Much like heritage walks, there can be a cultural emphasis too. There are various harvesting festivals in the state and there would be immense interest in them.
– Do something about the transportation segment. We do not have a pre paid vehicle system at the airport, which is supposedly being considered for an “International” tag. The distance from the airport to the hotels in town are very short as compared to the distances that gets commuted in other cities but the charge that the van/tata safari/auto syndicate charge on a mutually agreed upon rate (and hence, harder to negotiate and bargain with) is much steeper. There is an imperative need to have vehicle services registered and following a Government standard rate. Once this gets done, they must also get petrol from the government depot so they do not hike up the vehicle hiring rates when highway blockades comes calling!).
– There is a strong need to change the concept of the Sangai Tourism festival. Till date, it is a carbon copy of any other “Mela” in town: one sees the same stalls, the same agencies. All you see are glittering blouses and sandals and cheap plastic toys for children being sold at hiked rates. Yes, there is talk of bringing in “international stalls” but pray, how does that help tourist foot-fall? Instead, bring in new blood and new ideas. Think out if the box initiatives like perhaps a photo walk: call in paid registrations from within and outside the state. For those coming in from outside, give them subsidized stays so they can spread the word for the next festival.
– Ah well! The list goes on…but for now let’s hope the tourism department is reading this piece!
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/manipur-as-a-traveltourist-destination/
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam By and large, those who oppose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act continue to de-link or ignore the subversive political premise of the Act in their… Read more »
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam
By and large, those who oppose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act continue to de-link or ignore the subversive political premise of the Act in their criticism against the same. Primarily driven by narrow juridical perspectives informed by Human Rights concerns, those who oppose the Act have allowed AFSPA to go on without facing a fundamental challenge to its foundation. As a consequence, the prospect of the Act going through a process of mutation to come back in another incarnation to continue the subversion of a civilized democratic life in the Northeast in general and Manipur in particular cannot be ruled out.
Rhetoric of a Merry-Go-Round
It’s worth remembering that not only AFSPA came as a product of a “decision” by the political executive (i.e., as an ordinance on 22nd May, 1958) but also subsequently escaped more or less unscathed from the “legislative oversight function” of a democratically constituted Parliament on 18 August, 1958. And finally, rather than returning the legislation to the Parliament again for reconsideration, the President readily gave his assent on the legislation, thus making it into a law on 11 September, 1958.
Finally, this “special” law, which, unlike many other “extraordinary” or “special” laws, specifically allows the deployment of the military forces in the “internal affairs” (or as it has been termed as “law and order”) of the State, survived the judicial scrutiny in 1997 as the Supreme Court upheld its “constitutionality”.
Incidentally, after having escaped all these processes, legislative, judicial and executive scrutiny, the Act did return to the political domain once more as a consequence of the upheaval in Manipur in 2004. And yet, the political premise of the Act has never been the primary concern of the protest against the Act.
Indeed, despite this historicity of the Act, strange as it may seem, even as we mark the anniversary of AFSPA, the day the Act became a law, or a “lawless law” (as the then MP from Manipur Laishram Achaw meaningfully called it), one might continue to hear the same legal arguments against the Act which were put up before the Supreme Court. And redundant arguments (e.g., the power to shoot has been given to Non Commission Officer, as if the power is given to a JCO or Commission Officer, it will be acceptable) are likely to be in the air once again. This being the case, the need to go to the basics must be emphasized once more.
Basic Questions
One basic issue that has been relegated, with serious consequences, has been the issue of what this Act is for? All legislations are to address some realities/phenomena in our real world. Acts on dowry, sati, child-marriage, for that matter the recent talk of Lok Pal, all are (about) legislations to address or fight realities of our life (the menace of dowry, sati, child-marriage or corruption). The discussions or debates on these legislations are not carried out by de-linking these realities. If so, what is that AFSPA is fundamentally seeking to address?
The Act addresses a reality in our real world, that is, armed insurgency which purportedly threatens the “national security” (i.e. undermining the territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Indian State). In Manipuri, that phenomenon is called “khutlai paiba lalhouba” (or “armed rebellion”; here it must be noted that “insurgency” is a synonym for “rebellion”).
How does one hope to discuss the Act by de-linking it from the purpose and reality of “armed rebellion” that it purportedly seeks to address? Indeed, have the familiar arguments on power being vested with the NCOs or for that matter even the infringement on the fundamental and sacrosanct “Right to Life” of the citizens ever reminded one of what is that the AFSPA is seeking to address or deal with this reality of our real world? None!
Interestingly, all this while, as the protestors are busy while barking at the “bare act” of AFSPA with their increasingly redundant legal arguments, the Government of India does not and will not de-link what it thinks the Act is addressing while thinking about AFSPA.
It is no wonder then that the protestors are not only least bothered about, if not oblivious of, the dubious and sinister politics that has given birth to, and sustained, this legal fiction called AFSPA over the years. While the Supreme Court Judgment categorically has insisted that the “disturbed condition” is not due to “armed rebellion” wherein the Act has been enforced or that the said “condition” does not constitute a threat to the “security of the nation”, the military and the political class continue to maintain otherwise.
If the Act is not addressing or not related to what the people know it as “khutlai paiba lalhouba” (or “armed rebellion”), what is that the Act is seeking to address? Having failed to address or remained ignorant of such basic question, many have failed to understand the Act itself. For instance, the violence which is being exercised by the State through AFSPA is fundamentally based on or derived from the violence to “institute order” rather than “violence to preserve order”. That AFSPA is a violence to institute “Indian-ness” or the Legitimacy of “Indian State” in specific areas and their inhabitants wherein the “Indian-ness” are problematic.
Indeed, it is not merely the ignorance of written words or documents, even the empirics have failed to draw the attention of many protestors to the real character of the Act. For instance, that the AFSPA has not been imposed in all those areas that have “armed insurgency” does not even allow many of these protestors to see the real nature of political violence invoked by the Act. Thus, having failed to understand the political premise of the Act, they do not adequately comprehend the fact that AFSPA has always been imposed wherein “Indian-ness” has become problematic for the Indian State (Northeast, Kashmir, and briefly Punjab), not in those areas wherein “Indian-ness” has not been seen as a problem, albeit affected by armed insurgency (i.e., leftist insurgency in “mainland” India). And consequently they continue to argue against AFSPA as if the Act is an instrument of maintaining “law and order”, a premise dubiously set up by those who impose and seek to sustain the subversion of this diabolical legal fiction.
Having failed to understand the nature of the political premise and its violence invoked by the AFSPA, most of these protestors have also failed to understand that the reason behind the use of the military forces (which has the ultimate physical force for the “institution of order”) rather than the police (which exercise the violence to preserve/main order) runs deeper than the issue of whether the police forces can handle the situation or not. That had it been a question of “law and order”, either the police forces would have been readied long time back for the job or the military would not have also objected to the restraints on power which are typically imposed on those who perform the duty of maintaining “law and order” under the normative and institutional imperatives of a democratic order.
Thus, the delinking of the political premise of the AFSPA has been a critical factor in allowing the subversion of a civilized democratic life under a legal fiction. Not only that, such an approach has also allowed the people to be a part of the denial and distortions of the nature of the historically rooted and contemporary socio-political issues that affect our collective life for decades. Consequently, our capacity to address and deal with our pathetic situation in an informed, honest, purposeful and realistic manner has also been seriously jeopardized. And it must go without saying that harping on narrowed legal arguments, resorting to rhetoric and proclaiming dubious knowledge of “ground reality” to hide one’s ignorance or dishonesty do not help much to fight against AFSPA and its political premise.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/afspa-tragedy-of-delinking-its-political-premise/
INVITATION BOOK RELEASE FUNCTION We cordially request for your kind presence at the book release function on 9th September 2011 (Friday) at the conference hall Manipur press club, Major khul,… Read more »
INVITATION
BOOK RELEASE FUNCTION
We cordially request for your kind presence at the book release function on 9th September 2011 (Friday) at the conference hall Manipur press club, Major khul, Imphal at 1 pm
Name of the book
Tattooed with Taboos, An Anthology of poetry by three women from North-East India
Lokendro Arambam
Retd. Prof MU
Mr Soyam Lokendra
HOD Philosophy, MU
And
Sharatchand Thiyam
Sahitya Academy Awardee
Will grace the function as the Chief Guest, the President and the guest of honour respectively
Your solemn presence is highly solicited
Yours sincerely
Chaoba Phuritshabam
Shreema Ningombam
Soibam Haripriya
PROGRAMME:
12. 30 pm: Arrival of the dignitaries and invitees
1 pm: dignitaries take chair
Formal presentations to the dignitaries
Welcome address
Release of the book by the chief guest
Speech by the poets
Speech by the guest of honour
Speech by the chief guest
Speech by the president
Vote of thanks
The above inivitation was sent to Kanglaonline.com by Chaoba Phuritshabam
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/book-release-function-tattooed-with-taboos/
By: A Bimol Akoijam Going by the dominant views, primarily legalistic and devoid of political basis, on AFSPA amongst those who are protesting against the Act in Manipur, sometimes I… Read more »
By: A Bimol Akoijam
Going by the dominant views, primarily legalistic and devoid of political basis, on AFSPA amongst those who are protesting against the Act in Manipur, sometimes I wonder why the Government of India keeps on complicating the matter for themselves!?
They could have easily repealed AFSPA and introduce a more “humane” one by taking into account some of the criticisms such as the power to shoot has been given to the Non-Commission Officers (NCOs). Well, don’t give the power to shoot to NCOs, but give it to Commission Officers, if not JCOs! And as for the “Right to Life”, repeat the same argument given by the Supreme Court and introduce some safeguards along with Dos and Don’ts of the Supreme Court Judgment of 1997. And also, provide a rationale for the new act, beyond the “bare act” of the new “humane” legislation; Govt. of India must say, unlike what it did while introducing the AFSPA in 1958, that we have “terrorists” who indulge in “extortion” and “intimidate” and “kill” innocent people in Manipur!
But before they repeal AFSPA and introduce a new one as an alternative, make it sure that the Central leaders call people, some of the major players in the state selectively (invitation from the central leaders can instill quite a lot of “self-worth” to people who have been complaining of being “neglected”) and (this is important) Prime Minster must pay a visit to Sharmila in hospital-cum-jail and give a press conference and announce that Govt. of India has taken time to take the decision (insist in English, one cannot take a hasty decision, and that one cannot afford to follow “hou hou laobi” culture or episodic response but requires a “holistic” response etc.) as the AFSPA involves “political” issues, amongst other, issues of “national security and integrity”.
Make it sure that such an admission is followed by a statement (preferably in soft and emotionally laden tone) that “insurgents” are our brothers and sisters followed by an empathic remark starting with a BUT (make it sure that this word is stressed) that Govt of India cannot remain as a mere spectator to the suffering of the people in Manipur and allow the “terrorists” who “extort” and delay “development” to go on with their activities against “the people” of Manipur! (Note: For a cue, whoever says this must watch Indira Gandhi’s expression in an interview with BBC at the time of crisis in the then East Pakistan, why India could not remain a spectator to the human sufferings in East Pakistan in the hands of Pakistani soldiers!)
Lastly but not the least, such an announcement must be ended with wholesome praise for the Manipuris’ contributions to the world of sports, culture (theatre, dance, cinema etc) and announce some financial/development package, including plans to open KFCs and Malls!
After that, the Govt. of India don’t have to worry about a “movement” against AFSPA in Manipur and they can be sure of the moral high ground to watch the confusion and internal bickering amongst those protestors and people in Manipur for a while before it subsides ultimately!
In any case, if we go by what the Manipuris in general have understood about AFSPA as it can be seen from their slogans and articulations that reflect the way they understand AFSPA after all these year, it is unlikely that they will sense the problematic aspects of the fundamental political premise (of AFSPA and its would be substitute) that soon. After all, the alternative Act will take into account their complaints on NCOs and Right to Life etc). By that time, as such, situation would have also changed as various historical and unfolding forces would have shaped the world (including their own) differently.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that there will not be fringe elements that will still talk and argue against the New Act for the basic problems inherent in the political premise of AFSPA and the new Act. But Govt. of India does not have to worry about those fringe elements, precisely because they are after all “fringe elements”. In any case, intrigues against each other, pulling down one another, and killing each other IS NOT a WEAKNESS for the people of Manipur. Therefore, those fringe elements will be effectively taken care of by the people of Manipur themselves!
Meaning, accusation of Perpetrating a Colonial Act over the people ends!!!!
QED!
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/some-suggestions-to-govt-of-india-on-afspa/
Amidst the sultry tropical weather, a group of protestors repeatedly shout, “Save Sharmila!!!! One of the protestors passes on the leaflet that they have been distributing to people to a… Read more »
Amidst the sultry tropical weather, a group of protestors repeatedly shout, “Save Sharmila!!!!
One of the protestors passes on the leaflet that they have been distributing to people to a deranged man who happens to pass by. Shaken by what is written on the leaflet, the deranged man seeks to strike a conversation with the protestors. Initially, seeing the odd looks of the man, some of them laugh at him and teasingly calls out one guy, who happens to be one of the leaders of those protestors, to entertain the deranged man. He, along with a few, decides to take a break from the protracted protest, and have a conversation with the deranged man. As such, they need some rest as they have been shouting for a while and it will be some time before those who have gone in a police vehicle to summit a memorandum to the PM or his office, something that they have never failed to do so each time they organized such a protest during the last decade, return to the protest site.
As they sit down, one of them asks the deranged man, “So, what do you want to know”?
Deranged Man (Henceforth, DM): Why are you supporting Sharmila?
Leader of the protestors (Henceforth, LP): Because Iche Sharmila has been on a fast!
DM: Oh, you support her because she’s been fasting?
The leader continues in all seriousness, “Yes, Iche Sharmila has been fasting for the last 11 years!”
DM: Oh I see! So you are supporting her because she is on a fast?
LP: Yes
DM: Why don’t you ask her to eat; In fact, still better, since you seem to love her so much, why don’t you offer her food, instead of protesting like this?
LP: You mad!? She’s on fast for 11 years!!!!
DM: That’s what…you shouldn’t have allowed her to go hungry for so long?
The deranged man continues, scratching his head as he glances at the leaflet and looks at those protestors.
LP: She has been forced-fed all these years… She won’t eat!
DM: Too bad!
LP: What!!!!?
Taken by surprise, the leader retorts back; the deranged man continues again.
DM: You people love her so much and protesting all these while in this weather and she refuses to eat! I don’t understand. Doesn’t she love you? If she loves you, I think she will start eating food!
The deranged man continues.
Hearing his remark, the protestors look at each other and some of them become visibly perturbed by the remark. One of them says in Meteilon (a dominant language which consists of a group of Manipuri dialects spoken by people in the valley of Manipur as their mother-tongue…like the Mandarin amongst the Chinese), “Masi angaobashi…mathong maram khangdaba…kaothatlu…fujillaga fadouni…mee ushittaba…makok yaodaba” (this mad man has no sense, kick him, it’s better to beat him up…brainless fellow)!
The leader looks at them and says, “Ngaikho… tapthakho…angaobaga maanaraga kei kandoino” (Wait…what you will get if we do that with a mad man”)!
DM: You angry?
LP: Of course not
Being a seasoned leader, with a touch of diplomacy, he smiles as he answers. Then, he looks at his followers with another smile.
DM: So, does she love you people?
LP: Yes, she loves us, why would she fast if she does not love us, the people of Manipur!?
DM: That’s all the more reason for her to call off the fast so that you don’t protest like this in such weather!
One among the protestors menacingly walks towards the deranged man and says, “Shut up!”
LP: Wait!
The leader stops the guy and then looks at the deranged man and continues,
DM: Oh, then you should be fighting against that Act, rather than SUPPORTING HER BECAUSE SHE IS ON FAST!
The leader thinks for a while and answers, “That’s what we are doing”!
DM: But you said, you people are SUPPORTING SHARMILA BECAUSE SHE IS ON A FAST! Didn’t you say that?
The leader looks at the deranged man and his followers. Then he continues.
LP: Yeah…err…but it’s the same thing!
DM: No! How can it be?
LP: What do you mean?
DM: If she decides to call off the fast or something happens to her, what will you do?
The leader shots back, “Then, you will see a civil war if anything happens to her! Government of India will be solely responsible …God forbid, if something bad happens to her!
DM: And Armed Forces Special Powers Act?
TO BE CONTINUED…
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/devil%E2%80%99s-advocate-deranged-man-and-protestors/
