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Northeast India Women Mother’s Bazaar of Bamboo Craft and Weaving Exhibition held at Delhi

Women Weaving Peace Together: Ima Keithel – A Northeast India Women Mother’s Bazaar of Bamboo Craft and Weaving Exhibition held at Delhi. Photo : CAF, India

New Delhi, 03 Oct 2015: Women survivors of Northeast India and Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh showcases beautiful handloom and handicraft products at the exhibition titled “Ima Keithel ~ A Northeast India Women Mothers Bazaar of Bamboo Craft and Weaving” that was held from 21 to 25 September at Gandhi King Plaza, India International Centre, New Delhi.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Ms Marina Walter, Deputy Country Director, United Nations Development Program, India and Ms Namita Gautam, Director, Sleepwell Foundation. The exhibition was visited by eminent personalities namely Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson, Asia Project, India International Centre; Ms. Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman, Director & Mr. Rajiv Chandran , National Information Officer of United Nations Information Centre, New India; Ex Governor of Mizoram Mr Amolak Rattan Kohli ; Ms. Laldingliani Sailo, Member of National Commission for Women; Prof Sanjoy Hazarika, Director, Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research, Jamia Millia Islamia; Ms Tajinder Kaur of North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach; women leaders from Northeast India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The concept of “all women’s” markets is very well known in Manipur. It is popularly known as “Ima Keithel” or “Mothers Market” where over 4000 odd Manipur women congregate in capital Imphal and in smaller locations across state to sell their products. It is a very unique phenomenon hardly found in other parts of country. “We used this concept of “women’s market” to ensure women affected by conflict from across ethnic communities and region come together in an important process to nurture understanding and peace amongst communities long divided by divides which are mostly man-made”, Ms Binalakshmi Nepram, Secretary General, Control Arms Foundation of India & Founder, Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network.

In this unique exhibition which was one of the first of its kinds in India, women weavers from different ethnic groups in Manipur worked together for almost a year with top notch committed team from Delhi namely E’thaan Design Studio and Rangsutra to present a range of design prototypes in weaving and bamboo. Besides the collection from Manipur, a humble showcasing of products brought by women from Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and even from Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh.

“We are first trained after which we make the prototype. We are given the layout for the motifs seeing which we reproduce the design,” says 38-year-old Arambam Bijaya, who has been a single parent to her 10 year-old-son after her husband abandoned her. Bijaya along with 100 other vulnerable women weavers have developed designs for a range of apparels in collaboration with the label ‘Rangsutra’ catering to the theme “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Salomi, a widow from Chandel who has lost her husband on 2003 demonstrated bamboo craft products that was made along with 20 other bamboo craft artisans belonging to different ethnic groups in Manipur. A large selection of bamboo products like lamps, cheese trays, holders and baskets is on display.

In this week long exhibition, some of the products of the market tried to popularise are enaphee (a shawl wrapped around the shoulders), phanek (wrap/sarong), and leiroom (a hand-woven scarf used on ceremonial occasions).

The exhibition objective was to take the beautiful arts and crafts of women of Manipur and Northeast to a larger audience and in long run bring peace in Northeast region and to ensure women from different ethnic groups come together to weave peace together in the said platform. The focus of the programme is the economic empowerment of underprivileged and violence affected women through skill development. The exhibition through its weaves and designs each woven by a woman survivor from Manipur, across Northeast India and beyond tells us the story that there can be no peace anywhere without the participation of women. We, the women are the threads that hold a society, community and nations together.

The exhibition was well received by the visitors and praised the efforts of the women exhibitors and organisers. The exhibition was organised by Control Arms Foundation of India with Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network along with E’thaan Design Studio and Rangsutra.

MSAD organised “Irabot Day Observance Talk Programme” at DU

MSAD Irabot day talk, DU political science department

MSAD organised “Irabot Day Observance Talk Programme” at the Department of Political Science, Delhi University (North Campus). Photo : MSAD

Delhi, 01 Oct 2015: The Manipur Students’ Association Delhi, on 30 September 2015, had organised “Irabot Day Observance Talk Programme” at the Department of Political Science, Delhi University (North Campus). The talks delivered by Dr. Gurumayum Amarjit Sharma, Assistant Professor, JNU and Vijay Singh, Editor, Revolutionary Democracy, were moderated by Dr. Malem Ningthouja, Chairperson of Campaign for Peace and Democracy Manipur (CPDM). A book entitled “Comrade Irabot and the Way Forward” which is jointly published by Manipur Students’ Association Delhi (MSAD), Irabot Research and Commemoration Committee (IRCC) and Campaign for Peace and Democracy Manipur (CPDM) was also released. Many students, teachers and researchers attended the programme. A Note making competition was also held on the topic “Hijam Irabot and Revolutionary Movement: Legacy and Contemporary Relevance”.

In the programme, it was upheld that Irabot was a believer in democratic movements and social revolution. He had stood for Manipur with an internationalist outlook. Revolutionary movement will continue as long as there is structural inequality and injustice.

The PR was sent by Salam Benson, Academic Secretary, MSAD. They can be contacted at msad(dot)manipur(at)gmail(dot)com.

Phoomdi – a blessing or misfortune for Loktak

By Dr. Maibam Dhanaraj Meitei (E-mail: rajjhcu@yahoo.in) Last century showed a remarkable loss in the area of Manipur’s central valley wetlands at an unpredicted high rate. Increase in indenting inhabitation,

Phoomdi removal from Loktak

By Dr. Maibam Dhanaraj Meitei (E-mail: rajjhcu@yahoo.in)

Last century showed a remarkable loss in the area of Manipur’s central valley wetlands at an unpredicted high rate. Increase in indenting inhabitation, nutrient enrichment, construction inside the wetland, deterioration of water quality, microbial and heavy metal pollution, loss of biodiversity, high rate of siltation and garbage dumping is the present scenario of various wetlands of Manipur, including Loktak.

Population explosion and almost negligible increase in the net cultivated area led to tremendous rise in fertilizer usage throughout the Manipur river basin. Runoffs from agricultural fields find an easy way to Loktak and contribute significantly in the pollution of the wetland. Nutrient inflow to the wetland from the use of fertilizer is estimated between 100 to 200 kg ha^-1. Imphal city alone accounts for 40% of the urban population of the basin, and generates nearly 126 metric tons of wastes/day, of which 40% remains untreated. In addition, loss of vegetation cover in the catchment hills due to jhum cultivation and construction of barrage upstream, particularly Ithai barrage have grieved the ecological condition. Constitution of Loktak Multipurpose Project for hydel and irrigation converted Loktak, a natural wetland with fluctuating water level into a reservoir with more or less constant water level. Of the 36 streams flowing into Loktak, Nambul river is infamous for its contribution in the wetland ecosystem degradation by loading nutrients and heavy metals in huge quantity. The consequences are loss of biodiversity, weed infestation, decreased fish production and proliferation of phoomdi.

Enormous growth of phoomdi has severe impact on the wetland ecosystem processes and functions. Phoomdi float mostly in suspended state and displaces water due to buoyancy. This affects the elevation-area-storage capacity relationship. The observed volume of water displaced by 1 cum of phoomdi is 0.75 cum of water and phoomdi occupies near to 107 km² of the wetland surface. At present an estimated 45.96 Mcum of water is displaced by phoomdi. Therefore, increased phoomdi area will reduce the storage capacity of the wetland and eventually affect the water resources and wetland environment. The vast area of wetland covered by phoomdi (107 km²) is responsible for heavy loss of water through evapotranspiration. It has been estimated that water loss due to evaporation from the open water area of 73.5 km² is 75.3 Mcum and the loss due to evapotranspiration from phoomdi covered area of 107 km² is 136.4 Mcum. Presence of phoomdi in the channels and the channel mouth chokes and interferes with the flow regime. This results in prolonged stagnation and impoundment in the upstream courses and is one of the causative factors for flooding. As the phoomdi floats around the year, decaying of phoomdi plants and sinking in the wetland bottom has increased the eutrophication level of Loktak.

Mentioned factors led to the inclusion of Loktak in “Montreux records” by Ramsar Convention in 1993 (48 Wetlands in the list, out of 2171 identified Ramsar sites – by January 2013), highlighting the prior attention to be accorded to restoration of the wetland ecosystem. Government of Manipur responded with the establishment of Loktak Development Authority (LDA) for overall improvement and management of the wetland. Objective of LDA lies in checking the deteriorating condition of Loktak and to bring about improvement of the wetland with development in the fields of fisheries, agriculture, tourism and afforestation in consultation with the concerned departments of the state government.

With the unmanaged phoomdi in Loktak considered as potent factors for ecological succession of the wetland from open water to marshes and swamps. Initially, management of Loktak was mainly focused on removal of phoomdi, desiltation and availability of water to ensure sufficient generation of power. The master plan submitted by Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Ltd (WAPCOS), a Delhi based Government of India’s consultancy organization focused mainly on development of fisheries, tourism and agriculture etc, with the construction of a 126 km long dyke encircling the wetland, dredging of a major portion of the wetland bottom, a large number of sluice gates, culverts, bridges and canals etc. with the removal of phoomdi by mechanical approach. The measures have not taken into account the problem of eutrophication, metal and organics pollution which is a physiological ailment of the wetland. This cannot be cured without understanding the ecosystem dynamics of the wetland which the authorities have failed to realize as relevant in their programme. Loktak development authority and WAPCOS while aiming at the enhancement of economic utility of the wetland and its beautification have ignored the problems of ecological health of the wetland. Dredging is meaningless if there is no adequate arrangement for the disposal of dredge spoils. Likewise, in depth baseline data need to be gathered before the removal of the phoomdi cover from the wetland. They failed to acknowledge the role of the phoomdi in maintaining a healthy and safe freshwater environment for the locals and the region, and the implications that will be caused to the freshwater wetland after phoomdi removal.

Phoomdi are reported to have a comprehensive capacity for nutrients and heavy metals accumulation from the wetland water column. Assessment of nutrients concentrations by several researchers showed accumulation of 478.6 metric tons of nitrogen (N) and 39.6 metric tons of phosphorous (P) annually by the phoomdi in the northern zone of Loktak. Phoomdi in the central and southern zone were reported to accumulate 729.0 and 419.2 metric tons of N and 60.3 and 36.1 metric tons of P from the eutrophic water. It was reported that that the nutrient concentrations in 8 dominant macrophytes of the phoomdi varied from 1.0-1.8% to 0.071-0.148% for N and P, respectively. Salvinia natans, Zizania latifolia, Echinochloa stagnina, Phragmites karka and Hedychium coronarium accumulated 1.8, 1.6, 1.0, 1.0 and 0.94% N and 0.084, 0.075, 0.054, 0.073 and 0.071% P from the eutrophic water of Loktak. It revealed an important role of phoomdi in phytoextraction of nutrients from the natural freshwater of Loktak. Thus, phoomdi helps in the restoration of the particular environment by acting as biological sink.

In addition, phoomdi plays an important role in the socio economy and traditional life of the local inhabitants. As phoomdi represents an entity constituted by more than 128 species of plants, presence of edible, medicinal, fodder, fuel, house making materials and plants useful in making handicrafts etc. are reported. For example; Locals normally have their meal with a vegetable prepared from phoomdi edibles. Local dishes, viz. iromba, kangsoi, kangsu, shak, singju and utti, thus form an important part of the traditional meal. Collection of the wild edibles from phoomdi is mainly done by womenfolk of the local communities. Alocasia cucullata, Centella asiatica, Hedychium coronarium, Neptunia oleracea, Oenanthe javanica, and Polygonum barbatum are commonly consumed. Phoomdi of Loktak provides luxuriant fodder for domestic animals. As a common practice, animals, viz. cows, buffaloes and goats are let free to graze in the phoomdi. Preferred fodders for the animals include Echinochloa stagnina, Enhydra fluctuans, Imperata cylindrica, Oenanthe javanica, and Zizania latifolia. Pigs are fed with cooked rice or fresh vegetables, viz. Alocasia cucullata or Alternanthera philoxeroides. Culms of Arundo donax, Narenga porphyrocoma and Phragmites karka, and shoots of Scirpus lacustris are commonly used as fuel in local households. As a commercial item, handicrafts made from S. lacustris are in great demand. Phak or mats, made by the womenfolks are sold at the rate of Rs. 200-300 per item. Handicrafts made from kouna helps in shaping the economy of many households devoted to the industry.

Above all, fish are attracted by phoomdi for shade, shelter, food and feeding grounds. The artisanal fishers around the lake has long ago understood the concept and they deftly devised a fish aggregating and capture method using the phoomdi in the form of circular floating island – called athaphoom. Loktak represents the largest fishery resource of Manipur, accounting for more than 50% of its fish producing area and near to >35% of its harvest from Loktak coming from athaphoom fishery. More than 19,000 tons of fish was harvested form Loktak and adjoining lake of Manipur during 2010-11, with 39% of the harvest from athaphoom fishing. Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), a unique floating wildlife reserve in the world is composed of a continuous mass of floating phoomdi. It is the only natural habitat of the endangered species of Elds deer, Rucervus eldi eldi McClelland, with a population of near to < 200 heads in 2000. Loktak with its several islands located inside the wetland and surrounded by floating phoomdi of different geometrical shapes makes it a unique destination for tourism.

Proper management of the wetland requires an adequate understanding of the structure and dynamics of the whole ecosystem of the wetland in accordance with the science of limnology and wetland studies in place of ad-hoc methods practiced today by the organizations involved in the development of Loktak. At the conceptual level, the approach should be three pronged; comprising of dynamic conservation, sustainable development and equitable access to benefits of conservation. Dynamic conservation refers to setting up various means of an effective alternative for attaining the ecosystem condition of the wetland as it existed many decades ago. Sustainable development refers to the form of development that caters the need of the present generation without compromising with the needs of the future generations from the wetland. Likewise, the third aspect concentrates on ensuring equitable access to the benefits of the development to be implemented through the participation of various institutions and the local communities.

Removal of the floating island – phoomdi from Loktak need to reconsider the aspects mentioned, otherwise it will lead to ecological imbalance, disturbed socio economy of locals and ecosystem of the faunal members depending on phoomdi. It is the high time for the people of Manipur to decide and vote on whether they want to see the floating phoomdi as a blessing or a misfortune for Loktak, and act accordingly for the protection of the rapidly degrading Ramsar site before it dies.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/09/phoomdi-a-blessing-or-misfortune-for-loktak/

PRESS STATEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN MANIPUR & THE UN: Manipur on the brink of an inter-ethnic calamity

URGENT PRESS STATEMENT Imphal, 11 September 2015 On the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the Armed Forces [Special Powers] Act of 1958 (AFSPA) that promulgated the controversial and

URGENT PRESS STATEMENT

Imphal, 11 September 2015

On the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the Armed Forces [Special Powers] Act of 1958 (AFSPA) that promulgated the controversial and draconian Act in Manipur and Nagaland, the CSCHR once again condemns the perpetuation of this law that violates the fundamental principles of democracy and human rights despite a worldwide call for its repeal. In this spiralling spread of impunity that has infected every sphere of governance in Manipur, the highly problematic implementation of this Act in Manipur ever since has not solved any of the problems it was meant to resolve. In fact, the climate of impunity and unabated use of brute force by the state to deal with any situation has repeatedly compounded and complicated the situation in Manipur. There have been reports of the divisive and partisan role played by Indian security forces in Manipur, most recently in Moreh Town in August this year.

The observed overall lack of training, preparedness and strict adherence to existing principles and guidelines of crowd control has resulted in the tragic death of one child in Imphal East District in August and nine other innocent lives, including one child, in Churachandpur district during this month, and the violent human rights violations of more than a hundred persons, mainly young persons and children in Manipur, including reported arbitrary detentions, torture and cruel or inhuman and degrading treatment, and grievous injuries perpetrated by the law enforcement agencies in different parts of the State. The State police and central security forces have been let loose to inflict a brutally violent response by using disproportionate powers to suppress public protests in the last three months concerning a set of laws purportedly designed to address a critical issue faced by all the indigenous peoples and communities of the State.

Curfew and public restrictions under Cr.P.C. Section 144 have been imposed repeatedly during the last three months in the districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Senapati, Chandel and Churachandpur in the wake of public protests against the atrocities committed by the state law and order machinery. Public strikes, road blockades, market closures and public transportation shut downs have contributed to the volatile situation causing immense obstacles and restrictions in public life and government functioning.

Today, Manipur is on the brink of an inter-ethnic calamity. If appropriate steps are not taken now there is every possibility of an explosion of dirty and violent ethnic hostilities that can only lead to a human and humanitarian disaster of such proportions that we have not seen before in this sub-region of South Asia.

CSCHR is very concerned that there exists in Manipur a situation of mounting polarisation of different ethnic groups within the State fuelled by perceptions of multiple threats by the different ethnic communities, the spread of rumours and disinformation, highly objectionable statements published or released by fringe groups and elements aimed to bring about communal enmity, partisan discussions and meetings, the abject lack of the will to communicate and dialogue, expectations that are detrimental to the maintenance of communal harmony and the strengthening of democracy and human rights protection, and sectarian demands that impinge upon the provisions of the Constitution of India and international human rights and humanitarian law.

CSCHR earnestly urges the government of Manipur and all communities living together in Manipur to desist from partisan and divisive, non-inclusive processes and activities that can lead to a serious rupture of the democratic and sovereign polity of Manipur State. The need at this critical hour is for all communities in Manipur to embrace constructive suggestions and inclusive dialogue as this is the only avenue we have now to avoid a humanitarian disaster.

Further, CSCHR strongly recommends to the governments of Manipur and India to facilitate the healing of the suffering people of Manipur by immediately embarking on just reconciliation measures of redress by removing all legislative, policy and administrative encumbrances and obstacles in the State, such as the repeal of AFSPA and repressive discriminatory laws, re-establishing a fair and compassionate Rule of Law that is strictly in compliance with India’s obligations to all its citizens, the supreme Constitutional provisions and international human rights and humanitarian law for the promotion of democracy and peace.

sd/-

(Dr Laifungbam Debabrata Roy)

Convenor

On Behalf of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN

Member Organisations of CSCHR are:

All Manipur Nupi Maanbi Association (AMANA)
Centre of Network and Empowerment (CoNE)
Centre for Organisation Research & Education (CORE)
Centre for Research & Advocacy (CRA Manipur)
Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD)
Civil Liberties and Human Rights Organisation (CLAHRO)
Civil Liberties Protection Forum (CLPF)
Committee on Human Rights, Manipur (COHR)
Ethno-Heritage Council (HERICOUN)
Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association Manipur (EEVFAM)
Families of the Involuntarily Disappeared Association Manipur (FIDAM)
Indigenous Perspective (IP)
Human Rights Alert (HRA)
Human Rights Defenders Manipur (HRD)
Human Rights Initiative (HRI)
Human Rights Law Network Manipur (HRLN-M)
Just Peace Foundation (JPF)
Life Watch
Manipur Alliance for Child Rights (MACR)
Movement for Peoples’ Right to Information Manipur (M-PRIM)
North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF)
Threatened Indigenous Peoples Society (TIPS)
United Peoples Front (UPF)

Youth from Manipur thrown out of train to death in Andhra Pradesh

IMPHAL: One Md. Azad Khan, S/O Md. Meino Ipham a resident of Kwakta Khuman in Manipur has been pushed to death from a moving train in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.

IMPHAL: One Md. Azad Khan, S/O Md. Meino Ipham a resident of Kwakta Khuman in Manipur has been pushed to death from a moving train in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.

His body was recovered from a track, 15 kms away from the Vishakhapatnam railway station. The relatives in Manipur were informed by the railway police on Wednesday evening.

It may be mentioned that, the victim was on his way to Bangalore along with two of his friends and they boarded the train in Guwahati on September 7.

It has been learnt that, the youths were attacked on their journey accusing them of being Manipuri. The victims friends who went along with him however managed to escape and had reached Bangalore.

This attack on person from Manipur comes after Bihar MP Pappu Yadav threatened to attack Manipur people travelling on train and passing through would be pulled down from the train and halted from their journey if violence on migrants from Bihar in Manipur do not stop. This threat comes after the inner line permit agitation to regulate migrant settlers in Manipur to protect the interest of indigenous people if Manipur.

Source: NE24NewsDesk

Oil tankers to reach State capital today, bring respite to fuel scarcity

IMPHAL, September 9: Loaded oil tankers will enter the State through the Imphal-Dimapur highway tomorrow to bring some respite to the scarcity of fuel in the State, especially petrol, since

A truck trying to manoeuvre through the muddy Imp-Jiribam Highway stretch at Makru.

IMPHAL, September 9: Loaded oil tankers will enter the State through the Imphal-Dimapur highway tomorrow to bring some respite to the scarcity of fuel in the State, especially petrol, since both highways feeding the State had remained blocked for some time.

Transportation of essential commodities including fuel into the State had stopped after a landslide at Phesama near Kohima Town in Nagaland blocked the Imphal-Dimapur highway since August 18, while the second lifeline of the State Imphal-Jiribam remained blocked due to a damage of the Barak Bridge since August 24.

Speaking to media persons today at their Sangakpham office, the All Manipur Petroleum Tankers`™ and Drivers`™ Union president Y Bhupenchandra said the Border Road Organisation has issued an official confirmation regarding completion of repairing work of the highway stretch affected by the landslide at Phesama and loaded tankers will start plying normally along the Imphal-Dimapur highway from tomorrow.

Empty oil tankers will also leave Imphal this evening for which escorts have been arranged he added.

He said since August 18, no loaded trucks were able to pass through the route due to the massive landslide at Phesama in Nagaland.

Simultaneously, connectivity along the the Imphal-Jiribam Highway was also blocked due to a damage of the Barak Bridge since August 24 he said.

This had led to a scarcity of petrol and diesel in the State he said.

He said some oil tankers had also left Imphal today along the NH 37 with escorts and will be returning in another three or four days.

At the same time, 42 loaded oil tankers are at the moment stranded at Jiribam while another 188 loaded tankers are stranded along the Dimapur route he added.

He further appealed to the CSOs of both the hills and the valley against imposing any kind of restriction to the tankers.

Manipur State Government to set up Rani Gaidinliu complex in Imphal: Kabui Mother Association

IMPHAL, Aug 28: The Kabui Mother Association has expressed gratitude to the State government for agreeing to erect a life size statue of Heipei Rani Gaidinliu along will construction

Rani Gaidinliu

IMPHAL, Aug 28: The Kabui Mother Association has expressed gratitude to the State government for agreeing to erect a life size statue of Heipei Rani Gaidinliu along will construction of Rani Complex in Imphal area.

A released from the general secretary of KAMA Ranjita Golmei further mentioned that in this regard representative of KAMA had met Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and his council of ministers including Gaikhangam, Govindas Konthoujam and Okendro on August 27 at the Chief Minister`™s Secretariat around 11:30 am.

During the meeting, the KAMA proposed construction of the Rani Gaidinliu complex and statue citing that she was born in Manipur and the people need to do something for her, it said.

KAMA had also sought the government to allot land for construction of the complex along the national highways, it said.

In his response, the Chief Minister of the State assured to make the State government`™s decision during the unveiling of Haipou Jadonang statue on August 29, it said.

It said KAMA believes, the State government will act on its assurance considering the Zeliangrong community.

It has further condemned a step of the NDA government under Narendra Modi for taking an initiative to construct a Rani Gaidinliu statue in Nagaland rather than at her birthplace Manipur.

It is like looking down upon the Zeliangrong community, the KAMA statement said.

State hands over land to Union Ministry officials for sports univ construction at Thoubal Yaithibi Khunou

IMPHAL, August 27: Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today formally handed over the land for the construction of the Sports University to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. A

CM Ibobi handing over land for Sport University construction to representatives of Ministry of YAS.

IMPHAL, August 27: Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today formally handed over the land for the construction of the Sports University to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

A statement issued by the secretary of the Chief Minister said following the announcement of establishment of National Sports University in Manipur by the Union Finance Minister, a team headed by Secretary (Sports), Government of India visited the State on August 1 and 2, 2014 and identified the proposed site for establishment of National Sports University at Yaithibi Khunou, Thoubal district as first preference.

It said considering the importance of the Sports University, the State government has decided to provide approximately 400 acres of land at the aforesaid location keeping in mind the scope for the future expansion of the university.

The land for setting up of the university at Yaithibi Khunou, Thoubal district was formally handed over to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports during a simple function chaired by Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and attended by M Prithviraj Singh, Parliamentary Secretary (YAS/Tourism); MLA P Brojen; Chief Secretary P C Lawmkunga; Secretary (YAS); representatives from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and several other officials.

The land handed over comprises an area of 336.93 acres at Village No. 44-Yaithibi Khunou,Thoubal district which is available with the State government, it said.

With this handing over of the required land, the National Sports University is expected to come up very soon to meet the aspiration of its people in particular and the whole country in general, it said.

The State government has also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Ramakrishna Mission today at a simple function chaired by the Chief Minister in the Cabinet Hall of CM`™s Secretariat for establishment of a Primary School, with the objective of upgrading in the following years, a School of Languages (English, Spoken English, Burmese, Chinese and Japanese), a Computer Training Centre, Mobile Computer and Science Laboratories, Mobile Language Lessons and Value Education etc.

Education minister M Okendro; minister of Commerce and Industries/Sericulture Govindas Konthoujam; MLA L. Nanda Kumar; MLA R.K, Imo Singh; Chief Secretary P. C Lawmkunga; H. Deleep Singh, Secretary (Education-S); N. Praveen Singh, Director Education (S); Swami Bodhasarananda, Assistant Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math; Swami Nareshnanda, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission, Imphal; Swami Ishanathananda; high ranking officials of Education (S) Department and alumni of Ramakrishna Mission from Manipur were present at the time of signing of the agreement.

Exclusive Interview with NEPO V.P. Swadesh Sarkar: ILPS opposed by people of Barak valley, Tripura and other parts of Assam

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH VICE PRESIDENT, N.E.P.O (NORTH EAST PEOPLE ORGANIZATION) By – Momon Thoudam The Vice President Swadesh Sarkar of N.E.P.O (northeast people organization) in his interview has expressed that

Vice President Swadesh Sarkar of N.E.P.O (northeast people organization)

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH VICE PRESIDENT, N.E.P.O (NORTH EAST PEOPLE ORGANIZATION)

By – Momon Thoudam

The Vice President Swadesh Sarkar of N.E.P.O (northeast people organization) in his interview has expressed that they have started their agitation after getting certain instances of harassment on non- manipuri people in Imphal valley during ILPS demand campaign, they got those from people fleeing Imphal and also from the newspaper published in Manipur.

He stated that N.E.P.O has formed in protest against the harassment both mental and physical being carried out on Non-Manipuri people living in Manipur, Specially in imphal valley. He also said that this movement has support from all across Barak valley, neighbouring Tripura and also from other parts of Assam.

NEPO, interview, North East people Organisation, Manipur, ILPS, Jiribam, Cachar

NEPO V.P. Swadesh Sarkar (left); Momon Thoudam (right) reporting from Jiribam Manipur.

In his interview he said that the when they came to know that those people who came to Manipur after 1951 will not be allow to stay, their name will be delete from electoral roll those who are in service with Manipur Government will be terminated and people won’t even live there in rent houses they started their movement.

This movement has nothing against Manipuri people but they are fighting with govt of Manipur to stop the atrocities being carried out on Non-Manipuri.

He cited that the economic blocked which started from 5.00 am today was called off, after getting assurance from the administration govt of Assam about certain agreement being inked between Assam, Manipur and govt of India within 7 days.

The D.C himself has assured about certain solution within 7 days or the N.E.P.O can carry out much larger movement in coming days.

He said that up to 1833 the entire Jiri valley up to Barak was under the kingdom of Cachari King and they have historically proof about it.

They believed in peaceful co-existence, he said people living in both side of Jiri river peacefully since ages and N.E.P.O has no grudge against people of Jiribam but their movement is with government of Manipur.

Earlier NEPO has strongly demanded Manipur government not to implement ILPS in Manipur and also has expressed their desire to remove Inner Line Permit system from the 3 North East states i.e. Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunchal Pradesh, where ILPS has been in placed for several decades.

1 injured in Manipur bomb blast at Imphal

Imphal, Aug 26 (IANS) One person was injured in a bomb blast near the gate of the Assam Rifles office in the Manipur capital on Wednesday, police said. Thokchom Kumar

Imphal, Aug 26 (IANS) One person was injured in a bomb blast near the gate of the Assam Rifles office in the Manipur capital on Wednesday, police said.

Thokchom Kumar (50), a civilian, was sitting in a hotel when the blast occurred in the Chingarel area. His condition is stated to be stable.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that rebels could have triggered the improvised explosive device blast from a distance,” Inspector General of Police Clay Khongsai told IANS.

No one has been arrested so far, but a manhunt is on to nab the rebels, he added.

Source: IANS

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/08/1-injured-in-manipur-bomb-blast-at-imphal/

Attack on truck near Manipur-Assam (Jiribam) border by unknown persons

By Momon Thoudam Jiribam, 24rd August: In the midst of the present turmoil in Manipur, it has been reported that a truck driver was attacked by some unknown persons near

By Momon Thoudam

Jiribam, 24rd August: In the midst of the present turmoil in Manipur, it has been reported that a truck driver was attacked by some unknown persons near Manipur-Assam border bridge. The report says that Mr.Narendra Khumanthem was driving vehicle (no. AS-11AC 4536) towards Imphal loaded with cement bags from Fullertal, Cachar district Assam when the incident happened around 3.30 PM on Saturday, 23rd August. It added, few unknown people initially stopped the truck by blocking the road using a Canter vehicle, threatened the driver to hand them over the vehicle keys. After negotiating for some time, he was later allowed to carry on his journey. However, by the time the truck was about to cross the border bridge on Jiri river, around 3 unknown youths on bikes started attacking the truck with sticks and rods, and manhandled the truck driver, luckily the truck driver was able to cross the border with minor damages at the driver side of the truck.

The report further says that the attackers looked like Non-Manipuris, but they could communicate in Manipuri. It can be remembered that a new organisation christened as NEPO (North East People’s Organisation) formed by Bengali and Hindi speaking communities in Silchar, Assam has strongly condemned ILPS demand movement in Manipur, and demanded to remove ILPS from the existing states in NE i.e. Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

At this point, it is not very clear about the motives of the assailants.

“We are stronger when we are together” – Lien Gangte

Dear God, I know how disappointed you must be when you looked down at your Children in Manipur. I am sorry that we have become so isolated from each other.

Lien Gangte

Dear God,

I know how disappointed you must be when you looked down at your Children in Manipur. I am sorry that we have become so isolated from each other. I am sorry that we have created so much hatred towards each other. I am sorry that we are so focus on our geographical boundaries. I am sorry that we see so many differences among us and forget to celebrate those similarities we share.

May we be committed to be everything You intended us to be when You made us—in will, mind, and emotions; in spirit, soul, and body; in purpose, strength, and character.

May we choose to stand with each other and share a common bond, the desire to walk in right paths, call upon each other in sincerity and truth, and seek to bring unity amongst us. May we work towards building a thriving and sustainable community together.

Give us strength to withstand negative forces ever so predominant and build bridges not fences. May we choose to care for the needs of our neighbour by being there for them, by providing for them and may we do this humbly, gently, lovingly, and prayerfully.

Grant us the knowledge to understand that, we are stronger when we are together.

We have been through a lot lately, but may we learn to trust each other again and create an atmosphere where every community, tribe, family and individuals can thrive and build positive surroundings for us and for our future generation.

To my people of Manipur, it won’t be easy but let us all work harder. We have done it very well for so long now, we all belong to Manipur and we cannot disintegrate. If we looked around us a little more closely, we will see that we are not so different after all. We just have to learn how to cohabit and do it with respect.

Lien Gangte

On the Fragrance of Roasted Ngari

A Bit of Verity & Falsity by Vox Populi Will the Manipuri people survive without Morok? Can we live without Ngari? It is hard to imagine life without Morok &

Ngari

A Bit of Verity & Falsity by Vox Populi

Will the Manipuri people survive without Morok? Can we live without Ngari? It is hard to imagine life without Morok & Ngari. If Nagaland or the government of India wishes to wipe off Manipur, they must attack Morok & Ngari first so that Manipur meets a natural end.

Even with a steaming fish curry doled out in front of our eyes, it is difficult to swallow a mouthful of rice without the Morokmetpa gracefully seated in a corner of our plate. We can survive without a leader who would lead, but our lives would be horrible without Morok & Ngari.

There is a leadership vacuum. This we all agree. We are badly in need of a worthwhile leader to repair the damage that has been done to our polity, economy and our outlook. A single leader for Manipur as a whole is also an uneasy proposition. Everybody in Manipur wants to become a leader, and every Manipuri, more or less has attributes of a leader. This is why we are seeing so many leaders, sprouting up almost everywhere in Leirak-Khulak and Urak-Warak. One can eulogise Manipur as a land littered with leaders across its length and breadth. It pains the head to decide which leader is to be respected, or which one is to be hailed with deference. Many are in the dark, failing to come out of the alley of powerlessness, to decide.

If fear is all that matters, then someone who can make the young and old, women and children, the wise and fool tremble with fear by threat or intimidation must be the leader of the highest order. There have been rulers of vast empires, at the slightest mention of whose names people acquire cold sweat. Are they today remembered with love and respect? If leader is someone who can kill millions of people, who in turn is feared by millions, then atom bomb is a big leader. Pistols and revolvers are small leaders. A kitchen knife must also be respected for it can be a tiny leader as well.

Leader is someone, just at the slightest mention of his/her name, without his/her presence; evokes reverence deep in our hearts, cast a golden ray of hope in front of our eyes, showers joy and happiness for the welfare of people in abundance like an infinite spring. Leader is someone who detests any kind of personal benefits. Manipur and its people are eagerly looking for this kind of a leader. Not someone who dredges a few meters of leikai drainage and seeks our electoral mandates. Not someone who dumps a truckload of soil over the sunken area of our courtyards and sweet-talk about elections. Not someone who sprinkles a few truckloads of gravel and shouts on the rooftops: `It`™s me who did it `“ it`™s me who did it`! Also, not that man who came guarded with bodyguards and showered money on the pallas at mother`™s shradh. Not someone who offers concealed paraphernalia in the name of the land. Not someone who went begging to Delhi and comes back saying `this time they have put more` with full of pride. Indeed it`™s dicey to be our leader. For sure one is desperately needed. But wherefrom will he/she come? From the south or north, or from the east or west, or from the middle of the Loktak; if one springs up from the middle of that water `¦ Or should we mould a leader made with Morok & Ngari if at all any leader fails to show up? Whatever it may be, leader of Manipur must be men of Ngari & Morok. We are a people who savour the fragrance of Ngari.

(English translation by Khura Seraton. Courtesy: Poknapham)

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/08/on-the-fragrance-of-roasted-ngari/

On the Fragrance of Roasted Ngari

A Bit of Verity & Falsity by Vox Populi Will the Manipuri people survive without Morok? Can we live without Ngari? It is hard to imagine life without Morok &

Ngari

A Bit of Verity & Falsity by Vox Populi

(English translation by Khura Seraton. Courtesy: Poknapham)

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/08/on-the-fragrance-of-roasted-ngari/

Who is a Meitei ? – Yumnam Devjit

Who is a Meitei ? As a young boy I was always troubled by the question of, who am I? And like all of us from Manipur who studied outside,

Festival Of the Gods – Lai Harouba

Who is a Meitei ?

As a young boy I was always troubled by the question of, who am I? And like all of us from Manipur who studied outside, the problem was made worse by the constant taunts of ill mannered school/college mates; Chinky, Chinese, Nepali, Japanese, Chimpu. These were the common identity given to us. These comments made me angry and resolute to find out who I was? What was Manipur? Who are the Meiteis? School text books offered no help either, there wasn’t any mention of Manipur anywhere in history. I had to find it out on my own.

First of all let me put this straight, no matter what language we speak, what color our skin is or what religion we are. We are all Homo sapiens, one specie.

There is a theory called “out of Africa theory”. It proposes that man evolved from apes into humans (Homo sapiens) in Africa and moved from Africa to the rest of the world. These migrations were done as families or group of families. Whichever group wanted to move on, moved on and which ever wanted to stay at a place stayed and became the natives of the place. The natives of Andaman Islands the Jarawas were one of the groups who went out from Africa and they settled in the Andaman Islands. Their relative isolation has left them unchanged in features and culture from the tribes of Africa.

During this time of migration Manipur was submerged under a sea called the Tethys Sea. Due to this, Manipur never had any original out of Africa settlers. However later on as the Indian subcontinent began to push into Asia the land began to rise and the sea gradually disappeared and gave way to mountain chains, in what is now the north east India.

As habitable land began to emerge in these places, the region was claimed by 2 major groups. The Tibeto Chinese tribes coming from the north and the Thai tribes from the east. The southernmost settlements of the Tibeto Chinese tribes were the northern hills of Manipur and the western most settlements of the Thai tribes were the territories of the Khasis. Drawing a straight line through the middle of the overlapping regions of the tribes, those settling to the north of this line were Tibeto Chinese tribes and south of it were the Thai tribes.

In our quest to find the history of ourselves I and my sisters went to Kangla, when it was still under the control of the Assam rifles. No civilians were allowed in at the time. We went in with the help of an uncle who was in Manipur rifles. In there we saw the Kanglasha still in ruins, the seven ponds of the seven salai and also the place where the puya was burnt. After that we came across an old man with long beard dressed in white with his long hair tied in a knot. Sitting under a huge mango tree he was eating green mango with mint and green chili. He looked like a Maichou we read about in old meitei books, a spiritual man of vast knowledge. We went up to him and asked “pupu kangla gi matang da wari khara libi o” .My elder sister was our leader , she had lots of energy and enthusiasm in searching the history of Manipur.

Occasionally taking a bite of his mango he told us a story of how Kangla got its name and why it is the most sacred place in Manipur.

When our forefathers first came to this land, there was no Imphal valley, only a big lake. They all settled in the hills. But during this time in the whole of Imphal valley one place was dry. This dry land was kangla. The name kang meaning dry and la meaning land. Because of this reason it was regarded as the most sacred place. Whoever controlled kangla was considered to be the most powerful group in Manipur. Later on the water gradually receded and more dry land emerged and they started settling in these newly emerged dry land. The different pats, Keisam pat, Lamphel pat, Khongham pat, etc were the reminiscent of the earlier Tethys Sea.

With this new knowledge we went home satisfied and got a good scolding from our parents for wondering off on our own.

As for our forefathers more and more of them started settling in the Imphal valley and 7 different groups were formed, the seven salai namely: Mangang, Luwang, Khuman, Sarang-Leisangthem, Moirang, Kha-Nganba and Angom. Around 14000 BC, a powerful leader by the name of Pakhangba conquered all the seven salais. And name the new united groups as “Meitei”.

In simpler words Meitei was formed by the unification of Tibeto Chinese and Thai tribe of Manipur 16000 years ago. The Tibeto Chinese tribes are the tribes we now know as the Nagas and the Thai tribes are the tribes we now know as Kuki.

The very word Meitei is synonymous with unity. The identity of various tribes vanish as we try to find a single race behind it. Meitei is not a one race, diversity is the very fabric on which Meitei originates.

The story of Meitei does not end there. I have heard stories that Kabui were supposed to be the 8^th salai of Meitei and that coming of Hinduism created problems in that happening. I would argue that as of now meitei consist of 9 salai and not just 7. The two others being Bamon and Pangan. It is said that the clan Nongmeikapam were originally Muslims who were proficient in using firearms and later on got assimilated into one of the Meitei salai.

In my search I also found that Yumnam the sagei to which I belong although categorized as Mangang were not in the original Mangang salai. We were assimilated into Meitei fold later on. Earlier we were considered as Hao/non meitei. My looks support the story…. Ha ha. Meiteis originated from the fore fathers of Nagas and Kukis.

We are at a very critical juncture in the fate of Manipur. Are we going to destroy each other? Naga vs Meitei,Meitei vs Kuki, Kuki vs Naga. Or unite as one and take Manipur into the future as a symbol of what unity can achieve. Our forefathers did it 16000 years ago and resulted in Meitei. We don’t need another Pakhangba to unite us, we just need to let love guide us and crush all feelings of hatred plaguing us. Bigger problems lurk just around the corner which threatens the whole of humanity, climate change, end of oil, war, religious conflict and what not. Let’s face them together as one and secure a bright future for our next generation.

If a hand full of tribes from naga and kuki unite to form the rich and diverse culture we see in Meitei, imagine what will happen if the whole of Naga, Kuki and Meitei unite to form a ‘new race’ of people.

There would be nothing we can’t achieve.

This is the time to unite as ONE.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/08/who-is-a-meitei/

A journey to the Ngainga Village, Ukhrul – A village that can set an example of sustainable economic growth and autonomy of a village republic

By Chingtham Balbir Khuman On July 2, 2015, four of us from Imphal, comprising myself, Mr. Senjam Bishorjit (just completed graduation in Zoology from

By Chingtham Balbir Khuman

On July 2, 2015, four of us from Imphal, comprising myself, Mr. Senjam Bishorjit (just completed graduation in Zoology from the Liberal College), Miss Chingkheimayum Daya (Currently a teacher in a private school) and Miss. Chingkheimayum Sana (M. Sc. Mathematics, final year in the Manipur University) visited Ngainga village. The village, about 2348.17 hectares (5802.45 acres) in size, based on a hill top, inhabited by the Tangkhul community, is located in the western part of Ukhrul district, at about 17 km. from the district headquarters.

Ngainga Tarung Tree. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

Our interest to visit Ngainga grew stronger following an interaction with Dr. Malem Ningthouja of the Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur), who had visited the village in the winter of 2014, to find some documents related to the murder of Miss Luingamla by the Indian ‘security’ forces in 1986. We were being informed about the scenic beauty of Ngainga village, its calm and peaceful location, the comradely attitude of the villagers, and the prospect of sustainable development through community initiatives. We thought that, we must visit Ngainga, to have an overview idea about it and potential future planning.

Luingamla

The initial contact with responsible persons to guide and support us at Ngainga was arranged by the CPDM. Accordingly, we made contacts with the general secretary of the Women’s Union of Ngainga Mrs. Tharawon, the general secretary of the Tangkhul Katamnao Long Mr. Leiyolan Vashum, and Mr. Thankson and Mr. Deben of the Volunteers for Village Development, a non-governmental organization based in Ukhrul. Initially, Leiyolan was asked to guide us to the village from the Ukhrul town, as we are unaware of the route.

Our journey started, at around 6 a.m., from Imphal. On the way, at the Lamlai market, we bought some pineapples from the Lamlai market as aunty Tharawon was curious to have some piece of it, as those are not grown in her village. Other than pineapples, we took some edible water vegetables (stems, seeds and roots) such as eshing ekai thabi and thangjing, which were rarely grown in the hills.

As we drove in a car, we have discovered that the road, particularly after Lamlai, was dotted along with several stretches of the worst conditions, due to destructions brought about by rain. In several dotted stretches, running into several hundred meters, those were marked by muddy, rugged and slippery conditions. There were several risky curves and turnings. The situation considerably delayed the speed of driving to cover a distance of about 82 km from Imphal to Ukhrul. We could reach the Ukhrul town only at around 9:20 am. The road requires proper attention from the government and other stake holders.

Ngainga Babtist Church. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

At the Ukhrul town we were welcomed both by Leiyolan and Thankson. We were expecting a long interaction with Leiyolan about his activism and the organizational functioning of TKS. Unfortunately, Leiyolan could not spend much time with us, as he had to attend an urgent meeting that was called at short notice by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM). But we could sense that Leiyolan was an energetic and committed youth, with lots of responsibilities for cause of the society or community that had nominated him to the position. We are hoping to meet him again to learn from his experiences.

After bidding adieu to Leiyolan, the burden of guiding us to the VVD office and Ngainga was shouldered by Thankson. Thankson took us to the VVD office, where we met uncle Deben and some enthusiastic volunteers. The VVD was established in 1982 with the mission to create a society with sustainable livelihood where love, brotherhood and equitable life prevails: to enable self-help initiatives for strengthening the village republic. It was constituted by a General Body that periodically nominated an Executive Committee, which in turn supervise the activities of the Program Staff, Support Staff and Micro Finance. At the VVD office, we had a short preliminary interaction on two broad issues: (a) The Mapithel Dam and its fallout, and (b) Chromite drilling in Ukhrul.

Ngainga route guardless stalls. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

Both these issues are complex in nature, created by man of power. These two projects are the products of a where a microscopic clique of beneficiaries, who in collusion with the state and ‘investors’ had prospered (or likely to prosper) at the cost of the larger bulk of the marginal Tangkhul peoples. There are powerful stake holders that enacted legitimacy to exploit other through misinformation and use of muscle powers, at the cost of the ecological balance, sustainable development and peace for the Tangkhuls. The manner that these projects had been or would be executed can be studied to reveal how monetisation, commodification and intrusion by big and destructive capital had brought about greed for profit, mistrust, oppression, exploitation, and inequality in the Tangkhul world. These two issues can be the best reference to raise questions against the ideological position and strategic policies of the attempted pan- Naga ‘revolution’, which had been spearheaded by the armed parties such as the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (IM) and others.

Ngainga playground. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

The interaction at the VVD office was very cordial and enlightening. Uncle Deben was very energetic, open minded and practical in approach. He had spent many time there, worked with the people, ate with them and shared many things with the volunteers. He being from a Manipuri Brahmin (Meetei Bamon) family background; his commitment, lifestyle, and relation with the volunteers, who are from the scheduled tribes, to some extent deconstructed the prevailing stereotypes and polemics about discriminations, hatred and enmity along religious and communal lines. What was being upheld, at the grass roots, according to what we had noticed, was collective work amongst those who shared common objectives, who enjoyed doing it and who grew on it. Like uncle Deben, Thaknson was equally friendly, energetic and enterprising. He belong to the average middle class migrant family from Ngainga, who have now settled in the Ukhrul town. His nostalgia for Ngainga was persistent and he had the vision of contributing towards making Ngainga prosperous by making the village republic politically and economically self- generating.

Luingamla Kashan

After the interaction, we were guided upto the Ngainga village by Thankson. Although only about 17 km in distance from the Ukhrul town, there were many sloppy curves and turnings, which have slowed down the average speed of driving. It took us around 50 minutes to finally reach Ngainga. On the way, our eyes were completely overwhelmed by the enchanting scenic beauties of the green and blue mountains, the refreshing vegetation and forests on the road sides, the vibrant terrace cultivations, the dotted traditional dwellings and community settlements. It all appeared to be exotic, full of beauty and attractions, something like a dream that were hardly been imagined.

A unique feature, in the interior route on the way to Ngainga, which we had never noticed in our lifetime were the dotted vegetable stalls on the roadside. Those stalls had no attendants. Those stalls were marked by a platform where goods were placed on it, a price tag of the goods was fixed like a placard neatly written on a paper sheet, and a bag to put money by any customer who would purchase any of the items. The logic was: anyone buying anything from the platform would have to voluntarily drop the money into the bag. The degree of trust in sincerity, as indicated by these stalls, had surprised us a lot; in a world where the powerful sections (even amongst the Tangkhuls) have now become highly selfish for profit and would indulge in misappropriation at the cost of the marginal sections. In the so called civilized metropolitan cities, the malls and kiosks are guarded by gun holding guards and CCTV cameras to obstruct robbery and hijacking. The social picture shown to us by these unguarded stalls was totally different. It explained a robbery free society where mutual trust had prevailed above greed. We can’t predict, how long the tradition will continue. But, we were overjoyed to find it, which gives us lots of hope about building an alternative society free from the poisons of greed that has been perpetuated by the neo-liberal economy. The point is, how to carry forth to achieve the alternative society. How do we learn it from the society that enable to flourish the unguarded stalls?

Ngainga Church sponsored school hoardings. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

While approaching Ngainga, there were highly and colourfully decorated rows of cemetery on both sides of the road. This was how the Christianised Ngainga villagers constructed the mnemonic tools to respectfully remember the deaths, with lively colours; which also suggested that the deaths were not thrown into oblivion, but the burials were being made into a visually attractive sites of tourism as well. Compared with it, the so called martyrs square, which was constructed in memory of Mayopam Ramror and Ramkashing Vashi, near the mini-stadium, at Ukhrul town, who were killed in police action on 30^th August, 2014, was in a dilapidated condition, littered with dirt and garbage like wasted materials. In this regards, the so called civilised and patriotic peoples in the Ukhrul town needs to learn from Ngainga as to the manner mnemonic tools should be constructed and maintained, to preserve the aesthetic beauty and the meaning of patriotism embodied in such constructions.

Luingamla memorial, Ngainga village.

When we reached Ngainga, we were warmly welcomed by the members of the Ngainga Women’s Union at aunty Tharawon’s residence. By the time we had reached, since the people normally had their meal in the morning, we were already late for it. We were asked to have the meal before interaction with others and tour inside the village. In fact, three women had been preparing the meal that was rice and different varieties of simple cooked cuisines such as chicken curry, eromba, vegetable fry, singju, and boiled vegetables. The well prepared natural aroma of the food was tempting us a lot to jump into the kitchen. We, along with the aunty and others who were the host, sat around the dining table; the aunty led the prayer, after which we shared the delicious food. Thanks to the aunty and others for the food.

After the meal we had an interaction with the members of the Ngainga Women’s Union, Youth’s Union, Tangkhul Naga Long and elders of the village. They were all persons with wisdom, the respectable personalities in the village, and were very much considerate about developing the village. They carried in themselves the oral narrative of the genesis of the village, the past and present, the memories of various jubilant and unfortunate happenings, the undelivered service delivery expectations from the government, the landlocked landscape locations and hardships due to the neglect by the regimes in power, and the complaints against the moribund state system. Those persons of wisdom, tested us with several simple but thought provoking questions, which could not be satisfactory responded by powerless individuals like us, who had merely visited the village to learn from them. Those simple questions made us to realise how weak and powerless persons we were, and inspire us to rethink ourselves to learn more, to work more, and to find the adequate answers. We could not offer anything in return for the hospitality and food; instead, we receive from them more wisdom, which make us today more inquisitive towards finding the means to unite and fighting for an alternative world order.

Luingamla jewellery

After the interaction we had a short sightseeing tour in the village. In this, we came across the memorial tomb of Miss Luingamla Muinao (Maza) (1968-86), which was constructed and unveiled on 23 October 2011. Luingamla, daughter of late Suilei Mazawo, of Ngainga Village, was charming and hardworking She was fatally shot on January 24, 1986, inside her home by the Indian paramilitary personnel who were carrying out routine combing operation on the eve of the Indian Republic Day. It is being said that she was killed because she raised alarm while there was an attempt to rape her. People resented the killing and boycotted the Republic Day. From that year onwards, the date of the annual foundation day of the Ngainga Shanao Long was rescheduled on 26 January. Therefore, the Indian Republic Day in Ngainga Village since 1987 had been marked by the observance of the raising day of the women organisation. In the course of time, one Zamthingla Ruivah a woman neighbour of Luingamla, in memory of Luingamla designed a woollen cloth for women known as Luingamla Kashan, a piece of which was shown to us by our host. They also showed to us some pieces of necklace and earing that were designed and attributed to in the name of Luingamla. The inscriptions on the three faced column conveys the narratives of the brutal sexual crimes and murders committed by the Indian law enforcing agents, the valiant struggle by the helpless victims to protects the rights, chastity of women’s social being, and the memory of the tortures and pains. Inscription on one side of the three faced column reads: “Weep no more mummy let the world know I have sacrificed my life in preserving a woman’s chastity and dignity blessed by God the Creator. Lt. Miss Luingamla Muinao (Maza).” The visual resonance of the memorial, filled our hearts with pain, and we asked ourselves: how long India will indulge in killing and coercing the innocents, to advance the greedy course of militarisation, to serve the oppressive and exploitative neo-liberal interests? What happened to the culprits who killed Luingamla? Were they punished for name sake or were they really befittingly punished? What have India done, so far, to mentally compensate the loss of Luingamla?

Ngainga landscape. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

Our next attention was the tradition of the erection of the dried tree trunks and inscribed family genealogy on concrete structures in the courtyard. It has been a tradition that, amongst the rich and prominent families, a particular tree trunk christened as “Tarung” in Tangkhul dialect, was erected in the front courtyards. These appeared to be symbols of pride, wealth and prominence. The concerned family erected it, after making a traditional announcement, followed by symbolic ritual and a feast that was offered to the neighbourhoods. Other than this, there was also a tradition of erecting stone structures in the front courtyard where names of the patriarchal line of the respective families were neatly inscribed. But the size, material composition, artistic rendering and material adornment of these structure varied depending on wealth. These true traditions, in their diverse material forms, which comprised an overarching tradition, would suggest that despite the holistic notion of community as above the individuals and some forms of egalitarianism; some form of social divide along the lines of wealth have been gradually taking shape in the village. The search for wealth, opportunity and prospect, has been a reality; which continue to promote emigration in other places in search of job and wealth. Our guide, Thankson, belong to an emigrant family, although he continue to possess the nostalgia of Ngainga. But nostalgia alone will be insufficient to make Ngainga prosperous; the village ‘diasporas’ must come back and invest in collective initiatives to make Ngainga recover from what our host had disappointingly paraphrased as a situation of ‘underdevelopment’. In reality, the villagers live in a situation, where the women union was badly in need of fund to construct its separate office and secular community hall. The question is: who will fund it?

Ngainga church interior. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

One of the distinctive and largest constructed structure that we came across was the Baptist Church. The church had sponsored primary school. We had entered the Church only to discover lack of infrastructure, although well-orderedly maintained and neat and clean inside. We had wanted to enter into the school complex to have a few look on the infrastructure inside and the probable facilities rendered to the villagers. We did not enter; but, we had the impression that it was meant for rudimentary teachings and there was lack of facilities to fulfil the needs of the students that require additional input and supports. There was also an elaborate open play field in the village, where periodical tournament across villages were held from time to time. The field was left open for anyone to play, particularly soccer, but without a gallery and other infrastructure. There was no indoor stadium and there was considerable lack of logistic facilities for a variety of sports. Although Manipur is being acknowledged as a hub of sports in the Indian sub-continent; it seems to us that, in the context of the inadequate infrastructure, facilities and incentives in sports, the sports loving children and youth of Ngainga may have the rare chance to come up to the status of compatible only through several thousand extra miles of exhaustive commitment had hard working. Why have the Manipur Sports Department neglected Ngainga and many others? If the proposed establishment of a Sports University in Manipur become a reality; will the government care for the hitherto neglected community of potential sportspersons in Ngainga and elsewhere?

Ukhrul road. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

We were shocked at learning about the complete neglect of public transport system and medical sector by the government. Firstly, there is no government transport system connecting Ngainga and ukhrul and other places via Ngainga. Currently, there is an irregular taxi service between Ngainga and Ukhrul town run by private owners. For any emergency purpose at any time or to travel to other places that are not covered by the taxi service, the commuters have to find their own means. The rich are not affected by the poor transport system, but the poor had to suffer a lot when the service is not easily available to them. Secondly, there is neither a health centre nor a pharmacy in Ngainga. One had to visit Ukhrul town for medical check-up and treatment. For ‘minor’ injuries and sickness, either those are left alone for self-curing or relied on some medicines which were being kept for personal usage by some families. These two sectors, as one could see in Ngainga, exemplify the urban rural divide in terms of facilities and services. These are the two sectors that the government had largely neglected. Paving the way to privatisation of these two important sectors, in no way had brought about any substantial amount of service delivery to address the rural grievances. Driven by profit motives, the profiteers in these sectors are less enthusiastic about providing services to Ngainga and other neglected areas, as those areas would not ensure them quick and huge profit. The system, therefore, has practically perpetuated uneven growth and facilities in these important sectors. How long Ngainga should live at the mercy of the system?

Ukhrul road. Photo- Chingtham Balbir Khuman

Economically, the people of Ngainga appeared to be one of the underprivileged sections of Manipur. Most of the families are depended on agriculture, forest products and weaving for survival and income generation. Over utilisation of these land resources to meet the growing need of an expanding population, had the side effects towards decline of area under cultivation, depletion of soil fertility, and decline in production scale, and so on. Many face the problems of acute shortage of water for plantation and the basic energy for domestic consumption. In sum total, the primary constraints of the families are poverty and lack of facilities for education and human resource development. Some amount of recovery or development attempts had been made by the NGO sectors from time to time. However, those attempts had not been successful in overcoming poverty, inequality and marginalisation. The situation had compelled many to become permanently depended on the mercy of the powerful, who would casually donate some amount of money in the name of social service, in exchange for support in election and other politically motivated games. These powerful power and profit hungry rulers, do not want to make the people self-reliant so that they grow and become politically autonomous; on the contrary devised tactics to make the people perpetually dependent, to suit their vested interests.

Despite the visit, our knowledge about Ngainga is still incomplete. We lack more knowledge about Ngainga and the means to make it economically prosperous and politically autonomous. We merely had a glance of what were distinctively apparent to the eyes. However, the little things that we had come across made us believe that Ngainga had lots of potential to become one of the model villages; where there can be sustainable development through a mixture of private entrepreneurship and community initiatives. The village still possesses abundant amount of land, a huge portion of which are under cultivation and the rest of which are either underutilised or could be regenerated. What is lacking is the skill, technique and the organisation of labour to spearhead economic growth through collective initiatives, without actually compromising the ecological system. If these shortcoming is being overcome, Ngainga will become a surplus economy, which will further help in promoting other sectors, which in turn will also generate surplus. In that sense, Ngainga can become an autonomous village republic, without begging for petty funds from the greedy rich and the half-hearted government of the exploiters. What are the required skills, techniques, and organisation of labour: for this we intend to visit Ngainga again to learn more from them and also to express our views. Like the emigrant sections who had left Ngainga in search of opportunity; we, who were attracted by the comradely treatment of the host, beauty and calmness of the village, and the prospect are equally having the nostalgia about Ngainga. May Ngainga prosper soon!

The author has completed graduation in B. Sc. Life Science, in 2015, from the Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi. He is currently residing in Delhi for further studies. He can be contacted at balbirkhuman(at)gmail(dot)com

Jiribam: Sapam Robinhood saluted as “Athouba” on Patriot’s Day

125th PATRIOTS DAY CELEBRATION organized by Echel Club Dibong Jiribam on 13th August Chief Guest: L.Ranjit Sing (Zonal Education Officer) President: S.Maniton Sing (Retired principle) Events: – Saluting (late) Sapam Robinhood

125th PATRIOTS DAY CELEBRATION organized by Echel Club Dibong Jiribam on 13th August

Chief Guest: L.Ranjit Sing (Zonal Education Officer)
President: S.Maniton Sing (Retired principle)

Events:
– Saluting (late) Sapam Robinhood as “Athouba”
– Speech by various resource persons
– Writer Moiranghtem Satyabati released 3 of her books and donated copies to Echel Club secretary Th. Dushyant:
1. KINTHARAKLABA SHAMBAL 2. NINGSING KHUNGI IPU 3.WARIDUBU LOIDRIBRA
– Poem recitation by children
– 2 minutes silent observation for the souls of the Athouba sing

News and Photo by: Momon Thoudam

In-depth thinking and political wisdom crucial to solving Naga problem

By Oken Jeet Sandham Almost all the people and even those who have been so closely associated with leaders of the NSCN(IM) for years in working to find solution to

By Oken Jeet Sandham

Almost all the people and even those who have been so closely associated with leaders of the NSCN(IM) for years in working to find solution to the decades old Naga political issue have been caught napping when the Government of India has inked the “Framework Agreement” with the NSCN (IM) on August 3, 2015 at Delhi. The low profile event of the high profile Indo-Naga issue has been arranged at the residence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7 Race Course Road, Delhi in his presence along with his Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Interlocutor to Naga talks RN Ravi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and also many top ranking NSCN (IM) leaders.

According to report, NSCN (IM) General Secretary Th Muivah and Chairman Isak Chishi Swu on behalf of the organization and RN Ravi representing the Government of India signed the agreement. Soon after this agreement, breaking news of this event came in all the TV Channels from Delhi and all the online editions of the National Papers. Hundreds of people in Nagaland and its neighbouring States were taken aback by the sudden announcement of the agreement as none of them expected that such an agreement would be signed so soon particularly the manner in which they did it, though many of them had some clues that some development between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) would take place.

Soon after the news of the “Framework Agreement” broke out, there were mix reactions and confusions among the people including the Naga people themselves. Such confusion is bound to happen, and of course naturally, when the Government of India has suddenly entered into such historic agreement with the NSCN (IM) without having given any pre-information of such significance to the Naga leaders including Nagaland Chief Minister, other stakeholders. Although some said that it is “Preamble,” it would have been more logical had the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) given pre-information to the public before signing the agreement, because the Naga issue has been dragging on for decades. However, the parties have been cautious in handling and explaining of the nature of the agreement.

This sudden development has changed the political course now. Many have been finding hard to give their comments except welcoming the agreement, saying they are yet to see the details of the accord. On one side, the Naga people know that there are other groups not only fighting for the cause of the Nagas but also maintaining even ceasefire with the Government of India. On the other, they are worried and anxious of details of the agreement that are yet to be finalized soon, and of course, the NSCN (K) has already walked away from the ceasefire in March this year.

Now, even though it is “Framework Agreement,” Chief Ministers of the neighbouring States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur have already demanded the Prime Minister to make the details of the agreement public as they had suspicions that there might be some hidden agenda in it to disturb territories of their respective States as the Naga Integration issue was one of the core demands of the NSCN (IM). However, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his Deputy Kiren Rejiju said such issues were not there now, besides saying that they (Chief Ministers of AP, Assam and Manipur) will be consulted before finalizing the details of the accord between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM).

Now the ball is in the court of the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) as to how they will move on from here, and all depends on how they act to the fast developing crucial political situation in Nagaland and its neighbouring States. One side they have to work out as to how they can take on board other Naga groups, on the other they have to see that Nagaland and its neighbouring States’ interests are protected.

Some crucial talks doing the round in the last few days after the signing of the agreement are about Nagas having a separate flag, separate currency and safeguarding their Naga customary system and land and its resources. Some of these points have already been touched by Zeliang also. When talking about safeguarding customary system and land and its resources of the Nagas living in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, they are similar to the Clause (a) of the Article 371A of the Constitution of India. Some say that Article 371A should cover the Naga areas in other neighbouring States. Because when they talk of providing safeguards to their customary practices and land and its resources, provisions of protecting them are already there in the Article 371A. But the point to be noted here is that this Article 371A has come into effect as a result of the State of Nagaland Act, 1962. And all this development had happened because of the 16-Point Agreement signed between the Government of India and the then Naga People’s Convention (NPC) in 1960.
Now as this writer has already stated in his earlier write-ups that any attempt to amend Article 371A of the Constitution of India will be doing so against the very spirit of the 16-Point Agreement of 1960. It is because of this agreement that the present State of Nagaland was born as the 16th State of the Union of India in 1963.

If the Naga leaders wanted to have provisions to safeguard their land and its resources and customary systems for Nagas living in neighbouring States, they can be discussed, and if agreed upon, then they can be incorporated in the relevant Articles connecting with the respective States of the Northeast. But attempting to extend the Article 371A, which is for the State of Nagaland, to other Naga areas outside it (Nagaland) will unlikely to produce positive result. It is also not very clear whether the Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur will agree to the idea that the Nagas living in their respective States to have provisions of direct sharing of power with the Government of India as pointed out by some including Nagaland Chief Minister. They may feel that such arrangement may violate the Federal structure of the Constitution of India.

One should, however, know that there are various ways to work out for protecting the interests of Nagaland, other neighbouring States and the Naga people if the so-called contentious issues are no more there. The leaders should apply their political wisdom while working out for details of the accord. The leaders must have in-depth positive and mature thinking abilities because all actions come after thinking. David Joseph Schwartz, who was an American motivational writer and coach, best known for authoring The Magic of Thinking Big in 1959 said, “Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking.”

Most importantly, the leaders in talks should see that any move they attempt should lead to solving the vex Naga political issue. Otherwise, it will be only a vicious circle.

Bottom Line:

In Delhi on Sunday, Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang said, “I along with all Members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly are ready to step down, if an acceptable and honorable solution is found to the Naga people, in order to make a new beginning.”

I genuinely believe such a decision should be taken after a thorough deliberation on the present development through a “Special Session of Nagaland Legislative Assembly,” so that it will be politically valid and logical. Otherwise, differences may crop up among the legislators in Nagaland and that will be a major hindrance to the process again.

2nd Kanjingbam Nena Singh memorial Kang Tournament 2015: Jiribam

Jiribam, 10 Aug, 2015: 2nd Kanjingbam Nena Singh memorial Kang Tournament 2015 was held in Jiribam on 10th Aug 2015. The tournament was participated by 7 teams namely LEC, Echel

Jiribam, 10 Aug, 2015: 2nd Kanjingbam Nena Singh memorial Kang Tournament 2015 was held in Jiribam on 10th Aug 2015. The tournament was participated by 7 teams namely LEC, Echel club, KYC, SDYC, SAYC, KYC and MNC. Dignitaries of the event was Ksh Promila, District Programme Officer , Tamenglong, M. Prajakanta Singh, President, AJSA and K. Birakumar Singh, Babupara as Chief Guest, President and Doner respectively. The final match was played between SAYC( Sorokatingbi Jiribam) and KYC (Kalinagar Jiribam) . SAYC won the match .

Can Manipur be saved from extinction ?

By: Jila S Waikhom M.D. Recently there are a lot of news about Manipur. Unfortunately, not all of them are good news. It is quiet apparent that Manipur is in

By: Jila S Waikhom M.D.

Recently there are a lot of news about Manipur. Unfortunately, not all of them are good news. It is quiet apparent that Manipur is in a state of crisis in all aspects of life social, economic and political.Socially,the indigenous people of Manipur are divided on different artificial and fictitious grounds.Politically,there are strong currents of division different groups going in different directions. Economically,as the local people in particular the Meiteis are not protected from taking away their land and property. There is a real danger of extinction of the minority community in a human mass of other Indians.Do not take otherwise. I am very proud of to be an Indian but we have to realise that India is a multi-ethnic country.

How we have come to this situation: a Manipur of glorious past and united country of more than 2000 years? We all read that how our forefathers defended and protected our country. The wind of change started 1890 with the the arrival of the British who divided the country into the valley and hills although the whole area is hilly. However, the British did not change any customary laws of Manipur. Then, in 1948 the annexation of Manipur to India came. All the Indian laws were introduced into Manipur immediately without exception although some of the laws are quite alien to Manipur. When states were annexed or created in India the local customary laws are protected. This was the case about Kasmir, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalay and Arunachal. As we know in the case of Manipur the merger clause did not include the protection of our traditional customs and laws which were quite different than that of the rest of India.However, there were visionaries in the early Indian leadership who saw that there were many different indigenous minority people in India who need to be protected. With that in mind they created certain groups of people in the category of scheduled tribes whose rights and properties are duely protected under the Indian constitution.Although, the Meiteis qualifies to be included in the list of the scheduled tribes and should have been included,it was not included whereas all the rest of the indigenous people of Manipur were included. The consequences of this omission are felt today in every part of our society.

Can we do anything to correct this anomaly? Yes we can but it may need some extra effort.We know from historical perspective and opinion of scholars on this subject the different groups of people residing in Manipur the Meiteis the Tangkhuls,the Kabuis,the Kukis all the rest have the same ethnic origin and DNA. So it is rightful claim to include the Meiteis in the scheduled tribes list like the rest of the other groups in Manipur and in the rest of India.

How about a good I L P system or law will do any good? It will do some good but not good enough.Right now valuable lives are sacrificed and properties are lost in the demand. ILP will monitor some incoming and outgoing people. No ILP law can protect the life properties of the local indigenous people.

In conclusion, the only solution to protect life and property of the indigenous people of Manipur is to include the Meiteis in the Scheduled tribes category as the rest of the other people in the State. This will bring peace and,harmony among the different people of Manipur and also the rest of the other Indians. To this end I urge everybody in Manipur all political parties, social workers, professionals, business people, common people in all walks of life join together proceed to claim this right through the proper channel in a peaceful and civilized way.

I wish a happy and prosperous Manipur.

** About the writer: Jila s waikhom currently lives in the United States since 1971. He was borne and brought up in Singjamei, Imphal and has served as Eye Specialist in Manipur & Nagaland before moving to US. He can be reached at jwaikhom(at)woh(dot)rr(dot)com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/08/can-manipur-be-saved-from-extinction/