Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Civilians to Combatants: Heirok and Lilong Chajing, are two immediate demonstrations that legitimacy of the establishment, or more pertinently its challengers, cannot be sustained by appeals to nationalism alone, whatever hue that nationalism is of. In the end, the only lasting legitimacy of any establishment or its challengers will rest on the ability to qualify these legitimacy appeals with actual guarantees of quality of life. So if arbitrary executions, detention, intimidations, murders by mistake, etc, are sought to be justified in the name of upholding nationalism, or dismissed as collateral damage in this war, the only casualty ultimately would be the awe with which the same brand of nationalism is held by the public. Interestingly, it is Manipur more than anywhere else, which has seen the public saying no to these “nationalistic” atrocities regardless of which side of the battlefront the atrocities are committed by. In this sense, it would not be very wrong to say that the show...

Hundreds turn up for physical test: Imphal, May 5: With the Government deciding to provide arms to the people of Heirok for their self defence, the recruitment drive for selecting 300 Special Police Officers started on Monday with the physical test held at Heirok Part II Mela Ground from 8 am to 4 pm. Personally supervised by DGP Y Joykumar, the physical test was conducted in the presence of Thoubal SP, Clay Khongsai, officers of Thoubal police and officers from the IRB. Candidates aspiring to be SPOs at Heirok wait for their turn for the physical test From early morning, hundreds of aspirants started streaming to the Mela Ground to take part in the physical test armed with the needed documents and waited for their turns in a long queue. Altogether 460 candidates applied for the posts of the 300 SPOs. After screening through the applications, only candidates who have passed Matric and above were shortlisted, as per the norms laid down by the Government. This however did not go down we...

Lawyers boycott court : Imphal, May 5: Lawyers in Manipur today abstained from duty, bringing the functioning of all courts to a grinding halt, in protest against militants targeting the judiciary. The Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council) had asked Bishnupur chief judicial magistrate Tara Devi to surrender before it or face dire consequences. The outfit, in a statement issued on May 2, had accused the CJM of being involved in the killing of one of its members by Assam Rifles troops and asked her to surrender within five days. Tara Devi, however, denied any connivance with the Assam Rifles as alleged by the outfit. The High Court Bar Association today held a meeting to review the situation and discuss the threat.The meeting, presided over by its president S. Jayenta Singh, resolved to endorse a decision taken by All Manipur Bar Association on Saturday not to attend court until the threat was withdrawn. The association said it would send the resolution, adopted today, to the chi...

Associate Professor confessed to RPF: Imphal, May 5: An associate professor of the Manipuri department, Manipur University, Rajen Toijamba has made a confession to the RPF/PLA in front of mediapersons on MOnday in connection with mark tampering in the recently held entrance test for the selection of Ph.D students in Manipur University on January 30 this year. The spokesman of the department of communication and publicity, RPF/PLA during a press conference held somewhere in Churachandpur district this evening disclosed that the associate professor had voluntarily turned up after being summoned by the RPF in connection with mark tampering in the selection test for Ph.D students in Manipuri department of the university. The spokesperson further mentioned that the RPF in the interest of the students and for bringing quality education at the university had put suggestions from time to time to the concerned lecturers of various subjects mainly during the time of examinations and selection te...

Suspension of bus service to go on: Imphal, May 5: A meeting of the Inter-State Bus Association held at Hotel Imphal on Monday resolved to continue with the ongoing suspension of inter-State bus service. Inter-State bus service along NH 39 was suspended since May 3 because of unaffordable monetary demands made at different check-posts and by numerous UG groups. During the meeting, it was agreed to suspend tourist bus service until all the monetary demands from UG groups and the 'taxes' being levied at different check-posts are withdrawn. Even as a joint meeting with civil society representatives was convened today to discuss the unfolding situation following suspension of inter-state bus service, the meeting has been deferred to another date as attendance from civil society representatives was poor. On the other hand, because of the 120 hours economic blockade being imposed by ATSUM on national highways, a large number of loaded vehicles are being stranded on the highways unabl...

Rule of law collapses in Manipur: The deterioration of the rule of law in Manipur and its near total collapse today is not unpredictable. To say that governance in Manipur has failed completely is also no exaggeration. The mere presence of government machinery with all the trappings of power does not mean anything if it fails to deliver. In Manipur, the government simply exists to carry out perfunctory duties. It has lost the drive to govern because its preoccupation is not unlike that of the non-state actors, which is to make money. Here is a state where you see a happy co-existence and a convergence of interests between state and non-state actors. However, the proliferation of non-state groups to the point where you lose count of the numbers also means that the share of the pie gets smaller everyday. In that case, government funds alone do not suffice to meets the needs of these groups. They encroach into other semi-state and non-state establishments. The commercial space is inflicte...

Sangma suggests railway, bus links with Dhaka: New Delhi, May 4: Dhaka has been cold to New Delhi’s request for transit facilities to the Northeast, but leaders in the region hope the ice will melt soon. Lured by the success of the Calcutta-Dhaka Moitree Express, Meghalaya wants transport links, including railway connectivity, with Bangladesh. The chairman of state Planning Board, P.A. Sangma, hopes to open negotiations with Bangladesh for a bus service between Tura, the headquarters of West Garo Hills, and Dhaka. He is also pitching for a railway link from Baghmara, the headquarters of South Garo Hills, to the nearest railway line in Bangladesh, which is 17km away. “Only that much needs to be constructed by us. I have written to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee expressing my wish to visit the neighbouring country,” the former Lok Sabha Speaker, who hails from Tura, said. Meghalaya chief minister Donkupar Roy urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week for a transport link...

Polluted Nambul river devastates fish and humans: Manipur's Nambul river's role in the context of maintaining the climatic conditions of Manipur cannot be ignored as it directly falls into the Loktak lake - the largest fresh water lake in North East India, which plays a vital role in controlling the ecological balance of the region. But urbanization and taking up of various developmental projects in other parts of the state have started showing its fangs - the most palpable being the pollution of the Nambul River running through the city. The river becomes polluted once it starts entering Imphal's main market area. The most polluted part of the river in its 10 kilometre stretch in Imphal city begins from Hump Bridge until it reaches Keishamthong bridge - a distance of almost 1.5 km. Nambul river has now become not only the most polluted river in the state but also a model river of pollution in Manipur. During the wet season, solid waste - tons of toxic material - are being ...

Moirang and Shishak's INA flag: It is hard to find a Bengali who has not heard of or read about the legendary Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Many of them also know of the existence of a well-kept memorial to the Indian National Army at Moirang in the picturesque Loktak Lake area, 32 km from Imphal town, but have not visited it. It is built on the site where, on 4 April 1944, Netaji hoisted the INA flag on Indian soil for the first time (Meitei insurgents assert Manipur was never part of India and still is not). A contributor to Imphal Free Press, Waikhom Shana, reported last week that an INA flag, made of khadi and with an emblem of a springing tiger and which was hoisted for the first time on Indian territory, “is still in good shape and is in the custody of YA Shishak of Sangshak” in Manipur’s Ukhrul district. Now in his 70s, Shishak told Waikhom that he had worked for the Maratha Infantry as well as for the Japanese as a peon and that he had also been taken to Japan twice. INA men ...

Between militants & faltering forces, why jeopardise civilians further? IF Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh commits himself to a joint action committee’s suggestion that civilians be allowed arms in defence against militants, it will amount to a tacit admission that his government has failed in the duty it promised to fulfil in the first place. It was only in March, following the killing of two girls and a man by militants at Heirok during Holi celebrations, that the committee came into being, and its demand, apart from asking for the supply of 300 arms, include better electrification of areas surrounding localities and the installation of loudspeakers. It probably has in mind something on the lines of a village resistance group or citizens’ protection committee. Which means its volunteers will have to be trained to handle arms. In which case, given militant sophistry, can the government afford the responsibility of equipping civilians with sophisticated firearms? It is wel...

NESO opposes move: Shillong, May 4: The North East Students Organisation has opposed the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission to abolish the DoNER ministry. Neso member and Khasi Students Union (KSU) general secretary Hamlet Dohling said it was illogical to abolish the ministry instead of strengthening it. “It was because of Neso’s initiative that the DoNER ministry was set up a few years back with the aim of accelerating development in the Northeast,” Dohling said. According to the reforms commission, headed by former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily, DoNER should be done away with and the Union home ministry could take up the task associated with the ministry. The responsibility of developing the Northeast could be entrusted to the Union home ministry, the reforms panel said. The commission, in its report, also said the Union home ministry should initiate measures to attract investment to the Northeast. The Centre should also set up a transport development f...

Arrests defang PULF: New Delhi, May 4: Fifteen years after its formation, the Manipur-based outfit, it was the beginning of the end for the People’s United Liberation Front (PULF) despite efforts by the Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami to resuscitate it. Last week, nine of the PULF’s top leaders and activists were arrested in Assam and Karnataka. “General secretary” Md Ibrahim alias Qusi alias M.I. Khan, “secretary external affairs and chief of army” Md. Nurjaman alias Deny, “organisation-cum-publicity-secretary” Md Abdul Jabbar alias Belal Khan and “deputy commander in-chief-cum-finance secretary” Md Nasir Khan alias Thadoi alias Keshorjit alias Boy, were arrested from a Mysore hotel on April 27. Three more PULF militants were arrested from a rented house in Guwahati on the same day. The PULF was formed by a group of Meitei Pangal (Muslim) in 1993, the year Manipur witnessed a bloody communal clash between Meiteis and Meitei Pangals, which left more than 100 dead. ...

Feels like Gaza, says Israeli singer: Imphal, May 4: Roy Avital, lead singer of Dub L.F.O., a leading band from Israel, had little idea about Imphal or Manipur. He did not take too long to form one, though. "Manipur is like the Gaza strip," he exclaimed. "It seems here army is more important than culture, like in Israel," he said. Avital, who was a soldier for four years, is in Imphal to perform at the Roots Festival, an annual event held across the Northeast to hunt for local talent and also "inspire the youths to think differently from the daily killings and strife in the region". Roots festival will be held at Dimapur, Diphu, Itanagar, Guwahati, Aizawl and Shillong, where it will end on May 25. This will be the sixth annual edition of the festival, which has seen foreign bands like Aurora Jane and Massive Change from Australia perform. Avital, along with six members of Too Late Lucy, a band from London led by singer Ben Champniss, are the "guest ba...

Heirok derides 'doubting Thomases': Imphal, May 4: Objections raised by civil society organisations and former Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam on the State Cabinet's decision to provide arms to people of heirok and Chajing villages have evoked sharp reaction from JAC functionaries of Heirok. Interacting with news-persons at heirok today, JAC president Kh Ibomcha reiterated that the proposal put to the Government for supply of guns is for self protection of the people from anti-social elements and not for killing 'our own blood brothers'. Recounting that suffering of the heirok people following multiple killings in March this year did not evoke condemnation against the perpetrators or solace to the bereaved families, Ibomcha ridiculed outbursts of these social bodies and the former CM that issuing arms would trigger bloodshed among blood brothers. While asserting that people of Heirok would not tolerate atrocities committed by security forces, if any, and is prepare...

Inter-State buses suspend service: Imphal, May 4: Following the All Manipur Inter-State Bus Services Association (AMISBSA)'s decision to suspend buses services indefinitely due to 'heavy' monetary demands from various elements, all buses plying along the National Highways have suspended service from Sunday. The association has been compelled to take the decision owing to various elements, undergrounds and overgrounds demanding heavy amount of money from the transporters, a spokesman of the association told media persons on Sunday evening. The spokesman said transporters, mainly passenger buses, are facing many problems due to the heavy imposition of monetary demands and 'taxes' by different underground groups operating in both hills and valley districts. The inter-state bus services were financially overburdened as they had to ay 'taxes' at every police checkpost in neighboring Nagaland state. The decision was taken during a meeting held on Saturday at its o...

Villages to Ukhrul: Only 20 km but cut off Khangkhui (Ukhrul), May 4: Come the rainy season Veikhang area of Ukhrul district which is just 20 kms away from the district headquarters will be disconnected from the rest of the State. Thanks to the the apathy of the State Government, the road connecting the said area to the district headquarters has not yet received even the first round of shingling, making it virtually impossible for any vehicle to reach this area, during Monsoon, which is home to the famous 'Khangkhui Caves'. To the uninitiated, Veikhang area consists of five villages, Choither, Khangkhui Khunou, Khangkhui Khullen, Nungshong Khunou and Nungshong Khullen having a population of around 4500. Veikhang Katamnao Long president Wungnaosho Kasar told The Sangai Express that taxi services are available only upto Choither, while the rest of the villages can be reached only on foot. That is why, Wungnaosho added, visitors are not able to reach Khangkhui Caves, which is a tr...

Big B quit politics after Assam poll incident: Guwahati: Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Assam. Even in your wildest dream, it is difficult to unearth any connection between the two, barring a political visit that the superstar made more than a decade back to the State. But there is one, rather a big one. The Big B decided to quit politics after an incident that took place in Assam. Bachchan in his much-hyped blog (http/bigadda.com) revealed the incident that helped him realise that politics was not his cup of tea took place in Assam. “During my electioneering in Allahabad in 1984, there were political splits inside one family. The women were voting for me, the men for my opponent ! But a factor that weighed heavily during my short stint in politics and perhaps became the decider in my decision to withdraw was an incident that occurred in Assam,” Bachchan stated in his blog. “For the Assembly elections in that State (Assam), I was sent to campaign for the party. An error of judgment for...

Nuke eye on Meghalaya: Guwahati, May 3: With its rich reserves of uranium, Meghalaya could well be the next venue for a nuclear power plant in the country. Union minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the department of atomic energy would set up a study group to examine the techno-economic feasibility of setting up a nuclear power plant in the Northeast. The minister’s announcement came following his meeting with Meghalaya chief minister Donkupar Roy, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar (who joined in via a teleconference) and other officials in Shillong on Friday evening. “Meghalaya has proven reserves of uranium. Most of our nuclear power plants are running at 50 per cent capacity and the setting up of a nuclear power plant here could well solve the shortage problem,” Ramesh told reporters today. He said uranium mining in Meghalaya was important for the country’s nuclear programme. The department of atomic energy will prepare a detailed white paper ...

Chajing, Heirok public hail Govt. decision: Imphal, May 3: The SPF Government's decision to arm public of Heirok and Chajing to defend themselves from militants have evoked widespread appreciation. people of Heirok and Chajing had been demanding that State Government provide them guns after activists of different armed groups killed four persons some times back. Conceding to the people's demand State authorities lobbied with the Central Government representatives and the latter reportedly approved the proposal for one year on trial basis which will include establishment of 500 posts of Special Police Officers (SPOs) out of which Heirok will have 300 SPOs. The arm provision would be closely monitored by the Union Home Ministry and if the outcome is positive the period is likely to be extended in phased manner. Close on the heels of the Cabinet decision to provide arms to the public of Heirok and Chajing, the Director General of Police Y Joykumar made a personal assessment of pos...

Protest over UG extortion: Imphal, May 3: Employees of Manipur’s higher education department did not allow any outsider to enter the office by locking up the main gate on Saturday intensifying their protest against monetary demands from militant groups. The employees said they could not work because of demands made by militant groups for certain percentages of the budget allocation of the department, contract work and supply orders. "We did not allow anyone including government officials and teachers to come inside the office complex. We also did not allow entry of any files from outside the office," an official said. This would continue for one week and the employees may intensify the agitation further if the "demands and pressures" were not withdrawn. The employees expressed resentment that though the matter was informed to the government no concrete steps were coming. Tribal students warn of indefinite blockade: Imphal, May 3: The All Tribal Students Union, Man...