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...

Cabinet Secy to visit state to review security: New Delhi, Apr 22: Lawlessness and tardy development in Manipur will come under the Centre’s scanner when Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar visits the state for a comprehensive review of the troubled state later this week. He will be accompanied by Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and top officials from ministries handling development in the region. Coming close on the heels of a high-level meeting in New Delhi, the visit, slated for April 25, would involve a comprehensive review of the current security and development scenario in the state, official sources said here on Tuesday. As reported by The Indian Express, the Cabinet Secretary held a security review meeting on April 1 where senior state government officials including the chief secretary had briefed him about the situation. Naga and Meitei militant groups have unleashed a reign of terror in the border state, virtually running a parallel government where extortion thrives and k...

Manipur meet Railways in final: Guwahati, Dec. 17: Defending champions Railways will play Manipur in the final of the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball Championship on Tuesday. Manipur beat a fighting Haryana 17-15 in the second semi-final on Monday evening to move into the final. The Manipur girls led 9-8 in the first half. Manipur were the lone entrant from the Northeast in the semi-finals, beating Chhattisgarh by a narrow margin (25-23) in the quarter-finals. In a keenly contested match played at the Nehru Stadium, the girls from Manipur put up a better show but failed to convert several penalties that came their way, helping the Chhattisgarh team to remain in the hunt till the last. In the first semi-final, played at Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium, the Railways staved off a spirited challenge by the All India University team to march into the final this evening. The Railways won 36-26. Earlier, Railways defeated last year’s runners-up Maharashtra 27-8 in the quarte...

Manipur in quarter-finals: Guwahati, Dec. 16: Manipur remained the only team from the Northeast in the last eight stage of the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball Championship. Hosts Assam bowed out of the championship after drawing their last league encounter with Chhattisgarh 11-11 on Sunday. The quarter-finals draw will see Manipur taking on Chhattisgarh while All India University team will play Punjab, Delhi meet Haryana and Railways clash with Maharashtra. Source: The Telegraph