Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Chidambaram warns of action against NE militants Guwahati, Jan 2: In a tough message against the backdrop of New Year-day serial blasts, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today said security forces will deal with banned outfits in the north east "decisively" if they threaten peace and integrity of India but felt talks could be held with ULFA if it gave up sovereignty demand. "The leaders of banned organisations if they are listening as I speak now or read it in tomorrow's newspapers or watch television later in the day, they must get this clear message that security forces will deal decisively with the members of these banned organisations who threaten peace and integrity of India," he said. Addressing a press conference here after a review meeting with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who also chairs the Unified Command in the north east, Chidambaram said "no quarter would be given to militants." Condemning yesterday's blasts here in which five p...

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...