India 'ready to let China keep Aksai Chin' if neighbour country drops claim to Arunachal Pradesh

By Saurabh Shukla

The boundary talks are currently in the second leg of a three-stage process. The first stage was to establish guiding principles, and the second to reach a consensus on a framework for the boundary

The bhai-bhai days may soon be reborn in bye-bye avatar along the India-China border.

Foreign ministry documents on border negotiations accessed by Mail Today reveal that India has signalled its readiness to let its Aksai Chin region remain in Chinese hands in exchange for recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory.
In other words, India is willing to give up its claims to Aksai Chin if China does the same for Arunachal.

China continues to push for territorial concessions in Arunachal Pradesh, which it has been eyeing for a long time, before moving forward on the long-standing border issue between the two countries.

Publicly, India has been holding to its stated position that there can't be any territorial concessions. But behind the closed doors of the negotiating room, India has told China that it "may not be averse to status quo position".

Simply put, it means that for China to give up its claim on the 90,000 sq km inside Arunachal, including Tawang, India could agree to give up 38,000 km sq of Jammu and Kashmir. That piece of land, called Aksai Chin in the Ladakh sector, has been in dispute since Pakistan annexed it and then illegally handed 5,180 sq km over to China in 1963.

Bargaining point

This contentious formula is not the stated position of New Delhi, but it is being considered a bargaining point, officials privy to the discussions have told Mail Today.

Any such proposal can only be implemented if a new government in New Delhi has enormous political will, because there is an unanimous resolution of the Indian Parliament of 1962 that India will ensure that it gets back all territory illegally occupied by China.

Several documents based on the notes made by Indian officials suggest that even after 16 rounds of boundary negotiations, the talks are effectively deadlocked. China insists it needs substantial concessions on Arunachal Pradesh and the entire disputed Eastern sector before a framework or a formula to resolve disputes in all sectors can be agreed to.

The boundary talks are currently in the second leg of a three-stage process. Both sides signed an agreement on political parameters in 2005, and are now negotiating a framework to resolve disputes in all sectors.

First stage

The first stage was to establish guiding principles, the second included evolving a consensus on a framework for the boundary, and the last step comprised carrying out its delineation and demarcation. This final stage involves delineating the border in maps and on the ground.

The 16th round of boundary negotiations earlier this year between National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and Chinese Special Interlocutor Yang Jeichi, a former Chinese foreign minister, also ended on a disappointing note, with India contesting the Chinese assertion that the boundary was never demarcated.
Menon has been a tough negotiator, responding strongly to Chinese suggestions of concessions and rejecting its maximalist approach.

The Indian side also says that both sides should, in the spirit of mutual respect and mutual understanding, make meaningful and mutually acceptable adjustments to their respective positions on the boundary question so as to arrive at a package settlement.

The Big Deal

A consensus is building where India and China may agree to territorial concessions. It means that for China to give up its claim on the 90,000 sq km inside Arunachal Pradesh, including Tawang, India could agree to give up 38,000 sq km of Jammu and Kashmir.

That piece of land, called Aksai Chin in the Ladakh sector, has been in dispute since Pakistan annexed it and then illegally handed 5,180 sqkm over to China in 1963.

Mizoram's first re-poll successful with almost 79% turn-out under strict vigil from officials, watchdog

By ADAM HALLIDAY


Re-poll after polling officer was found instructing voters to "press the third button" on election day. (IE Photo)

Aizawl, Nov 29 : The first re-poll in Mizoram's electoral history completed successfully Thursday at the Republic 1 polling station within the Aizawl South 1 assembly constituency, with 869 of the 1104 registered voters turning up to exercise their franchise (turnout 78.71 percent).

Joint CEO H Lalengmawia was present with other officials on the ground to oversee the process while election watchdog Mizoram People's Forum volunteers enforced strict conduct rules, even barring people from shaking hands in the polling area or using cellphones.

The ECI had ordered a re-poll at this particular polling station after a polling officer, Vicky Lalnunthara, was arrested on poll day for instructing voters to "press the third button" on the EVM, a slot allotted to Congress candidate Vanlalvena. An analysis later in the day had also found discrepancies in the number of votes, entries in form 17A and number of voter slips collected.

Besides respective party workers, party leaders including Congress CM Lal Thanhawla, MNF President Zoramthanga and several MLA candidates from different parties were also in the vicinity on Thursday as polling went underway.

Meanwhile, Aizawl DEO Dr Franklin Laltinkhuma and election officials opened the strong room at Pachhunga University College on Thursday morning to re-check an EVM after the presiding officer of Sihphir, within the Aizawl East 1 constituency, confessed Wednesday that he had forgotten to erase the mock-poll entries and proceeded with normal voting. The discrepancy is being sorted using records of the VVPAT but final instructions from the ECI is expected.

Action is likely to be taken soon against the presiding officers of both Republic 1 and Sihphir polling stations, officials said.

Meet Mizoram-Based Band 'Boomarang'

By Kasmin Fernandes

This four-piece 'junk' (jazz, funk and punk) Mizoram-based band thrives on politically charged lyrics and reggae-esque numbers that mash various genres. Boomarang comprises Atea on vocals, Boom on guitars, Joshua on bass and Rsa on drums.

On their a-ha moment: The band was formed in 2005, when Boom jammed with the other members to come up with a few covers of American rap metal act Rage Against The Machine. The name is a deliberate misspelling of 'boomerang', and represents a statement or action that backfires.

"The word 'Boomarang' flashed across our minds a day before our first concert. The next year, we entered a national rock contest in Kohima, Nagaland, and came in third, so it turned out to be lucky for us," says Boom. Their a-ha moment happened a year later, when they won a major rock festival. "That really brought Boomarang focus and attention from fans and people who matter," adds Rsa.

On their brand of music: Boomarang's sound is a little bit of everything. The style varies from song to song; funk to reggae, blues to metal and a little pinch of jazz in some songs ("because all of us love jazz," says Boom). The band often nicknames their music, JUNK. "It's a genre of music where you play whatever the hell you want!" says Joshua.

On their influences: Bands like Rage against the Machine, Tool, Incubus and Led Zeppelin have been a major influence for the band mates, and have been instrumental in shaping Boomarang's music.

On their way forward: "Promoting our band up there in Mizoram is very tough," confesses Boom. Fortunately, they were recently signed on by a major label and are ready to release a studio album. Irrespective of how their future pans out, the members want Boomarang to evolve. "We don't want to stick around doing the same thing," asserts Atea, adding, "We just want to give new music to people."

Barak Valley Corridor Used For Drug Trafficking To Myanmar, China

Silchar, Nov 29 : The inspector general of BSF Mizoram and the Cachar Frontier, AC Thapliyal, said drug traffickers in the sub-continent have settled on the Barak Valley area of Assam as a corridor for trafficking of illegal substances to Myanmar and China.

Addressing mediapersons here on Sunday on the 49th BSF Day celebrations here, Thapliyal said with increase in the activities of traffickers, the BSF has also tightened its vigil across the valley and the border with Bangladesh and Myanmar. The increased monitoring has helped the force confiscate drugs worth Rs 450 crore till now this year. He said the amount is huge when compared to the drug hauls in previous years. In 2010, for instance, drugs worth Rs 43 lakh were confiscated.

The BSF IG also said that an international drug trafficking network has been operating in this part of the northeast and that the BSF, which is working in tandem with other law-enforcing agencies, is out to curb their activities.

"We have stepped up efforts to curb the menace and our success rate in containing drug trafficking is high. The big jump in the value and quantum of confiscated drugs meant for trafficking to Myanmar and China clearly reflects our success. We are hopeful that the menace will be completely stopped with the sealing of the international border with Bangladesh," said Thapliyal.

He said barring some disputed areas, fencing along the 124-km India-Bangladesh border in Assam's Barak Valley is almost complete. Now, work for setting up floodlights is being carried out by the CPWD; this would help BSF personnel maintain easy vigil during night hours. The IG said the floodlighting programme is equipped with generator sets for uninterrupted supply of power during power cuts.

Missing in Mizoram

Deep Mandal, who has gone missing in Mizoram

Aizawl, Nov 29 : A 25-year-old telecom network professional from Calcutta on assignment in Mizoram has been missing for almost a week, leading his family and employers to fear he has been kidnapped.

Deep Mandal, a resident of Shyampukur in north Calcutta, last spoke to a family member on the afternoon of November 22 and said he was at an installation 160km from the capital town of Aizawl.

Mizoram police said on Thursday that a militant outfit might have kidnapped Deep last Saturday while he was returning to Aizawl from Tuipuibari forest, where the Noida-based firm he works for has installed mobile phone towers for a telecom company.

“He and two others missing along with him are possibly being held hostage inside Bangladesh and we have learnt they are unharmed. There has been no demand for ransom so far, but we suspect the hand of the National Liberation Front of Tripura in this incident,” Rodingliana Chawngthu, the superintendent of police of Mamit district, told Metro.

The SP had led a police team to the site where the hired Maruti 800 (MZ08-1308) bringing Deep to Aizawl was found abandoned along with a pick-up truck trailing it.

The two missing drivers have been identified as Sanglianthanga and Lalzamliana. “The kidnapping apparently occurred between 7.30 and 8am on Saturday. We have launched a search for the trio,” the SP said.

Back home in Calcutta, Deep’s cousin Arnab Mandal has lodged a complaint with Shyampukur police station about the suspected kidnapping. His office has filed an FIR with West Phaileng police station in Mizoram.

“Deep had joined the private firm headquartered in Noida five months ago and this was his first official trip outside Bengal,” Arnab said. “He had left home on November 6 for Guwahati en route to Mizoram. We would speak over phone every day but his cell phone has been switched off since our last conversation on November 22.

Vijay Yadav, the company’s project manager in the Northeast, said no militant outfit had yet contacted his office for ransom. “We have been working in the Northeast for the past eight years and this is the first time such an incident involving our company has occurred,” he said.

Mizoram is the tiniest and supposedly the “most peaceful” state of the Northeast despite eight kidnapping cases being registered in 2012 along with 46 official complaints about extortion. This information is available on Mizoram police’s website.

The Young Mizo Association, the most influential youth organisation in Mizoram, and the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, which is the local name for the Mizo Students’ Association, have offered to send search teams to the site from where Deep is said to have been kidnapped.

Deep is the son of a pathology lab employee and did his BSc in Bankura before shifting to his aunt’s place in Shyampukur for a course in network technology.

“Deep is a hardworking boy and was so excited about his first outstation assignment. He vividly described to me over phone the natural beauty of the stretch from Guwahati to Aizawl,” Arnab, a software engineer, said.

Two Calcutta engineers, Debjit Sinha, 25, and his uncle Abhijit Sinha, 55, had been kidnapped in Manipur last August. They were freed after four days in captivity.

President To Address Special Session of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly

President Pranab Mukherjee will address the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state. File photo: Rajeev Bhatt

President Pranab Mukherjee will address the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state

President Pranab Mukherjee will address a special session of the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on Friday during his maiden two-day visit to the state, official sources said.

On Saturday, Mr. Mukherjee will deliver the Convocation Address at the 12th Convocation of the Rajiv Gandhi University at Rono Hills, Doimukh, the sources said.

The convocation would confer bachelors, masters, diploma, M. Phil and PhD degree to qualified candidates for the 2011-2012 and 2012-13 academic sessions respectively.

“The President addressing the state assembly would be a historic event. Make it a memorable occasion for the state,” Chief Minister Nabam Tuki told Deputy Speaker Jomde Kena and other officials of the Assembly Secretariat.

IED damages crucial bridge linking Manipur to Assam

Imphal, Nov 29 : A bridge on National Highway 37, used by trucks for transporting essential items to Manipur from Assam, has been damaged in an IED explosion in Cachar district of Assam, officials said here today.

A major portion of Chirpur bridge, built over a river on the Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar highway, was damaged last evening when IED kept along the bridge exploded in Fulartol area in Cachar, the sources said.

“It will take about three months to repair the damage, during which no heavy vehicles would be allowed to ply,” Commanding officer of the 765 Border Road Task Force (BRTF) battalion, Col Binoy Bal, whose battalion maintains the bridge, said. Representational image. AFP Representational image.

AFP The impact of the blast was so severe that glass windows and doors of nearby houses were damaged, the sources said. The bridge is located 10 km from the Manipur border town of Jiribam and about 222 km from here.

Most of the Manipur-bound trucks from Assam, carrying essential items, were using the bridge to reach Imphal since the last few months as the trucks were facing extortion demand from militant outfits on NH 2 (Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati), the sources said.

Manipur is linked with Assam and Nagaland by NH 37 and NH 2. It was being investigated whether the militant outfits, who used to illegally collect ‘tax’ from vehicle owners on NH 2, were responsible for the explosion which would then compel the trucks to use the NH 2, the sources said.

Molestation of Hmar Girl Triggers Tension in Manipur

 Molesters Escorted by Police (Pic Source: Joseph Infimate)

By Iboyaima Laithangbam

Churachandpur, Nov 27 : There has been increasing instances of molestation and harassment of housewives through mobile phones by some migrant workers.

Police in Churachandpur district opened fire in the air on Tuesday night for over 100 rounds to disperse the unruly crowd who had stormed the station demanding the handing over of three persons accused of molesting and trying to rape a 19-year-old tribal girl.

The residents of the town had earlier overpowered and thrashed the three accused, two of whom happen to be migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh.

The two migrant workers identified as Nasir Mallick and Mohammad Terabir, both from Uttar Pradesh had come to the district along with a local contract man Mohammad Thoiba.

Mallick and Thoiba were alleged to have molested the girl inside a kitchen. She ran out screaming for help. Residents rushed out and overpowered all three of them.

They damaged the van in which the three persons came to the district. Besides other stove repairing equipments and spare parts were destroyed.

Police who rescued the three persons from the tribal villagers secreted them to another police station in the district. Later in the night the enraged tribals stormed the police station.

When they were told that the accused persons had been taken elsewhere the residents pelted stone and made preparations to torch the police station. Police fired several rounds in the air to disperse the residents.

Police say that the situation is fully under control but tense. Meanwhile a case has been registered against the three persons. Of late, there has been increasing instances of molestation and harassment of housewives through mobile phones by some migrant workers.

Mizoram Election Update: Nov 27

Re-poll in Aizawl South seat booth

Re-poll would be conducted in Republic-I polling station in Aizawl South-I constituency on Thursday due to reports of alleged malpractices by one polling official, Mizoram's Joint Chief Electoral Officer H Lalengmawia said.

Lalengmawia told a news agency Tuesday evening that the re-poll was ordered after the decision was made by the Election Commission following complaints from a number of voters and the decision of the Commission came late this evening.

A polling official in the polling station allegedly told voters to push a particular button, the third one (that of the Congress candidate's) and the complaint was lodged to the state election department by the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) after two women voters lodged a protest.

Some voters also alleged that the polling officer was acting like a peeping tom when they were casting their votes.

Candidates in the seat included the sitting legislator K Liantlinga of the ZNP, R Vanlalvena, former student leader, of the ruling Congress, who had contested and lost in 2008 state assembly polls and RK Lianzuala of the main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF), a well-known television personality.

Mizoram Police arrests one for allegedly intimidating voters

In the ongoing investigation into allegations of a political party working with armed rebel groups to intimidate voters in Mizoram's northern regions bordering Manipur ahead of the just-concluded assembly polls, Mizoram Police on Tuesday arrested a man in Sakawrdai town and booked him under various criminal cases.

The accused, Darliansanga, has been booked under IPC sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 153 A (promoting disharmony, enmity, hatred or ill-will between communities) and 171 F (undue influence or personation at an election) and was being brought to state capital Aizawl in the afternoon.

A police spokesperson said Darliansanga was nabbed by police after finding out he had telephoned members of the Hmar Peoples Convention Democratic (HPCD) and telling them, "Your candidates are not likely to win, you must intimidate the people some more for them to win."

The accused is a small-time contractor whom police said has been an "active supporter of the HPCD".

Police said they had been tracking intimidating phone calls from inside Manipur to community leaders in three Hmar tribe dominated constituencies of Mizoram as election campaigning began and that more arrests are likely soon.

Meanwhile, the CEO's office, Mizoram, has referred to the ECI a case in which a polling station has registered 26 more votes than the number of voters who exercised their franchise there.

The polling station is the same station where police on Monday arrested a polling officer for allegedly instructing voters to press "the third button on the EVM".

The arrest had been made after rival political parties had lodged a complaint against the official.

The Return of the Soldier of Fortune

In 2000, a band of semi-trained young men in a rubber dinghy blew a hole in the U.S.S. Cole, a multi-billion dollar ship of war, shocking the world, killing over a dozen sailors, and making global headlines. Measured in terms of the cost of the attack versus the damage inflicted, the return on investment proved to be astronomical. A terrorism budget of less than $100,000 did millions of dollars in damage and purchased the equivalent of a massive international advertising campaign that bolstered the notoriety of Al Qaeda, the group responsible, to historic heights. 

John Robb, an entrepreneur and former air force captain expounded on this military and economic discrepancy in his 2007 book Brave New War: networked combatants whose inexpensive attacks cause outsized damage and disruption to a vulnerable, rich society dependent on extensive trade networks and worldwide political arrangements. Robb writes:

The nation-state is now bound up in a straitjacket of constraints. The core of its strength, its ability to marshal resources and take actions that exceed the power of any smaller organization, has been made increasingly impotent.

...

[The] cozy and highly regulated market of warfare characterized by wars between state oligopolies is eroding because of these constraints... [The] result is a new, competitive market for warfare more akin to the years before the Thirty Years’ War than to our recent past. The participants in this new market are small adroit nonstate competitors and occasional allies — guerilla/terrorist groups, paramilitaries, and private military companies — and they are in the process of rewriting the rules of warfare.”

The brazenness of the attack on the Cole, and the fact that non-state actors achieved it, signified an historic change. The American military turned to the private sector for assistance in fighting this new asymmetric war against mostly non-state foes. Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, soon after won the company’s first Federal contract to provide security training for sailors. 

Turning to a private military company for support may have been a consequence of the general policy trend at the time — the notion that government services could be privatized while still being funded by tax revenues had become popular with both parties, albeit with some controversy — but it would eventually snowball into a far larger industry in the wake of the attacks of 9/11/2001. During the Afghan and second Iraqi wars, modern mercenaries would make their mark.

By ideology, convention, and international law, modern governments have generally eschewed the use of mercenary companies in favor of national militaries. 

The era of monarchies made greater general use of mercenaries than later popular governments, for various reasons. The ideology of popular government rests on the notion of the shared rights and responsibilities of citizens, whereas an aristocratic society may have neither the financial resources nor manpower to either maintain a standing army nor raise one on short notice without paying for it. The Knights Templar were a sort of a medieval Academi (the new brand name of Blackwater Worldwide), originally charged by the Vatican with providing security to Christian pilgrims following the First Crusade. 

The militia tradition of the United States and especially the levée en masse established during the French Republic broke with common military practices, and the two World Wars further established the norm of using mass conscription instead of professional military units to fight wars.

Modern mercenary companies avoid the use of the word ‘mercenary,’ and newspaper writers avoid using the word when referring to members of “security services providers.” This is a useful legalistic evasion of the terms of the United Nations Mercenary Convention. While the United States has never signed the convention — and plenty of the signatories, like Liberia, are incapable of enforcing it even on their own territory — a number of developed countries are signatories and domestic political debate in the United States recognizes the norm behind the convention by refusing to call mercenary companies what they are in plain language.

The Geneva Conventions also have a section stating that none of the protections otherwise afforded to prisoners of war apply to mercenaries. The law considers mercenaries to be ‘unlawful combatants,’ and as such, American companies are careful to operate within the arcane confines of international law, generally providing logistics support to client militaries, along with securing facilities & high-value individuals. 

All of this makes it extremely challenging to start and run a mercenary company in the modern world, even though it’s technically the ‘second oldest profession’ in history. It’s illegal, or at least frowned upon, to practice the trade openly. There are limitations on the procurement of tools for employees, conducting training is politically difficult, and the press usually considers the trade to be morally abhorrent. Despite this, the economic factors in play have begun to overpower the legal and cultural resistance to the re-emergence of private soldiering.

The conflict that reintroduced the mercenary to public awareness in America was the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom — the largest American military occupation since the Vietnam War. The all-volunteer American military, lacking in manpower or the ability to increase staffing on short notice, turned to private companies to provide logistics and support. The economic consequences of the abolition of the draft in 1973 became apparent as the occupation began to drag on far longer than American war planners had initially predicted. Politicians could no longer increase the number of boots on the ground at the stroke of a pen — it was now necessary to bring out the public checkbook. 

The American private military industry resurged during the Iraq and Afghan wars, as substantial portions of the increase in the defense budget following the attacks on 9/11/2001 wound up in the coffers of defense firms. According to a 2011 paper by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, by 2010, almost 40% of all defense budget spending was on defense contractors, largely in military services. By 2006, a census recorded over 100,000 military contractors living and working in Iraq for the occupying authority. In the words of representative Henry Waxman of California during a 2007 congressional hearing on Blackwater:

“We know that sergeants in the military generally cost the Government between $50,000 to $70,000 per year. We also know that a comparable position at Blackwater costs the Federal Government over $400,000, six times as much.”

Private military firms in the U.S. recruit much of their staff directly from the Department of Defense: the publicly-financed military effectively subsidizes the training that provides these companies with their talent. The firms that are working for the U.S. government are usually heavily regulated, with their weapons carefully tracked, and in most situations are under the direct command of military authorities.

In a recent interview with NPR Marketplace, the Blackwater founder said:

“[The U.S. government hires Private Military Contractors] because they truly don't have the manpower or the logistics capability to fulfill those missions. So really the company becomes like a very robust temp agency operating very much under the command and control of the government.”

This political aspect of the private military industry is changing. As the American commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq wind down, private military companies are finding new roles in the international ‘bazaar of violence.’ The increase in piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean, along with the relative difficulty that national navies have had in providing effective security in the region, have reintroduced the old historical and economic role for both mercenaries and merchant marines. When pirate attacks threatened to drive up insurance costs for shipping in the area, major shipping insurance companies banded together to both lobby to loosen international regulations on arming ship crews and to fund a private naval force to defend against pirate attacks.

Photo credit: U.S. Navy

British PMCs in particular have begun to establish themselves in the trade, as have firms from India and Sri Lanka. Some American companies like AdvanFort even publish press releases of their military exploits, complete with posed photos of mercenaries in action, ideal for sharing on Facebook. Simon Murray, the chairman of the massive international conglomerate GlenCore, has also started a firm called Typhon to patrol the area. Unlike the Private Military Contractors (PMCs) that made headlines during the Iraqi and Afghan wars, these firms are less public-private in essence and are more private companies serving other private companies for private purposes.

In interviews regarding Typhon’s plans, representatives have described the role of their private navy as acting more like ‘burglar alarms’ to alert nearby ships of possible threats. Rather than traveling alongside the navies of nation-states, the private fleets operate on the schedules and routes of the private cargo vessels targeted by the pirates. The company has described itself as the ‘first naval-grade private convoy protection in 220 years.’ 

The growth of this industry in recent years has not been without retaliation from both regulators in the U.S. and worldwide — the Indian government arrested 35 crewmembers working for AdvanFort in October 2013, citing offenses related to the arms and ammunition on board. The company has taken to its Twitter account to protest the capture of their sailors.

On the ground, mercenary armies like the Puntland Maritime Police Force have run into difficulties with funding and politics, as occurred with the Puntland company when its backers in the United Arab Emirates and the United States withdrew funding, leaving behind thousands of unpaid mercenaries in Somalia. When an internet startup goes bankrupt, all that’s left are a bunch of Aeron chairs and some computer equipment. When a mercenary company goes bankrupt, the hired guns start to look for new employment and entertainment. 

There’s even a trade group representing maritime security providers — the Security Association for the Maritime Industry — which has been endorsed by Lloyd’s of London, one of the most prestigious and successful insurance firms in the world. SAMI lists dozens upon dozens of PMCs from countries ranging from Estonia to Germany, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. While these companies may prefer the PMC acronym to describe themselves, in historical terms, they’re essentially privateers. Many of the companies listed claim to have been founded quite recently — many between 2000-2010. Some prefer more reserved, professional-sounding branding, others, like the Marine Pirate Busters, prefer a little more bombast.

Since the growth of PMCs in the area, the United Nations reported this year that there have been no Somali hijackings in the region since 2012. Unlike the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which had challenging, idealistic strategic incentives and non-economic motivation, the conflict in Somalia has clearly defined costs in the form of insurance payouts to hijackers, which makes it easier for private companies to calibrate what resources to expend on resolving the threat.

In an interview with the blog PiracyDaily, Terrence McKnight, the former commander of Task Force 151, the international naval force set up in 2009 to deter pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, spoke of the difficulties that private security companies face in one of the next potential security vacuums on the seas off of West Africa, North Africa, and in the Middle East:

“This is something that the world communities have got to get a handle on. We know we want to stop piracy. We know we don't have enough naval ships out there to protect all the fleets—so we have these armed security teams. So, how do we now implement them? If we have all these restrictions, then they can’t do it. We've seen the success story that, since 2009 and the arrival of these security teams, there has not been a ship hijacked yet that has had an armed security team. So it is a success story. So (we need to) take that success and figure out how do we organize these teams so that the host country has some say in it and also, that we protect the crew that man the ships.”

Facing resource constraints, the U.S. and other allied governments are becoming less capable of providing security on sea lanes. Further, foreign governments are perhaps understandably jumpy at the prospect of permitting heavily-armed privateers to use their waters. Diplomats know how to speak to other diplomats, but conducting diplomacy with dozens of private security corporations is not the same. Similarly, nationally-managed navies are not necessarily structured in such a way that they're capable of fighting non-state foes (like poor pirates armed with cheap rocket launchers piloting zodiacs) in an economically efficient way. 

When John Robb wrote Brave New War in 2007, he predicted that by 2016:

“...The first casualty [of a black swan event] in the United States will be the ultra-bureaucratic U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which, despite its new extralegal surveillance powers, will prove unable to defuse the threats against us... Furthermore, the extra police powers that it will be granted in the wake of these attacks will be counterproductive because these powers will only serve to divide the United States and generate a significant base of domestic dissent and vociferous debate.

[...]

Security will become a function of where you live and whom you work for, much as health care is allocated already. Wealthy individuals and multinational corporations will be the first to bail out of our collective system, opting instead to hire private military companies, such as Blackwater and Triple Canopy, to protect their homes and facilities and to establish a protective perimeter around daily life.

[...]

Members of the middle class will soon follow, taking matters into their own hands by forming suburban collectives to share the costs of security.”

With the public debate surrounding the revelations of Edward Snowden — himself, essentially, a former cyber-mercenary working on contract for the National Security Agency — in early 2013, fulfilling at least some of Robb’s predictions for the future of security, it may be sensible to take notice of them now. Lest he be dismissed as a crank author, no less a representative of mainstream thinking than David Brooks saw fit to blurb the book jacket, and James Fallows, writer for The Atlantic and winner of the National Book Award, wrote the foreword.

In another continuation of this trend towards private provision of security in the U.S., The San Francisco Gate reported in September that the private law enforcement industry has been earning hundreds of new subscribers in Oakland, supplementing the over-extended public police force. Like mercenaries elsewhere, current laws prevent them from taking over the functions of their publicly-financed authorities — but perhaps as has happened elsewhere in the world, the sheer demand for safety will cause laws to shift. The price cited for protection is $20 per month.

This post was written by contributor JC Hewitt. 


Source:priceonomics.com

Why Nuclear Bombs Create Mushroom Clouds

This phenomenon all comes down to a little something called the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, and by extension, convection. I’ll begin with the somewhat longer, but less geeky explanation before descending once again into extreme nerdery.

It all starts with an explosion that creates a Pyrocumulus Cloud. This ball of burning hot gases is accelerated outwardly in all directions. Since the burning ball of accelerated gases is hotter, and therefore less dense, than the surrounding air, it will begin to rise- in the case of nuclear explosions, extremely rapidly. This ultimately forms the mushroom cap.

As the ball rises, it will leave behind air that is heated, creating a chimney-like effect that draws in any smoke and gases on the outer edge of the chimney- convection in action! Visually, this forms the stipe (stalk) of the mushroom.

The perception that the mushroom cap is curling down and around the stipe is primarily a result of the differences in temperature at the center of the cap and its outside. The center is hotter and therefore will rise faster, leaving the slower outer edges to be caught up in the stipe convection’s awesome attributes.

Once that cloud reaches a certain point in our atmosphere, where the density of the gas cloud is the same as the density of the surrounding air, it will spread out, creating a nice cap.

This brings me to the shorter, yet more geeky answer.

This entire process is something that describes the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. This instability is well known in physics and, in general, describes the merging between two different substances (mainly liquids and gases) that have different densities and are subjected to acceleration. In the case of an atomic bomb, the acceleration, and the hotter gases creating the differing densities of material, are caused by the explosion.

From this, you might have guessed you don’t necessarily need an atomic bomb to create a mushroom cloud. All you need is enough energy delivered rapidly (in this case an explosion) that creates a pocket of differing densities of material (in this case, heated gases).

There are numerous other examples in our world that create, and are described by, the same phenomenon that gives us this formation.  For instance, the magnetic fields of planets, the jet-stream of winds that help control our planet’s climate, the sound of snapping shrimp, even our understanding of certain different forms of fusion can all be attributed to Rayleigh-Taylor instability.
Now, you might have also noticed that nuclear explosions, besides producing this frightening fungal formation, also sometimes result in a cloud ring around the mushroom cap.  What’s going on here is that a low pressure area is created via the negative phase of the shockwave (the phase that follows the wave of compressed gases at the leading part of the shock wave).  This results in a drop in temperature, which along with the low pressure can potentially lower the dew point sufficiently for a temporary cloud to form. This cloud halo around the explosion is known as a “Wilson Cloud”, named after Scottish physicist Charles Wilson who invented the Wilson Cloud Chamber where similar sorts of things can be observed.

Unfortunate To Consider Hmar Leaders Political Untouchables

Lalduhoma, flanked by two supporters who have pledged to not shave until ZNP comes to power. Photo: Zodin Sanga

Aizawl, Nov 25 : After casting his vote at 7.05 am, ZNP president Lalduhoma, whose party has in the past few days suddenly found itself at the receiving end over allegations of working with militants, said it is unfortunate that even overground Hmar leaders are considered political untouchables.

"Other parties embrace even non-ethnic Mizos like Chakmas, and the Congress continues to fly in non-Mizos to campaign for it, so why do we continue to consider Hmars, our ethnic brothers, politically untouchable? We are not working with any underground elements but yes, overground Hmar leaders who even have a legitimate political party of their own support our cause of bringing back Mizoram under tribal areas as provided to us by the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution," Lalduhoma said.

"We do not intend to specifically make tribal areas for specific tribes, no, we wish to declare the entire state a tribal area again so we can regulate influx of non-tribals and strengthen laws to protect property of tribals by not allowing land transfers to outsiders," he added.

Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer and former MP, said he expects his party to win "if the ZNP wave translates into votes" and that "many of our supporters have not necessarily registered as party workers".

He said he was confident that he would win in both the seats (Aizawl West 1, his bastion, and Kolasib) he is contesting from.

Annual Tamchon Football Tournament Attracts Many Spectators in Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 25 : The Tamchon Football Tournament, an annual event, is being held in New Delhi.

The ongoing event is attracting a large number of spectators. The 15-day carnival of football and cultural extravaganza was inaugurated on November 16 at Dr. Ambedkar Stadium here.

A total of 16 teams comprising of players from different northeastern states are participating in the tournament to promote peace, friendship and unity among the youth of the country.

The event has been organized under the aegis of Tanghkul Naga Society Delhi with support from various government and private agencies.

"We want to promote understanding, fraternity among the various communities of the northeast India. We would like to provide opportunity to our young talented football players. As far as talent is concerned we are second to none," said Ramnganing Muivah, President, Tanghkul Naga Society Delhi.

During the opening day ceremony, young artists from Tripura performed a harvest dance.

Donny J from Assam enthralled the audience with his melodious voice.

Later, choreography was also performed by Donny, along with his group.

"Platform like this is a good encouragement for talented dancer, artists, singer and players. So all together it's a wonderful platform," said Donny J, Assam

"It's a good platform to showcase our rich folk dance. I am happy that different people get to see our cultural dance and also it's good to meet different people from Northeast. I feel very good to perform here," said Mukta, artist, Tripura.

The main attraction on the opening day of the tournament was a match between Zeliangrong Football Club (ZFC) and SSPP (FC). Good skills complimented by intense competition between the teams were witnessed on the ground.

"We are very excited about the tournament. We are the last year champion and even this year we want to win. This time most of our players are new, but at the first game with all this new players we manage to win, so we are excited," said JG Jaojian, Manager, Zeliangrong FC.

"Tamchon Trophy is a big scope for new talented players because many Delhi coaches and Managers are seeing our game and they told me that they need talented players for Delhi league like I-League, Santro Trophy so they told me to make it for Delhi league. So, it's a good opportunity," Gaingamlung, Captain, Zeliangrong FC.

The holding of such events promotes peace and unity among different communities, and also provides a platform to players from the Northeast to showcase their skills.

No Votes For Women

Despite its pride of place as a women-friendly state, Mizoram has no takers when it comes to elected women representatives

By Zodin Sanga
Though the economy of Mizoram runs on the labour of its women, there has been precious little by way of their representation in the Assembly in the past 25 years. This term promises to be no different. Of the 139 candidates contesting the Assembly polls, only a measly four are women. That’s five less than the number in 2008.
B Sangkhumi, an independent candidate and one of the most prominent figures in Mizo society, says she was offered a ticket by the principal Opposition party, the Mizo National Front (MNF), but decided to go to polls on her own.

The former president of Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), a not-for-profit organisation, will contest the 25 November polls from the Champhai South seat. She will be pitted against Congress MLA JH Rothuama, Lalneihthanga of the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) and Rosiamngheta of the Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA).

Despite her refusal to fight on an MNF ticket — which she attributes to complications in ticket distribution — Sangkhumi claims to have the support of at least 24 of the total 35 MNF units in the constituency. “My ultimate goal is to ensure women’s representation in the Assembly, which has been nil in the past 25 years,” says Sangkhumi. “This is why I entered politics.” The irony in her statement can’t be missed.

The Congress has nominated only one woman, Pradesh Mahila Congress President TBC Tlangthanmawii, for the polls.

Similarly, the MDA — a combine of the MNF, the Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) — has fielded only one woman candidate among the three parties: Lalmalsawmi, an Aizawl municipal councillor.

The fourth woman candidate is Zoramchhani of the BJP, who will contest from the Lengteng seat.
After becoming a union territory in 1972 (and then acquiring statehood in 1986), Mizoram has had only three women MLAs — Thanmawii (1978), K Thansiami (1979) and Lalhlimpuii (1987).
For a state where women outnumber men by 12,707 votes in a total electorate of 3,86,305 voters, that is a shameful statistic indeed.

Zodin Sanga is an independent journalist based in Aizawl

Mizoram Goes To Polls Today

By Linda Chhakchhuak

Aizawl, Nov 25 : All is set for the elections to the Mizoram Assembly to be held on Monday. The polling officials have all been dispatched to their locations and some are on the way in the remote areas, Chief Election Office sources said.

The Mizoram poll campaign could be certified as being the most orderly as candidates and parties stuck to the no littering, no random postering rule while keeping the public campaigns as quiet as possible.

Rallies or processions where held within the constituencies by the candidates under the strict watch of the poll watchdog, the Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF). However, on the expenditure front, it will take trained sleuths to find out how much money floated around during these campaigns, particularly in the interior.

For the first time in India, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be put into action. Election officials said that this would go a long way in deflecting charges that Electronic Voter Machines (EVMs) can be manipulated. The VVPATs will be used in only 10 constituencies as the manufacturers could not supply the requirement on time.

After a severe hiccup during the mandatory mock poll drill to check the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to be used in Serchhip district, the district poll officials has given it the thumbs up recently after a second trial.

The 142 candidates in the poll include only six women in the only State of the country where the number of women voters outnumber the men.

Only one of these women, Lalmalsawmi of the Mizo National Front (MNF) has a fighting chance of winning, but she is pitched against the Home Minister R Lalzirliana, who has proved to be a no holds barred campaigner.

The other woman who may give her rivals a run for their money is B Sangkhumi, a former president of the Mizoram Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), a powerful women’s organisation. She was promised the MNF party ticket but was dropped at the last moment.

Taking a bold step, she set herself up as an independent candidate which is a rare and strong statement of defiance in this State where submission to the high and the mighty is the norm.

After the voting on Monday, the EVMs will be put in strong rooms in all the district headquarters and be opened only on December 9 to be counted.

From Community Halls To IFFI, Mizo Film Goes The Distance

By ADAM HALLIDAY

Rs 10-lakh budget has left the director with EMIs to pay
Aizawl, Nov 25 : When Mapuia Chawngthu finished his feature film Khawnglung Run in 2012, the first problem he faced was how and where to screen it. Even the three or four cinema halls that had at one time existed in the state, screening pirated Hollywood and some East Asian films, for Rs 2-Rs 5 a ticket, had shut down years earlier. So he spread the word that his film, based on a well-known but savage battle of pre-modern Mizo history, could be screened by neighbourhood units of mass-based voluntary organisations.

And therefore Khawnglung Run (The raid of Khawnglung) became something of a travelling show, beamed on the walls of community halls through laptops and projectors, the organisations paying him anywhere from a few thousand rupees in villages to a lakh or more in some of Aizawl's larger, more prosperous neighbourhoods.

On November 17, Khawnglung Run's successful run took it all the way to Goa, making it the first Mizo film to feature at the International Film Festival of India. It was featured at the IFFI opening session titled 'Focus North-East Cinema'.

"Frankly I never imagined my film would be screened at any film festival, forget IFFI. I think we have reached the impossible, and that's what makes me happy because I know there are extremely talented filmmakers back home in Mizoram who might say now, 'If Mapuia can do this, why can't I?'," says Chawngthu, who is currently in Goa.

What he can't get over is the compliments he is receiving there about the technical aspects of the film, such as editing and camera work. "That means that although the few existing Mizo filmmakers have practically no training and very little equipment, just like me, we are not bad in technical aspects," he chuckles.

Knawnglung Run was earlier screened at film festivals in Shillong and Guwahati. The fame, however, has so far meant little for Chanwngthu, who spent more than Rs 10 lakh from his pocket for the 122-minute film and is still paying EMIs on the bank loans he took.

"We recovered about Rs 6 lakh from the screenings. But then pirated versions of the film began to appear which, of course, could not be prevented because it was screened at community halls and the film was copied on laptops... As a result 18 organisations that had made bookings cancelled them," he says.

Chawngthu, who has had no formal training, started out by making music videos for local artistes, documentaries and educational videos for government departments. He later made two low-budget feature films.

Khawnglung Run was inspired by his own passion for indigenous stories. "Many of the amateur Mizo films we see today (the state has no film industry to speak of) are aspirational, with scenes set in nightclubs and pubs, depicting luxury cars and a high life that we don't even have. The settings and scenery for my film were something we have ample of here, and I had always been rivetted by the story of this battle," says the director.

The battle that the film is based on involves the residents of one village taking villagers of another as slaves. The film focuses on a warrior and hunter and his attempts to rescue a woman he loves amidst all the bloodshed.

With few resources, Chawngthu and a couple of friends set out to make the film spreading the word about it and appealing to neighbourhood leaders and a high school to help them get a crowd who could play extras.

Chawngthu managed to pay his protagonists about Rs 10,000 each, while his main supporting actors got paid around Rs 1,000 each. Scores of others just received words of appreciation, refreshments and some pocket money.

Chawngthu has already made some difference at home though. His work was the inspiration behind Mizo history or folk tales being made the theme of the short-film competition organised by the newly formed Mizoram Film Development Society (MFDS) and the state's Information Department.
However, while the MDFS and government have organised small training sessions for aspiring actors and directors since then, no noteworthy film has emerged so far. The lack of venues to screen films is a major impediment.

"I hope against hope that our leaders and politicians start rethinking the state's lack of policies for filmmakers and that some of our businessmen revive the closed cinema halls. That will go a long way in lifting Mizo films," Chawngthu says.

He himself has no concrete plans to make another film just yet, although he has been toying with some stories from the insurgency years. "Unless there is someone who can finance a film, it's difficult, what with the EMI and all the bills I ran up making Khawnglung Run," he says.

The amount he spent, after all, was no mean sum by Mizoram film standards, as even an apologetic Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla acknowledged earlier this year. A drop in the ocean for Chawngthu's counterparts in most parts of the country, Rs 10 lakh is the entire amount Mizoram provides for film development every year.

Mizo Marksmanship

Crying blue A Mizo National Front rally in Aizawl protests Lalthanhawla’s ‘idol worship’

elections: mizoram

The ruling Congress fights charges both religious and temporal in Mizoram

By Debarshi Dasgupta

Election season in Mizoram has had one riveting controversy that has whipped up mass interest. It concerns the Hindu ‘tilak’ that has been the generating news in the last stage of the campaign in this predominantly Christian state. Posters featuring the ruling Congress CM Po Lalthanhawla with a tilak, supposedly from his visit to a puja pandal in Calcutta in 2011, have been widely circulated by opposition parties to extract maximum mileage. Rallies have also been organised to argue how the CM violated key Christian tenets.

The CM, on his part, hasn’t taken it lying down, even arguing that pastors from Mizoram have had the tilak applied on them on outstation visits. This only infuriated the Church, that rushed to defend the piety of its pastors. In a state where the Pres­byterian and Baptist churches are powerful, many believe this controversy can harm the Congress’s poll prospects in conservative rural areas. So powerful is the Church that it has ‘banned’ football on Sundays and runs a self-appointed and strict election monitor—Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF). The Election Commission even chose to change the original date of the poll from December 4 to November 25 as it clashed with the Presbyterian church’s conference.

It is in the backdrop of this surreal deb­ate, under the stern and almost min­atory glare of an ubiquitously pow­erful Church, that Mizos are queuing up to elect their new legislators on Mon­day. The opposition Mizoram Dem­ocratic Alliance (MDA)—a grouping of the Mizo National Front (MNF), Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF)—is taking a shot at unseating the Congress government that holds 32 of the 40 assembly seats. Lalthanhawla claims his party will better 2008’s score, but most analysts give the Congress a lower tally. The MDA, on the other hand, hopes to pocket around 25 seats this time.

Photograph by AFP, From Outlook 02 December 2013

To counter the tilak charge, CM Lalthanhawla’s Congress has put up a poster showing the late Laldenga in a gurudwara.

The ruling Congress expects a rich harvest from its New Land Use Policy (NLUP), a programme it started after 2008, whereby farmers are given Rs 1 lakh each to better their income generation. But opposition parties have been quick to point out how many NLUP beneficiaries are either Congress loyalists, or how the party has wastefully doled out money to barbers, tailors and desktop publishers. “Only a handful of the beneficiaries have received the entire amount,” says MNF Rajya Sabha MP Lalhming Lianga. “The Congress has failed in implementing any sort of long-term development and financial management goals.” MPC secretary Michael Lalthan­mawia makes the same point. “Our biggest criticism of the Congress is how it focuses only on short-term benefits, not on policies that look even beyond two years.” The opposition alliance was cobbled together after protracted negotiations and has the MNF contesting from 32 seats and the MPC from the remaining eight. In 2008, the two parties, despite having won 41 per cent of the votes, had won just four seats. The Congress, with a voteshare of less than 39 per cent, had won 32. The MNF and the MPC hope they have found a way to convert votes into seats with this seat-sharing agreement. The two had last forged an alliance in 1998, and had managed to throw out the Congress that had been in power for two consecutive terms since 1989. “Our faithful added together are more or less sufficient to get us to victory. It has nothing to do with the Congress’s weaknesses or strengths,” says Lalthanmawia.

***

The ruling Congress expects to hold on to power in Mizoram, fighting off an alliance between two major opposition parties, MNF and MPC, and a minor party, MDF

While the Congress expects benefits from its assistance programme for farmers, the opposition accuses it of little long-term development planning

71-year-old CM Lalthanhawla has held office on four earlier occasions
Despite there being more women voters, Mizoram has only seven women
contesting among 141-odd candidates

***

With the country’s attention focused on polls in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Mizoram has had a quiet season. The main reason is the Church-supported MPF, a self-appointed monitor that acts as the de facto election commission in the state, with its stringent but widely adhered to code of conduct for campaigning. This, as a local journalist explains, gives state capital Aizawl a deserted look even at the peak of the campaign season. The MPF even organises debates with candidates from different parties. “People here tend to see the Church as a force that can guide the society, see it as one that can put out a code of conduct,” says R. Lalrinkima, assistant professor at Kamala Nagar College in Chawngte.

Unlike the rest of the country, where poll campaigning often at least partly reflects the ‘macro’ issues, the campaign in Mizoram for each candidate has been structured around local issues. “Almost all candidates have fought around local issues, such as poor condition of roads, inadequate electricity supply and scarcity of cooking gas,” adds Lallianchhunga, assistant professor of political science at Mizoram University in Aizawl.

To return to the tilak controversy, K. Sapdanga, editor of Mizo newspaper Vanglaini, feels it can anger people in rural areas, where they tend to be “less secular”. MNF MP Lianga adds, “It’s not the fact that he went to a pandal but that he performed their religious rites that has hurt the sentiments of Christians.... It is a minus point.” Not to be outdone, the Congress released a poster of the MNF’s founder-president, the late Laldenga, attending a ceremony in a gurudwara. It showed him garlanded, with his head covered with a white cloth, a traditional accoutrement while entering a gurudwara.
Some analysts have interpreted the row over the tilak—and the ‘bowing to foreign gods’—as an attempt to accentuate Mizo nationalism to counter the influence of the ‘mainland’ Congress. If its proponents once used the bullet, they are hoping the ballot can express the sentiment now. That’s easier said than done. “Mizo nationalism is still widespread amongst the youth, something it expresses widely through social media. But it is complicated for the opposition to translate this into votes,” says Lallianchhunga.

While a loss for the Congress in Mizoram may not fit in with the larger binary political narrative of BJP versus the Congress ahead of 2014, a defeat for the grand old party in a state with just one Lok Sabha seat can still deliver a sharp kick to its shin.

source: Outlook India

Mizoram Election Update: Nov 25

Mizo sentiments vs Cong’s pro-poor policy

Mizoram’s 686,305 voters, almost 51% of them women, will on Monday choose between a flagship programme of the ruling Congress and the Opposition’s call for a return to ‘Mizo nationalism’.

Mizoram’s voting percentage has been on the higher side — 76.32% in 1998, 78.65% in 2003 and 80.02% in 2008. It is expected to be no different this time despite low-key campaigning owing to restrictions by a church-controlled NGO.

The Congress hopes to ride the ‘success’ of its pro-poor New Land Use Policy (NLUP) by giving `1.25 lakh to 135,000 of its 257,581 households in a state where 50% of the population have been the programme’s beneficiaries. “The people voted us to power last time so that we could implement NLUP. They want us to continue the good work,” chief minister Lal Thanhawla said.

Two factors have kindled Congress hopes. One is the tendency of Mizoram’s voters to give a party a second chance. The other is the three-party Mizoram Democratic Alliance for “betraying a certain lack of confidence”.

Alliances have not worked in the hill state. But the Mizo National Front (MNF), the dominant party in the MDA, admitted to tying up with two other regional parties after assessing its strengths and weaknesses seat by seat. It hopes to cash in on resentment among the rural poor who missed out on NLUP “for not being Congress supporters”.

The MNF is also banking on its credo of a ‘return to Mizo nationalism’ — a concept of self-rule steeped in Christian values — to translate into votes. This concept has also made the party repeatedly target the Congress for trying to impose ‘Indian nationalism’ on the Mizos.

Zoramthanga has a herculean task ahead

Zoramthanga, a 69-year-old rebel-turned-politician, is fighting a tough battle. He not only has to win his own East Tuipui seat, but also has to ensure that his party, Mizo National Front (MNF), succeeds in defeating the chief minister Lal Thanhawla-led Congress.

The MNF has cobbled up a viable pre-poll alliance - the Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA) - with two other opposition parties, Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and Maraland Democratic Front (MDF).

The MNF headquarters in Aizawl was buzzing with activity on Friday. The party leaders said Zoramthanga has meticulously planned the pre-poll alliance to prevent division of opposition votes. "In the last election, Congress won because the opposition was a divided house, but this time we are united, said Thanga, a local MNF leader.

In 2008, MNF was defeated by Congress with Zoramthanga losing from both the Champhai North and Champhai South seats. The party could manage to win only three seats, while Congress saw a landslide victory with 32 of the total 40 seats.

"This time, I am sure to win, though the winning margin may not be very big. Overall, MNF will do better and form the next government. I have high hopes from the voters of Mizoram," Zoramthanga told TOI. "This alliance had swept the assembly polls in 1998, and the truck is better this time," he added.

Born in 1944 at Samthang village in Champhai district, Zoramthanga, after graduating, joined the insurgency movement led by the legendary Laldenga in 1966 to fight the Indian forces. In 1966, insurgency engulfed Mizoram after the great famine of the late fifties brought starvation to Mizo homes due to mautam (bamboo flowering). The failure of then Assam government to rush in supplies to the people of Lushai Hills district had made the Mizos angry and they decided to support Laldenga's call for separation from India.

Zoramthanga then went to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1969 for arms training. By 1979, he had become a close aide of Laldenga and was made the vice-president.

After Laldenga signed the Mizo Peace Accord in 1986, leading to the creation of the state of Mizoram in 1987, MNF became a political party. MNF formed the government in 1987 under Laldenga's leadership, and Zoramthanga was made the number two man in the cabinet.

When Laldenga died of cancer in 1990, MNF chose Zoramthanga as his successor, who led MNF to victory in the 1998 and 2003 assembly polls and became the chief minister. But, he could not stop the anti-incumbency wave in 2008 and lost to Congress.

Despite Congress riding high with its populist New Land Use Policy (NLUP) programme, the MNF president vowed to fight back. Terming NLUP a total failure, Zoramthanga said, "NLUP is just a money distributing system and not a scheme for economic development. The voters know this well. Government employees were antagonized as the Congress government was diverting the plan funds to the NLUP."

However, he did not think twice before promising the electorates another populist scheme that too may not do any good for the state's economy. He defended his brainchild - Socio Economic Development Programme (SEDP) - and argued that once launched, it would revolutionize the economy of Mizoram and other northeastern states.

A veteran regional leader, Zoramthanga also closely monitors national politics. With regional parties likely to call shots in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he is weighing MNF's options at the Centre. "The Lok Sabha election is still some months away; we will take a stand when it comes closer. As of today, we are not joining any side," he said, making it clear that MNF cannot join hands with Congress.

BJP will perform better in Mizoram this time, says Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh - IANS

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed confidence that his party would perform better here in the upcoming elections.
“I feel in Mizoram, our performance would be better, and we might win a number of seats here,” he said.
He further said that ruling Congress Government has to pay special attention to the development of the North East states, and added that people in Mizoram are very disappointed with the extent of development undertaken by the Congress.
“I feel due the presence of Congress government here for such a long time, there has been less development here. People here are very disappointed, and I feel the government should pay special attention to the development of the north east states,” he added.
Mizoram is going to polls on November 25, and results would be announced on December 8, along with those in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi.

At last minute, militancy a poll issue in Mizoram

Guns and militants have become possibly a last-minute issue in Monday's polls in Mizoram, for long the Northeast's most peaceful state.

The last few days have seen the state gripped by allegations and counter-allegations of parties working with militants to get votes in the northern areas bordering Manipur, home to large populations of the Hmar and Paite tribes, some of whose leaders have for years demanded tribal districts.

The row began on Wednesday when Hmar leader B Zahunga, appointed by the Congress as a member of the Sinlung Hills Development Council in a region inhabited largely by Hmars, was shot in the ankle by militants while he was walking home.

The Congress immediately blamed the Zoram Nationalist Party, said to be the dark horse in the polls owing to the popularity of its president, Lalduhoma. The Congress has charged it with working with militants.

The ZNP, possibly facing its most hopeful election yet as it has never formed a government, has gone into damage control, holding press conferences to deny the allegations and condemning an assault by "Congress workers" on a campaigner for a ZNP candidate.

ZNP leaders also distributed copies of agreements between leaders of the Congress and the Mizo National Front (the MDA's main constituent) just ahead of past assembly elections.

The Hmar Welfare Committee, whose members are peace talks delegates of the militant group Hmar People's Convention Democratic, too issued a public statement saying Hmar political leaders had in the past been betrayed by the Congress and the MNF.

What has made these allegations and counter-allegations a major last-minute poll issue is that a consortium of the state's largest mass-based voluntary organisations has issued a joint statement asking people "not to vote for parties that rely on the strength of militants to win votes".

The Contest

Congress: 32 MLAs in outgoing 40-member house. It has been declaring: "Congress is winning, and it appeals to all to recognise how miserable it is to be represented by an opposition MLA, and so vote for the Congress."

Mizoram Democratic Allaince: Includes Mizo National Front. Aggressively campaigning in all 40 seats, relying not only on the "Mizo nationalism" it has championed since its formation in the early 1960s but also on the Congress's alleged misrule.

Zoram Nationalist Party: The most aggressive in the run-up. Its campaign is based not just on promoting its own policies but tearing apart those of both the Congress and MNF. Led by the popular Lalduhoma, it has never been in power.

Women Voters To Play Key Role in Mizoram Polls

By Sujit Chakraborty

Aizawl, Nov 25 : Women voters will play a key role in the Nov 25 assembly elections in Mizoram, the only state in India where women voters outnumber men.

Of the 686,305 voters eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections to the 40-member assembly, 349,506 are women and 336,799 men.

In the last assembly polls in 2008, women voters outnumbered men voters by 6,644, and in the 2003 elections by 3,816.

Mizo women contribute enormously to the economy of the mountainous state - the state's name literally means 'land of the hill people' - its domestic affairs, church and social activities but when it comes to politics, assembly and Lok Sabha elections in particular, they have remained in the background in getting due importance.

Of the 142 candidates, only six (four percent) are women this time.

The ruling Congress and main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) have fielded one woman candidate each while three women are contesting on the Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. One woman is contesting as an independent candidate.

In the 2008 elections, four women contested unsuccessfully.

Since Mizoram became a union territory in 1972 and a full-fledged state in 1986, there have been only three women legislators - Thanmawii (1978), K. Thansiamii (1979) and Lalhimpuii Hmar (1987). Among them, Lalhimpuii Hmar of the MNF was a minister in the government led by the late Laldenga in 1987.

Even in 2013, women in India's second most literate state Mizoram (with a literacy rate of 91.58 percent) after Kerala (93.91 percent) do not have adequate legal rights.

With a total population of 1,091,014, of which 538,675 are women, 89.4 percent females are literate against the male literacy percentage of 93.72.

"A man can divorce his wife at his whims and fancies without any reason. He doesn't have to pay alimony to his wife and women usually don't inherit the property also," said Lalnipuii, a women's rights activist.

"The Mizo society is completely dominated by men. Women should get due importance in all types of governance."

Mizoram Pradesh Women's Congress president Tlangthanmawii, who is contesting against Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) chief Lalduhawma and former transport minister K. Sangthuama of the MNF in the Aizawl West one seat, is also in favour of more women's participation in politics and governance.

The Women Welfare Front (WWF), constituted by women members of village councils across the state, has been actively spearheading the campaign for women candidates in the assembly polls.

"We are making all-out efforts so that we see as many women candidates as possible in the coming assembly elections. We have requested political parties to nominate as many women candidates as possible and we will appeal to the female voters to vote for the women contestants," WWF secretary Darhmingthangi told IANS.

"No home is complete without a woman; so is the case with the state assembly. As much as we need women in our domestic affairs, we need them in the legislative system too."

Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), the state's biggest women's body, has given full moral support to the WWF's initiatives.

"Despite the women working hard in all sectors, they are deprived of getting their due share in the control of power," said MHIP leader Rozami, who was also chairperson of the Mizoram State Commission for Women.

Congress leader Lalsawta said: "We have no problems in nominating women candidates if there are qualified and efficient women contenders."

"The Mizo society in pre-modern times was strictly based on what is known as an extreme patriarchal society. This created 'private' and 'public' domain, where women were stigmatised to the private sphere that relegated their status in the social and religious life," sociologist Subhankar Goswami told IANS.

"Women therefore had no opportunities to go beyond the scope of the 'domestic sphere' and it was only men who controlled and dominated the entire 'public sphere'. They were not supposed to have any independent religious loyalty, but were required to follow the religion of their husbands."

"Christianity of course is the harbinger of 'modernity' as well as women's liberation in Mizoram. The Christian missionaries are regarded as a symbol of 'modernisation' that led to gradual changes in the conservative attitudes of men towards women," he said.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Lalrindika Ralte stunner helps East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 1-0 in Kolkata derby

Lalrindika Ralte (not in picture) scored a spectacular goal in the 73rd minute for East Bengal (AIFF Media)

India international Lalrindika Ralte scored a spectacular goal in the 73rd minute to give East Bengal a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in a high-voltage round 10 clash of the Airtel I-League. The season's first big Kolkata derby -- and 306th clash between the two sides overall -- was witnessed by a crowd of more than 80,000 in an electrifying atmosphere at the Salt Lake Stadium but produced very few goal scoring chances.

East Bengal had more ball possession but struggled to break down a well ogranised Mohun Bagan backline before Lalrindika fired in a left-footed scorcher from 30 yards to give Armando Colaco a winning start as coach of the Red-and-Gold outfit.

The result ended Mohun Bagan's four-match unbeaten run and saw East Bengal overtake their arch-rivals. Both sides have 10 points each but Armando Colaco's side have a superior goal difference and played three games less.

The first real chance of the match fell to Mohun Bagan as skipper Odafa Okolie, who was playing in a deeper role, sent Eric Muranda clear with a lovely through pass but the Kenyan's effort was saved by Abhijit Mondal and Katsumi Yusa's shot from the rebound was blocked by Arnab Mondal.

East Bengal's best opportunity of the opening half came just a few minutes before the interval when Lalrindika's through ball sent Ryuji Sueoka past the Mohun Bagan defence but goalkeeper Shilton Paul came out on time to collect the ball at the Japanese player's feet.

It was almost the same pattern in the second half as East Bengal had plenty of possession but did not really trouble the Mohun Bagan defence.

At the other end, Odafa had a golden opportunity to put his side in front but the Mohun Bagan captain's header from a Pritam Kotal cross went straight at Abhijit Mondal even though he was unmarked.

Both coaches made a substitution each to change as young Ram Malik replaced CS Sabeeth for Mohun Bagan while Colaco brought James Moga in place of Cavin Lobo.

Late in the second half, East Bengal midfield general and skipper Mehtab Hossain came off the field with an injury but just minutes later Lalrindika broke the deadlock with a trademark left-footed effort from 30 yards much to delight of the thousands of East Bengal fans.

Mohun Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa brought in youngsters Sankar Oran and Manish Bhargav in search of the equaliser but it was East Bengal who could have doubled their advantage had Sueoka or Chidi Edeh been a bit more clinical.

Former Sex Workers, HIV Patients Bring Down HIV incidence in Mizoram

Aizawl, Nov 22 : The prevalence of HIV in Mizoram has come down appreciably in the last few years, thanks to the hard work put in by former sex workers and HIV patients in spreading awareness about the lethality of HIV virus and AIDS.

The Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), the nodal agency working for spreading awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the state, has engaged 28 NGOs for the purpose of creating awareness, identification, counselling and care of the HIV-infected patients in the state.

These NGOs in turn have engaged several former sex workers and HIV patients working for them, who are not only helping them reach out to their former community but also overcome the stigma associated with the disease.

“These NGOs engage pure educators and outreach members most of whom are either former sex workers, drug users or HIV patients," a senior official of the MSACS said.

"They help us reach our target group as no one here either talks about sex or HIV openly,” a senior official of MSACS said.

He said that the employed NGOs under this programme worked under the operational structure of one project director, followed by a counsellor, nurse, outreach members and pure educators.

It is the outreach members and pure educators category under which former sex workers and HIV patients are engaged to identify target groups of female sex workers, drug users, he said.

The VOLCOMH is one such NGO among 28 which is working for the prevention of the affliction and the spread of awareness among masses.

“Out of 12 pure educators, four of them are former sex workers and we also have an HIV patient in this entire operational structure.

Engagement of these people have helped us a lot as it would have been impossible to identify our target group,” said P C Lalhmangaiha, project director, VOLCOMH.

According to the HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2010- 2011 survey conducted by the Mizoram State Aids Control Society (MSACS), which has brought out a complied data of  the status of HIV virus prevalence in the state till 2008, has shown a sharp decrease in pervasiveness of the lethal disease among all the target groups which includes pregnant woman, drug users, female sex workers and STD patients.

“If you compare the data of HIV prevalence for the last few years till 2008, then the prevalence has come down drastically.  It is now 0. 7 per cent. Our efforts and especially the former sex workers have helped bring down the prevalence," said Betty Lalthantluangi, Joint Director, MSACS.

According to the survey, the HIV prevalence in pregnant women has come down from 2.08 per cent in 2003 to 0. 85 per cent in 2008.

In the female sex workers category, the prevalence has come down from 14 per cent in 2005 to 9.20 per cent in 2008.

Among drug users the prevalence has come down from 7. 25 per cent to 5. 28 percent.

The MSACS in this financial year has set a target to reach out to 1120 sex workers across the state.

“Through these NGOs we have already reached out to 900 sex workers. Out of these 900, 92 have tested positive for HIV virus,” said the official.

Asked about the mode of functioning of the NGOs, the official said, “Once the sex workers and high risk groups are identified by the pure educators and outreach members, we convince them to take a HIV testing, then sexually transmitted diseases testing, general healthcare, provide them with condoms free of cost, female condoms and lastly counselling.”