Act on Manorama Probe Report: HC to Manipur

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap As the debate over the ‘draconian’ Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 continues, the Gauhati High Court has asked the Manipur government to act on an inquiry report on the alleged rape and killing of Manorama Devi. Manorama, a militant, was allegedly raped and killed by Assam Rifles personnel in July 2004. The killing had triggered large-scale protests in Manipur. The...

Assam Students Damage 45 Vehicles, Injure 15

Guwahati, Sep 7 : At least 45 vehicles were damaged and 15 people were injured by protesting college students in Assam's Kamrup district on Monday, police sources said. According to reports, a group of agitated college student blocked the National Highway-37 at Kukurmara area in the district, demanding regular bus service by stopping the vehicles and pelting stones. ''At least 45 vehicles were damaged...

MHA Mulls Direct Funding to 3 Mizoram Autonomous District Councils

Aizawl, Sep 6 : Three autonomous district councils in Mizoram may soon receive funds directly from the Centre without routing through the state government account as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has been mulling the proposal, official sources said here today. The Mara, Lai and Chakma autonomous district councils have been demanding direct Central funding for decades but could not succeed...

Villagers Turn Violent as Children are Lured to Rebel Camps

By Iboyaima Laithangbam Child soldiers in the ranks of PREPAK line for a photo shoot Imphal, Sep 6 : In yet another instance of recruiting child soldiers to the proscribed underground organizations in Manipur, the irate villagers of Awang Khunnou in Imphal West torched the house of a boy who had lured away two children for taking to the camp of the rebels. Police have arrested some persons...

Time of The Essence For Naga Peace

By JB Lama Into his second term in office, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is bent on finding a solution to the lingering Naga problem. One might recall how, during Singh’s earlier tenure, the NSCN(IM) leadership had, in July 2004, told its cadres to be ready to leave their designated camps because it had refused to renew the ceasefire accord in protest against the UPA’s clause in its Common...

Assam Tourism Introduce Luxury River Cruise

To focus on aggressive marketing and infrastructure development By Dheera Majumder Assam Tourism has entered into an arrangement with Faridabad based-Far Horizon Tours to operate a luxury river cruise vessel, M.V. Mahabaahu on River Brahmaputra by early 2011 under the PPP model. The river cruise will be targeted to high-end segment and will be operated on a revenue sharing basis between...

A Modest Proposal on AFSPA

By Siddharth Varadarajan Change the blanket ban on trials without official sanction to one where the government has the power to bar prosecution in individual cases provided it satisfies the courts that its reasons for doing so are valid. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has come in for widespread criticism in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and other parts of the northeast because of the human...

Meghalaya Plans Rehab of Child Miners

By E.M. Jose Children work at coal mines in Jaintia Hills. Shillong, Sep 6 : The Meghalaya government is working on a rehabilitation package to help the children working under hazardous situations in the coal mines of Jaintia Hills, following a direction from the National Human Rights Commission. The state commissioner and secretary of mining and geology, Arindam Som, today said following the...