Manipur Iron Lady’s Fast to Complete a Decade

No Solution in Sight

By Narendra Ch

Irom Sharmila Chanu is demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 2958 (AFSPA). She is leading an unprecedented and extraordinary struggle, in a true Gandhian (non-violent) way. She started her fast after gruesome Malom massacre.

The indefinite hunger strike by Manipuri poetess Irom Sharmila Chanu will complete a decade on November 2. The entire nation should be ashamed of the unpardonable negligence shown towards the conditions that prevail in the culturally-rich north east, particularly in the tiny state of Manipur.

Chanu is demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 2958 (AFSPA). She is leading an unprecedented and extraordinary struggle, in a true Gandhian (non-violent) way. She started her fast after gruesome Malom massacre, where ten innocent civilians were gunned down by the security forces on 2nd November, 2000.

AFSPA provides special powers to arrest detain and even kill civilians on suspicion. The armed forced are empowered to search and destroy properties on mere suspicion in the ‘disturbed areas’ of the North East and subsequently in Kashmir.

Wherever AFSPA is operational, sudden disappearances of people, extra-judicial killings, tortures, rapes and arbitrary detentions are a routine affair.

The gross human rights violations are even severe in Manipur as compared to the Kashmir valley. But the national media, political parties and intellectuals, including high-profile human rights activists react sharply even if a single incident of police firing or curfew is reported in the Kashmir valley. But, when hundreds of innocent people suffer in north east, not much is said on it.

Even the unwavering courage showed by Chanu for standing up as a voice for thousands of voiceless people demanding to repeal AFSPA is not much known outside the region. Her 10-year fasting symbolises the-as of now unending-journey of the people of Manipur and other areas of North-east for peace, freedom and stability from violence, oppression and fear.
She has taken an indomitable stand that her fast will end only when the Government of India repeals the AFSPA. Ironically, the Government of India responded by arresting her several times on charges of attempted suicide under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. The cycle of arrests of Chanu has continued for the past ten years.

When the Union Home Minister introduced the law in the Parliament in 1958, he assured that the Act will just be a temporary measure. Sadly, it has dragged on for more than 52 years now.

The people of Manipur have done whatever is humanely possible to register their protest against AFSPA. That includes naked protest by mothers, self-immolation by student leaders, mass demonstrations, petition to the Supreme Court, complaints to the United Nation bodies. But the Government of India, in fact the nation as a whole, remains completely indifferent on issues of right to life and dignity.

Today, her persistent protest has become unprecedented in the history of resilience. Her struggle lies not only in defending the most basic and fundamental human rights of her people, but also in questioning the very foundations of Indian democracy, which venerates Mahatma Gandhi and his principles of ahimsa (non-violence).

Irom Sharmila has been recognized internationally for her work on the issues of women’s empowerment, peace and human rights and her non-violent means of fighting for human rights. In 2007, she has been awarded the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights and in 2010 the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize was bestowed upon her.

As the international community recognizes her work and struggle, the Indian government suffices its duty by keeping her under judicial custody in the Security Ward of the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Imphal and forcibly feeding her through naso-gastric intubations.

On November 2, 2010 Irom Sharmila as well as the people of the North-east India will mark a decade of the hunger strike not only for fundamental human rights, but also for truth in the foundation of Indian Democracy.

We do not want another year of celebration of Irom Sharmila’s hunger strike and we do not want another year of the AFSPA’s enforcement in India. The human rights defenders and women human rights defenders in Asia, stand as one demanding that the AFSPA should be repealed immediately and that the hunger strike of Irom Sharmila must end NOW.

Assam Mobile Theatres Still Popular

Itanagar, Nov 1 : The over 20 mobile theatres in Assam, which begin their peregrinations in August each year holding 50 to 60 shows for a few months are competiting to keep up with satellite channels and films.

"We have to face many challenges while running a mobile theatre unit. The people want a good story with sets like they see in films," Krishno Roy of Awahan Theatre told PTI. The mobile theatre groups in Assam take with them all accessories, including wooden podium, curtains, sets, music and lighting system.

A theatre group charges around Rs 30,000 to 40,000 per show and pitches camp for four to five days. "People are still attracted towards mobile theatres because they find something here which they cannot find in films," Roy said.

From Hengul, Kohinoor, Awahan, Srimanta Sankardeva to their petty counterparts like Bhagyadevi, they account for the over 20 such groups in Assam. "We are getting good response from people throughout the state. It is the high-tech, audio-visual effects used in the plays and scripts depicting the present socio-economic conditions which attract people," said Pankaj Hazarika, owner of Hengul Theatre which is doing good business this year with Assamese heart throb Syamantika Sharma and Prasenjeet.

"We are getting more crowds in Lower Assam especially in rural pockets," he said.
Ratan Lahkar, owner of Kohinoor said that he tried to give money's worth to the people with a full package of entertainment from the script, acting, lighting, music and settings.

"I never solely depend on particular glamorous artistes for success of my plays, but depend on the entire team," Lahkar claimed.

Kohinoor performed in April at New Delhi at the invitation of National School of Drama (NSD) to win accolades. "NSD, of late, is giving due recognition to mobile theatres of Assam and they have invited us again to New Delhi to stage 'Titanic' in Hindi. I am working on it," Lahkar, who is himself a good actor, said.

Script writers, however, said "the present generation prefer fast-paced dramas. They also want scripts to be non-political," said playwright Abhijit Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya has written 18 play and some such as Rumal (staged by Kohinoor), Rudra Sagar (Raj Tilak), Halla and Tumi (Hengul) and Pokhila (Awahan) have become popular.

Prior to the advent of these theatre groups, the Bengali 'yatras' were the prime source of entertainment for the people living in backward pockets of the state. The 'yatras' stopped once the theatre groups started making their presence felt in both urban and rural areas.

No Exams in Meghalaya Schools

Shillong, Nov 1 : Meghalaya will introduce a continuous and comprehensive evaluation system in State schools from the next academic year, freeing students from examinations.

To begin with, the system would be launched in select schools where overall performance of students from Classes I to VIII will be continuously evaluated, replacing traditional written tests and marking systems, Education Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said here.

Students would be evaluated after completion of every chapter and therefore, they don’t have to study the whole book to pass an examination. This will help in minimising drop out rates, she said.

She said, “The system is being introduced to remove fear of examination from students’ minds, laying emphasis on overall mental development rather than memorisation.

“Under the Centre’s Rastriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan, every year 20 schools will be identified. Since CBSE has already begun the scheme, Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education cannot say they cannot go ahead.

“The process of preparing materials for teachers training has already begun and the teachers training will be conducted for two and half months starting from December next,” Lyngdoh said.

The government has made it mandatory for the teachers who were selected to participate in the training. “If a teacher does not go for the training under any pretext, action will be taken,” Lyngdoh said.

Kut Festival - Time to Romance Tradition And Flirt With Modernity

Imphal, Oct 31 : Kut fever has gripped among the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group.

The day falls on Novermber 1.It is one of the most anticipated calendar days for the Kuki-Chin-Mizo group of Manipur and elsewhere.

One of the few occasions, KUT (as it is called) symbolises happiness and health, hard work and toil, peace and brotherhood, abundance and hope.

On this day, all roads in Manipur zeros in at the epicentre(s) for a day-long jamboree of cultural extravaganza.

Diaspora and locals, wherever they may be, come together in bonhomie on this day to celebrate and rejoice in God's bountiful providence.

Given the increasing tendency of modern society to fragmentation and disintegration, Kut may be seen to be a local reincarnate of the hippie-days bohemian musical fete " Woodstock ".

Young and old, kings and paupers, strong and weak are united in the spirit of ancestral unity.

Traditionally, locally brewed beers were exchanged within a village marking an end to agricultural drudgery consequent to plentiful harvest.

The day officially announces the beginning of leisure and game.

Cut to modern days, the festival has been laced with festoons and fanfare with the showcasing of tradition within the modern context.

The festival is in this sense, a link between the gapping hole of tradition and modernity.

For the people of Chin-Kuki-Mizo, it is a time to retrospect about the past and look forward to the future with optimistic zeal.

Diaspora of Kuki-Chin-Mizo takes time out to reunite with their roots despite the mad search for global identity.

For those unable to make a connection to their forefathers' blood-drench soil of Manipur, they still make an effort by organising Kut wherever they may be roaming.

The principal highlight of the spectacular event, understandably, is the ostentatious display of traditional attire and dance forms of Kuki-Chin-Mizo fraternal tribes.

It is a day-long carnival divided into two action-packed halves.

If one were to take a historical and civilizational comparison of the separation of the day into two halves, it would appear to show the inevitable transition of the society from traditional to modern.

The first half of the day witnesses a display of customary and folk extravaganza interspersed with crooning sensation taking the audience to a dizzying heights of awe inspiration.

Many VVIPs are a major fixture of the first half of the day.

The later half of the day attracts a huge fan following with Miss Kut pageantry and Rock bands lined up to enthral young crowds of discernible taste.

Interestingly, the festival is celebrated in different parts of Manipur, from the State level down to village levels.

Towns like Moreh, which is located on the Indian side of the Indo-Myanmar international border, and villages like Saikul's Gangpijang, steeped in its engagement with tradition and culture, have been attracting enormous admirers from every nook and crannies of the state.

Over the years, the state level event has unofficially become synonymous with multicultural and multi-community affairs.

Participation from other communities of the state in convincing numbers has lent itself a global facet.

As far as the state is concerned, it has long recognised the importance of the event and has declared November 1 a state holiday.

This post-harvest festival gives the participants reasons to dress up in their best from the wardrobe.

An abiding feature in their clothes is, for boys either a scarf or a tie with traditional motif on it, and for a girl it normally is traditional wraparounds.

Between the fête on November 1, if cry of "li li li li…li, Ho!" fills the air, rest assured that it is not a war cry.

Join in the chorus and invoke God for the manifold providence and bountiful harvest of the year.

Shillong Chamber Choir to Perform For Obama

Shillong, Oct 31 : After holding the nation spellbound with Western chorals and Hindi classics on a TV reality show, the Shillong Chamber Choir will now have a very special audience – US President Barack Obama.

The young group of singers from Shillong, dubbed as the ‘Rock capital of India’, is scheduled to perform for the US President and his wife Michelle at President Pratibha Patil’s presidential banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 8.

“We have been invited by the Government of India through the Ministry of External Affairs. The invitation came much before we won the reality show,” said Damon Lyndem, bass singer and media coordinator for the Choir, which had won ‘India’s Got Talent - Khoj 2 on Colors TV earlier this month.

‘To God be the Glory’ and ‘Deep River’ are among the probable numbers to be performed by the Choir before President Obama and First Lady Michelle.

“We have been asked to perform jazz and spiritual numbers. But of course, we would like to showcase our own culture, and so there will be Khasi opera. It’s a big thing. We hope to do justice,” Lyndem said.

Rashtrapati Bhavan sources in New Delhi have confirmed the group’s participation.

Twenty members of the Choir, including fifteen singers and conductor Neil Nongkynrieh, will leave for Delhi on November 6.

The Choir’s repertoire includes works of Western classical greats like Handel, Bach, Gershwin and Mozart, besides Queen hits and Khasi folk songs.

The Shillong Chamber Choir had made their debut performance at a city hotel in January 2001, with Neil Nongkynrih as their maestro and mentor.

The group of 25 soloists first came to limelight after bagging three gold medals at the World Choir Games 2010 in China.

NEHU Students Press For V-C's Ouster

Shillong, Oct 31 : Students of Meghalaya's North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) will resume their indefinite agitation from Monday to pressurise the Central government to remove of AN Rai as Vice Chancellor and appoint a local academician instead, a student leader said today.

"As a mark of protest against the adamant attitude of the Central government to our demand to remove Rai from the post of Vice Chancellor, we have decided to resume our indefinite shutdown at NEHU from Monday," Meghalaya Tribal Students' Coordination Committee (MTSCC) chairman Kynpham Kharlyngdoh told IANS.

The students coordination committee, under the banner of NEHU Students' Union (NEHUSU) and MTSCC, wants a tribesman Vice Chancellor to head the varsity, one of the country's premier Central universities.

Late Barrister Pakem was the only local Vice Chancellor since the university's inception in 1973.

On October 20, students, who were protesting for over a month, set Octover 29 as the deadline for removal of Rai from the post when a three-member team of the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry led by HRD Ministry Secretary Vibha Puri Das visited Shillong to assess the resentment over Rai's appointment.

The team studied the student protests. Rai, a former Vice Chancellor of Mizoram University, was appointed for the NEHU by President Pratibha Patil after Pramod Tandon completed his tenure September 12.

Union HRD Additional Secretary (higher education) Sunil Kumar, who was also a member of the team that visited the State, said a report was submitted to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal October 28.

"All our findings and views expressed by the Governor, the State government and stakeholders of the NEHU have been compiled in our report which is in the hands of the minister now," Kumar said over phone from New Delhi. He said the minister will take a final decision to resolve the issue.

Rai said: "Stepping down is not an option. I am here as the Vice Chancellor on the appointment of the President of India and I am honouring it. If the students are against me, they should approach the authorities concerned.

"I am ready to sort any grievances relating to the university," he added.

Earlier, the Meghalaya government asked the HRD Ministry team to appoint a local academician as the NEHU Vice Chancellor.

"David Syiemlieh (a tribal Khasi and an eminent historian) is the best person to lead the university. He is an impeccable academician with requisite qualifications and has enough experience in administration of the university," Deputy Chief Minister BM Lanong said.

Syiemlieh, a member of Indian Council of Historical Research, is currently the controller of examinations in the university.

Thousands Run to Mark Victims of Assam Bombings

Guwahati, Oct 31 : More than 30,000 people, including Bollywood actors, yesterday joined an anti-terror run to commemorate 100 people who died in bombings two years ago in the northeast Indian state of Assam.

The two-mile run in Gauhati was a mark of protest against violence in a region plagued by insurgency, and Bollywood actor Zarine Khan said it was “a movement against terrorism”.

The five blasts on October 30, 2008 killed 100 civilians and injured 300. They were blamed on a group demanding Bodo tribal independence.

Nagas Share Their Struggle, Concerns

Bangalore, Oct 31 : Voices from the distant hills of Nagaland are echoing in Bangalore. The Naga community and leaders held a vibrant festival of Naga arts and crafts and cultural performances at the `at the Bishop Cotton Boys School on Saturday.

The performance was followed by a panel discussion on `Indo-Naga peace process __ difficulties and prospects' by Naga leaders who came from Kohima.

President Naga Ho Ho, Kevilotuo, shared the six decades of Naga struggle with the audience. He recollected the initial 16 point-agreement that created the state of Nagaland and said the Nagas were then divided into the four North Eastern states. In 1964, there was a ceasefire with the Indian government, but problems continued.

"In 1997, there was a ceasefire again. It's been 13 years since then and we still haven't reached a negotiation. The Indian government has to be sincere about the peace talks that we are having. The Naga journey is one of self determination and fight for independence. Our movement is for an independent nation but that doesn't mean that we cannot have peace," he said.

Speaking about the unique cultural identity and different topography of Nagaland, he added that their uniqueness has to be recognized. "Nagaland is a nation in the making and we want our message to reach all parts of India. India is a friend and we have now come to tell our story to the south of India. I am hopeful that we will achieve a resolution," he added.

President, Naga Students Federation, Metsekaoya Yhobo, said they had given several representations to the government of India and had met the Prime Minister too. "India has been insincere in dealing with our problems. The desire of the young Nagas is to work together for a resolution," he said.