LeT's Annual Military Budget: $5.2 Million

LeT using JuD's charitable networks to raise funds, recruit fidayeen, says US intelligence report to Pakistan

Washington, Dec 6 : The annual military operations budget of terror outfit LeT is a whopping USD 5.2 million, according to a secret US document which gives details about the outfit's fund raising activities, some of which comes through Jamaat-ud-Dawah's charitable networks.

The information is contained in a non-paper prepared by the American intelligence community, and shared with Pakistan in August 2009 at the direction of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and gives a deep insight into the fund raising, financing and various outfits of LeT.

The document says that Hafiz Saeed continues to lead both the LeT and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawah and that some of the funds collected in the name of charitable activities have also been used for planning terror attacks.

The fund is raised through a variety of sources mainly from private donations, NGOs, madrassas and business spread throughout South Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The non-paper that puts LeT's annual budget at more than Rs 23 crore, was used by Clinton to buttress her point and convey to Pakistan about her decision to oppose delisting of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its leader Hafiz Saeed from the Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

The non-paper says that the US intelligence community assesses that Hafiz Muhamad Saeed is leader of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is LeT's operations commander and they continue to run the organisation despite being detained for their role in the Mumbai attacks.

"We also judge that they have planned, directed, and executed LT attacks throughout South Asia and likely have used some funds collected in the name of JuD's charitable activities to support multiple LT terrorist operations, including the November Mumbai attacks," it said.

"The Community assesses that Saeed continues to lead both organisations. However, the Community is unable to assess to what extent senior JuD leaders such as Saeed are involved in specific terrorist operations or the level of detail to which they are knowledgeable about specific past and pending attacks," it said.

It says as of mid-July, Lakhvi was responsible for the LeT's military operations budget of Pakistani Rupees 365 million that is approximately USD 5.2 million per year.

He reportedly used the money to purchase all materials required for LeT operations other than weapons and ammunition, according to a source claiming direct and ongoing access to LeT leaders, the non-paper said.

"The Community assesses that JuD fundraising has relied heavily on private donations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), madrassas, and businesses spread throughout South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

"Some of JuD's budget, using funds raised both from witting donors and by fraud, is dedicated to social services or humanitarian relief projects, while some is used to finance LeT operations," it said.

"In December 2005, an official of Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq forwarded JuD donation receipts to a probable LT front company in Saudi Arabia where an LT finance official may have been closely associated with the general manager possibly acting as a front for moving LT funds, according to intelligence reporting," the documents says.

LeT's financier Makki in 2002 frequently visited the Middle East and viewed it as a main source of funding.

It said to demonstrate results to donors, JuD would finance the cost of building a new school or upgrading facilities at a madrassa, but would inflate the cost to siphon money to LeT.

Noting that there is not sufficient intelligence to determine if or how the Mumbai attacks have affected donations to JuD, it said some donors may be dissuaded from supporting JuD if they become aware that their funds may be used for additional terrorist attacks, whereas other donors may support the attacks.

"As public and government scrutiny increases in the wake of the attacks and subsequent designation of JuD as an alias of LT by the UN, we assess that JuD will rely more on covert fundraising efforts," it noted.

According to the non-paper, the US intelligence community assesses that LeT, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, uses the JuD name as an alias.

JuD is a religious, educational, and humanitarian organisation that the community assesses provides cover and protection for LeT's militant activities in Pakistan, it said.

"LeT and JuD share many senior leaders; LeT falls under the authority of JuD leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed; and JuD supports and facilitates LT's violent activities.

"LeT and JuD stem from the same original organisation Markaz-ud-Dawawal-Irshad (MDI) that was founded around 1986 and for which LT served as its armed, militant wing," it said.

MDI, it said, was renamed JuD in December 2001 and in January 2002 the LeT was declared a terrorist organisation prompting MDI to publicly divest itself of the group.

"LeT transferred most of its assets and personnel under the newly formed JuD," it said.

Some of the money to finance LeT operations is obtained by the JuD by fraudulently redirecting donations intended for humanitarian work.

"JuD and LeT have branch offices with different names and have adopted a number of aliases as a denial and deception tactic," it said.

Islamabad "watchlisted" JuD in 2003, "but the government has resisted pressure to take action against the group, particularly after JuD's popular earthquake relief efforts in 2005 and 2006 in response to the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan," it said.

According to the non-paper, LeT has used JuD facilities as a public front for its activities and, shared offices, phone numbers, leaders, and bank accounts. "LT members identified themselves as JuD when in Pakistan and as LT when in Kashmir. LeT/JuD purportedly raises funds for the Palestinian people in response to Israel's attacks on Gaza.

"The Community judges that as of January, JuD also may be operating under the alias Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool.

LeT's political affairs coordinator Khalid Waleed identified himself in late December as the chief organiser for a conference for Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, according to intelligence reporting," it said.

The document noted that on February 6, 2009, the JuD held a Kashmir Solidarity Conference at which JuD renamed itself Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir (TAK).

"At JuD's first public protest since December, supporters used old JuD banners and chanted JuD slogans, but rallied under the name TAK to avoid arrest," the non-paper said.

The US intelligence community assesses that LeT and JuD, in an attempt to evade restrictions following UN sanctions, have established branch offices with different names and adopted a number of aliases.

"One branch, Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq, is a publicly acknowledged charitable arm of JuD and has its own web page with photos of hospitals and ambulances. Other aliases include Paasbaan-e-Ahle-Hadith, Paasban-e-Kashmir, Al-Mansoorian, and Al-Nasaryeen.

"We assess that LT and LT-associated militants will continue to use aliases in order to circumvent restrictions on their movement and operations," said the non-paper, which was shared with Pakistan in August 2009.

Source: Agencies

Honey: Nature's Troubleshooter

Honey has been in news for the wrong reasons lately. Antibiotic residues have been found in leading brands of honey – but it is a reflection on the way we produce our food.

Honey, a syrupy, sweet liquid is obtained from plant nectar by honey bees. About 80 per cent of honey is simple sugars, mostly fructose and glucose with small quantities of other sugars like maltose, sucrose and other complex carbohydrates.

Although honey is a high carbohydrate food, its glycaemic index varies within a wide range from 32 to 85, depending on the botanical source.

Honey, nature's original sweetener, is being rediscovered as a natural source of energy that also offers a unique combination of nutritional benefits. In addition to being a concentrated energy source, honey contains a wide array of vitamins (vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid) and minerals (calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc).

Honey also contains several compounds that function as antioxidants, one of which is unique to honey, called pinocembrin.

Although relatively low in nutrients, honey contains more nutrients than refined sugars. As a rule, darker honeys contain higher amounts of minerals and are strongly flavoured than lighter honeys.

Honey is sweeter than table sugar as it contains more calories - one tablespoon of honey provides nearly 65 cals compared to only 46 cals provided by the same amount of table sugar.

The use of honey as medicine is mentioned in most ancient written records but even today scientists and doctors are rediscovering its effectiveness in therapeutic nutrition.

Its unique composition makes it useful for treating several ailments, minor burns and scrapes including aiding the treatment of sore throats and other bacterial infections.

The viscosity and the hygroscopic qualities of honey permits its even spread on a wound bed, creating a favourable environment for healing. With these properties, honey has been used as an efficient treatment of chronic wounds of the lower leg and abdomen.

Thus, honey can be stated a treasure due to its following usages:

- Honey being a rich source of carbohydrates provides a quick source of energy. The sugars in honey are primarily glucose and fructose both of which provide the body with quick energy.

- Recent studies suggest that this unique mixture of sugars which occurs naturally in honey, also works best in preventing fatigue and enhancing athletic performance.

- Another study states that a spoonful of honey right before a workout is a good energy booster. A study presented at the annual Experimental Biology meeting indicated that using honey as a carbohydrate source during exercise significantly improved performance and power during endurance cycling trials. It was also reported that honey reduced time to complete a 64 km time trial by over 3 minutes (compared to placebo); honey produced over 6% greater cycling power during the time trial (compared to placebo); equal performance to glucose; and it was well tolerated by all subjects

- Honey consumption along with supplemental calcium enhanced calcium absorption.

- Honey is an anti-carcinogen. Honey-containing marinades effectively limit the production of potential cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) when marinated steak and chicken were fried. HAAs are formed when meat is cooked at high temperatures and the begins to char or blacken. Marinating meat for four hours in marinades containing 30 per cent honey significantly reduced HAA formation.

- Honey exhibits resistance to microbial spoilage.

- Most micro-organisms do not grow in honey because of its low water activity.

- Honey is a natural antiseptic, it helps in wounds healing, swelling goes down, and tissue grow back. Even burns heal better with honey.

- Honey contains appreciable amounts of plaque-fighting antioxidants and so reduces dental plaque. It also has an enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide, which is believed to be the main reason for the antimicrobial activity of honey.

Source: Ishi Khosla/Indian Express
Image credits: Reuters

How The Banana Goes to Heaven

And other food fables

Food was once a good word. It symbolised fulfilment, nutrition and well-being. But when did it all change? When did we become such guilt-ridden unhappy eaters? Food writer Ratna Rajaiah explores many such questions in her new book "How the Banana Goes to Heaven".

The cover of Ratna Rajaiah's book "How the banana goes to Heaven"

"As our cells are nourished and replenished, rejuvenated, our noses should exult in the embrace of a hundred aromas. Our taste buds should laugh joyously at being tickled by all the six tastes," Rajaiah said.

Published by Tranquebar, her book explores the history of "old buddy foods" to discover the nutritional and medicinal value that common foods have.

Rice comes first. Rajaiah explores the unusual history of the country's staple grain - also known as the grain of tranquillity.

"The ancestor of rice that we eat today was a wild grass that possibly grew in the super-continent of Gondwana at least 130 million years ago. From this ancient grass, two mother species evolved and they parented the approximately 120,000 varieties of rice that grow all over the world today, staple for more than half the world's population.

Bananas - "happiness in a peel".

"An astonishing 20,000 of these varieties come from India. In fact, the Shunyapurana, written by the 13th century Bengali poet, Ramai Pandit, mentions that more than 13 varieties of rice were grown in Bengal," Rajaiah said.

Then come bananas, which Rajaiah describes as "happiness in a peel". Many believe it originated around 4,000 years ago, somewhere in the jungles between Malaysia and India.

"In 1999, scientists at the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, Karnataka conducted a study of six popular varieties of south Indian bananas and found that people who consumed a couple of bananas a day for a week recorded an amazing 10 per cent fall in blood pressure," Rajaiah said.

According to Rajaiah, the Bengal gram is the pulse of health - a complete food. It was baptised as the Bengal gram by the British because they first discovered it there.

Lentil - an excellent source of B vitamins.

The high-energy gram finds a place in the ancient texts Markandeya Purana and Vishnu Purana, apart from many 16th century works, Rajaiah says.

"It is a complete food, the healer and the fixer. Both the unani and ayurvedic systems of medicines hold the Bengal gram in high esteem," she said.

The mung was born in India at least 5,000 years ago. The Sanskrit name for the bright yellow lentil was "mudga". In the Rig Veda, the three 'm's of health that get repeated mention are 'mudga', 'masha' and 'masura' - or mung (lentil), urad (black gram) and masura (lentils), Rajaiah writes in her book.

In the Mahabharata, when Bhishma lies dying on his bed and imparts profound wisdom to Yudhishthir, he says an insensate man is one who through stupefaction steals paddy, barley, peas and mung.

Image credit: Reuters

Potatoes originated in the Lake Titicaca region of Peru and Bolivia between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago.

"Mung (lentil) is an excellent source of B vitamins, many of which play and important role in preventing and managing heart diseases," she said.

Potato, the much misunderstood tuber, too has a fascinating past. It originated in the Lake Titicaca region of Peru and Bolivia between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago. The Incas cultivated at least 200 varieties of it.

"The potatoes' journey to Europe began hundreds of years later when Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro arrived on the Peruvian coast in 1524. It came to India in the 17th century - and was cultivated in Surat by the Portuguese," Rajaiah said.

Every food has a story. For example, British writer-philosopher George Bernard Shaw was a brinjal-loving vegetarian.

Turmeric and ginger - "the Gemini of health".

And there are interesting descriptions of the foods like pigeon peas - "the protein power", arvi - "the nature's raincoat", fenugreek - "the girl's best friend", chillies - "the good little demons", white pumpkin - "the goddess gourd", turmeric and ginger - "the Gemini of health".

For those accustomed to alternating between sinful gorging and pious dieting, the book could surely be food for thought!

Source: Madhusree Chatterjee/IANS

Image credit: www.westlandbooks.in

New Rules on How to End Nuisance Calls on Your Mobile

New Delhi, Dec 6 : Dheeraj Kumar, a real estate broker here and frequent traveller, finally hopes he will be spared from the unwanted calls from tele-marketing firms and the hole they burn in his wallet following new norms announced by the telecom watchdog.

Experts also agree that this time the penalty on errant companies that can stretch up to Rs.250,000 will be a major deterrent. But what worry them now are the unregistered tele-marketing companies, even though the new rules cover them as well.

"I can't skip calls from unknown numbers. But by accepting these unwanted calls all that I got were inflated bills. This was particularly unfair when I was abroad. You know how expensive international roaming is," Kumar said.

"I hope people now get some respite," Kumar told IANS speaking about himself and also those among the nearly 690-million mobile phone subscribers who have been bothered day-in and day-out by such calls.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) realised its previous attempt to curb unsolicited calls had not really worked and accordingly announced a set of new measures. The salient features of the regulations, to become effective from Jan 1, are:

Defaulting firms to pay fine of Rs.25,000 for first offence, stretching to Rs.250,000;

Customers can choose to block all calls or allow messages/calls under seven categories: finance, realty, education, health, consumer goods, entertainment and tourism;

Telemarketeers to be allocated numbers starting with "70" for easy identification;

No communication allowed from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.;

Customer registration to be activated within seven days instead of 45 days; and

Banks and insurance firms can only send messages on transactions, no calls.

To address the possible misuse by unregistered tele-marketers, the telecom watchdog has also proposed that individuals cannot get a package that permits more than 100 SMSs per day. And those in existence have to be withdrawn from Jan 1.

Experts like Mahesh Uppal, director of consultancy ComFirst India, feel the new norms have some limitations when it comes to unregistered tele-marketing firms -- they have been the bigger menace in the past and may continue to be so.

"If I open a shop, I can send bulk SMSs to 50 people to advertise my shop. But it will be very difficult for the operator to cancel my number just after a complaint from an individual customer," said Uppal.

But a top official at the telecom watchdog said enough provisions are there to deal with such issues. "If found that tele-marketing activities are being done by an unregistered person, the phone can be cut and penalty imposed after notice," he said.

Pradeep S. Mehta, secretary general of the non-profit rights organisation Consumer Unity and Trust Society, says the rules and regulations are comprehensive. Much now matters on how they are implemented.

"These are all welcome steps. The main concern is unregistered tele-marketeers. Such promoters can have multiple mobile numbers. It is, therefore, important to see how the telecom watchdog deals with them," Mehta told IANS.

At the same time, another set of stake-holders are also quite happy with the new norms -- the service providers themselves, as evident from the remarks of Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of India's largest mobile phone group, Bharti Airtel.

"Many a time we as operators are unfairly blamed. These calls also block our networks. I am really hoping with the new recommendations, there will be an end to the menace our customers have to go through."

Source: IANS

DGCA Acts: Airfares Slashed by 20-25 Percent

New Delhi, Dec 6 : A day after being rebuked by the government over unreasonably high air fares, private airlines have slashed ticket prices on most routes.

Tickets on the Delhi-Mumbai sector, for Saturday evening and Sunday morning, are available for Rs 5,900. Earlier, the lowest available ticket on the Delhi-Mumbai sector was priced at over Rs 17,000, reports added.

DGCA had earlier this week asked airlines to submit the planned price bands on various sectors after some of them resorted to steep hike in airfares even during the non-peak season. The Indian carriers then proposed a price band which too was dismissed by the DGCA terming it arbitrary.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, on Saturday, said that he was hopeful of air fares coming down.

New air fare (approximately)

* Delhi-Hyderabad: Rs 5,000 to 13,000
* Bombay-Trivandrum: Rs 4,500 to 14,000
* Delhi-Chennai: Rs 5,000 to 15,000
* Bombay-Bangalore: Rs 3,500 to 7,000
* Delhi-Bombay: Rs 5,000 to 10,000

Patel also warned that if remedial action was not taken by air carriers, then the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is empowered to take such action as would benefit travellers.

"The regulator is not helpless. It should not be presumed that the regulator cannot take action. I am sure they can and they will when the situation warrants," the minister said.

Patel had also said earlier that either exorbitant fares or "predatory fares" (lowering of ticket prices even below cost to under-cut competing airlines) would not be allowed.

DGCA had called a meeting with top executives of all Indian carriers to explain why they have proposed such high fares.

While SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo officials had met DGCA yesterday, full-service carriers Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will meet the regulator tomorrow.

Source: Agencies

Pill For Rape Victims a Must

Delhi health dept bats for morning-after pill for victims

The Delhi government’s health department on Thursday said the protocol for rape cases should include administering a morning-after pill to the victim so as to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

The Dhaula Kuan rape victim was not given a morning after pill after the crime, said officials at the Safdarjung Hospital — where the girl’s medical examination was conducted. The morning-after pill is a mode of emergency contraception.

On Thursday, minister for health and family welfare Kiran Walia called for better medical aid for the girl and batted for the morning-after pill.

“The protocol for rape victims should include administering them the morning-after pill. This would prevent unwanted pregnancy in the victim, which may cause her more trauma in the future,” Walia said.

“We would extend medical help and provide shelter to the Dhaula Kuan rape victim if she wants,” she added. “The pill is a good remedy to lessen the damage. Victims who become pregnant after rape face a tough time.

It would be wise to include this method in rape cases,” she said. The WHO’s “guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence” recommends that healthcare and forensic services be provided at the same time, and by the same person, to reduce the potential for duplicating questions and further traumatising the victim.

“In rape cases, the authorities are not using appropriate technology that can help trace the culprits and help the victim recover. We want to enforce directives such as properly preserving evidence,” Walia said. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) called for better counselling for the Dhaula Kuan rape victim.

“She should be given better medical aid and counselling. We will meet her soon and talk to her what she wants to do now,” DCW member Reny Jacob said. Delhi Police’s deputy commissioner (South) HGS Dhaliwal said the victim is “satisfied” after two accused were nabbed and one surrendered on Thursday.

“She is happy and satisfied with the action the Delhi Police have taken,” he said.
“The victim is courageous and has assisted us a lot in nabbing the culprits.

Northeast Girl Molested, Beaten up by Africans in Delhi

By Atul Krishan

New Delhi, Dec 6 : The victim, who is from Manipur, has identified two African men in police records as the perpetrators. The accused are at large

A day after Delhi police arrested the fourth accused in the gang rape case of a BPO employee in the Capital, another woman from the northeast revealed to MiD DAY that two men of African origin tried to rape her in Saket on December 1.

Pic/Atul Krishan

The victim, who is from Manipur and also works in a call centre, says the accused tried to abduct her near Select Citywalk mall in broad daylight. When she tried to raise an alarm they beat her up. However they set her free and fled the scene when the victim started shouting for help. Hearing her cries, two police personnel rushed to her rescue. 

A police source said that the Africans wanted to rape the victim and were trying to kidnap her. "They wanted to abduct the victim and were dragging her towards an isolated place. They slapped her when she tried to raise an alarm and threatened her not to make any sound. They called her a prostitute and wanted to rape her," he said.

The whole picture
The incident occurred five days ago. The victim has identified the accused from photographs in police records of foreign nationals in the city. But cops are clueless regarding their whereabouts. A senior police official confirmed the incident and said that a case has been lodged and investigation is on in full swing. He said that the accused have not been arrested because they might have fled abroad after the incident.

The victim, Rupa (name changed) is a native of Hongbiban village in Mizoram, and has been working with a Noida-based call centre.

She lives in south Delhi along with a friend. She had come to Saket to collect her debit card from HDFC bank. On her way back home she was attacked by the two men.

Cops save the day
"She said that she was walking towards Khidki Extension from Select Citywalk mall when two African guys started following her. They passed lewd comments at her and asked her for sex. She ignored them and kept moving. But one of the accused caught hold of her, calling her a prostitute, and started dragging her towards an isolated corner. He slapped her thrice when she tried to raise an alarm. The girl started shouting, hearing which two cops rushed to the scene. Seeing the cops running towards them, the accused fled from the spot," said a police source.   

A police official close to the investigation said that the victim was then taken in a PCR van by cops in search of the accused. Police thought that the two men might be roaming around in Saket, but they were not to be found.

'Am I a prostitute?'
Meanwhile, speaking to MiD DAY, the victim appeared angry and said that the city is no longer safe, especially for the northeast women.

"Am I a prostitute? Is the word painted on my face? If not then people don't have A right to call me that. People could have accused me of being careless if I had been roaming around on the streets at night. But this happened in broad daylight," she said.

"This is too much. People from the city avoid us. We too have a right to move around freely," she added.

She said that if the cops hadn't come to her rescue, hearing her cries, anything could have happened.

"When I asked them (the accused) why they were following me, they said that it was I who was following them," she said.

Unsafe city

>> On November 24, a Mizo woman, working in a call centre was abducted and raped by five men inside a moving tempo. Four of the culprits have been arrested so far.

>> In October 2009, Pushpam Sinha - an IIT Delhi PhD scholar - killed and burnt Ramchanphy Hongry, a Naga teenager, after she reportedly ignored his advances.

>> In September 2007, there was a huge outcry when three northeastern girls were molested in the Delhi University campus.

>> In May 2005, a 19-year-old Delhi University student from the northeast was raped by four men in a moving car after they dragged her from a roadside eatery in south Delhi's Dhaula Kuan area.

The sensational case made headlines for days.

'Soft target'

Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of North East Support Centre & Helpline said that girls from the region are soft targets. He said whenever a northeast boy or girl approaches the police with a complaint, he or she is ignored by cops.

"Yesterday I met DCP (south) HGS Dhaliwal and asked him that can he make sure that police takes action and helps us. First of all police are reluctant to lodge a complaint. When they do, they are reluctant to take action," alleged Madhu.

He added that the DCP assured of taking action in the matter. Madhu said that though police claims to protect them, people from the region don't feel secure. "We are frightened. Northeast girls are targeted by eve teasers. We don't have faith in the police," he claimed.

He said that earlier police used to drive away people from the northeast from police stations but started lodging FIRs after new Police Commissioner BK Gupta asked cops to take their complaints seriously.

Taxi driver molested DU student

A reportedly drunk student of Lady Shri Ram College was molested inside a moving taxi by the driver in New Friends Colony area of southeast Delhi last week.

A police official said that the victim, Neha (name changed), who is a native of Arunachal Pradesh, was returning home after attending a party thrown by her friends in Hotel Surya. He said that the driver was also drunk.

Three of Neha's friends were on the rear seat of the taxi and she herself sat beside the driver.
"On the way the accused driver, Hoshiyar Singh, on the pretext of changing gears touched her thigh. Neha said she thought it had happened inadvertently and did not say anything. But after five minutes, the driver again put his hand inside up her skirt on the pretext of changing gear. This time she got angry and asked him to stop the taxi," said the police official.

He said that Neha then called her sister who studies in Jamia Millia Islamia and made a call on PCR. Police lodged an FIR against the accused driver under section 354/509 of IPC and arrested him.

"We will also interrogate the owner of the taxi stand, Jitender Kumar Sehrawat, from where the vehicle had been hired by hotel authorities," added the official.

via Mid day

Return Of The Rebel

By Patricia Mukhim

UNLF chairman Raj Kumar Meghen in Guwahati on Friday.

After the Wikileaks and the transcripts of the Niira Radia tapes, the former having created a major political quake worldwide and the latter throwing out of gear the entire edifice of what is respectfully referred to as the fourth estate, we in the Northeast are now grappling with the modus operandi in which different rebel leaders from varied insurgent outfits are “arrested” in Bangladesh and brought to India.

The Union home ministry believes we are all naïve tribesmen who have no idea about espionage and the operational part of security. But having been part and parcel of what some call the “national” movements and what India terms sub-nationalism, since 1947 we are pretty clued in to the functioning of the country’s external and internal intelligence agencies — the RAW and the newly constituted National Investigation Agency (NIA).

R.K. Meghen, alias Sana Yaima, is Manipur’s most enduring nationalist or insurgent depending on which lenses we use to define him and whether we are in Imphal or Delhi. Given that Meitei civil society has been demanding clarity on Meghen’s arrest/surrender and his whereabouts ever since BBC broke the news on September 29, it had become too hot for New Delhi to continue to feed an intrusive media with cock and bull about Meghen’s mysterious status.

Past duress

India’s obsession to secure territories in the Northeast which had been made to sign the Instruments of Accession under duress and New Delhi’s propensity to forget past histories and to coerce those who are part of that history to also abandon their political lineages and move forward into the “mainstream” of Indian political thought and discourse are highly problematic and painful for the ethnic communities of this region. These communities lived relatively non-competitive and non-accumulative lives at the time when India decided to lay claim over their territories and impose a modern constitutional framework which till today is ill-suited to our needs.

Today, arguments emanating from the centres of power in Delhi and the state capitals of the Northeast whose rulers have been completely co-opted, that putting back the clock is not feasible reek of forced “patriotism”.

Everyday, we have seminars, some state-sponsored, others more ambiguously postured, which shoot down the notions of sovereignty. Somehow, we are made to feel that the dialectics of nationalism in this region is diametrically opposite to that of India’s vision. Why? Is it really so difficult for us to imagine a situation in the future when India breaks, simply because it has never really allowed the Northeast to decide its fate, but, held its sway over the region purely with military might? The future of countries is uncertain and boundaries are not sacrosanct but largely tenuous.

And no country can extract loyalty through coercion or force people into citizenship. These are all imbibed over time and only if people are able to exercise their free, prior, informed choices and consent. This is something alien to New Delhi.

The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest Meitei insurgent group embedded in socialist ideals, was formed in 1964 under the leadership of Arambam Samarendra Singh.

The objective of the outfit is to achieve independence and establish a socialist society. It was termed a secessionist organisation when it raised the battle cry for independence as far back as 1953.

Present protest

The UNLF is the outcome of Meitei nationalism and a riposte to the manner in which Maharajah Bodh Chandra of Manipur was enticed to come to Shillong, put under house arrest and coerced to sign the Instrument of Accession on September 21, 1949. Under threat that if he did not sign Manipur would be integrated by military might, Bodh Chandra signed the Merger Agreement as well.

Manipur thus became an integral part of India on October 15, 1949.

The official ceremony to end the 2,000-year old kingdom took place in Imphal on October 15, 1949. The Manipur administration was taken over by New Delhi.

It needed only a battalion of the regular Indian army that was brought and stationed at the Kangla Fort. The battalion was meant subdue the Meiteis in case of political protests. Ironically, at that critical juncture, the Meiteis raised no objection to the merger which according to Mohendra Irengbam, a leading Meitei intellectual, had reduced Manipur to a shameful Part C State.

It was Athiko Daiho, a Mao from Senapati, and a few others prominent tribal leaders who objected to the merger. Mao formed the National Naga League in September 1946 for separate Naga-inhabited areas. But Mao could not sustain the movement and was soon won over by India.

The rise in Meitei nationalism in recent times has its roots in the real and perceived long-term neglect of Manipur’s development by successive Indian governments. It is also a fact that the Meiteis as much as the other ethnic groups of the region are emotionally distanced from India and its nation building processes.

A strong anti-India stance is adopted by many or all of the insurgent outfits of Manipur which are nearly three dozen in number, by banning the viewing of Hindu films and reverting to the indigenous Sanamahi faith. However, it bears mention that Meitei nationalism remained more or less contained and would perhaps have tapered off subsequently had it not been for the Naga expansionist policy and the fact that New Delhi appeared to support this idea of “Nagalim” overtly or covertly. Altogether 18 Meiteis died as a mark of protest against the extension of the NSCN (I-M)- Delhi ceasefire into the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur in 2001.

Today, Manipur resembles a military cantonment. Recently, the defence ministry has ruled out the revocation of the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act which is as much as saying that it does not care about Irom Sharmila’s 10-year fast or the cry of people from this region to remove this obnoxious piece of legislation. At present, there are more than 64,000 security forces in Manipur. The Assam Rifles plans to expand its battalions and so do the other paramilitary forces like the CRPF and IRB.

False security

In the words of a Meitei, there is one soldier for every 16 Manipuri.

Certainly, this is not how a nation guards it liberty; not by making its own people feel imprisoned in a security cage. This has only succeeded in further alienating the people. Who wants to be checked and searched every 100 metres and to be seen as a potential suspect until proven otherwise? Often, even that chance of proving one’s credentials is taken away by the dreaded army act. If the security forces don’t like someone’s face they can build up a slew of charges against the person. This was what happened to Thangjam Manorama.

It is against this background that the return of R.K. Meghen is much awaited. It has become an opportunity for catharsis for a people under siege and an open show of defiance against the state and the horrors it represents.

Officially we are told that the NIA court would look into Meghen’s acts of omission and commission. But unofficially we know that the Indian state would get a commitment of a “peace dialogue with Meghen. For now we can only wait and watch as things develop in the Manipur valley on Sana Yaima’s mysterious appearance at Motihari in East Champaran Bihar”.

(The writer can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com)