Road Accidents Kill 226 Dead in 3 Years in Mizoram

Aizawl, Nov 19 : Road accidents have claimed 226 lives in Mizoram during the past three years.

State Transport Minister P C Zoramsangliana said here today that the number of accidents involving vehicles from January 2007 till August 2010 stood at 361, which killed 226 people and injured 611.

According to official records, 2007 witnessed 77 road accidents which claimed 50 lives and injured 65. In the following year, 110 road accidents were registered, which claimed 63 people and injured 185 others.

This year till August, 88 road accidents have taken place and claimed 53 lives and injured 158, against 86 road accidents, 60 dead and 203 injured during 2009.

Zoramsangliana expressed regrets that despite the transport departments constant efforts, the number of road accidents could not come down.

''Since 75 per cent of these accidents are said to be caused by drivers error, most of them could have been averted if the drivers had been more careful,'' said the Transport Minister at a press conference called ahead of Road Safety Week to be observed from November 22.

Meanwhile, the number of vehicles registered in Mizoram till March this year stood at 80,188, of which 3,916 were government vehicles. Two-wheelers constituted 53.33 per cent of the vehicles registered in the state.

The population of two-wheelers in the state capital has tremendously increased during the past few years owing to increasing traffic congestion.

The Kohima Collection

By Shefalee Vasudev

It’s winter in Nagaland. Kohima is buzzy, busy. It is Hornbill festival time, the town is full of visitors.

Nagas are a fashionable people, but there is no market for fashion in the state.

I deliberately make some unwearable garments to show my creativity,” says Naga designer Roshu Rhi. That expression becomes clear as the story clambers on.

It’s winter in Nagaland. Kohima is buzzy, busy. It is Hornbill festival time, the town is full of visitors. The evenings are amethyst. There are no street lights but Christmas decorations illuminate a speck here, a corner there.

Hornbill, which derives its name from a native bird with black-and-white feathers, turned 10 this month. A cultural regalia with tribal song and dance, indigenous cuisine and shopping, it is set in the Heritage Village on Kisama hills, beyond Kohima. The seven-day fest, which showcases the Naga way of life, overflows with pungent rice beer, the ambrosia of all celebrations in a state where alcohol is prohibited (but available). Throw in zarda paan, a few smokes, snail masala and sticky rice cakes, and you have a happy, languid crowd.

I met Roshu at the rehearsals of the Miss Nagaland contest. Raised in a family of the Chakhesang tribe in Zhavame village, he would sew his clothes when he was in school, and later sell hand-stitched garments to classmates for pocket money. Unable to afford a fashion course at a reputed institute, he settled for a polytechnic degree in fashion design.

The Hornbill Designers Contest invites designers from all over the Northeast to show collections. Its tagline, “Traditional Fashions of North East India”, encourages participants to interpret traditional textiles as fashion. But Roshu displayed everything he knew how to make: fabric flowers on gowns and headgear, applique and laces, frills, flounces and sheathing. Never mind the theme.

Thematic harmony is what gives Keds Krome her clientele, she says. The designer who makes western wear with “Indian embroidery” showed a collection of garments inspired by the military deployment in the state. Unusually tall for a Naga, Keds, a NIFT Bangalore product, walked like a model in her high-heeled red booties, camouflage jeggings, leather earrings, black nailpolish and eye shadow, red streaks in her hair and a pierced eyebrow.

The dominant strains of Naga fashion are hard to pin down. Nagas are a fashionable people. Yet there is no market for fashion. It is caught in a crossfire between tribal loyalties (you can’t use a red-and-black Ao men’s shawl to make a women’s garment), Christian decorum in dressing, a nascent fashion movement, Korean goods and the detrimental effects of insurgency on local business.

On the streets, everyone is stylish. Naga girls pair jeans or leggings with boots, long tops, belted jackets, mufflers and caps. Schoolgirls wear eyeliner to school with ribbed black stockings under frocks. But on the ramp, fashion is a casualty. Some designers show local textiles worn traditionally; others Vera Wang-inspired gowns, made from Korean material. Those who attempt fusion — western wear with textile trimmings or ethnic beading —like Akala Pongsen and Bambi Kevichusa don’t find a clientele (who wants a gown made from a mekhla?). Most survive by making bridal wear that ranges between Rs 6,000 and Rs 60,000. “Most of us work from home and design clothes only on private orders,” says Keds.

Naga brides, who used to wear traditional mekhlas (wrapped like sarongs) with silken tops and white veils, now want strapless and corseted gowns with long trains. The mekhlas, symbols of tribal identity, are made from an acrylic fabric called Thai, imported from Thailand. Only a select few are handwoven cotton by tribal artisans. “Even if we make clothes that are not bridal wear, who will buy them? Our competition is the Hong Kong market which is impossible to beat in price and variety,” says Bambi.

Hong Kong markets are flush with goods from China, Thailand, Tibet and Myanmar. They fill wardrobes of Naga youth and fuel the Koreanisation in dressing, music, language and sensibility. CDs and posters of Korean films, rock chic paraphernalia and coloured sneakers sit cheek by jowl with knock-offs of western luxury brands. “We identify with Korean fashion, not mainland fashion,” a young girl at the Hornbill told me. India is mainland; Nagaland is home. A truism that can’t be negotiated.

Yet, the only way that Naga fashion may get a life of its own would be to retail it at “mainland” fashion stores. Its identity —Naga garments made in India — might become its USP.

Betel Nuts Trigger Assam-Megalaya Turf War

By Rahul Karmakar

Guwahati, Dec 18 : Four people died in one of the several fierce border clashes in the North-East on May 14 this year. The reason: some people from Assam refused to pay for betel nuts taken from a border village, called Lampi in Assam and Langpih in Meghalaya. The village, 60 km west of Guwahati, straddles Kamrup

district of Assam and West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

A Meghalaya tribal council member blamed people from Assam for the clash on Thursday while deposing before the commission of enquiry, headed by retired judge PC Phukan.

He said: "As always, Langpih hosted a weekly market on that day. Hooligans from the other side (Assam) had betel nuts from one of our vendors but refused to pay for them. They fled the market as the vendors tried to get their due. Later, they returned with Assam policemen who began firing on the vendors."

The tribal council member, KP Pangiang’s statement contradicted affidavits filed by the Kamrup district police chief and deputy commissioner. The two officers said people from Meghalaya 'instigated’ the firing.

Officials said it was one of many border rows between northeastern states, which often caused more deaths than international border disputes with Bangladesh, China and Myanmar.

The Assam-Nagaland border row, for instance, claimed more than 450 lives since 1963. Four districts of Assam — Sivasagar, Golaghat, Jorhat and Karbi Anglong — share a 500-km-long border with Nagaland. 

Assam claims more than 55,000 hectares of land, including vast forest tracts, are under occupation of the Naga people. Eviction drives led to bloody clashes in 1979 and 1985 in the Merapani area of Golaghat district.

Media Comes of Age in Meghalaya

By Thomas Lim

The Golden Jubilee of a local Khasi Daily – U Nongsaiñ Hima – the Nation Builder, started on December 6, 1960 with letter printing press as weekly, and upgraded into electronic typewriter in the early 1990s. Turned daily form August 12, 1992, with offset printing and also have an online edition launched on June 14, 2008.

U Nongsaiñ Hima is an institution for itself. The newspaper was mooted by Prof G G Swell, then solely gear up awareness and support for a separate Hill State under the banner of APHLC (All Party Hill Leaders Conference), similar to “Young India”, a weekly journal published in English by Mahatma Gandhi from 1919 to 1932.

The founder editor of U Nongsaiñ Hima, Walter Roy Maring ( 19960  -61) who also spoke on the occasion said the ideology of the editorial board besides spreading the spirit of Hill State Movement and to neutralize the National newspaper, is to uphold “truth”.There are many research scholars both from India and abroad doing their study of Hill State Movement could be benefited through the records of U Nongsaiñ Hima, who boldly recorded the live events from commoner to the political affairs of 50 years.

The publisher – A R Lyngdoh Mawphlang, widow of former Chief Minister of Meghalaya, E K Mawlong, took over 22 years back is the proud owner of such treasure of Meghalaya, felt that, till date, due to the absent of raw materials from Newsprints to ink from the state, and lukewarm attitude of state government to support newspaper industries, had never dampened many dedicated journalist, clerical staffs and newspaper hawkers who reached the information to every hamlets both in rural and urban. However, she stressed health and security for this section of the silent workers should be taken care of by the government.

Coming to the bloodline of Journalism, that is credibility and accountability, the rich chequer of history of journalism in Meghalaya in itself speaks of Code of Ethics in this profession. The journalists here had master walking in the tight rope of survival skills.

Surviving in the meager package, threat between Police and Militant groups, act as mediator of peace during the communal disharmony. Segregating the emotion between politics and ethic in a small town where every individual is an acquaintance. Surviving in the odd topography, where each district is not properly connected by road or internet.

However, the new entry into the world of journalist is not fortunate enough to witnessed the sea-change from the letter printing press to this latest Computer to Printer press, as witnessed by U Nongsaiñ Hima, where the publisher had personally sell the newspaper the next morning personally, have been pampered by the fast growing technologies including internet, have adopted the “armed chair reporting” and most disastrous method as pointed out recently by the Chief Minister, Dr Mukul M Sangma on National Press Day the “cut- paste” reporter.

The general grievance here is that, the National media does not notice North East, this region comes to limelight only for some reality shows for their TRP rating, and of course the generosity in sending SMS.

However, the journalist here needs to introspect on what is the contribution by our self in reporting the basic truth to the outside world, such cut- paste journalism is just for temporary adjustment, this will not take us far.Journalism in Meghalaya have not only achieved support for Hill State Movement, it have enrich the vernaculars scripts, also molded the society, besides being a watchdog over both judiciary and political, and upgrading economy.   

The new breed of journalism need to take a glance on the struggle of the Media in this region, and preserved the rich cultural and practice of the past, such that, the so called “main stream” journalism will have to accept the Code of Practice here as an Institution of Journalism.

via Meghalaya Times

Mizoram Governor Wants Census of Burmese Nationals in Mizoram

Aizawl, Dec 19 : In a bid at checking crime, M M Laskhera the Governor of Mizoram, northeast state of India, is keen on having a census done on Burmese nationals in the state.

The need for a census has been urged by the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee (Leader of Mizoram Churches Committee) at a meeting on 15 December 2010.

“It is very frustrating to see a spurt in crimes in Mizoram state perpetrated by Burmese people. We cannot allow them to do whatever they want in Mizoram state even though they look like us and can speak the Mizo language,” he said.

This is the first time that the Governor of the state has spoken about the Burmese nationals and their activities. He has never talked about the Burmese people living in Mizoram before.

Now he wants a census done of all Burmese people in all towns and villages in Mizoram state.

The Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee is in agreement with the Governor’s desire to see to a check in criminal activities in Mizoram even though Mizo people empathize with the Burmese migrants given their plight and suffering, mired as they are in economic and political crisis in their own country.

It is alleged that most drug and rape cases are perpetrated by Burmese people in Mizoram state. There are about 100,000 Burmese nationals in Mizoram and most are Chins from Burma.

via Khonumthung News

Northeast India Terror Not Delhi's Priority: Wikileaks

New Delhi, Dec 18 : Terror activities in northeast part of the country are not a priority for the government as civilian deaths due to terrorism in the region have fallen in recent years, says a leaked US embassy cable.

The cable dated April 18, 2006 released by WikiLeaks and posted in the Guardian says terrorism in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya "consists of many groups that are small in number compared to other terrorist organisations in India, and their reach does not extend out of the region".

Some of the groups maintain bases in Bangladesh, the cable says, quoting the Indian government and media reports.

"Civilian deaths due to terrorism in the northeast have been declining in recent years, according to Indian government data and a leading independent Indian terrorism expert.

"This variant of Indian terrorism, like Naxalism, attracts little attention from Delhi," it said.

Consensus on Separate Govt Set-up in Manipur

Tribal leaders and representatives had a consultative meeting, under the aegis of Tribal People’s Organization (TPO), Manipur on December 9, 2010 at Senapati district, Manipur under the theme, ‘Oneness and Unity.”

Dimapur, Dec 18 : Unable to withstand the intolerable economic, social and particularly political plight of Manipur tribal people for the last many decades under the autocratic government of Manipur state, various prominent tribal leaders and representatives had a consultative meeting, under the aegis of Tribal People’s Organization (TPO), Manipur on December 9, 2010 at Senapati district, Manipur. The meeting was organized under the theme, ‘Oneness and Unity.”

A press note issued by Joel Lorho, president TPO, Manipur stated that the leaders and representatives reasoned together on the common issue, that is, step-motherly treatment of Manipur government towards tribal people and annexing their land and rights by adopting various tactful policies. The TPO president also presented the welcome note and briefly explained the agenda of the meeting, ‘Tribal Common Platform for Tribal Common political Issue,’ to the members present.

To the august gathering, “Oneness and Unity among the Christina tribal people in Manipur” was immensely edified by Rev. V. Sitlhou and Rev. K. Somi by quoting forgiving-words of God from the Bible followed by mass prayer.

Er. Asiho, (S.E Retd), Advisor to TPOM, in his speech of ‘Oneness and Unity’ among the tribal people of Manipur, stressed on the capability of tribal people to run their own administration and at their own will. He also made the members present to understand that the Manipur tribal land viz, Chandel, Churandpur, Senapati, Ukhrul and Tamenglong, is a promised land where honey and milk should flow abundantly, but till date, it looks like a desert land of heathens. He provoked the tribal people to wake up from their lengthy slumber, else their future is very bleak.

The note also mentioned that during the deliberation and discussion hour, each and every tribal leaders and representatives expressed without any bias for their desirous of building oneness and unity among hill tribal people once for all. 

“The leaders, in this course of consultation with one another to find out ways and means to safeguard their political rights, were at the Consensus of demanding separate set-up of government for the hill tribal people within Manipur,” further stated the note. In a jubilant gesture of their symbolic service of Oneness and Unity administered by Chunkam Kipgen, general secretary, TPO, Manipur the leaders had a meal together under the symbol, “Tribal Unity Feast.”

via Morung Express

2,500 SIM Cards Disconnected in Meghalaya

Shillong, Dec 18 : Extortion threats from unknown persons as well as militant groups have caused concern in the Meghalaya police which has zeroed in on a set of numbers for verification by Telecom operators.

The Meghalaya Police Special Branch has sent two separate lists – one with 448 numbers and another with 3026 numbers – to Aircel for verification, Additional Director General (special branch) SK Jain said.

The Telecom operator has written back saying that some 2,500 numbers in the list have been disconnected and that most of them were bulk connections, company sources said.

The development follows an extortion call to an MLA of Meghalaya.

The caller was picked up by the police at Baghmara in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills district and he, the police says, was not linked to any militant group.

Following the trail, the police picked up for questioning an executive of Aircel posted at Tura who allegedly issued over 1,000 connections in a single name.

Officer in charge of Tura Police Station D K Rajbongshi said a case has been registered against Aircel territorial manager A Gupta under sections 406/420 of the IPC. Gupta is suspected to have been involved in the misappropriation of over 3,000 SIM cards. Gupta was later released on bail.

Police sources said mobile companies were flooding the market with SIM cards without any proper documentation and some of the numbers have landed in the hands of miscreants and militants.

Numbers registered in places like Manipur and Nagaland have been traced to persons who are living in Garo Hills for months together, the police said.

At least two Meghalaya MLAs besides local level politicians in Garo Hills, traders and traditional chiefs have been getting extortion calls over the last few months.

There is an estimated 10 million mobile phone users in the Northeastern States.

Since the later part of 2004, when pre-paid connections were re-introduced after they were lifted for some time, the license for pre-paid connections has been awarded on an annual basis in the North East.