Mizoram Guv Fears Enrollment of Myanmarese in Census 2011

Aizawl, Feb 11 : Mizoram Governor Lt Gen (rtd) M M Lakhera today warned against enrollment of Myanmarese migrants in the Census 2011, second phase of which began today across the country.

The Governor told the Census enumerators, who recorded his information at the Raj Bhavan today, to take cautious steps not to include the Myanmarese migrants.

''The Myanmar government has completed its national census and those Myanmarese nationals who are not currently staying in their country would certainly be missed out. It is very likely that the Myanmarese migrants in the state would go to take this opportunity to become Indian citizens,'' he told the enumerators.

''It is good to be kind and show hospitality to our guests. But we have to be careful as our hospitality can turn detrimental to the states social security,'' the Governor said.

The Governor had earlier, while meeting with states biggest NGOs and the churches, expressed his desire to conduct a census of Myanmarese nationals staying in Mizoram.

He also expressed grave concern over the sudden increase in crime and narcotics peddling, mostly attributed to the illegal Myanmarese immigrants in the state.

The number of Myanmarese living in Mizoram is estimated to be 50,000. However, the unofficial estimate puts the figure at over 75,000.

Manipur 1st State to Start Collection of Biometric For NPR

Imphal, Feb 11 : Manipur became the first state in the country to start collection of Biometrics for preparation of National Population Register (NPR) along with Population Enumeration of Census 2011.

The second Phase of Census of India 2011--Population Enumeration started today and will continue till February 28 with a Revision Round from March one to five 2011.

For preparation of National Population Register, the Biometrics--Photographs, image of iris and ten finger prints are a1so collected today.

The NPR will create an identity data base, help in targeting public services and better planning and strengthen national security.

Altogether 7000 enumerators and supervisors were deployed for census 2011 for Manipur. Around Rs two crore was being earmarked for Manipur.

Assamese Culture, Financial Package Top ULFA Talks Agenda

By Sujit Chakraborty

New Delhi, Feb 11 : Full protection of the identity of Assamese community in their own homeland and major financial package for the rapid development of Assam are the two important issues that were highlighted by the leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom in their nearly two-hour-long familiarisation meeting with the Central government representatives headed by the Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.

An eight-member ULFA delegation headed by its self styled chairman Aurobinda Rajkhowa earlier interacted with the Home Minister P Chidambaram  in a courtesy meeting. On Monday, they are scheduled to meet the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh .

Apart from Rajkhowa, seven other delegation members are political adviser Bhimkanta Buragohain, finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika, vice chairman Pradip Gogoi, publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary, publicity secretary Pranati Deka, deputy commander Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Shasha Choudhury. Chief Secretary and Home Secretary of the government of Assam and the Additional Director General of Police Khagen Sharma represented the government of Assam in Thursday's talks. Interlocutor P C Haldar besides the IB Chief and special secretary of the Home Ministry also participated in the meeting.

During the first round of formal talks after a gap of 31 years, the ULFA leadership expressed serious concern over the 'loss of identity' in their home state and hinted that this issue along with major financial package for all round growth will be the main highlights of the ULFA agenda which is now under preparation for the proposed peace talks between the Centre and the ULFA leadership.

Later, in a crowded press conference the self styled foreign secretary of the ULFA, Shasha Choudhury described Thursday's meeting as a 'trust building' measure. He also pointed out that there would be no specific time frame for the proposed peace talks. He also clarified that rebel self styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah is yet to respond to the proposed peace talks. 'We don't recognise the e-mail reaction sent by anti-talk faction's publicity head Arunoday Dohotiya questioning the ULFA central executive committee and the general council decisions to go ahead with the proposed peace talks with the Centre. Dohotiya was not appointed according to our constitution,' Choudhury said.

He also reiterated today that ULFA made three rounds of attempts since 1992 to enter into a peace dialogue with the Central government, but failed due to its rigid insistence on the non-negotiability of Assam's sovereignty. This time the ULFA had dropped this demand as a precondition to enter into a peace dialogue with the government, mainly to 'honour the wishes of the people of Assam' who were relentlessly urging them to respond positively to the Centre's peace gestures.

Meanwhile, the Centre has decided to set up a core committee to represent the government to continue peace negotiations with ULFA leadership. The next round of formal talks will start once the ULFA leadership is ready with its agenda for the proposed peace talks.

On the issue of ceasefire agreement between the Centre and the ULFA, the ULFA foreign secretary categorically stated that there was no such proposal from the government's side on Thursday. Ministry sources, however, hinted that there is some 'technical problem' to go ahead with the ceasefire agreement at this juncture. Once, the agenda is set and the formal talks begins, this issue will come up.

During his interactions with the ULFA leaders, Home Minister P Chidambaram had assured them that the government would ensure 'serious and meaningful' dialogue to find out just and honourable solution to all the issue raised by them.

On one hand, the Centre has opened peace dialogue with the pro-talks ULFA group, on the other hand, it has mobilised its entire resources to launch a major offensive against the anti-talks faction led by Paresh Baruah. Baruah along with his followers are now reportedly camping in hideouts along the Indo-Myanmar border .

Intelligence sources indicated that the Baruah faction has also developed 'a close liasion' with the Myanmar based Kachin Liberation insurgent group to  launch a fresh offensive in Assam. Since Bangladesh has launched operations against the ULFA and other anti-India insurgents outfits, the ULFA has taken shelter in Myanmar with the help of United Liberation Front of Manipur and People's Liberation Army of Manipur.

The UNLF and PLA have their hideouts in Myanmar.

However, the Myanmarese army has recently launched a major combing operations against KIA and other insurgent outfits apparently at the instance of the government of India . This has come as a majr set back for the ULFA and Naga insurgents like NSCN-IM and NSCN-K and all the Manipur based militants outfits. Now it remains to be seen how long the Myanmarese army can continue their offensive against these insurgent outfits.

HP's New TouchPad & Smartphones

World's no. 1 PC maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) has entered the tablet market. Called HP TouchPad, the company unveiled its entry into the tablet market dominated by Apple iPad at an event in San Francisco.

HP senior vice president Jon Rubinstein, who was part of the Apple team that brought the world the iPod, unveiled the TouchPad. TouchPad will be the first tablet in a family of products based on a webOS software platform Palm began building from the ground up about five years ago.

The company also unveiled two new webOS smartphones, HP Pre 3 and HP Veer.

Here's all about the HP's new tablet and smartphones.

HP TouchPad: Display

Sporting a 9.7-inch multitouch screen, the tablet has 1024x768 resolution. Measuring 190 mm x 242 mm x 13.7 mm, HP TouchPad weighs 1.6 pounds (0.7 kilograms).

HP TouchPad: Display

Sporting a 9.7-inch multitouch screen, the tablet has 1024x768 resolution. Measuring 190 mm x 242 mm x 13.7 mm, HP TouchPad weighs 1.6 pounds (0.7 kilograms).

HP TouchPad: WebOS

HP TouchPad will run on company's own operating system called webOS. The tablet is the first to use HP’s WebOS operating system which HP got when it acquired Palm last year for $1.2 billion.
Among other things, the OS will support multitasking, HTML5 and Flash. The tablet also supports VPN, Skype, QuickOffice, DropBox, Box.net and Google Docs.

HP TouchPad: Memory & processor

Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2-GHz processor, the tablet will come in 16GB and 32GB versions. HP TouchPad will include 1 GB RAM.

HP TouchPad: Connectivity

Connnectivity options in the tablet include support for Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, aGPS (3G only), Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo support and micro-USB with USB 2.0. There is also a 3.5mm stereo headset.
The tablet's wireless Bluetooth keyboard (which too will be sold separately) will allow users to get rid of the virtual keyboard found in most of the tablet devices. The device is also compatible with HP's wireless printers.

HP TouchPad: Apps

The device will come loaded with several applications including TIME magazine, Sports Illustrated, Angry Birds and Facebook as well as a webOS Amazon Kindle reader app. HP TouchPad will also have Adobe Flash 10.1.
The tablet will come with HP Touchstone technology for charging (HP Touchstone for TouchPad sold separately) and HP touch-to-share to share web addresses between TouchPad and compatible webOS phones.

 

HP TouchPad: Multimedia

HP's tablet will come with Beats Audio sound technology which is also used in the HP notebooks. The technology basically helps to boost the audio quality. The tablet will also include HP Movie Store. There's also HP Synergy that will keep users logged in to their Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Linkedin, Exchange and Yahoo accounts.
HP, however, did not disclose what TouchPad would be priced at when they debut in the middle of the year.

HP Pre 3 smartphone

HP also unwrapped two new webOS smartphones, Pre 3 and Veer. Featuring a 3.58-inch multitouch screen with 480x800 resolution WVGA display, HP Pre 3 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Running on Qualcomm MSM 8x55 (1.4 GHz) processor, the phone packs a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, HD (up to 720p) video recording and front VGA camera.
On memory front, the smartphone offers 512MB RAM and 8GB or 16GB storage. The phone's connectivity features include Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n 5GHz), Bluetooth with A2DP stereo and aGPS.

HP Veer smartphone

HP Veer sports a 2.6-inch multitouch screen with 320x400 resolution and Slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Like Pre 3, Veer also has a 5 megapixel camera with extended depth of field, geotagging and video capture.
Powered by Qualcomm 800Mhz processor, the smartphone offers support for Wi-Fi, Buetooth with A2DP stereo, 3.5mm stereo headset and is HP Touchstone10 compatible. The smartphone offers 8GB memory.

Search Operation Intensified For Release of WWF Volunteers

Kokrajhar, Feb 11 : The three WWF volunteers are still in the captivity of their abductors and security forces have intensified search operations in this Assam district for their safe release, police said today.

"The security forces have intensified search operation and police have been mounting pressure on the extremist group involved in the abduction of WWF volunteers from Ultapani on Sunday to release them," SP P K Dutta said here.

Six WWF volunteers were abducted from Ultapani on Sunday and of them, three women were freed by the abductors yesterday.

The three women volunteers have been safely handed over to their families, Dutta said.

Yesterday, Dutta said that the anti-talk faction of NDFB was responsible for the kidnapping of the volunteers who were engaged in census of tigers and elephants inside the Manas Tiger reserve, a world heritage site.

The three still in captivity are Syed Naushad Zaman of Golaghat, Gautam Kishore Sarma of Guwahati and Pranjal Saikia of Nagaon.

DoNER Approves Rs. 50 Crore For Lengpui Airport

New Delhi, Feb 11 : The Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), B.K. Handique, has approved an amount of Rs.50.93 Crores for installation of Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Lengpui Airport in Aizwal, Mizoram. The Ministry has approved an amount of Rs.50.93 Crores for installation of the ILS Equipment. The North Eastern Council (NEC) has so far sanctioned a quantum of Rs.19.42 Crores towards the infrastructure development of the Airport.

At a meeting with officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) including Director General Civil Aviation Mr. E.K Bharat Bhushan, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Ministry of DoNER and the Government of Mizoram in New Delhi recently, Shri Handique said that his Ministry is committed towards strengthening Airport Infrastructure for various Airports in the Region with special focus on Airports like Lengpui which falls in a landlocked state like Mizoram.

Immediate steps need to be taken to mitigate topographic obstructions at the Lengpui Airport for clearance of the Instrument Landing System, which in turn will increase the frequency of regular flights to and from Mizoram.

Mr. Handique said that after the implementation of the system, this will be the first airport offering regular flights to and from the state of Mizoram. Presently, there are no regular flights to Mizoram due to issues related to bad terrain, Civil Aviation Security concerns and lack of ILS.

In the meeting the DGCA, AAI and the Government of Mizoram reached an understanding to complete the Civil Works pertaining to the ILS at Lengpui Airport within 31st March, 2011. The DGCA is likely to give clearance for the ILS pursuant to which a team of Pilots will be trained to operate to and from the Airport. The training will commence two days after completion

The Ministry of DoNER has also expedited some pending airport projects including the recently sanctioned project for upgradation and operationalisation of airport at Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh at a total cost of Rs.79 Crores. Arrangements about air services in the NER with Alliance Air have been renewed for two more years, i.e. up to December 2011 and a more lasting and viable solution to the vexing problem of intra regional connectivity is being examined by the Ministry. North Eastern Council (NEC) is sponsoring through Ministry of Civil Aviation a comprehensive study for Air Connectivity of the region.

Northeast Hopes For Public-Private Initiatives to Develop Tourism

By Sayoni Bhaduri

Mumbai, Feb 10 : The Sixth North East Business Summit organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce saw various heads of the eight north eastern states come together and discuss viable business propositions for a long-term growth in the region.

In a special session discussing the region's tourism potential, chief secretary of Mizoram, Vanhela Pachuau said, "The government is open to joint venture initiatives with the private sector across various segments."

He added that a lot needs to be done in the state of Mizoram as well as the region. He also highlighted the trans-Asian railway network that is under construction and will connect Mizoram and Myanmar, opening up new opportunities.

"While new opportunities open up, the region also needs to be able to preserve culture and heritage of the region," said Archana Capoor, CMD Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI).

She further added that benefits of tourism has to percolate down to the grass root level. "These projects need to be sustainable, socially conscious and should not disturb the ecology," she stated.

Also present at the discussion was Vijay Thacker, director, Horwath HTL India who stated that while tourism is a lucrative opportunity, domestic tourists need to be catered to as well.

"The states need to develop sites and attractions where a domestic traveller can visit. "Accessibility, quality accommodation with competitive pricing is the need of the hour," said Thacker.

Giving a different perspective was Raju Bharat, MD, Kenilworth Hotels, who said that to have better profitability and preservation of the natural resources, the North East should also look at high-end hospitality and tourism projects.

With the development of tourism infrastructure, proper marketing and promotion strategy also needs to be chalked out. KK Chhetri, commissioner and secretary Tourism, Government of Manipur concluded by saying that all policies and incentives that the North East states are offering need to be taken up by the private players to promote tourism in the region.

Don't Kiss in Public

'It's okay to kiss, but not in public'

By Vatsala Shrangi

Delhi, Feb 10 : Sri Ram Sene shuns violence, instead threatens to upload videos of 'kissing couples' on Youtube on Valentine's Day

The dreaded Sri Ram Sene is changing stripes. It has decided to give up violence. But that's where the good news ends. The right-wing extremist formation is still against public displays of affection, women in short skirts and couples in public embrace. And against Valentine's Day of course.


From today, the Delhi unit of the Sene will organise a three-day awareness campaign starting from north campus of Delhi University and will cover colleges across the city. Its members will tell whoever will care to listen (and even those who won't) that Valentine's Day is against Indian culture and that youngsters should stop celebrating such occasions. Instead, they should celebrate Basant Panchami.

That's not all. Couples who will still go out and make merry on Valentine's Day will be videotaped and the videos will then be put up on Youtube so that they are shamed in front of the entire world. Members of the Sene will carry both ordinary cameras and spycams to catch the 'culprits in action'.

"We are not against love. What we are protesting against is the vulgar display of love. We won't allow our culture to be hijacked by foreign multinationals who have introduced concepts like Valentine's Day just to sell cards. When we upload such videos on Youtube, the couples will learn their mistake," said 23-year-old Sunil Tyagi, who is the national spokesperson of Sri Ram Sene and also its Delhi unit president.

Eight to ten teams consisting of ten to fifteen members will spread out in the city from today to spread the message of 'love in a decent manner'. "Make love, not war is also our slogan. Just do it in the privacy of your rooms and not in public," says Tyagi.

Past continuous, future tense:
24 August 2008: The Sri Ram Sena vandalised an exhibition of MF Hussain's paintings in Delhi. The Sena claimed that Hussain had painted Hindu gods in a derogatory manner, including a nude representation of Bharat Mata (Mother India). The exhibition had been organised by Sahmat, an NGO, to protest the controversial exclusion of Hussain's works from the India Art Summit. The artist's framed paintings and photographs were smashed. The vandals left behind scribbled notes attacking Hussain.

Jan 25, 2009: About 15 to 20 Sri Ram Sene activists had assaulted boys and girls in a pub in Mangalore, saying they engaged in obscene dance which is against Indian culture. The assault, particularly on girls, had evoked national outrage.