Mizoram To Have Disaster Response Force

Aizawl, Jun 3 : Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana today expressed the desire to have at least 200 to 300 trained personnel of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in each of the eight armed police battalions in the state.

Speaking at the valedictory function held at the headquarters of Fifth India Reserve Battalion in Lungverh near here for 45 SDRF trainees, Lalzirliana said that the importance of SDRF was eloquently exhibited during a rescue operation in a disaster in Aizawl recently.


He warned the police officers not to use constables as manual labourers for their private purposes.

"Stringent punishment would be awarded to any officer who misuse manpower under their charges," he said.

Cops Suspect Foul Play in Manipur Woman’s Death

Students protest outside Malviya Nagar police station

New Delhi, Jun 3 : Days after a young woman from Manipur was found dead in her South Delhi home, the case has been transferred to the Delhi Police Crime Branch. On Saturday, hundreds of students assembled outside the Malviya Nagar police station, alleging that the post-mortem report had been tampered with.

Crime Branch sources said since the results of the post-mortem report were not "very conclusive", they had requested the Delhi government to form a board of doctors to conduct another post-mortem examination.

Family members of the 21-year-old woman alleged that she had a deep injury mark on her body and one near her eye. The South district police had earlier claimed that the injury marks were caused by a rodent, but family members refused to accept the claims.

Last Wednesday, the woman's landlord informed police control room that she was not responding to knocks on her door. Police sources said when they broke open the door, in front of the public, the woman's body was lying on the ground. Her mobile phone was in her hand.

"Prima facie, it appears that there is more that what meets the eye. There were some injury marks on her foot and toes also. We will be able to confirm only after the receipt of the second post-mortem report," a senior police officer said.

A cousin of the woman said when he went to her room on the day of the incident, he suspected murder.

"When I went there along with police, the inside door of the house was open. Her nose was damaged and police said it was eaten by a mouse," the cousin said.

The woman was the fifth child of her parents who are settled in Manipur. The family members work as cultivators.

"My sister lived with her cousin. Her roommate was in Manipur and was to return in the first week of June," the cousin said.

She had come to the capital in July last year and worked at a beauty parlour in Saket.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav confirmed that transfer of the case to the Crime Branch. "We have requested for a post-mortem examination by a board of doctors. We will be able to comment only after that," he said.

Sources said police are looking for a friend of the woman, who is absconding.

A case of murder has been registered at the Malviya Nagar police station.

Northeast: Burning Since 1947

By Oinam Sunil

The insurrection in the erstwhile Naga Hills district of Assam, which later became the state of Nagaland in 1963, is the oldest in the Indian sub-continent and goes back all the way to 1947. In 1997 the Centre began talks with insurgents and made conscious attempts to bring about lasting peace. But, the expansion of the Naga insurgency - Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam - has made things trickier for Delhi.

The idea of a separate Naga homeland surfaced just before India's Independence. The Naga Nationalist Council (NNC) led by A Z Phizo, an Angami Naga from the Khonoma village of what is now Nagaland state, had then appealed to the Indian National Congress not to include their lands in the formation of the Indian Union. When their demand was rejected, the Nagas were the first to revolt against Delhi.

The NNC declared independence (of 'Nagaland') on August 14, 1947. The Indian army was sent to the Naga Hills to crush the insurgency.

Thus, began the armed conflict, which ultimately cost over 10,000 lives. Phizo went ahead and created an underground government called the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) in March 1956. As the situation turned serious, the Parliament enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, to empower the army to deal with such armed rebellion. In a bid to garner international support, Phizo escaped to the then East Pakistan in December 1956. Later, he reached London in 1960 and stayed there still his death in 1990.


Along with the massive army crackdown, the Centre also began its negotiation with the representatives of various Naga tribes. This led to the signing of a 16-point agreement in 1960 between the Centre and the leaders of Naga People's Convention (NPC) whereby formation of Nagaland as a full-fledged state within India was agreed. In 1972, the Centre banned the NNC and FGN. A massive counter-insurgency operation was then launched by army and para-military forces compelling the 'moderate' rebels to sit on the negotiating table. The infamous Shillong Accord was signed on November 11, 1975 between the Centre and a section of the NNC and FGN where the rebels accepted the Indian constitution. The hardliners in NNC, though, rejected the Shillong Accord and formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980.

It revived the insurgency and was led by Isak Chishi Swu, a Sema Naga, Thuingaleng Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur and S S Khaplang, a Hemi Naga from Myanmar. Tribal affinity is important for Nagas and divisions on tribal lines are so deep rooted that the NSCN suffered a vertical split in 1988 with Isak and Muivah on one side and Khaplang on the other. Over 100 Naga rebels died fighting in 1988 during the split inside the jungles of Upper Myanmar. However, both the groups still work for "Nagalim" or " Greater Nagaland", which comprises all the contiguous Naga inhabited areas of the North-East. The Isak-Muivah faction has called themselves as National Socialist Council of Nagalim.

Popularly known as NSCN (IM), this faction slowly become the most powerful Naga rebel group. The Centre succeeded in signing a ceasefire agreement with the NSCN (IM) in August 1997 and began peace talks. The Khaplang faction retained its original nomenclature, National Socialist Council of Nagaland, but is now known as NSCN (K). In April 2001 it also signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre. Later, a new outfit called NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) has also emerged as another force.

Fratricidal killings among Naga insurgents is unabated. Yet, in the years since 1997, peace has returned to Nagaland and the people have realised the futility of violence. Besides the widespread opposition to the NSCN (IM)'s demand for a 'Greater Nagaland', the Centre is also currently finding it tough to frame an agreeable formula among Naga rebel factions.

Assam Minister Files Defamation Case Against Saradha Chief

Himanta Biswa Sarmah in Guwahati on Saturday.

Guwahati, Jun 3 : Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarmah on Saturday filed a criminal defamation case against Saradha Group and its chairman Sudipta Sen for allegations against him in a purported letter to the CBI.

Sarmah is the first person to initiate legal action against Sen although names of several politicians and businessmen figured in the purported letter to the CBI after the chit fund company went bust.

The minister filed the case in the court of Kamrup first class magistrate under various sections of the IPC alleging that Sen had made false and defamatory allegations which has harmed his reputation.
Sen, in the purported letter to the CBI, had written that Sarmah had received some money from Saradha Group by signing vouchers.

''This is totally false, baseless and such allegations have damaged my reputation in public life and, therefore, I am filing the criminal defamation suit,'' he said.

The court accepted his statement and ordered a magisterial inquiry under the provisions of Section 202 CrPC and fixed June 16 as the next date of hearing.

Dogs Posing Threat To Mizoram Town Residents

Aizawl, May 31 : Man's best friend is posing a threat to residents of south Mizoram's largest town, Lunglei. At least 726 people in Lunglei have been victims of dog bites between January 2010 and April 2013, according to the records of the Lunglei Civil Hospital.

The records showed that the number of people bitten by dogs is increasing every year - 139 in 2010, 235 in 2011 and 250 in 2012. Till April this year, 102 people have fallen prey to the dog menace. That comes to an approximate average of 25 people every month this year. Doctors at the hospital said if no preventive measures are taken and people are bitten at this rate, at least 300 people are estimated to be bitten this year.

They added that on an average, one person is treated at the hospital every day for dog bites. The cost of a single anti-rabies injection is Rs 400 and the full treatment costs Rs 2,000, an amount many people can't afford.

A meeting of village councils and local leaders convened by Lunglei district deputy commissioner V Sapchhunga on Thursday discussed the issue of control of domestic animals, especially dogs and local (desi) chickens.

The meeting decided that stringent action should be taken against those who left their dogs and chicken to roam the streets. The village council leaders were asked to take strict measures with regards to the dog menace.

There is a large population of stray dogs in Lunglei and their number is only increasing. To curb the canine menace, former Lunglei district magistrate Margaret Zohmingthangi had issued a shoot-at-sight order to police for stray dogs in the town. The move, however, drew flak from animal rights activists who launched scathing attacks on Zohmingthangi.

APSC Seeks To Alter Exam Syllabus

Prelims not to have optional subject

By SUMIR KARMAKAR

Guwahati, May 31 : The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) is planning to do away with the optional subject in the preliminary examination for the combined competitive examinations.

The revision of syllabus will be on the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which recently revised its syllabus for IAS and allied services examinations.

The commission will also introduce an online application system soon to enable candidates to apply for competitive examinations online.

The new syllabus, which proposes to do away with the optional subject, will test candidates appearing for the prelims on 200 marks objective-type questions on general studies, 70 per cent of which will be on history, geography and culture of Assam. Another 200-mark paper will test their general English.

The commission’s chairman, Rakesh Kumar Paul, told The Telegraph today that they have moved the state government, seeking its nod to introduce the syllabus in the next civil services examination. “After the UPSC decided to do away with the optional subject, Karnataka and Maharashtra followed. We want to do the same here. There are 32 optional subjects and but it will be more helpful for candidates if we follow a uniform curriculum. Besides, most of the optional subjects are old and in the new pattern we can test their knowledge on diverse subjects,” he said.

“The candidates should be tested for their suitability as civil servants and not as a source of information. Besides, according to the revised syllabus, candidates will write the same papers and their answers will be evaluated on the same standards. It will also encourage candidates to study history, culture, geography, society and people of Assam as 70 per cent of the paper will be on Assam,” Paul added. After the prelims, a candidate appears for the mains, in which he/she is tested on 1,400 marks divided into four papers. The viva voce carries 200 marks.

Paul said the online application system will reduce paper work for applicants as well as the processing time. “Besides, there will be no fear of delayed submission of applications.” He said the commission has reached an agreement with State Bank of India, through which candidates would be able to pay their examination fees online.

The APSC has already computerised its examination procedure and is using the optical mark recognition technology to screen answer scripts. The APSC had started its website, which shares recruitment information and results, in 2009.

He said they had also moved the state government for financial autonomy. “At present, we require government sanction for release of funds and this delays our activities. In Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir, the state public service commissions enjoy total financial autonomy but here we have partial autonomy. We have to take clearance from the state government for funds before initiating any activity,” he added.

The commission will also set up a medical unit and an ATM on its office premises at Khanapara here to assist its 280 staff members.

Scientists Fear Female Libido Booster Too Effective

Worried that the “female Viagra” could work too well? (Photo via Gabriel Delgado / Wikimedia Commons)

Women looking to get their freak back may soon be able to pop a new breed of lust drug: Lybrido.
But scientists developing the desire pill sometimes called “female Viagra” confided in one writer an unusual worry. They fear the libido-booster may work too well.

(And the problem with that is …?)

Journalist Daniel Bergner, whose story on the still-being-developed wonder drug was published last week in the New York Times Magazine, says researchers worry about creating an orgasm-hungry nympho. Yeah, the author expressed surprise at that, too.

“More than one adviser to the industry told me that companies worried about the prospect that their study results would be too strong, that the F.D.A. would reject an application out of concern that a chemical would lead to female excesses, crazed binges of infidelity, societal splintering,” Bergner writes.

So drug companies may actually temper the potency of these easy-to-swallow menthol-flavored passion-stimulants, lest these crazy sex-having females have, you know, crazy amounts of sex.

Whenever they feel like it, which would, presumably, be way more often (starting in 2016, when the drug developed by amusingly named med makers Emotional Brain is expected to hit the market).
(Again, the problem is …?)

“You want your effects to be good but not too good,” Andrew Goldstein, who is conducting the study in Washington, tells Bergner (on page 8, online) in the May 22 story. “There was a lot of discussion about it by the experts in the room … the need to show that you’re not turning women into nymphomaniacs. There’s a bias against — a fear of creating the sexually aggressive woman.”

God forbid, right?

Arunachal Lonely Planet's Global Tourism Hotspot

By Pradeep Kumar

Itanagar, May 30 : After winning the coveted second runners up position in Lonely Planet magazine's Emerging Destinations In India recently, Arunachal Pradesh, nature's favourite play spot on earth, has made its foray into the world tourism scenario and earned the rare distinction of making it to the BBC's Lonely Planet Traveller magazine's 'Top 21 under-the-radar destinations of the world'.

The list which exclusively featured the less explored and unconventional tourist destinations of the world was released recently, is being compiled by Rory Goulding, editorial assistant at Lonely Planet Traveller magazine.

It is to be noted that Kiso Valley in Japan and Southeastern Anatolia in Turkey are the only two other tourist spots from Asia that has been featured in the list, Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Parliamentary Secretary PD Sona told ANI.

Sona quoted Goulding, as saying, "Arunachal Pradesh, the 'land of the dawn-lit mountains', is surely high on any list of candidates for the mythical realm of Shangri-La. It has historically been inaccessible from any, an unknown place so remote that few of its thunderous Himalayan peaks have been named, let alone climbed."

"Now, however, easing travel restrictions and improved infrastructure ensure that this extraordinary place is ripe for exploring. Here, nature reserves teem with a diversity of wildlife unmatched in India, forests host delicately tattooed tribal peoples, and mountain valleys are dotted with majestic Buddhist monasteries, such as 400-year-old Tawang Gompa, one of the world's largest."

Goulding also urged the travellers to visit the Mechuka Valley, a hitherto unexplored Buddhist realm amongst the towering, snow-draped mountains of the region's remote west.

The other destinations that had find a place in the list were Fermanagh Lakelands in Northern Ireland, Yukon in Canada, Inchcolm Island in Firth of Forth, Scotland, Sequoia and King's Canyon National Park in California, Providence in Rhode Island, USA, Northwestern Tasmania in Australia, Kosrae in Micronesia, Avila in Spain, Sylt in Germany, Meknes in Morocco, Byblos in Lebanon, Torun in Poland, Jambiani Beach in Tanzania, Arras in France, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England, Ikaria in Greece, Trieste in Italy and Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.

With Arunachal Pradesh chosen by the union tourism ministry to host the country's second edition of International Travel Mart (ITM) at Tawang during in the third week of October next, this mystic land would get more exposed to the rest of world with foreign tour operators, government officials and hoteliers from 50 countries are expected to attend the event, said state's tourism secretary Sonam Chombey Wednesday.