Children Dig For Coal In India's 'Rat Holes'

ABC's Bob Woodruff poses with 17-year-old Pemba Tamang, a coal miner in the Indian state of Meghalaya. (Jake Whitman/ABC) By BOB WOODRUFF (@bobwoodruff) and JAKE WHITMAN KHLIEHRIAT, India June 17, 2013 Deep in the mountains of Northeast India, the workday begins with a treacherous, five-story climb down slippery bamboo ladders, with no safety gear and no emergency exits. The...

Unrest Among Ex-Mizo Militia Over Non-Fulfilment Of Promises

By Sandeep JoshiAizawl, Jun 17 : It has been over 25 years since the Mizoram Accord was signed between the Centre and the Mizo National Front (MNF) to bring peace to Mizoram. But growing disenchantment among the people of the north-eastern State with New Delhi is threatening the fragile peace. What is alarming is the growing bitterness among the ex-militia, who used to be associated with the MNF’s...

47 Yrs After Being Raped, 2 Mizo Women Are Compensated

By Adam Halliday Aizawl, Jun 17 : The Central government has given Rs 5 lakh each as compensation to two Mizo women who lost their sanity after being allegedly gangraped by Indian Army soldiers 47 years ago, at the beginning of a 20-year insurgency in what is now the state of Mizoram. Relatives of the two women told The Sunday Express that they "wept for joy" at the Centre's gesture, which...

I Lead India Without North-Eastern States?

By Nitish Rajpurohit 'I lead India' is a recently made popular initiative by Times of India to channelize youth brigade in small groups in 26 cities across the country and bring about a change at grass-root level. While it is no doubt a great step, taken to give the youth a chance to solve a few grass-root problems of their city and stop being bogged down by the recent flood of negativity...

A Budding Archer Once, Manipur Girl Is A Child Solider Today

By Prasanta Mazumdar  Imphal, Jun 17 : She had trained hard to hit the bull’s eye for gold. But circumstances forced Alice Kamei to swap her bow with a gun and become a child soldier.Alice, 14 and a class IX student from Manipur, was reported missing in March after she had gone to school. On the same day, another girl, Khaidem Sanahanbi, 15, too went missing.Both were allegedly abducted by...

Northeast Coming On Bollywood Radar?

Guwahati, Jun 17 : It`s a region that has produced acclaimed directors like Jahnu Barua and Utpal Borpujari, singers like Bhupen Hazarika and actors like Danny Denzongpa and Adil Hussain, but sadly the northeast has never been on Bollywood`s radar. Hopefully, this is set to change with the announcement of Kalpana Lajmi`s biopic on Hazarika and Sanjay Leela Bhansali`s film on Olympic boxing bronze...

Assam Government Blood Bank Spreads HIV

By Prasanta MazumdarGuwahati, Jun 17 : Four persons have tested positive for HIV after they were transfused blood at a government-run hospital in Assam, sparking off protests.The matter has came to light on the World Blood Donor Day on Friday. All four of them claimed they received blood from a professional donor at the Mangoldoi civil hospital in Darrang district. The state government immediately...

'Revoke AFSPA From Northeast To Protect Women'

Guwahati, Jun 17 : Woman activist and secretary of All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA), KavitaKrishnan, on Saturday said here that the government should repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, since many women have been raped, tortured and humiliated by the armed forces personnel and have not been brought to books.Kavita, who played a key role in the protest against the Delhi...