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 young coal miner leading the way is named Pemba Tamang, a 17-year-old boy who has been working here since he was just 12 years old.

Along with hundreds of other children who are desperate enough, and small enough, he works this dangerous underground system of tunnels nicknamed "rat holes."


The children who work here are lured by the promise of good wages in a region where one in four young people are unemployed. They will work eight hours a day, six days a week, for the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars per day.

To meet these young miners, we traveled to the Indian state of Meghalaya, a region rich in coal in a country desperate for it-- India relies on coal for nearly half its electricity.

We traveled with Rosanna Lyngdoh, a co-founder of the nongovernmental group Impulse.

In 2010, Impulse discovered hundreds of children -- some as young as 9 -- working in the surrounding mines. Three years after the problem was first exposed, it is still easy to find children working in dangerous and often deadly conditions.

"There's a human rights violation everywhere here, you can see that." Lyngdoh told us.
Tamang is one of the boys Lyngdoh and her group has been following. He has been working in the mines for nearly five years, drawn to the occupation after his father, who was also a coal miner, died from health problems, leaving Tamang with nothing.

Tamang said he begins his work each day at 5 a.m. by climbing into the giant pits, some hundreds of feet deep. He will then crawl into the small openings at the bottom, which stretch horizontally into the earth, and dig for coal for up to eight hours a day.

Tamang can expect to collect about two cart loads per day, worth about 500 rupees, or roughly $8.60.
This kind of child labor is banned under India's Mines Act of 1952. The law prohibits anyone under age 18 from working in the country's coal mines.

But enforcing the law is complicated, since it is left up to each state.

Also, India's Constitution says the tribal and native people have first say over the land -- opening the door for those eager to make money in the coal-rich state.

Because the children are small, they fit easily into the small tunnels, often no more than two feet high.

Young miners we met during our visit shared stories of horrific accidents -- roof collapses that killed fellow workers. Often those trapped have no way out, and little effort is made to save them.

Our visit coincided with the beginning of monsoon season in Northeast India, which brings the added threat of flash flooding. The region is also at high risk for a major earthquake. Tremors are felt nearly every day.

Tamang took "Nightline" into the confusing and dangerous system of tunnels -- a frightening journey lead only by dim flashlights.

He also shares with us his dream for the future, by taking us to a local school, to meet the reason he continues to risk his life every day.

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

By Sandeep Joshi

Aizawl, 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 armed wing, over the non-fulfilment of promises made by the government that could force them to pick up arms again.

“Even today at least two of the promises made by the Centre in 1986 are yet to be fulfilled. We are still to see criminal cases against three of our former colleagues dropped, while the desire of the people of Mizoram to have their own High Court seems to be a distant dream.

Similarly, the demand for compensation to two women who were raped by Army personnel in 1966 is yet to be fulfilled,” K. Lalnuntluanga, ex-Mizo National Army Association General Secretary, told The Hindu.

The Centre’s apathy towards the Mizo people and their problems can be gauged from the very fact that three top functionaries of the Association, despite camping for almost two weeks in Delhi last month, they could not meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

“People of Mizoram, particularly the youth, are getting frustrated with false promises and assurances by the successive governments,” said Mr. Lalnuntluanga.

Former members of the Mizo National Army who took part in the underground movement are angry over the non-withdrawal of cases against their former colleagues.

“The Union government had promised that no member of the MNF coming over ground would be prosecuted for offences committed in connection with and during the period of underground activities. But today also they are harassed by police.

There are at least three former MNA members who face criminal cases … one of them, Lalzarliana, has become mentally sick due to the constant burden of court cases and fear of police arrest,” claimed C. Zama, treasurer of the Association, which has around 4,000 members.

Long wait for justice

Another issue for the Mizo people is the long wait for justice and compensation for two women who suffered torture and mass rape by Indian Army personnel on November 30, 1966.

“From that time onwards, these two rape victims are mentally unstable and are looked after by their family members. Neither has any humanitarian effort been made to rehabilitate them nor has any compensation been provided to help them live a dignified life,” said Mr. Zama.

But what is more worrying is the willingness among the ex-MNA cadres to launch a violent movement to press for their demands, and their talks of joining hands with militants fighting in Nagaland and Assam.

“Unrest is simmering not only among disgruntled youths, but also among former cadres who again want to go underground … anyone from across the border can cash in on this negative sentiment.

The fate of the over two-decade old Mizo Accord is in limbo … we will have to convey our sentiments and the treatment meted to us by the government to the armed groups in Nagaland and Assam. The future ahead seems to be dark for us,” Mr. Lalnuntluanga added.

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 came after former members of the Mizo National Army (MNA), the armed wing of the Mizo National Front (MNF) that fought a guerilla war against Indian armed forces between 1966 and 1986, lobbied with Union home ministry officials for compensation for the women.

Sources said the ex-MNA members, who were helped by retired Mizo IAS officer H V Lalringa, visited Home Secretary R K Singh in New Delhi on May 16. Singh is learnt to have advised them to open bank accounts for the women in order to channel the compensation.

Official sources confirmed that the money was recently paid from a secret fund after clearance from the highest authorities in the home ministry. The home ministry declined to comment officially on the matter.

"I wept when I heard the news from bank officials on Wednesday evening," J Laldula Sailo, a brother of one of the women told The Sunday Express over the phone from East Lungdar in Mizoram's Champhai district.

"I immediately hugged my sister and told her God has been kind to her after all the suffering," he said.

Sailo, who retired as a teacher from a government middle school and the son of the erstwhile tribal chief of Mualcheng village where the alleged sexual assaults took place, said that his sister these days sits around smoking most of the time, with a blank expression on her face.

He said she can do almost nothing by herself, and needs help to go to the bathroom or relieve herself. "She eats very little, and can only perform small tasks like putting her plate in the sink after she has eaten," Sailo said. "But she is generally not at all troublesome. She just sits quietly in a corner."

Sailo said his sister and her childhood friend were raped one night in November 1966 at Mualcheng, after Army personnel advanced towards the village after being fired upon by MNF rebels in East Lungdar. The soldiers were fired upon again as they came close to the village, and in retaliation, they herded all the villagers together and set fire to their homes.

Lalnghakliani Lailung, a state government employee and the younger sister of the other woman who was raped, said the two girls were kept separately in a small shack, where soldiers allegedly took turns raping them. Both the victims were daughters of prominent villagers — while the father of one was the erstwhile chief, the other was the daughter of the head of the village council.

"Since our parents died long ago, my siblings and I take turns to look after my sister. She has extreme paranoia, and for many years after she was raped, she would sew together long nightgowns and refuse to sleep alone. Even now she keeps talking of a big dark man she sees in nightmares, and is very suspicious of everyone. She says we are impostors who have dressed up like her siblings to harm her," Lailung said over the phone from Kolasib, the headquarters of a nothern district, where she plans to build a house to live with her sister. Her sister currently stays with relatives in another small town.

"I was so happy that I wept and prayed when I was told the compensation had come. The former MNA men have been very kind to us, pursuing the issue all these years," Lailung said.

"In a sense, we feel this gesture is an acknowledgment and an apology by the central government for the atrocities committed during those troubled times," she said.

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 that has run rampant on social media in India after a series of rape cases, corruption scandals and irregularities but there are a few facts worth noticing about it.

There is not a single city from north-east India included in the list of 26 cities that has been published by TOI recently. Check out the list here.

This had led to a series of posts and tweets and great dissatisfaction among the youth who live in North-Eastern states of the country. "We too can lead India!" read one of the status updates on the popular social networking site Facebook.

The movement was launched on 22nd May by TOI has already got lakhs of people hooked to it. As far as the statics go, it has a budget of 15 crores and has an impressive network and tie-ups. So it is evident that the youth from North-Eastern states who wanted to be a part of this incredible movement are surely disheartened at seeing no proper way of being a part of this. But then some others have an opinion that if you have to do something then you don't need these big banners and flashy names, you can do so even with the most basic resources.

It's somewhat true that North-easters people are treated differently in other parts of the country. If the news reports are to be believed then they're misbehaved with, they're called by weird names depending on their facial structure and not given equal opportunities at many instances. The recent riots in Kokrajhar, fueled this exodus of people belonging to northeastern states to their home ground.

So we have enough ground to believe that due to some past incidents and some mis-happening. people from North East are deprived from many great opportunities and platforms where they can be a part of the mainstream change,and activity. I, having lived in that part of the country for 3 years now (I study in NIT, Silchar) have also come to believe that those parts of the country are most certainly alienated from mainstream development.

No, it's not at all wrong for a national newspaper to take a shot at channelizing some youth energy in nation building and getting some marketing returns on their investment but as a responsible entity of the national framework (Media is THE most powerful tool, said many) they are supposed to do it in a manner that i benefits the most parts of the country and hurts the least.

This opportunity from TOI is of vital importance to cities. Hopefully in the three month time frame of this project after selection of the youth brigade, cities will be able to find creative solutions to some of the problems they face. North-Eastern states already are at a loss when it comes to great opportunities and often are the repressed section of society nationally. There's just no dearth of talented people in North-East India, and the young brigade from fast-growing cities like Guwahati and Shillong, with such intense help from TOI, would've easily been able to present solutions to some pressing problems affecting the city. But none of it is going to happen!

TOI has a huge budget for the movement (nearly 15 crores) and this event marks their 175th anniversary so it's perfectly justified that it could have added one or two major cities from North East to the list not hurting the sentiments of such a large section of people. Sure other cities are also neglected (A few major cities like Allahabad and Varanasi aren't there) but each of these cities has a center within a twelve hour radius.

But TOI couldn't care less. No option of suggesting new cities, no option of getting suggestions from the public and no polling prior to publishing such a list which links to the sentiments of crores of young janta.

So, what should be done now?
Nothing much can be done for inculcating a city from NE THIS time in the movement because 15th June is the last date for application but we can most certainly make our voices heard to the people who call these shots and let them know that we're hurt by their decision; we can most certainly tell them it is shameful and disrespectful that they ignore one of the most important section of the country as far as development is concerned and that it must never be repeated.

If they're bringing about a movement of change in 26 cities in the country then we, the people from North-Eastern India, should make sure that this news of unequal opportunities and step-motherly behavior towards the land must spread to at least those cities and far beyond. We cannot sit here and brood, we cannot be negligent towards this alienation, we've to speak up and speak the truth.

We've got a movement of our own, we cannot sit on the chairs anymore! (To understand the last line please watch the promo video of I lead India):

From National Institute of Technology, Silchar

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 the People’s Liberation Army, the armed wing of banned militant group Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF). A verified video now shows them at an RPF training camp in Myanmar where child soldiers, among others, are trained for war.

Alice’s parents Chakri Kamei and Sundari, both farmers, were pinning hopes that their archer- daughter would excel and get a government job. But now, they say their dream has been shattered.

Alice proved her mettle by winning a bronze at the 15th International Tribal Archery competition held in Vijaywada last year.

She had called up her mother a day after she went missing.  “When the mother asked her if she did not love them, she started crying. And when her mother asked her where she was, she said she didn’t know,” said Tingenlung Pamei, president of All Zeliangrong Students’ Union of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

Alice belongs to the Zeliangrong tribe of the Nagas.

In the wake of protests by several Naga organisations, the RPF recently claimed that Alice had joined the outfit “on her own volition”. It said both the girls were safe in the camp.

“They have been taken outside India and the information we have is that they are likely to be in Myanmar,” a senior Manipur police officer said.

There are over 40 militant outfits in Manipur, a state ravaged by insurgency and traumatised by the menace of child soldiers for more than a decade. That children are recruited by militants in the state was first brought to light in 2008 by one Angom Rita, a widow, when she had reported the abduction of her only son, Angom Langamba, to the police.

Two men lured Langamba, 11, and his friend Yengkhom Naobi, 13, to a rebel training camp of a militant outfit. They were released later in the wake of protests by groups and organisations.

Meghalaya outfit Garo National Liberation Army is also notorious in luring minors to join their ranks.

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 medalist from Manipur Mary Kom.

"Bollywood has not touched the northeast with due seriousness though it has got so many stories to tell and has such beautiful locations for shooting," rued Borpujari, a national award winning film critic-turned-filmmaker from Assam. His film `Mayong: Myth & Reality` is being archived by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain & Ireland.

It`s not only the stories and the people but even the beautiful landscapes of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Megahlaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland have failed to attract the Bollywood filmmakers over the years.

"Bollywood filmmakers would like to shoot in places where there are sops and facilities given to them. They get so many sops for shooting their films in various European countries that they prefer to head there. Unless the northeastern states create a proper business model and infrastructure to lure film crews, Bollywood would not take a look at the northeast," Borpujari told The Journal of Sikkim.

The few Bollywood efforts to `portray` the northeast have ended in disaster.

"Mani Ratnam`s `Dil Se` was set in the northeast but was shot in Himachal (except for the `Chaiya Chaiya` song that was supposed to be set on the Lumding-Haflong railway line but was shot in Ooty). Priyadarshan`s `Bum Bum Bole` was also set in the northeast but shot in Ooty. A village in Assam in that film was shown getting snowfall! Mani Shankar`s `Tango Charlie` represented Bodo militants as having cannibal tendencies," Borpujari said.

Kalpana Lajmi is the only Mumbai-based filmmaker to actually shoot a film in the northeast, Borpujari said.

Lajmi`s `Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence` (2001) was the tale of a battered wife in the backdrop of Assam. Raveena Tandon won a Best Actress National Award for her role as Durga Saikia.

Nine-time national award winning filmmaker Jahnu Baruah who made his Bollywood debut with "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" with popular Bollywood actors Urmila Matondkar and Anupam Kher in the lead, said most filmmakers did not want to come out of their comfort zones.

"They do not have the urge to explore various aspects of India`s rich cultural diversity. The Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for 600 years is a rare historical event, but not a single Bollywood filmmaker has come forward to explore the subject," the noted filmmaker lamented.

He however denied that there was any cultural bias or racial prejudice against the people of the northeast. He said that people in India generally lacked the urge to know one another.

Sikkimese singer and director Prashant Rasaily, who assisted Anurag Basu in Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Kites", said bad roads, short-sighted policies and poor facilities for filmmaking kept Bollywood away from the northeast.

"It`s just that we haven`t reached their level of professionalism and we don`t have the resources to fulfil their demands. It becomes hard for them to work in an environment where there aren`t enough resources and people are not as professional," the young filmmaker told The Journal.

After Danny Denzongpa, Adil Hussain, who was born in Assam, is among the very few successful contemporary Bollywood actors from the northeast. He first came to limelight in Abhishek Chaubey`s `Ishqiya` (2010) and went on to bag major roles in `Agent Vinod` (2012) and `English Vinglish` (2012).

"The business part dominates art in Bollywood. So, many people are hesitant to explore new territories. They are making films that they are comfortable with," said Hussain, who has played important roles in Hollywood director Ang Lee`s `Life of Pi` (2012) and Meera Nair`s `The Reluctant Fundamentalist` (2012).

Many feel that had the northeast been made more visible in Bollywood films, the sense of alienation that many in the region have could have been alleviated to a large extent.

"Some small but sensitive scenes in `Chak De! India` must have helped people in understanding the people of the northeast to some extent. If mainstream films are made with stories and characters from the northeast, it will definitely help remove the gap," said Borpujari.

Assam Government Blood Bank Spreads HIV

By Prasanta Mazumdar

Guwahati, 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 ordered a probe, to be conducted by additional chief secretary PP Varma.

A statement from the chief minister’s office said four persons were infected while health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma put the number at two.

One of the victims alleged that he was forced by hospital authorities  to buy blood from the professional donor. “I was suffering from malina and required blood. So, I arranged a donor but the hospital authorities forced me to buy blood from the man,” he alleged. The donor said he had donated blood only on four occasions.  “Every time my bl

'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 gang rape case, said she will now lend her voice against atrocities and violence on women in the northeast.

She said, "According to National Crime Branch report, incidences of rape in the country have been increasing rapidly. The scenario in the Northeast is also the same. Here, many girls, women and children are raped by armed personnel but due to prevalence of Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), the culprits are not punished."

She said that martial rape is also very common nowadays.

"Still the reporting rate of rape is very less. Unless and until an FIR is lodged, the records are not available with the crime branch," she added.