Gangtes Create World Record in Bible Reading

WORLD’S BIGGEST MASS BIBLE READING

Gangte tribe of Manipur has created World Record for ‘Biggest Mass Bible Reading’. This was approved by Records bodies such as Limca Book of Records, Asia Book of Records & India Book of Records, Gangte Christian Gospel Centenary Committee Manipur said Friday.

A record number of 7047 participants took part in mass bible reading as part of the Gangte Gospel Centenary celebration which was held on December 16 last year at Chiengkonpang in Manipur’s Churachandpur district.

Braving the cold wintry breeze, the participants had read the whole book of Romans (standing) from chapter 1-16, starting at 1.27 p.m. and concluded at 2.53 p.m., taking a duration of 1.27 hours.

The mass bible reading, which was witnessed by ADC Churachandpur, Maniram Sharma (IAS) and SP L. Mangkhogin Haokip (IPS).

The event was organized with an aim to involve all participants, taking part in the Centenary celebration.

“The main aim of the mass bible reading was to spread the Gospel throughout the Seven Seas,” said Rev. K Mawia at a press conference Friday.

L.S Gangte, chairman of Gangte Christian Gospel Centenary Committee, Manipur said “The achievement is significant not only for the Gangte community, but also for the whole state of Manipur.”

“It is a moment of joy and happiness for us all as the records has been achieved in the soil of Manipur”, he added.

Gangte, belonging to larger Chin-Kuki-Mizo fold is one of the indigenous tribes of Manipur who trace their origin to Khul. History has it that the Gangtes came to Manipur in 16th century from Burma.

Gangtes are settled at various parts of Manipur, mainly concentrating in Churachandpur district with a population of about 20,000. There are altogether 54 Gangte villages in the state, spreading in all districts of Manipur.

The Gangtes also settled in sister north-eastern states such as Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya, the chairman claimed.

Christianity came to Gangte Biel (Region) in 1912. The Gospel first set its foot at Saichang village under Henglep sub-division of Churachandpur District.

Propagated by two pioneering missionaries, Evan Thangvang and Evan Damsuok, the whole populace of the tribe have been now converted to Christianity.

Accepting lord’s almighty as their savior, twelve persons from Saichang village decided to convert to Christianity in 1912, becoming the first Christians amongst the Gangte tribe.

For the Gangtes, setting records of sort is not new to them. They have created world records, amongst others for “swimming the thick cloud (mist), blunting the sharp edge of axe with toes, whipping to death elephants by loin clothes and felling of teak trees from its trunk”. 

These records were, though without documentary evidence, but passed down generations after generations through word of mouth.

However, the record for mass bible reading has been properly documented, both by print medium as well as electronically.

The video recordings, media reports, photographs and certificate from observers were sent to record bodies such as Limca Book of Records, Asia Book of Records & India Book of Records. 

“The record bodies accepted our claim based on documentary evidence after much research, survey and cross-checking,” L.S Gangte said.

A thanks-giving program will be held in a big way on December 14, 2014, general secretary Rev. K Mawia of GCGCC, Manipur said.

Will Taka, Rupee Be At Par Soon?

New Delhi, Aug 24 : The Bangladesh Taka has been gradually appreciating against the Indian Rupee over the past year and if the trend continues, both the currencies will become equal in value, according to foreign exchange traders.

The Bangladesh Taka, which was more than Tk 1.70 against a Rupee in early 2012, continued to appreciate against the Indian currency since then and on Thursday, it came to Tk 1.19 a Rupee to register some 30 per cent appreciation in Mumbai inter-bank trade, foreign exchange dealers said in Dhaka on Friday.

However, the depreciation of Indian currency has boosted exports of Indian goods to Bangladesh, which depends greatly on India for imports of most of its essentials including cotton and commodities worth $4.5 billion, they said.

Bangladesh exports goods including the recently allowed garments to India worth nearly $600 million a year. However, the depreciation of Rupee against US dollar and also against Taka is likely to hurt exports of Bangladesh to India.

This depreciation of Rupee will widen the existing huge trade deficit further for Bangladesh, Bangladesh exporters said.

The partially-convertible Rupee slumped by 2.21 per cent to hit a new record low of Rs 65.56 against a dollar at the inter-bank foreign exchange market, surpassing its previous record low of 64.11 on Wednesday, said Indo Asian News Agency (IANS).

On the other hand, a US dollar that cost around Tk 80 in 2012 was available at Tk 77.70 on an average in inter-bank trade on Thursday.

The BB intervened whenever there was excess supply of dollars in the market to prevent Taka from further appreciating.

The BB purchased a record US$ 4.539 billion from the commercial banks directly in the just concluded fiscal year (FY), 2012-13, to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable, officials said Thursday.

The depreciation of Rupee has slowed Indian imports of fish and other edibles from Bangladesh, as importers in India do not find trading on Bangladeshi goods viable in their domestic retail markets especially in northeast states of India. Most of these Indian states depend on imports of some essentials from Bangladesh.

The US dollar is used as the international currency for the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India.

Despite a temporary export ban on certain items including fish and vegetables imposed during Muslim fasting month Ramadan, withdrawn on August 10, many Indian importers are yet to resume imports from Bangladesh.

Volume of trade between northeast Indian state of Tripura and Bangladesh fell by 85 per cent in July last due to the escalating exchange rate of the US dollar, which remains almost unchanged against Taka in inter-bank foreign exchange trade.

In fact, suspension of international trade at Akhaura for over a month has severely affected fish supply to the state of Tripura and the resultant shortage has led to escalation of fish prices from Rs 300 to Rs 1,200 per kg in all city markets, a report from Agartala (capaital of Tripura) published in the Times of India newspaper on Monday last said.

Tripura can only cater to 40 per cent of the state's total fish requirement and the remaining 60 per cent comes to the state from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Bangladesh, it said.

Meanwhile, as of the last week the Bangladesh currency is likely to be appreciated further against Rupee and remain steady against US dollar at its forex reserves have reached a record $ 16 billion, spurred by a double-digit growth in exports and low food imports, foreign exchange dealers said.

A slump in food imports following high agricultural output, improvement in payment system and a double-digit export growth have all contributed to robust forex reserve, they said.

Bangladesh received a record $14.46 billion in remittance in the fiscal year (FY) 2012-13 which was 12.6 per cent higher than the previous FY. The export income in the 2012-13 fiscal was $27.02 billion, 11.18 per cent higher than the year before, the BB data said.

World Class Football Stadia in Meghalaya Soon

Shillong, Aug 24 : With the aim to tap the potential of youth in football - the most popular game in the state - the Meghalaya government has decided to prepare world class football stadia in the state.

"The government is planning to construct at least four international standard football stadia in the New Shillong Township (NST)," sports and youth affairs minister Zenith Sangma said.

Zenith added that proposed stadia would be constructed as per specifications of the Federation Internationale de Football Association.

"This will provide the much-needed boost to young talented footballers of the state. The government's objective is to promote the game as it will create avenues of employment for the youths," the minister said.

Admitting that the sports infrastructure in Meghalaya is inadequate, Zenith said the government was willing to construct sports infrastructure at NST at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore, adding that the project was awaiting sanction of the Union ministry of sports and youth affairs. He added that the government proposed to construct artificial turfs at Mawlai, Jowai and in Ampati and two such turfs in Shillong.

Indian Poker Championships going international, heads to Sri Lanka this September

Bally's Casino playing host to India's premiere poker tournament

In the past decade or so, poker has crawled out of the back rooms and has become one of the most watched sports in the world. The evolution of poker into a worldwide phenomenon has led to people from all walks of life trying their hand at the felt. These days, it’s not surprising at all to see both professional poker players and novice college students playing at a table in the World Series of Poker. In fact, a college student named Pius Heinz, once managed to win the 2011 WSOP Main Event and took home over $8.7 million in cash winnings.
The mainstream popularity of the 200-year old card game has been helped along with extensive coverage from major TV networks like ESPN and the sheer reach afforded by the internet to poker bloggers and online news sites.
Nowadays, all you need to do to get your poker fix is to go online. Don't have the money to play for real cash? Play a few hands on Facebook instead. You can even get updates on the go from PartyPoker on Twitter.
Since the game is taking the world by storm, Asia has not been spared by the poker craze. Players from all over India can participate in all of the drama and action at the felt this September when the five-day-long Indian Poker Championships kicks off. The event, which was originally slated for July, will take place at Bally’s Casino, the biggest casino in Sri Lanka’s state capital Colombo.
This year marks the first time the tournament goes international, so the IPC is pulling out all the stops. IPC players can enjoy hotel packages and deals thanks to IPC’s tie-ups with some of the city’s best hotels and spas.
The Indian Poker Championships will start with a 3k Turbo Mega Satellite w/ Re-Entry on September 4th and will culminate in an INR 25,000 Main Event to be held on September 7th and 8th. A 10k Deep stack Turbo w/ Re-Entry game will also take place during the last day of the tournament.

NLUP Boosts Mizoram's Growth

Aizawl, Aug 23 : A farming scheme that aims to benefit over 125,000 families in the state has helped boost Mizoram's growth rate, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said here.

With the implementation of the new farming scheme, Mizoram has registered a growth rate of 11 percent during the 11th Plan period (2007-12) against the national growth rate of 7.8 percent, Lal Thanhawla said.

An official, quoting the chief minister, told IANS Friday that the Mizoram government's flagship scheme New Land Use Policy (NLUP) has boosted Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth rate to 11 percent.

"In the NLUP, over 125,000 families would be given financial assistance and training for a permanent farming instead of 'Jhum' cultivation," Lal Thanhawla said while addressing a meeting of various stakeholders.

Tribals in the northeastern states practise 'Jhum' or slash-and-burn method of cultivation. This shifting form of farming usually involves cutting down of entire forests in the hills and allowing the slashed vegetation to dry on mountain slopes prior to burning. Rice is grown along with vegetables, maize, cotton and mustard, among others.

Tribals constitute 27 percent of northeast India's 45.58 million people.

The chief minister said that "the per capita income in Mizoram for the year 2010-11 at current prices is Rs.50,956 which has shown a considerable increase... evidently the economy of the state is on the rise".

The Mizoram government launched the Rs.2,873-crore NLUP in 2010 to solve food scarcity by moving away from 'Jhum cultivation' to stable farming.

NLUP aims to support 125,000 "Jhumia" (shifting cultivator) families in four phases so that they settle under stable agriculture.

A major aim of NLUP is to develop and give all farmers in the state suitable, permanent and stable trades. It also aims to make all farmers self-sufficient in rice, vegetables and extend monetary help.

"Packages of activities targeting commercial farming, primary processing, promotion of livestock, pisci-culture, sericulture, plantation of cash crops and similar activities have already uplifted the economic welfare of the beneficiaries," the chief minister said.

He added: "The Planning Commission had earlier appreciated Mizoram government for its achievements under NLUP scheme and was assured more support to carry forward the programme."

He said that the "scheme has made significant impact on the economy by providing alternative and sustainable livelihood opportunities to farmers by reducing their dependence on jhumming".

In the first phase of NLUP, 45,139 beneficiaries have been covered and in the ongoing second phase 45,000 families would be covered while in the third phase 19,861 tribal families are expected to be covered and in the fourth and final phase 15,000 beneficiaries would come under this scheme.

Why You Should Sound-Proof Your Ears

By Stephanie Castillo

Turns out that it's not just loud noises that affect your health.

A new study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives says that everyday sounds, such as cell phone rings and conversation can affect the rhythm and the rate of your heart.

After monitoring 110 adults' daily heart rate activity and noise exposure, German researchers found that as a person's exposure to noise increased, so did their heart rate.

On the other hand, their heart rate variability (variation in the time interval between heart beats) decreased. But the lesser the variability, the greater the heart attack risk, says the study.

Interestingly enough, when the noises stayed below 65 decibels (safe levels), participants' heart rate still went up. The study also says that there are other factors to consider. For example, the way a person perceives a sound-annoying or pleasant-could influence their psychological reaction.

Prevention advisor, Dr Arun Agarwal, director, ENT Department, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, advises the following to keep safe.

Know your limit
The WHO cut-off for safe levels is 85 dB. Normal conversation is between 60-65 dB; the refrigerator hum about 40 dB; heavy traffic, hairdryer, blender is approximately 85 dB; hand drill is around 100 dB.

Habitual exposure to noise above 85 dB will lead to gradual hearing loss in many people. In fact, the 'safe-limit' decreases by half for every 5 point increase in the noise level-your exposure should be limited to 8 hours per day at 90 dB, 4 at 95 dB and so on. Don't expose unprotected ears to noise over 140 dB.

Create a barrier between the noise and your ears wherever possible. Roll up car windows, sound-proof your home with heavy drapes, wear earplugs/earmuffs when you are in a noisy situation.

Myanmar Army Erecting Camp in Manipur Territory

By Iboyaima Laithangbam
 
(Left) Trees have been cut down for the construction of a camp by the Myanmar Army at Holenphai village in Manipur; a Myanmar Army officer talks with Indian officials, near Moreh - the border town of Manipur.

Imphal, Aug 23 : The Manipur government has taken a serious view of the Myanmarese Army preparations to construct a temporary Army camp at Holenphai village, located 3 km from the police station at Moreh — the border town of Manipur. The State government is in contact with the Centre regarding the development, according to official sources.

Attempts to defuse the crisis by dissuading the Myanmarese Army officers from suspending the work till a final settlement is brought about were not fruitful as the officers said that they cannot do anything against the orders from their higher officials.

Meanwhile, several voluntary organisations and political parties in Manipur have been demanding the suspension of the work by Myanmarese Army personnel to erect a border fence as large chunks of the State’s land will be lost. Once the fence is erected, almost half of the 14 tribal villages in Chandel district will be go to Myanmar. In the case of Choro in Ukhrul district, the entire village will be on the Myanmarese side of the fence. These political parties and NGOs have been threatening massive agitations to protect Manipur's land.

Earlier, on the basis of complaints from Myanmar, erection of the 10 km-long border fence at Moreh had been suspended; Myanmar had said that its land had been encroached upon. The construction of the Integrated Check Post office was also suspended on similar ground.

The Myanmarese Army had started cutting trees at Holenphai village for the construction of a temporary Army base-camp, following which the village chief informed the district officials about the development. Robert Khetrimayum, Additional Collector of Moreh, accompanied by sub-divisional police officer H. Balram, and Moreh police commando unit office-in-charge Sadananda visited the village on Thursday.

The official team found the Myanarmese Army cutting trees in the village. The Additional Collector told the commanding officer of 87 Light infantry of the Myanmarese Army to suspend the works till a settlement is brought about. However, the commanding officer was not happy that the Indian officials had come inside the “territory” of Myanmarr. He told the Indian officials that he cannot do anything unless his higher officials gave him orders.

He also told the Indian officials that according to a map of the Britishers, this area is well within Myanmar.

Mizo Church May Do Away With Infant Burial Taboo

Aizawl, Aug 23 : The Presbyterian Church of India, Mizoram Synod, the largest church in the state, is likely to do away with one of the oldest traditional taboos associated with infant deaths.

In Mizo tradition, infants below three months are not accorded a decent burial like adults in village cemeteries. Instead, they are buried in kitchen gardens of the bereaved families. This practice is called 'Hlamzuih'.

A consultation was organized by church leaders in Aizawl recently to discuss the issue. It was presided over by Mizoram Synod moderator reverend Lalramliana Pachuau and was attended by representatives of major NGOs and other churches.

In the deliberations, the Synod leaders, including senior executive secretary reverend Vanlalzuata, said the church wanted to do away with 'Hlamzuih'. At the discussion, the emphasis was laid on the fact that infants below three months should also be given a decent burial just like any Christian adult and that the Bible does not discriminate on age.

"There is no concept of 'Hlamzuih' in the Bible or Christian teachings and the church believes that all souls irrespective of age would be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. So, why continue to make a separate arrangement for the burial of infants below three months?" asked a priest.

The participants were informed that the Catholic Church never had the concept of 'Hlamzuih' and all church members, irrespective of their age, were accorded the same Christian burial.

The deliberations in the consultation would be taken up during the Synod executive meeting in September and a final decision would be taken after that.

The main hurdle in doing away with the concept of 'Hlamzuih' is Young Mizo Association (YMA), the largest social organization of the Mizos. The YMA, in its successive conferences, have discussed the issue but stuck to its stand on 'Hlamzuih' for infants below three months.