Daniel Syiem's 'Ka Tlang' presented at Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2013

An all organic collection from the talented Meghalaya based designer Daniel Syiem captured the audience with his awe-inspiring designs

Shillong, Aug 27 : Inspired by the lovely winter season in Shillong, the chill in the weather, the picturesque mountains, and the fashionable local people of Shillong, Daniel Syiem presented another remarkable collection at Lakme Fashion Week W/F 2013. 'Ka Tlang' when translated is 'Winter in Shillong' that rightfully describes the soul of the collection.

The label seamlessly blends traditional craft with western silhouettes retaining an ethnic touch while conforming to global trends.His signature style of simplicity, love of nature and a deep-rooted pride in tradition was apparent in his design conceptions.

This collection showcased his all-embracing fashion aesthetic and caught everybody's attention due to his unique use of checks, eclectic collars, sleeve detailing and innovative designs. Using natural hand-woven fabrics, this collection was all about interesting coats and jackets, trendy pleated skirts, beautiful and classy shift dresses, fitted short wraps and lots more. His focus on unique natural colour dyes like turmeric yellows, indigoes and blues set him apart and has almost become his trademark in today's fashion industry.

An overwhelmed Daniel says "This time I have used a thicker version of the versatile fabric, Ryndia called ThohRew Stem and a traditional check fabric called Tapmohkhlieh, which is indigenous to Meghalaya. My inspiration has always drawn from the deep rooted distinct cultural heritage of Meghalaya, and I'm thrilled to see that my contribution to the fashion domain has been widely accepted and acknowledged".

'KaTlang' has been designed with minimum use of fasteners, where meticulously detailed outfits have been made from a completely natural, chemical free fabric.The amazing jackets are stylishly lightweight yet extremely warm, perfect for chilly winters.

About Daniel:
Daniel Syiem knew that the fashion world was his destination when he realized his true vocation- fashion. Recently, he showcased in the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013 in the Emerging category. He received a tremendous response from the press, fellow designers as well as national and international buyers. In 2000, he won the North-East Best Designer Award and there has been no looking back since. He has presented various collections all over India and his repertoire of fashion shows is immense. He has a string of awards recognizing his unique international style and focus on promoting organic and ethnic material exclusive to the North-East region of India. His forte in Western Wear is apparent in the clean silhouettes, seamless fluidity and interesting drapes in his collection.

Declining Insurgency Boosts Northeast Tourism

Shaking off their reputation for lawlessness, once-neglected states of India are emerging as new tourist hubs.

By Chandan Das

Initially, Nagpur-based marketing representative Binoy Bhandari planned his honeymoon for Uttarakhand's picturesque Ranikhet during the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations in October.

Naga Ao tribesmen perform a traditional dance during the Ao Naga Tsungremmong Festival on August 2nd in the village of Longsa in Mokokchung district in Nagaland. The harvest festival of thanksgiving is one of several nature-related draws and activities for the region's growing tourism industry. [AFP]

But he was forced to alter his plans due to July's devastating floods, which claimed nearly 6,000 lives. Now, he plans to spend his honeymoon in Meghalaya.

Bhandari, fond of hill stations, saw the northeastern state as a good alternative. "I have heard that Meghalaya is the 'Scotland of the East' and presents a wide variety of opportunities to tourists," he told Khabar South Asia. "I have never visited the northeast, so when I cancelled my booking for Ranikhet, I decided I will visit Meghalaya – the 'abode of clouds'.

"Besides, touring the region is comparatively inexpensive and I can enjoy most of the benefits that I would have in Ranikhet," he said.

Located in the eastern lap of the Himalayas and rich in flora and fauna, the northeast is an ideal destination for eco-tourists. It is also a great place for explorers and adventurists, with trekking activities, wildlife tours and river cruises.

Increasingly, domestic and foreign travellers are visiting the region. Citing official statistics, Finance Minister P. Chiadambaram in February told parliament, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a 41% surge in domestic vacationers, while Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura registered a 29% rise in international visitors.

"We are facing a surge of tourists, something we never experienced before," Anup Barua, representative of Guwahati-based Rhino Travels, told Khabar.

Less violence means more visitors
Industry officials say a sharp drop in violent activities carried out by separatist insurgents has contributed to the recent boom. With some militant groups hemmed in by tighter security measures, and others seeking out a peaceful avenue for pressing their claims, the northeast is starting to shake off the taint of lawlessness.

According to E Mkul Mehi, an executive member of the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), past concerns about security, the lack of modern facilities, permit requirements and restricted flight options are outdated.

"Things have started changing after the government revoked the Restricted Area Permit (RAP)/ Protected Area Permit (PAP) mandatory for foreigners visiting Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and northern Sikkim in December 2010, and (also) a sharp decline in militancy," Mehi said.
The area has long been restive, with a wide variety of movements agitating for special status. In the past, their activities were a significant deterrent to visitors.

"There are about 100 major and splinter militant groups in the northeast demanding autonomy, sovereignty and even special status for different ethnic groups," Ranjit Upadhyay, managing director of Dimapur-based Deeksha Enterprises, told Khabar.

He said the groups engaged in subversive activities like abductions for ransom, blasts and murders "to keep people from other parts of the country from visiting the northeast states".

But Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi says the various militant cells no longer wield the clout they once had, and some are interested in laying down arms and becoming part of the democratic process.
"Extradition treaties with Bangladesh and (Burma), closer ties with Bhutan, a series of ceasefire agreements with United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), Indian Mujahideen (IM) and other militant groups, and isolation of these groups restored peace in the region, thereby helping to promote tourism."

Gogoi is hopeful for an Indian northeast tourism circuit with other states, as well as countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma.

Kolkata IT software developer Abhendu Chowdhury was geared up to spend Durga puja vacations with his family in Darjeeling. But separatist agitation in West Bengal caused them to re-book a tour package for Assam.

Like Bhandari, Chowdhury has not previously been to the northeast. "I decided to visit Assam because it offers me river cruises, visits to wildlife sanctuaries and the exotic tea gardens," he said. "I want to spend a few nights on a treehouse and also pray at the famous Kamakhya Temple."

'Sex Boxes' Now Open For Drive-In Brothel Business In Zurich

By John Heilprin

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty ImagesVisitors walk by so-called "sex boxes" decorated with posters of a prevention campaign against AIDS on August 24, 2013 during an open door day at a sex drive-in in Zurich

ZURICH, Switzerland — No car, no sex.

That’s the rule for an experiment Zurich is launching Monday to make prostitution less of a public nuisance and safer for women.

Switzerland has long been famous for its mountaineering, chocolate and precision watches, but a lesser known aspect is its legal prostitution since 1942, for which its largest city is one of the main centres in Europe.

Fashionably teak-coloured open wooden garages, popularly called “sex boxes” by the Swiss media, will be open for business for drive-in customers. The several dozen sex workers who are expected to make it their new hub will stand along a short road in a small, circular park for clients to choose from and negotiate with. The park was built in a former industrial area nestled between a rail yard and the fence along a major highway.

AP Photo / John HeilprinProstitutes will be concentrated in a small city park built for more than USD $2 million in the Altstetten area of Zurich

The publicly funded facilities — open all night and located away from the city centre — include bathrooms, lockers, small cafe tables and a laundry and shower. Men won’t have to worry about video surveillance cameras, but the sex workers — who will need a permit and pay a small tax — will be provided with a panic button and on-site social workers trained to look after them.
As far as Daniel Hartmann, a Zurich lawyer, is concerned, it’s a win-win situation.

“Safety for the prostitutes. At least it’s a certain kind of a shelter for them. They can do their business, and I respect them,” he said. “They do a great job, and they have better working conditions here. … They’re not exposed to the bosses, to the pimps, in here.”

AP Photo/Keystone, Ennio LeanzaProstitution is legal in Switzerland, but Zurich restricts it to certain areas, and is experimenting with the drive-in facilities

On Saturday, Hartmann was one of several hundred residents, including many women and a small throng of journalists, who flocked to the only “open house” that Zurich will offer to give the public a better idea of how its taxpayer money has been used.

Most of the visitors said they came out of curiosity and haven’t really come to terms with the idea, but hope it will at least improve safety. Others were amazed and a bit amused that a whole group of strangers would spend a rainy afternoon openly discussing professional sex.

Brigitta Hanselmann, a retired special needs schoolteacher from Embrach, Switzerland, said: “I have to think about it for a long time, because it’s so incredible that a city offers that to the men, and it’s interesting that there are many, many women here who are looking at it.” She called the sex boxes “an effort to control a thing that you can’t really control.”

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty ImagesVisitors walk next to "waiting benches" on August 24, 2013

Voters in Zurich approved spending up to 2.4 million Swiss francs (US$2.6 million) on the project last year as a way of relocating the sex traffic away from a busy downtown area where it had become a public nuisance and safety concern due to lack of sanitation, aggressive men, and associated drugs and violence. The city, which only allows prostitution in certain areas, also plans to spend 700,000 francs (US$760,000) a year to keep the sex boxes running.

Jean-Marc Hensch, a business executive who heads a neighbourhood association in another part of Zurich, said he hopes the sex boxes succeed because otherwise the prostitutes might return to his area. He also cited the disgusting lack of sanitation in other city areas where prostitutes and their clients defecate and urinate in the streets and gardens, or have sex in the open because they have nowhere else to go.

“It’s an experiment,” he said. “It was absolutely urgent to find a solution.”

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty ImagesVisitors inspect on August 24, 2013 a so-called "sex boxes" during a doors open day at a sex drive-in recently unveiled by the city of Zurich which local authorities say it will enable them to keep closer tabs on prostitution, a year after voters backed the plan. Due to be opened officially on August 26, the nine boxes are located in a former industrial zone in the west of the metropolis. The site will be open daily from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am, and only to drivers, who must be alone in their vehicle if they want to pass the gate. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINIFABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

The drive-in garages, or sheds, have no doors to shut and come equipped with an emergency call button on the passenger side of the structure that sets off a flashing light and a loud alarm inside an adjacent office building where the city will post social workers specially trained to provide a measure of security. The Zurich police say they will beef up patrols around the perimeter to protect the sex workers when they leave and enter.

Modeled after the drive-in brothels used in several cities in Germany and the Netherlands, which have had mixed success improving safety, the sex boxes will be open daily from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. The city painted the outdoor bathrooms in soft pink and blue, strung colorful light bulbs among the trees and posted creative signs encouraging the use of condoms to spruce the place up a little and make it seem more pleasant.

We built the place to be secure for the sex workers. It also had to be discreet for the sex workers and the clientele. But we thought if we build the place, we can also make it look good

“We built the place to be secure for the sex workers. It also had to be discreet for the sex workers and the clientele,” said Michael Herzig of Zurich’s social welfare department. “But we thought if we build the place, we can also make it look good.”

Along with improving safety for prostitutes, the sex boxes are seen as a way to curb illegal trafficking among crime syndicates. Prostitution, escorts and massage parlours are a thriving business in a nation with wealthy and international clientele and tourists.

Zurich requires that street sex workers register with city and health authorities, and it offers health checks and requires that sex workers be at least 18 years old, in keeping with a Council of Europe convention on protecting children from exploitation and abuse.

In Switzerland, anyone who works in the sex trade must be at least 16, the legal age of sexual maturity. The income is taxed and subject to social insurance like any other economic activity.
But some cities have their own rules and some of the 26 Swiss cantons (states) have adopted separate legislation on prostitution. A special unit of the cantonal police force, usually the vice squad, carries out inspections of prostitutes in red light areas.

No video surveillance was installed at the sex boxes, so as not to scare off business, but also because police and city officials concluded after studying the handful of other such facilities in Europe that the only thing that would improve safety is an on-site security presence. To use the place, sex workers also must obtain a special permit, at a cost of 40 Swiss francs ($43) a year, and pay 5 francs ($5.40) a night in taxes, which helps the city offset maintenance costs.

“We can’t solve the whole problem of exploitation and human trafficking,” said Herzig, “but at least we want to reduce the harm, especially the violence.”

source: AP

Oesophageal Cancer Common Among Northeast Women

Guwahati, Aug 26 : Oesophageal cancer is common among women nowadays due to changes in lifestyle and high consumption of tobacco and betel nut.

According to population-based cancer registries, in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district, 30.2 per cent of the women are suffering from oesophageal cancer, while about 19.8 per cent of the population in the entire state is prone to this type of cancer.

In Assam's Kamrup (Metro) district, around 18.3 per cent of the women suffer from oesophageal cancer. In Cachar district, around 8.3 per cent women are suffer from this cancer while in Dibrugarh district, the figure is around 7.8 per cent.

In Mizoram capital Aizawl, around 7 per cent women suffer from the disease.

Jagannath Sarma, head of the pathology department at the B Barooah Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in the city, said, "The number of men suffering from oesophageal cancer is more than three times the number of women. But, this type of cancer is becoming increasingly common among women these days. East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya, besides Kamrup (Metro), Cachar and Dibrugarh districts in Assam have the highest number of oesophageal cancer cases among women in the entire northeast."

The symptoms of oesophageal cancer are difficulty or pain while swallowing, pain in the throat or back, severe weight loss, chronic cough and vomiting and coughing of blood.

He said very often there are no symptoms of oesophageal cancer at an early stage. Symptoms do not generally appear until the disease is in a more advanced stage. Moreover, there is no routine screening examination. "Using any form of tobacco raises the risk of oesophageal cancer. The longer tobacco is used, the greater the risk. Women in this part of the country consume tobacco as well as betelnut in copious quantities. In men, the disease is common due to tobacco and alcohol abuse. A diet low in fruits and vegetables, besides deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals in the body, can increase the risk of this disease," he said.

East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya and Kamrup (Metro), Cachar and Dibrugarh districts in Assam have the highest cases of oesophageal cancer among women in the northeast.

Stop Debating Mumbai’s Reputation and Get To The Real Issue: Cities Don’t Rape Women, Men Do

By Smriti Lamech

Is any woman in India safe? Reuters/Amit Dave

 

“Is Mumbai going the Delhi way?” a poll by a newspaper asks. Insensitive? Flippant? Divisive? All that and more—with absolutely no thought to nuance, opening no new discourse, asking the wrong questions, and trivializing the issue.

The posturing, the silly games of one-upmanship played across cities—mine is safer, mine is better—lull us into a false sense of security. Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez would not have been stabbed to death two years ago for standing up to hooligans who were harassing the young women they were out with, if Mumbai was particularly safe. Cities don’t rape, men do. Bombay might seem safer by default because it is so crowded that you rarely find a secluded corner to conduct a rape. In the case making headlines now, the suspects in the gang rape of a photojournalist found an empty mill and they used it. Violence comes in many forms and to the most unexpected places; last year Mumbai had the case of a Spanish tourist raped in her own bed by a thief who shimmied up through the window. And being a stranger in any part of the world, not knowing how to play by their rules, leaves you most vulnerable. That partly explains why a recent CNN report went viral as Michaela Cross, a US student at the University of Chicago, who spoke out about her sexual harassment in India.

We all have stories: I was new to Bombay and waiting to board a local train. I didn’t know where the ladies coach stopped and happened to be near the door of the general compartment when the train pulled in. The crowd pushed me in with one mind and then molested me for what felt like a lifetime. I fell out a few stations later, in tears, my clothes in tatters. A few days later, my cab was followed home from Churchgate station by another cab with a man reaching in to grab me—I made the cabbie drive straight to the police station. Some weeks later on an early morning, a pujari, mind you, a man of God, followed and propositioned me on a relatively empty stretch of road.

It wasn’t the city I was in, it wasn’t my clothes (I was in an office uniform), it wasn’t the color of my skin. It was opportunity. Given the right time and place, no woman in India is safe. 

Smriti Lamech is a writer in Gurgaon, India.

Silchar Tense After Overnight Violence, 50 Injured

By Alok Pandey
Guwahati, Aug 26 : Fifty people, including 20 policemen, have reportedly been injured after violence near Assam's Silchar town late on Sunday night.

According to the police, the violence broke out in Rangpur town over a local issue. About 2500 people, mostly youth, came out on the street and started obstructing the traffic, cops said, adding that they even tried to set some vehicles on fire.

By the time police arrived at the scene, the flare-up had become ugly. The mob also clashed with the police in which Superintendent of Police Diganta Bora, who was present at the scene, got injured. The police then had to resort to lathi-charge to control the situation.

Twenty people have been detained and the police are monitoring the situation closely. The troops of the Central Reserve Police Force are patrolling the streets and the Army is on standby, but no curfew has been imposed so far.

No Encounter Killing in Mizoram in 16 Years

By Gangadhar S Patil

New Delhi , Aug 26 : Sixteen years and there have been no encounter killings in five states. The Goa, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh state police have not killed a single person in an encounter since 1997, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) records.

As per NHRC statistics, 2,103 people were killed in encounters by various state police between 1997 and 2013.

Uttar Pradesh with 952 (50%) encounter killings tops the list followed by Assam and Maharashtra with 256 and 126 killings respectively. Interestingly, the Gujarat police  criticised for fake encounters reported only 16 such killings in this period.

Expressing doubt over the zero figure for Nagaland, former IPS officer and ex-directorate general of the BSF, Prakash Singh, said every encounter has political and societal sanction and therefore, the police cannot be blamed for it.

“Failure of the criminal justice system is a major reason for increasing encounter cases,” said Singh, who has been fighting for police reforms.

Rights activists, too, are surprised with the NHRC statistics about Nagaland and Mizoram. “It is hard to believe that there was no encounter killing in these states considering the insurgency and political situation,” said Devika Prasad, senior programme officer at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, a Delhi-based NGO. “There is clearly massive under-reporting (about such cases) from Manipur, Nagaland, J&K, Chhattisgarh and Orissa as all of them are conflict states.”

The NHRC in March 1997 issued guidelines directing all state government police to inform it about encounter deaths within 24 hours. This was done to ensure checks on fake encounters. The commission is of the view that these statistics are necessary for effective protection of human rights.

However, according to a December 2003 letter written by the commission to chief ministers, many states have failed to adhere to the directions. “In the past six years, the commission finds that most of the states are not following the guidelines issued by it,” the letter said.

Some states do not inform the commission about the encounter killings on the pretext that there is no such specific direction, it added.

Conversation on Northeast Held in Delhi

The Thumb Print Conversations, New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 26 : 'The Thumb Print Conversation’ organised by the web magazine The Thumb Print in New Delhi on Sunday elicited a wide response from a cross section of society, including journalists and academics.

The punch to the evening was provided by the stimulating conversation that stirred up many ideas and threads to the intriguing topic ‘Where is Northeast India, in India?’

The Thumb Print brought together some seasoned journalists as well as young minds to deliberate on the topic. The evening was moderated by Sanjoy Hazarika, journalist, author and director of Centre for North East Studies, Jamia Milia Islamia, who began with the idea of the ‘other’. Hazarika went on to say that this idea of the ‘other’ exists within the North-East as well, the result of distrust among the various ethnic groups.

Jyoti Malhotra, writer and journalist, toyed with the idea whether it was possible to have many more political identities in the North-East for the people to find their aspirations. Later in the discussion, it was felt that this may not smoothen the frictions since the North-East houses more than 220 ethnic groups.

Sanjoy Hazarika’s light-hearted take on considering New Delhi itself as the North-East, found some positive echoes. Elucidating on this, on a lighter note, he said when Punjabi grocers in a particular area in the North campus managed to pick the Meitei language or the many youths from the region managed to find employment as guards from the last ten years, and publishing houses like Zubaan began translating some good women writers, the scenario has changed.

Senjam Rajsekhar of Vedanta Group felt there was a discernible change in New Delhi in the past decade, with people from the North-East having done exceedingly well in their chosen professions in the national capital.

Achan Mungelang, formerly with Euro Burma Office, now independent researcher from Ukhrul, a Naga minority in Manipur, where their concerns are not entertained, also believed that New Delhi gives the opportunity to raise a voice at least.

Binalakshmi Nepram, a social activist credited with mapping of conflicts in the NorthEast owing to narcotics and small arms, felt there still exists apathy and indifference to the predicaments faced by the North-East people in Delhi.

Citing the reactions in the capital and the police’s indifference to the mysterious death of young Reingamphy, she said it is a long way ahead but one positive outcome was the coming together of almost 300 people of the North-East to protest against this insensitivity.

Joydeep Gupta of The Third Pole felt people of the region should also take into consideration the judicious use of the vast natural resources for sustainable growth; that they should negotiate with the Centre for optimising the returns. He also brought in an interesting thought of the ‘Nation State’ idea losing its hold with the complex issues faced in the present world and not aiding in any way to take us forward.

The founder member and president of South Asia Women in Media, Pamela Philipose felt it was essential to acknowledge the idea of multi-identity and then to begin a process of negotiation. In this, she said, the media should involve itself in knowledge creation which could further serve as a channel for facilitating connects between the people.

Media analyst Sevanti Ninan urged The Thumb Print to see if it can share its stories with similar other portals, so that it has a wider reach and it does not remain a niche website.

Teresa Rehman, managing editor of The Thumb Print magazine said that what started as a necessity to find space for the voluminous expression of the region, which was not possible in the mainstream media, had completed a year now, “hoping to be a scaffold to leave an imprint.”