No Votes For Women

Despite its pride of place as a women-friendly state, Mizoram has no takers when it comes to elected women representatives

By Zodin Sanga
Though the economy of Mizoram runs on the labour of its women, there has been precious little by way of their representation in the Assembly in the past 25 years. This term promises to be no different. Of the 139 candidates contesting the Assembly polls, only a measly four are women. That’s five less than the number in 2008.
B Sangkhumi, an independent candidate and one of the most prominent figures in Mizo society, says she was offered a ticket by the principal Opposition party, the Mizo National Front (MNF), but decided to go to polls on her own.

The former president of Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), a not-for-profit organisation, will contest the 25 November polls from the Champhai South seat. She will be pitted against Congress MLA JH Rothuama, Lalneihthanga of the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) and Rosiamngheta of the Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA).

Despite her refusal to fight on an MNF ticket — which she attributes to complications in ticket distribution — Sangkhumi claims to have the support of at least 24 of the total 35 MNF units in the constituency. “My ultimate goal is to ensure women’s representation in the Assembly, which has been nil in the past 25 years,” says Sangkhumi. “This is why I entered politics.” The irony in her statement can’t be missed.

The Congress has nominated only one woman, Pradesh Mahila Congress President TBC Tlangthanmawii, for the polls.

Similarly, the MDA — a combine of the MNF, the Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) — has fielded only one woman candidate among the three parties: Lalmalsawmi, an Aizawl municipal councillor.

The fourth woman candidate is Zoramchhani of the BJP, who will contest from the Lengteng seat.
After becoming a union territory in 1972 (and then acquiring statehood in 1986), Mizoram has had only three women MLAs — Thanmawii (1978), K Thansiami (1979) and Lalhlimpuii (1987).
For a state where women outnumber men by 12,707 votes in a total electorate of 3,86,305 voters, that is a shameful statistic indeed.

Zodin Sanga is an independent journalist based in Aizawl

Mizoram Goes To Polls Today

By Linda Chhakchhuak

Aizawl, Nov 25 : All is set for the elections to the Mizoram Assembly to be held on Monday. The polling officials have all been dispatched to their locations and some are on the way in the remote areas, Chief Election Office sources said.

The Mizoram poll campaign could be certified as being the most orderly as candidates and parties stuck to the no littering, no random postering rule while keeping the public campaigns as quiet as possible.

Rallies or processions where held within the constituencies by the candidates under the strict watch of the poll watchdog, the Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF). However, on the expenditure front, it will take trained sleuths to find out how much money floated around during these campaigns, particularly in the interior.

For the first time in India, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be put into action. Election officials said that this would go a long way in deflecting charges that Electronic Voter Machines (EVMs) can be manipulated. The VVPATs will be used in only 10 constituencies as the manufacturers could not supply the requirement on time.

After a severe hiccup during the mandatory mock poll drill to check the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to be used in Serchhip district, the district poll officials has given it the thumbs up recently after a second trial.

The 142 candidates in the poll include only six women in the only State of the country where the number of women voters outnumber the men.

Only one of these women, Lalmalsawmi of the Mizo National Front (MNF) has a fighting chance of winning, but she is pitched against the Home Minister R Lalzirliana, who has proved to be a no holds barred campaigner.

The other woman who may give her rivals a run for their money is B Sangkhumi, a former president of the Mizoram Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), a powerful women’s organisation. She was promised the MNF party ticket but was dropped at the last moment.

Taking a bold step, she set herself up as an independent candidate which is a rare and strong statement of defiance in this State where submission to the high and the mighty is the norm.

After the voting on Monday, the EVMs will be put in strong rooms in all the district headquarters and be opened only on December 9 to be counted.

From Community Halls To IFFI, Mizo Film Goes The Distance

By ADAM HALLIDAY

Rs 10-lakh budget has left the director with EMIs to pay
Aizawl, Nov 25 : When Mapuia Chawngthu finished his feature film Khawnglung Run in 2012, the first problem he faced was how and where to screen it. Even the three or four cinema halls that had at one time existed in the state, screening pirated Hollywood and some East Asian films, for Rs 2-Rs 5 a ticket, had shut down years earlier. So he spread the word that his film, based on a well-known but savage battle of pre-modern Mizo history, could be screened by neighbourhood units of mass-based voluntary organisations.

And therefore Khawnglung Run (The raid of Khawnglung) became something of a travelling show, beamed on the walls of community halls through laptops and projectors, the organisations paying him anywhere from a few thousand rupees in villages to a lakh or more in some of Aizawl's larger, more prosperous neighbourhoods.

On November 17, Khawnglung Run's successful run took it all the way to Goa, making it the first Mizo film to feature at the International Film Festival of India. It was featured at the IFFI opening session titled 'Focus North-East Cinema'.

"Frankly I never imagined my film would be screened at any film festival, forget IFFI. I think we have reached the impossible, and that's what makes me happy because I know there are extremely talented filmmakers back home in Mizoram who might say now, 'If Mapuia can do this, why can't I?'," says Chawngthu, who is currently in Goa.

What he can't get over is the compliments he is receiving there about the technical aspects of the film, such as editing and camera work. "That means that although the few existing Mizo filmmakers have practically no training and very little equipment, just like me, we are not bad in technical aspects," he chuckles.

Knawnglung Run was earlier screened at film festivals in Shillong and Guwahati. The fame, however, has so far meant little for Chanwngthu, who spent more than Rs 10 lakh from his pocket for the 122-minute film and is still paying EMIs on the bank loans he took.

"We recovered about Rs 6 lakh from the screenings. But then pirated versions of the film began to appear which, of course, could not be prevented because it was screened at community halls and the film was copied on laptops... As a result 18 organisations that had made bookings cancelled them," he says.

Chawngthu, who has had no formal training, started out by making music videos for local artistes, documentaries and educational videos for government departments. He later made two low-budget feature films.

Khawnglung Run was inspired by his own passion for indigenous stories. "Many of the amateur Mizo films we see today (the state has no film industry to speak of) are aspirational, with scenes set in nightclubs and pubs, depicting luxury cars and a high life that we don't even have. The settings and scenery for my film were something we have ample of here, and I had always been rivetted by the story of this battle," says the director.

The battle that the film is based on involves the residents of one village taking villagers of another as slaves. The film focuses on a warrior and hunter and his attempts to rescue a woman he loves amidst all the bloodshed.

With few resources, Chawngthu and a couple of friends set out to make the film spreading the word about it and appealing to neighbourhood leaders and a high school to help them get a crowd who could play extras.

Chawngthu managed to pay his protagonists about Rs 10,000 each, while his main supporting actors got paid around Rs 1,000 each. Scores of others just received words of appreciation, refreshments and some pocket money.

Chawngthu has already made some difference at home though. His work was the inspiration behind Mizo history or folk tales being made the theme of the short-film competition organised by the newly formed Mizoram Film Development Society (MFDS) and the state's Information Department.
However, while the MDFS and government have organised small training sessions for aspiring actors and directors since then, no noteworthy film has emerged so far. The lack of venues to screen films is a major impediment.

"I hope against hope that our leaders and politicians start rethinking the state's lack of policies for filmmakers and that some of our businessmen revive the closed cinema halls. That will go a long way in lifting Mizo films," Chawngthu says.

He himself has no concrete plans to make another film just yet, although he has been toying with some stories from the insurgency years. "Unless there is someone who can finance a film, it's difficult, what with the EMI and all the bills I ran up making Khawnglung Run," he says.

The amount he spent, after all, was no mean sum by Mizoram film standards, as even an apologetic Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla acknowledged earlier this year. A drop in the ocean for Chawngthu's counterparts in most parts of the country, Rs 10 lakh is the entire amount Mizoram provides for film development every year.

Mizo Marksmanship

Crying blue A Mizo National Front rally in Aizawl protests Lalthanhawla’s ‘idol worship’

elections: mizoram

The ruling Congress fights charges both religious and temporal in Mizoram

By Debarshi Dasgupta

Election season in Mizoram has had one riveting controversy that has whipped up mass interest. It concerns the Hindu ‘tilak’ that has been the generating news in the last stage of the campaign in this predominantly Christian state. Posters featuring the ruling Congress CM Po Lalthanhawla with a tilak, supposedly from his visit to a puja pandal in Calcutta in 2011, have been widely circulated by opposition parties to extract maximum mileage. Rallies have also been organised to argue how the CM violated key Christian tenets.

The CM, on his part, hasn’t taken it lying down, even arguing that pastors from Mizoram have had the tilak applied on them on outstation visits. This only infuriated the Church, that rushed to defend the piety of its pastors. In a state where the Pres­byterian and Baptist churches are powerful, many believe this controversy can harm the Congress’s poll prospects in conservative rural areas. So powerful is the Church that it has ‘banned’ football on Sundays and runs a self-appointed and strict election monitor—Mizoram People’s Forum (MPF). The Election Commission even chose to change the original date of the poll from December 4 to November 25 as it clashed with the Presbyterian church’s conference.

It is in the backdrop of this surreal deb­ate, under the stern and almost min­atory glare of an ubiquitously pow­erful Church, that Mizos are queuing up to elect their new legislators on Mon­day. The opposition Mizoram Dem­ocratic Alliance (MDA)—a grouping of the Mizo National Front (MNF), Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF)—is taking a shot at unseating the Congress government that holds 32 of the 40 assembly seats. Lalthanhawla claims his party will better 2008’s score, but most analysts give the Congress a lower tally. The MDA, on the other hand, hopes to pocket around 25 seats this time.

Photograph by AFP, From Outlook 02 December 2013

To counter the tilak charge, CM Lalthanhawla’s Congress has put up a poster showing the late Laldenga in a gurudwara.

The ruling Congress expects a rich harvest from its New Land Use Policy (NLUP), a programme it started after 2008, whereby farmers are given Rs 1 lakh each to better their income generation. But opposition parties have been quick to point out how many NLUP beneficiaries are either Congress loyalists, or how the party has wastefully doled out money to barbers, tailors and desktop publishers. “Only a handful of the beneficiaries have received the entire amount,” says MNF Rajya Sabha MP Lalhming Lianga. “The Congress has failed in implementing any sort of long-term development and financial management goals.” MPC secretary Michael Lalthan­mawia makes the same point. “Our biggest criticism of the Congress is how it focuses only on short-term benefits, not on policies that look even beyond two years.” The opposition alliance was cobbled together after protracted negotiations and has the MNF contesting from 32 seats and the MPC from the remaining eight. In 2008, the two parties, despite having won 41 per cent of the votes, had won just four seats. The Congress, with a voteshare of less than 39 per cent, had won 32. The MNF and the MPC hope they have found a way to convert votes into seats with this seat-sharing agreement. The two had last forged an alliance in 1998, and had managed to throw out the Congress that had been in power for two consecutive terms since 1989. “Our faithful added together are more or less sufficient to get us to victory. It has nothing to do with the Congress’s weaknesses or strengths,” says Lalthanmawia.

***

The ruling Congress expects to hold on to power in Mizoram, fighting off an alliance between two major opposition parties, MNF and MPC, and a minor party, MDF

While the Congress expects benefits from its assistance programme for farmers, the opposition accuses it of little long-term development planning

71-year-old CM Lalthanhawla has held office on four earlier occasions
Despite there being more women voters, Mizoram has only seven women
contesting among 141-odd candidates

***

With the country’s attention focused on polls in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Mizoram has had a quiet season. The main reason is the Church-supported MPF, a self-appointed monitor that acts as the de facto election commission in the state, with its stringent but widely adhered to code of conduct for campaigning. This, as a local journalist explains, gives state capital Aizawl a deserted look even at the peak of the campaign season. The MPF even organises debates with candidates from different parties. “People here tend to see the Church as a force that can guide the society, see it as one that can put out a code of conduct,” says R. Lalrinkima, assistant professor at Kamala Nagar College in Chawngte.

Unlike the rest of the country, where poll campaigning often at least partly reflects the ‘macro’ issues, the campaign in Mizoram for each candidate has been structured around local issues. “Almost all candidates have fought around local issues, such as poor condition of roads, inadequate electricity supply and scarcity of cooking gas,” adds Lallianchhunga, assistant professor of political science at Mizoram University in Aizawl.

To return to the tilak controversy, K. Sapdanga, editor of Mizo newspaper Vanglaini, feels it can anger people in rural areas, where they tend to be “less secular”. MNF MP Lianga adds, “It’s not the fact that he went to a pandal but that he performed their religious rites that has hurt the sentiments of Christians.... It is a minus point.” Not to be outdone, the Congress released a poster of the MNF’s founder-president, the late Laldenga, attending a ceremony in a gurudwara. It showed him garlanded, with his head covered with a white cloth, a traditional accoutrement while entering a gurudwara.
Some analysts have interpreted the row over the tilak—and the ‘bowing to foreign gods’—as an attempt to accentuate Mizo nationalism to counter the influence of the ‘mainland’ Congress. If its proponents once used the bullet, they are hoping the ballot can express the sentiment now. That’s easier said than done. “Mizo nationalism is still widespread amongst the youth, something it expresses widely through social media. But it is complicated for the opposition to translate this into votes,” says Lallianchhunga.

While a loss for the Congress in Mizoram may not fit in with the larger binary political narrative of BJP versus the Congress ahead of 2014, a defeat for the grand old party in a state with just one Lok Sabha seat can still deliver a sharp kick to its shin.

source: Outlook India

Mizoram Election Update: Nov 25

Mizo sentiments vs Cong’s pro-poor policy

Mizoram’s 686,305 voters, almost 51% of them women, will on Monday choose between a flagship programme of the ruling Congress and the Opposition’s call for a return to ‘Mizo nationalism’.

Mizoram’s voting percentage has been on the higher side — 76.32% in 1998, 78.65% in 2003 and 80.02% in 2008. It is expected to be no different this time despite low-key campaigning owing to restrictions by a church-controlled NGO.

The Congress hopes to ride the ‘success’ of its pro-poor New Land Use Policy (NLUP) by giving `1.25 lakh to 135,000 of its 257,581 households in a state where 50% of the population have been the programme’s beneficiaries. “The people voted us to power last time so that we could implement NLUP. They want us to continue the good work,” chief minister Lal Thanhawla said.

Two factors have kindled Congress hopes. One is the tendency of Mizoram’s voters to give a party a second chance. The other is the three-party Mizoram Democratic Alliance for “betraying a certain lack of confidence”.

Alliances have not worked in the hill state. But the Mizo National Front (MNF), the dominant party in the MDA, admitted to tying up with two other regional parties after assessing its strengths and weaknesses seat by seat. It hopes to cash in on resentment among the rural poor who missed out on NLUP “for not being Congress supporters”.

The MNF is also banking on its credo of a ‘return to Mizo nationalism’ — a concept of self-rule steeped in Christian values — to translate into votes. This concept has also made the party repeatedly target the Congress for trying to impose ‘Indian nationalism’ on the Mizos.

Zoramthanga has a herculean task ahead

Zoramthanga, a 69-year-old rebel-turned-politician, is fighting a tough battle. He not only has to win his own East Tuipui seat, but also has to ensure that his party, Mizo National Front (MNF), succeeds in defeating the chief minister Lal Thanhawla-led Congress.

The MNF has cobbled up a viable pre-poll alliance - the Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA) - with two other opposition parties, Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and Maraland Democratic Front (MDF).

The MNF headquarters in Aizawl was buzzing with activity on Friday. The party leaders said Zoramthanga has meticulously planned the pre-poll alliance to prevent division of opposition votes. "In the last election, Congress won because the opposition was a divided house, but this time we are united, said Thanga, a local MNF leader.

In 2008, MNF was defeated by Congress with Zoramthanga losing from both the Champhai North and Champhai South seats. The party could manage to win only three seats, while Congress saw a landslide victory with 32 of the total 40 seats.

"This time, I am sure to win, though the winning margin may not be very big. Overall, MNF will do better and form the next government. I have high hopes from the voters of Mizoram," Zoramthanga told TOI. "This alliance had swept the assembly polls in 1998, and the truck is better this time," he added.

Born in 1944 at Samthang village in Champhai district, Zoramthanga, after graduating, joined the insurgency movement led by the legendary Laldenga in 1966 to fight the Indian forces. In 1966, insurgency engulfed Mizoram after the great famine of the late fifties brought starvation to Mizo homes due to mautam (bamboo flowering). The failure of then Assam government to rush in supplies to the people of Lushai Hills district had made the Mizos angry and they decided to support Laldenga's call for separation from India.

Zoramthanga then went to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1969 for arms training. By 1979, he had become a close aide of Laldenga and was made the vice-president.

After Laldenga signed the Mizo Peace Accord in 1986, leading to the creation of the state of Mizoram in 1987, MNF became a political party. MNF formed the government in 1987 under Laldenga's leadership, and Zoramthanga was made the number two man in the cabinet.

When Laldenga died of cancer in 1990, MNF chose Zoramthanga as his successor, who led MNF to victory in the 1998 and 2003 assembly polls and became the chief minister. But, he could not stop the anti-incumbency wave in 2008 and lost to Congress.

Despite Congress riding high with its populist New Land Use Policy (NLUP) programme, the MNF president vowed to fight back. Terming NLUP a total failure, Zoramthanga said, "NLUP is just a money distributing system and not a scheme for economic development. The voters know this well. Government employees were antagonized as the Congress government was diverting the plan funds to the NLUP."

However, he did not think twice before promising the electorates another populist scheme that too may not do any good for the state's economy. He defended his brainchild - Socio Economic Development Programme (SEDP) - and argued that once launched, it would revolutionize the economy of Mizoram and other northeastern states.

A veteran regional leader, Zoramthanga also closely monitors national politics. With regional parties likely to call shots in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he is weighing MNF's options at the Centre. "The Lok Sabha election is still some months away; we will take a stand when it comes closer. As of today, we are not joining any side," he said, making it clear that MNF cannot join hands with Congress.

BJP will perform better in Mizoram this time, says Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh - IANS

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed confidence that his party would perform better here in the upcoming elections.
“I feel in Mizoram, our performance would be better, and we might win a number of seats here,” he said.
He further said that ruling Congress Government has to pay special attention to the development of the North East states, and added that people in Mizoram are very disappointed with the extent of development undertaken by the Congress.
“I feel due the presence of Congress government here for such a long time, there has been less development here. People here are very disappointed, and I feel the government should pay special attention to the development of the north east states,” he added.
Mizoram is going to polls on November 25, and results would be announced on December 8, along with those in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi.

At last minute, militancy a poll issue in Mizoram

Guns and militants have become possibly a last-minute issue in Monday's polls in Mizoram, for long the Northeast's most peaceful state.

The last few days have seen the state gripped by allegations and counter-allegations of parties working with militants to get votes in the northern areas bordering Manipur, home to large populations of the Hmar and Paite tribes, some of whose leaders have for years demanded tribal districts.

The row began on Wednesday when Hmar leader B Zahunga, appointed by the Congress as a member of the Sinlung Hills Development Council in a region inhabited largely by Hmars, was shot in the ankle by militants while he was walking home.

The Congress immediately blamed the Zoram Nationalist Party, said to be the dark horse in the polls owing to the popularity of its president, Lalduhoma. The Congress has charged it with working with militants.

The ZNP, possibly facing its most hopeful election yet as it has never formed a government, has gone into damage control, holding press conferences to deny the allegations and condemning an assault by "Congress workers" on a campaigner for a ZNP candidate.

ZNP leaders also distributed copies of agreements between leaders of the Congress and the Mizo National Front (the MDA's main constituent) just ahead of past assembly elections.

The Hmar Welfare Committee, whose members are peace talks delegates of the militant group Hmar People's Convention Democratic, too issued a public statement saying Hmar political leaders had in the past been betrayed by the Congress and the MNF.

What has made these allegations and counter-allegations a major last-minute poll issue is that a consortium of the state's largest mass-based voluntary organisations has issued a joint statement asking people "not to vote for parties that rely on the strength of militants to win votes".

The Contest

Congress: 32 MLAs in outgoing 40-member house. It has been declaring: "Congress is winning, and it appeals to all to recognise how miserable it is to be represented by an opposition MLA, and so vote for the Congress."

Mizoram Democratic Allaince: Includes Mizo National Front. Aggressively campaigning in all 40 seats, relying not only on the "Mizo nationalism" it has championed since its formation in the early 1960s but also on the Congress's alleged misrule.

Zoram Nationalist Party: The most aggressive in the run-up. Its campaign is based not just on promoting its own policies but tearing apart those of both the Congress and MNF. Led by the popular Lalduhoma, it has never been in power.

Women Voters To Play Key Role in Mizoram Polls

By Sujit Chakraborty

Aizawl, Nov 25 : Women voters will play a key role in the Nov 25 assembly elections in Mizoram, the only state in India where women voters outnumber men.

Of the 686,305 voters eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections to the 40-member assembly, 349,506 are women and 336,799 men.

In the last assembly polls in 2008, women voters outnumbered men voters by 6,644, and in the 2003 elections by 3,816.

Mizo women contribute enormously to the economy of the mountainous state - the state's name literally means 'land of the hill people' - its domestic affairs, church and social activities but when it comes to politics, assembly and Lok Sabha elections in particular, they have remained in the background in getting due importance.

Of the 142 candidates, only six (four percent) are women this time.

The ruling Congress and main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) have fielded one woman candidate each while three women are contesting on the Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. One woman is contesting as an independent candidate.

In the 2008 elections, four women contested unsuccessfully.

Since Mizoram became a union territory in 1972 and a full-fledged state in 1986, there have been only three women legislators - Thanmawii (1978), K. Thansiamii (1979) and Lalhimpuii Hmar (1987). Among them, Lalhimpuii Hmar of the MNF was a minister in the government led by the late Laldenga in 1987.

Even in 2013, women in India's second most literate state Mizoram (with a literacy rate of 91.58 percent) after Kerala (93.91 percent) do not have adequate legal rights.

With a total population of 1,091,014, of which 538,675 are women, 89.4 percent females are literate against the male literacy percentage of 93.72.

"A man can divorce his wife at his whims and fancies without any reason. He doesn't have to pay alimony to his wife and women usually don't inherit the property also," said Lalnipuii, a women's rights activist.

"The Mizo society is completely dominated by men. Women should get due importance in all types of governance."

Mizoram Pradesh Women's Congress president Tlangthanmawii, who is contesting against Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) chief Lalduhawma and former transport minister K. Sangthuama of the MNF in the Aizawl West one seat, is also in favour of more women's participation in politics and governance.

The Women Welfare Front (WWF), constituted by women members of village councils across the state, has been actively spearheading the campaign for women candidates in the assembly polls.

"We are making all-out efforts so that we see as many women candidates as possible in the coming assembly elections. We have requested political parties to nominate as many women candidates as possible and we will appeal to the female voters to vote for the women contestants," WWF secretary Darhmingthangi told IANS.

"No home is complete without a woman; so is the case with the state assembly. As much as we need women in our domestic affairs, we need them in the legislative system too."

Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP), the state's biggest women's body, has given full moral support to the WWF's initiatives.

"Despite the women working hard in all sectors, they are deprived of getting their due share in the control of power," said MHIP leader Rozami, who was also chairperson of the Mizoram State Commission for Women.

Congress leader Lalsawta said: "We have no problems in nominating women candidates if there are qualified and efficient women contenders."

"The Mizo society in pre-modern times was strictly based on what is known as an extreme patriarchal society. This created 'private' and 'public' domain, where women were stigmatised to the private sphere that relegated their status in the social and religious life," sociologist Subhankar Goswami told IANS.

"Women therefore had no opportunities to go beyond the scope of the 'domestic sphere' and it was only men who controlled and dominated the entire 'public sphere'. They were not supposed to have any independent religious loyalty, but were required to follow the religion of their husbands."

"Christianity of course is the harbinger of 'modernity' as well as women's liberation in Mizoram. The Christian missionaries are regarded as a symbol of 'modernisation' that led to gradual changes in the conservative attitudes of men towards women," he said.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Lalrindika Ralte stunner helps East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 1-0 in Kolkata derby

Lalrindika Ralte (not in picture) scored a spectacular goal in the 73rd minute for East Bengal (AIFF Media)

India international Lalrindika Ralte scored a spectacular goal in the 73rd minute to give East Bengal a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in a high-voltage round 10 clash of the Airtel I-League. The season's first big Kolkata derby -- and 306th clash between the two sides overall -- was witnessed by a crowd of more than 80,000 in an electrifying atmosphere at the Salt Lake Stadium but produced very few goal scoring chances.

East Bengal had more ball possession but struggled to break down a well ogranised Mohun Bagan backline before Lalrindika fired in a left-footed scorcher from 30 yards to give Armando Colaco a winning start as coach of the Red-and-Gold outfit.

The result ended Mohun Bagan's four-match unbeaten run and saw East Bengal overtake their arch-rivals. Both sides have 10 points each but Armando Colaco's side have a superior goal difference and played three games less.

The first real chance of the match fell to Mohun Bagan as skipper Odafa Okolie, who was playing in a deeper role, sent Eric Muranda clear with a lovely through pass but the Kenyan's effort was saved by Abhijit Mondal and Katsumi Yusa's shot from the rebound was blocked by Arnab Mondal.

East Bengal's best opportunity of the opening half came just a few minutes before the interval when Lalrindika's through ball sent Ryuji Sueoka past the Mohun Bagan defence but goalkeeper Shilton Paul came out on time to collect the ball at the Japanese player's feet.

It was almost the same pattern in the second half as East Bengal had plenty of possession but did not really trouble the Mohun Bagan defence.

At the other end, Odafa had a golden opportunity to put his side in front but the Mohun Bagan captain's header from a Pritam Kotal cross went straight at Abhijit Mondal even though he was unmarked.

Both coaches made a substitution each to change as young Ram Malik replaced CS Sabeeth for Mohun Bagan while Colaco brought James Moga in place of Cavin Lobo.

Late in the second half, East Bengal midfield general and skipper Mehtab Hossain came off the field with an injury but just minutes later Lalrindika broke the deadlock with a trademark left-footed effort from 30 yards much to delight of the thousands of East Bengal fans.

Mohun Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa brought in youngsters Sankar Oran and Manish Bhargav in search of the equaliser but it was East Bengal who could have doubled their advantage had Sueoka or Chidi Edeh been a bit more clinical.

Former Sex Workers, HIV Patients Bring Down HIV incidence in Mizoram

Aizawl, Nov 22 : The prevalence of HIV in Mizoram has come down appreciably in the last few years, thanks to the hard work put in by former sex workers and HIV patients in spreading awareness about the lethality of HIV virus and AIDS.

The Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), the nodal agency working for spreading awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the state, has engaged 28 NGOs for the purpose of creating awareness, identification, counselling and care of the HIV-infected patients in the state.

These NGOs in turn have engaged several former sex workers and HIV patients working for them, who are not only helping them reach out to their former community but also overcome the stigma associated with the disease.

“These NGOs engage pure educators and outreach members most of whom are either former sex workers, drug users or HIV patients," a senior official of the MSACS said.

"They help us reach our target group as no one here either talks about sex or HIV openly,” a senior official of MSACS said.

He said that the employed NGOs under this programme worked under the operational structure of one project director, followed by a counsellor, nurse, outreach members and pure educators.

It is the outreach members and pure educators category under which former sex workers and HIV patients are engaged to identify target groups of female sex workers, drug users, he said.

The VOLCOMH is one such NGO among 28 which is working for the prevention of the affliction and the spread of awareness among masses.

“Out of 12 pure educators, four of them are former sex workers and we also have an HIV patient in this entire operational structure.

Engagement of these people have helped us a lot as it would have been impossible to identify our target group,” said P C Lalhmangaiha, project director, VOLCOMH.

According to the HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2010- 2011 survey conducted by the Mizoram State Aids Control Society (MSACS), which has brought out a complied data of  the status of HIV virus prevalence in the state till 2008, has shown a sharp decrease in pervasiveness of the lethal disease among all the target groups which includes pregnant woman, drug users, female sex workers and STD patients.

“If you compare the data of HIV prevalence for the last few years till 2008, then the prevalence has come down drastically.  It is now 0. 7 per cent. Our efforts and especially the former sex workers have helped bring down the prevalence," said Betty Lalthantluangi, Joint Director, MSACS.

According to the survey, the HIV prevalence in pregnant women has come down from 2.08 per cent in 2003 to 0. 85 per cent in 2008.

In the female sex workers category, the prevalence has come down from 14 per cent in 2005 to 9.20 per cent in 2008.

Among drug users the prevalence has come down from 7. 25 per cent to 5. 28 percent.

The MSACS in this financial year has set a target to reach out to 1120 sex workers across the state.

“Through these NGOs we have already reached out to 900 sex workers. Out of these 900, 92 have tested positive for HIV virus,” said the official.

Asked about the mode of functioning of the NGOs, the official said, “Once the sex workers and high risk groups are identified by the pure educators and outreach members, we convince them to take a HIV testing, then sexually transmitted diseases testing, general healthcare, provide them with condoms free of cost, female condoms and lastly counselling.”