'Brus in Tripura Should Be Given Last Chance To Return'

Aizawl, Dec 3 : Bru refugees in Tripura should be given one last chance of returning to Mizoram, failing which they would forfeit the chance of returning to the state, Mizo and Bru civil societies at Mamit district have demanded.

"The meeting of Mizo and Bru leaders decided that the Bru refugee issue should be resolved once and for all and that one last effort should be made by the government to repatriate all Brus from Tripura relief camps," leaders of Young Mizo Association said today.

They said that this was the demand at a meeting held on Saturday by village councils and NGOs at Mamit - on the border with Tripura and Bangladesh.

The meeting said that those refusing to return to Mizoram during the repatriation process should not be allowed to come back and they should remain in Tripura for the rest of their lives.

It was alleged that some Brus living in relief camps were into abductions after acquiring arms and working under the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura.

Look Northeast

It came a little late, but New Delhi’s realisation that its long neglect of the northeastern States had proved costly both for nation-building and India’s strategic interests has led to a more proactive approach to the region in the last decade. These efforts, though, are still nowhere near what they should be.

During his three-day tour of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, President Pranab Mukherjee rightly underlined the shortcomings, urging political leaders, policymakers and administrators to give “the utmost importance and attention” to the region. Connected to India only by a narrow corridor, and sharing borders with five of India’s neighbours — Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal — the Northeast has potential that is far from being realised.

Though it has been repeatedly held up as the gateway for India’s Look East policy, the country’s growth story has left the region behind.

While the Northeast itself aspires to take advantage of India’s increasing ties with East Asia, it is hardly in a position to do so.

While some social indicators for the northeastern States, such as health and literacy, are far better than in other Indian States, they lag behind in many others. Infrastructure development — roads, railway lines and air links, and power generation — is woefully inadequate.

A study published earlier this year by the Indian Chamber of Commerce estimated that between 2011 and 2021 the region would create a mere 2.6 million jobs, while the number of job-seekers is likely to be eight times that number.

In his address to mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of Nagaland, President Mukherjee spoke about the role of the people of the State in “establishing and maintaining a peaceful environment” so that it could prosper — an allusion to the Naga separatist insurgency, which has given way to a ceasefire and peace talks but no settlement yet.

It is significant that the President appealed to both the Centre and State governments in the region to ensure that the people of the Northeast can take their due place in India.

In Arunachal Pradesh, his reiteration of the State as an “integral and important part of the North East region”, in an address to the Legislative Assembly, was predictably followed by a statement by China that its position on the “disputed area ... is consistent and clear-cut.”

Reflecting the recent improvement in ties, the reaction was not as sharp as in 2009, when Beijing said it was “deeply upset” by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the State. The problem will not go away soon.

The challenge for New Delhi is to shore up its territorial claims with speedy efforts to ensure that the State is developed, and better integrated, and connected, with the rest of the region and the country.

Source: Hindu Editorial

India's Athlete Factory

By Salil Bera

Manipur is riddled with ethnic conflicts, insurgency and AIDS, but the people find hope in sports

WARRIOR PRINCESSES: Girls at an archery class in Imphal.

PACKING A PUNCH: Mary Kom trains boxing enthusiasts for free at her open air academy at Langol games village. The 3.3 acre was alloted to her by the state government after she won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. BEND IT LIKE US: Youngsters warm up for a Judo session at the Imphal SAI complex. FIRE IN HIS BELLY: An athlete shows his weight-lifting skills in Imphal.

 
In 1892, the poet Rabindranath Tagore saw the kingdom of Manipur in a fresh light when he made its warrior princess, Chitrangada, the protagonist of a dance drama. A brave protector of her people, Chitrangada was a champion archer like her husband, Arjuna of the Mahabharat.

Shots of different kinds—drugs and bullets—have troubled the state of Manipur, where a violent separatist movement has been raging since 1964. Human rights violations by the paramilitary forces have forced Manipuri women to march in protest, stark naked. And yet, the state has produced 50 champion boxers. The most famous of them, Mary Kom, is a five-time world boxing champion. She is the only Indian woman boxer to have won a medal at the Olympics. Several other athletes from Manipur have made India proud.

Dingko Singh won a gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games. Kunjarani Devi, with 52 medals, is one of the most feted Indian sportswomen in weightlifting. The 'Maradona of Hockey', Thoiba Singh, is another international player from Manipur, and Renedy Singh is a well-known professional footballer.

I am on a visit to the various sports camps in Imphal, and the games village at Langol, which is close to the state capital. Mary Kom's boxing academy in Imphal, established in 2006, focuses on talented underprivileged youth who are offered free training, accommodation and food. The other sports academies in Manipur are run by the Sports Authority of India, the National Sports Academy and the state sports department.

Youth from different ethnic groups of Manipur flock to these academies for training. For them, practising a sport is a way of establishing their social identity. Ignoring the politics of violence and repression, they motivate themselves, to carry on with their rigorous training.
“The number of students coming into boxing has certainly increased. They come from different districts of Manipur,” says Ibomcha Singh, the boxing coach who received the Dronacharya award in 2010. “It is not easy. One has to be careful all the time. One ethnic group has been threatening action [against me]. As a safety measure, I desist from using a mobile phone. But the daily training continues without any interruption.”
He is confident of the talent he has seen in the boys and girls. “Some of them will definitely make a mark on the national front,” he says.
Watching girls and boys sparring in the boxing ring, I am overwhelmed by the equality of spirit and gender. A slogan on a wall of the room reads, “No risk. No game.” Somebody had tweaked a popular saying and made it a telling comment on the troubled condition of Manipur.
Sporting facilities in the city are far from ideal. At the SAI complex, one large hall, which has the boxing ring at its centre is also the venue for judo, fencing and weight-lifting.
At the SAI facility is a stadium where hockey coach Inaocha is training a group of young girls. On another part of the complex, the archers are at practice. Coach Sonachand Sharma calls the shots here.
Mary Kom's Olympic medal has given the youth of Manipur the confidence to pursue sports as a decent means of survival. But it is far from a level playing field for aspiring athletes. Ethnic conflicts, militancy, extortion and drug addiction loom large in the lives of Manipuris. Though Manipuris make up less than 0.2 per cent of the country's population, their state has nearly 8 per cent of HIV positive cases in India.
It is a test of resilience for the sporty people of Manipur, where against all odds the quest for excellence continues.

source: week.manoramaonline.com

Zauka Takes Over As Head Of Vanawia Pawl Sect of Mizoram

Aizawl, Dec 2 : Vanawia, the high priest and topmost spiritual leader of the Vanawia Pawl sect of Mizoram, was accorded a tearful farewell by his followers on Saturday. Vanawia (78) passed away on Friday following a battle with lung cancer. He is survived by 15 wives and many children and grandchildren.

Vanawia was known throughout Mizoram for his religious belief which was to stay away from the 'world' as his followers were 'Van thar-lei thar pawl' or the new heaven on earth church. His seniormost wife Siamzingi - known among the sect members as 'Laldiheli' - was regarded as a prophet who could predict the future through writings on her arms.

Zauka, the second-in-command in ideology among the members of the sect, is now the leader after Vanawia's demise. Zauka has 36 wives.

C S Lalhmangaiha, who now resides in Lunglei after leaving the sect, said the Vanawia sect believed in the advent of the thousand-year kingdom on earth.

Earlier known as Laldarinsap among the Vanawia sect members, Lalhmangaiha said he left Vanawia in 2001 to join the Presbyterian Church. He lives in Lunglei now.

Vanawia, known as 'Lalzahabar', received an 'order from God' in 1974 and began to travel across Mizoram, besides Meghalaya and Manipur, to spread the 'word'. He and his followers believed that the writings on the arms of 'Laldiheli', whom he married in 1977, were the words of God and the sect's beliefs were completely based on the writings.

The presence of the sect was even acknowledged by the Centre after the writings on Laldiheli's arms predicted the sudden death of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Lalhmangaiha said they sent letters to Indira Gandhi and even met her regarding the prediction. "I was among the group which met Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to warn her," he said, adding that Gandhi was given the first warning in 1982 and the last one on March 5, 1983.

"We met her twice. After we told her about the danger to her life, she said, 'Everyone is going to die'. I told her that she would not die like her father Jawaharlal Nehru and other members of the family. She asked me who would kill her. I said that I did not know that and the killer might be someone she never thought would harm her," Lalhmangaiha said.

Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her security guards at her official residence on October 31, 1984.

He said after the assassination, intelligence officials visited the members of the sect a number of times at Thaltlang village, the abode of Vanawia and his followers in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district.

The members of the sect moved from place to place while they remained at Thaltlang village in the Phawngpui mountain, the highest mountain in Mizoram, Phawngpui was earlier known the Blue Mountain.

Lalhmangaiha said some members migrated to Bangladesh in 1991. In Bangladesh, they began to go astray and began returning to Mizoram. He said that a small group went to Thenzawl in the central Serchhip district form where they returned to Sangau village near Thaltlang and remained there.

Gospel Music Rules Over Rock in Mizoram

New Delhi, Dec 2 : It is tough to sell rock albums in Mizoram because of the dominance of gospel music in the northeastern state, says Atea, vocalist of Boomarang, a rock band from the state that is trying to meander its way into the country's mainstream music scene.

Boomarang, which also consists of Boom (guitar), Joshua (bass) and RS aka Rosangliana (drums), was formed in 2005 but has only now come up with its debut album "Home".

"We have a number of rock bands in Aizawl (capital of Mizoram). But the general music scene is dominated by artists who sing church songs. Not hymns, but gospel songs. Rock songs don't sell that good. Gospel artists' CDs sell more," Atea, who performed with band members in the capital earlier this week, told IANS.

He believes religion plays a role in the success of gospel music in the state. "Most of us are Christians (nearly 90 percent of its one million population); so a major part of the population listens to gospel songs," he said.

Bands or artists in his hometown also have limited ways to make their music reach out to the masses.

"If people want to come up with an independent album, they need to sell it themselves. Usually 10,000 copies are sold for Rs.100 or Rs.200 each. There are a few NGOs like the Young Mizo Association that help in selling CDs. They distribute to the community by visiting houses," said the singer.

The band, which has also been named 'Top ten bands to watch out for' in India by the Rolling Stone magazine, had to start off by singing covers.

Now, the members are glad they don't have to take the difficult route to make their music known. Their three-year association with Contrabands, a joint venture between record label Universal Music India, entertainment channel Vh1 and live music venue Hard Rock Café has given them the right platform.

"Contrabands has helped us a lot. We got a chance to frequently play our video on a channel like Vh1. For bands like us, it's the perfect platform. We are able to play more live shows and we finally got a chance to share our music with the country," said Atea, who is on a multi-city tour with his bandmates.

As part of the contract, they will get to play in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. They have also played alongside international acts like Korn, Lamb of God, Aurora Jane, Fire house, Tribal Tech and Enslaved. But for them, the capital turned out to be the most exciting place to perform in.

"We have played in a lot of places like Silchar, Guwahati, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata. But Delhi is the most exciting place for us. We have a great number of followers and supporters here," Atea said.

The band likes to write on themes like love and politics. It has been working on original songs since its inception, but could only manage to pull off an album with the help of Contrabands.

"Our debut album is called 'Home'. There are 14 original songs written and composed by us. It was released last week in Mumbai's Hard Rock Café," said Atea.

Mizo Temples’ ‘Sunday Service’ A Hit

By Rahul Karmakar

Aizawl, Dec 2 : Inspired by the church, Hindu temples in Mizoram now conduct similar ‘Sunday service’ for various deities. Community leaders say it is a case of ‘doing what the Romans do in Rome’ and adapting to a more convenient way of connecting with the gods and goddesses.

Priest Bishnu Prasad Subedi delivering his Sunday sermon in Aizawl’s Thuampui Om Temple. (Pratap Chhetri/ HT photo)

Christians account for 87% of Mizoram’s 1.1 million people. Hindus are less than 4%, behind the Buddhists (8%).

Churches are thus all-pervading while only 12 temples exist in this north-eastern state, half of them in capital Aizawl.

Christianity arrived in Mizoram with the British conquest. A number of Gorkha soldiers and Bengali clerks settled in the area.

“Our forefathers came on a mission to rescue Mary Winchester, daughter of a British tea planter abducted by a Mizo tribal chieftain in 1871. They stayed behind to reside on plots allotted by the British and built most of the temples in the 1870s,” MB Thapa, chairman of Central Gorkha Mandir Sanchalan Samiti, said.

“I grew up in Delhi knowing Monday is for Shiva, Tuesday for Hanuman and so on. Here, we invoke the deities from 8:30-10am every Sunday,” Bishnu Prasad Subedi, priest at the Om Temple in Aizawl’s Thuampui area, said.

Subedi’s schedule and that of his counterparts in other temples includes heading the ‘Sunday service’, delivering sermons and chanting prayers from a standardised ‘book of psalms’. Simultaneously, community elders conduct theology classes designed for children.

“What is the harm in imbibing the good things from other religions? Besides, switching from weekdays to Sundays has helped us keep social contact and share our joys and sorrows at a common place,” Om Temple committee member Pratap Chhetri said.

The temples adhere to a strict code of cleanliness and offer hygienically packed prasad that every household in a locality supplies by rotation.

The contents of the pack — a piece of fresh fruit, dry fruits and a dollop of ghee-cooked halwa — are almost always the same.

source: Hindustan Times

VVPAT Performance Not Satisfactory in Mizoram Polls

Aizawl, Dec 2 : The performance of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system used in the recently held Mizoram assembly election was not satisfactory, as 10 per cent of the machines malfunctioned, state Chief Electoral Officer Ashwani Kumar said here today.

The VVPAT is a machine attached to EVMs which allows voters to check if their votes are cast the way they wished.

For the first time in the country in Assembly polls, VVPAT was used in Mizoram on November 25 when 21 VVPATs out of 217 used in the polling were found defective.

"Twenty one defective VVPATs among 217 is very high in percentage. The matter was reported to the Election Commission," Kumar told a press conference.

The EC has invited officials of the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), which manufactured the machines, for a discussion on the matter on December three at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi, he said.

The defective VVPATs were taken to the ECIL headquarters by a technician sent by the Corporation.

EVMs with VVPAT system were used in 10 assembly constituencies within Aizawl city limits where 217 VVPATs were used in the polls. Altogether 300 sets had been sent to the state.

Officials from the ECIL and trained personnel were present in the polling stations where VVPATs were used.

VVPAT was first experimented in an assembly bypoll in Nagaland in September.

Hornbill Festival Gets Off To A Colourful Start

Kohima, Dec 2 : Ten-day Hornbill Festival – festival of festivals – got off to a vibrant opening ceremony at Naga Heritage village, Kisama here. The inaugural function witnessed various special items and presentation from various tribes and organizations.

Day one of Hornbill Festival also witnessed around 224 international tourists and 149 domestic tourists besides thousands of local visitors.

More visitors are expected to witness the North East Cultural Day on day two to be held at the Main Gallery.

In the evening, a concert “a tribute” to 50 years of statehood would be held where popular and audience pulling stars of state including Methaneilie Jiitakhrie, Zowe Madrigal and band from Delhi Mixed generation would perform at Solidarity Park at 5 p.m.

Rio opens exhibition cum competition

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio inaugurated the exhibition cum competition of flowers, fruits and vegetables December 1 at Hortiscape, Naga Heritage village, Kisama.

Rio congratulated the horticulture department for adding another success story through the exhibition cum competition of flowers, fruits and vegetables.

He said flowers symbolised good spirit and character and urged the department to set targets and produce for commercial purpose so that the state can earn revenue through export, stated a DIPR report.

Stalls have been set up by different associations, self help groups and floral companies from within and outside the state showcasing varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Prizes were given out for different categories in the flower section such as Orchid, Cactic and Succulents, Perennials, Bulbs and Tubers, Bonsai etc and in the fruits section prizes were given out in categories like Carrot/Raddish, Peas/Beans, Ginger, Naga Chilli, Mushroom etc.

Nagaland observes archive week

The 14th Annual Archive Week, organized by the department of art and culture, is being observed at the Heritage village Kisama.

To create awareness on the importance of archive treasures, the department has set up a stall to draw attention on the importance of archives as the state’s documentary heritage and to stress the role of archival institutions in restructuring future development.

According to a DIPR report, the documents displayed in the exhibition have been chosen from both official records and private papers.

The Nagaland State Archive is displaying some rare documents relating to attainment of Nagaland Statehood and other documents such as newspaper clippings from 1960-68, Gordon P Means collection, maps, rare books, private letters of some important Naga personalities etc.  A 10% discount is also offered on departmental publications.

Hornbill Art Festival

Hornbill Art Festival, sponsored by Nagaland government department of Art and Culture in collaboration with Rattle and Hum society & XL Nagaland, opened up exhibition-cum-sale of painting of photos at the WW-II museum site Naga Heritage village, Kisama.

Art and Culture department along with Dreamcather has setup a stall showcasing various types of paintings by Naga Artists. Photos are also being exhibited by some local photographers. Price of the paintings ranges from 2000 to as high as 3 lakhs. Painting demonstration and competition are also being held at the site.