Delhi Group Tours Northeast To Fight Discrimination

By Khelen Thokchom


Rahul Anand Singh addresses the news meet in Imphal on Sunday.

Imphal, May 18: A New Delhi-based organisation, Fight 4 Your Pride, has embarked on a tour of the Northeast to unite all the students’ organisations of the region against racial discrimination against people from the region.

A nine-member team of the organisation is currently in Imphal and will hold a formal meeting with students’ organisations of the state on Tuesday to chalk out strategies to tackle the issue of racial discrimination.

Representatives of the North East Students Organisation will attend the meeting.

“We came here to reassure the people of the Northeast that they are not alone in the fight against discrimination. We also want to understand the situation and join hands to fight for our pride,” founder-director of the non-profit making organisation, Rahul Anand Singh, said.

Singh said the organisation was launched in 2010 to provide a platform for victims of racial discrimination.

“It is a small organisation with committed people. Profit is not our motive. We want to stop discrimination against Indians in India,” he said.

People from the region are also members of the organisation.

“Our country has enough laws, but the laws are not effectively enforced. It is because of this reason that discrimination continues to be a serious social problem in the country. Our organisation works to ensure that there are enough examples of punishments that can act as a deterrent to committing such crimes,” Singh said.

The team began their tour on May 1 from Delhi in a mini-bus, which is covered with pictures of protests against racial discrimination in the recent past.

They also took along festoons carrying pictures of victims of racial discrimination, including that of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, who was killed in New Delhi.

The team arrived in Imphal on May 12.

After Manipur, the team plans to visit Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram as part of the campaign. A Delhi-based businessman is funding the trip, Singh said.

Singh said the organisation is planning to open its office in Imphal.

The team expressed happiness at the steps taken by the Delhi government to check discrimination against northeasterners.

It, however, felt that Delhi police should act immediately on getting reports of such cases.

Singh, however, said the elimination of racial discrimination was not an easy task. It required joint efforts by the government and people.

Congress Candidate Chawngthu Wins Hrangturzo Bypoll

Aizawl, May 16 : Congress candidate Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu today won the bypoll for the Hrangturzo assembly seat, becoming the first woman legislator in Mizoram after a gap of 27 years.

Chawngthu defeated her nearest United Democratic Front (UDF) rival H Lalduhawma by a margin of 2,503 votes.

Bypoll for the Hrangturzo seat was necessitated as it was vacated by Chief Minister La Thanwawla who had retained his Serchhip.

BJP Leading in Nine Seats in North East States

BJP was leading in nine while Congress was ahead in seven seats out of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in eight North Eastern states as per early trends. (Representational Image)

Assam: BJP was leading in nine while Congress was ahead in seven seats out of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in eight North Eastern states as per early trends.

In Assam, BJP was set for an impressive show as it was leading in seven seats out of 14 in the state. The ruling Congress was ahead in just two seats while AIDUF and an Independent were leading in one each.

In bordering Arunachal Pradesh, BJP was ahead in two constituencies while in Congress was leading in the lone seat in Mizoram.

In Nagaland, the NPF was leading in one seat while in Meghalaya, Congress and NPP were ahead in one seat each.

Congress and NPF were leading in one seat each in militancy-affected Manipur while CPI (M) was ahead in two seats in Tripura.

In Sikkim, SDF was ahead in the lone seat.

In Assam's prestigious Guwahati seat, Congress' Manash Borah was leading by 1,995 votes against Gopi Nath Das of All India United Democratic Front.

In Tezpur Lok sabha seat in Assam, BJP's Ram Prasad Sarmah was leading by over 5,000 votes against his nearest rival Bhupen Kumar Borah of Congress.

International Trade Expo Begins at Aizawl

Aizawl, May 16 : Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman this afternoon inaugurated the 2nd International Trade Expo at Assam Rifles Ground in Aizawl organised jointly by North East Trade Expo and Industries Department of Mizoram Government.

The Expo which has participants from foreign countries will be held for 15 days.

Thanking the organisers of the Trade Expo, the Governor expressed his hope that the event would have a positive impact with the presence of businessmen and big companies from abroad and from different states in the country who expose their products.

Local businessmen and the common people would learn a great deal from such a big event, the Governor said.

He added this kind of event often turn out to be a useful means of improving the financial condition of a State and the whole of a country.

The Governor wishes the participants from outside Mizoram to spend a great time during their stay and invited them to visit, if they have time, Zokhua Reiek (Mizo Traditional Village) and Hmuifang Tourist Resort which are near Aizawl.

In his inaugural address, Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman defended North East India from the prejudice held by people in other parts of the country and by even neighboring countries as a region as being conflict-torn and home to militancy.

This is not fully true and not all the states of North East India is insurgency disturbed area, the Governor said, adding that, in Mizoram, especially, the people uphold an abiding peace to this day.

He also expressed hope that the state would reap huge benefits by hosting this 2nd International Trade Expo.

The Governor further stated, "International trading gives both consumers and countries the opportunity to expose and be exposed to goods and services not available in their own country.

The 2nd International Trade Expo brings with it a wide variety of merchandise together in one trade show for public consumption.

The people of Mizoram would not only be able to-display their products but also view and purchase goods from other States and Country with ease" .


Newmai News Network

Last Of The True Communist Posts

Agartala, May 16 : Manik Sarkar of Tripura, one of India’s last Communists, is a fine specimen of this disappearing species.

Tripura, this finger of land wrapped around Bangladesh is the last refuge for many of India’s most endangered species, including the pygmy hog, the white-bellied heron and, perhaps most critically, the dyed-in-the-wool Communist. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar of Tripura state is one of India’s last Communists with political power, and he is a fine specimen of this disappearing species. He wears simple cotton tunics, leads blood donation drives and has a nearly empty personal bank account. His wife, perhaps even more beloved than he, goes to market by rickshaw.

But Sarkar’s isolation will probably become even more acute after the votes are counted in India’s national elections. For the first time, Communists are likely to win fewer than 16 seats in the national Parliament, possibly as few as 10. That would be a showing so disastrous in a body of 543 elected seats that many analysts are predicting their eventual extinction in a land that has been such fertile ground for Marx, Lenin and Stalin that these were once popular first names.

“Left-wing politics are alive and well in India, but true Communism will soon die out,” said Dilip Simeon, an author and former Maoist guerrilla. “And they have only themselves to blame.” Communism’s looming disappearance stems from Indians’ deep attachment to parliamentary democracy, the Communist Party’s failure to embrace Indian nationalism and a culture that distrusts dogma, said Ramachandra Guha, a prominent Indian historian.

But some also blame India’s failure to create a large industrial sector, the natural wellspring for Communist organizing efforts. Nearly 90 percent of workers toil in the cash-based informal sector, where enterprises are small and jobs so fitful that unionization drives are nearly impossible. “The one big reason for Communism’s decline is the irrelevance of the industrial working class as a political factor,” said Ajoy Bose, an author and commentator. “Indian manufacturing is in a terrible state.”

Robust enthusiasm

Communism’s redoubt here in Tripura, however, remains robust. The road into Agartala, the capital, from the airport is lined with red Soviet hammer-and-sickle flags planted every 15 feet. The party has 50 of 60 seats in Tripura’s Legislative Assembly, and it has controlled the state government for 31 of the last 36 years — including an unbroken streak of victories since 1993.

Part of Communism’s success in Tripura has to do with the fecklessness of its opposition, a branch of the Indian National Congress party whose corruption and incompetence from 1988 to 1993 were so profound that people speak about it like survivors of a shipwreck. “The opposition here is discredited, disorganized and so corrupt that it has no trust amongst the people,” said Sekhar Datta, the longtime Tripura correspondent for The Telegraph, a newspaper in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta.

But Sarkar’s efficient administration and unimpeachable honesty have also been important factors. In just one example, Tripura ranked first last year among Indian states in its implementation of a national rural jobs programme. The state has done such a good job exploiting its natural gas reserves that Tripura now sells surplus power, and residents are almost never without electricity, a rarity in India. Roads are surprisingly good, many city landmarks have been rebuilt, and literacy levels are among the nation’s highest.

Sarkar surrenders his salary to the party, which recently raised his monthly stipend to $117 from $83. He lives in a modest house provided by the state and lists a shelf stuffed with books as his most valuable possession. In a country awash in political corruption, Sarkar’s monkish existence is remarkable. “My party has taught me to lead a simple life, and I have followed that credo since the beginning,” Sarkar said in an interview.

Other critics say that while Sarkar is genuinely poor, he has ensured that almost everyone else in the state is as well. “They believe if people get rich, they won’t be Communists anymore,” said Jayanta Debnath, managing editor of a widely read local news website. Sarkar agreed that great wealth is not a communist interest. “We don’t like to create millionaires or billionaires,” he said. But he denied that he wanted to keep anyone impoverished. “We want to see that people do not starve.”

On a steamy evening with just a ceiling fan to cool him, Sarkar showed no sign of discomfort. His white kurta appeared freshly pressed, and a gold pen sparkled in a shirt pocket. He blamed Communism’s looming collapse in India on multinational corporations, which he said have used media companies to sully the reputation of Communists. “India’s market is important, and they want in,” Sarkar said. “So they have attacked the party in its last bastions.” But he vowed to depend upon the party until the end. After all, it still pays him $117 a month.

Assam Court Denies Bail To Accused in 1000-cr NC Hills Funds Scam

By Pranjal Baruah

Guwahati, May 16 : Accused of swindling a thousand crore from the NC Hills Autonomous Council, R H Khan and Mohit Hojai, along with four associates, will have to spend some more time in prison with a special court here rejecting their bail petitions on Thursday. They have been in jail since 2009.

Khan, then deputy director of the social welfare department, Hojai, then chief executive member of the NC Hills Autonomous Council and Ahshringdaw Warisa, the self-styled 'deputy commander-in-chief' of the now-disbanded militant outfit DHD (J), had been helped in executing the scam by three others. They had moved the lower court, pleading for an 'interim bail' earlier.

They were among the 15 who had been named as 'prime accused' by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Rs-1000 crore money laundering scam. They had been accused of siphoning off huge amounts of government development funds to DHD (J) for procuring arms and ammunitions to wage a war against India.

However, the lower court's order came as a shock for all six, as the NIA had given 'no objection certificates' (NOCs) to their interim bail pleas. The agency had also said it had no problem with the court granting them interim bail.

"The court rejected their bail plea to help the ongoing probe into the matter. It has the right to reject a bail plea even after getting NOCs," said Ashim Talukdar, counsel for Warisa.

Talukdar added the petitioners were considering moving the Gauhati high court.

In 2011, the lower court had rejected similar bail pleas of DHD (J)'s 'chairman' Jewel Gorlosa and its 'commander-in-chief' Niranjan Hojai in the same case. However,, both men had later been granted interim bail by the high court on the condition that they would take part in a peace parley with the government. After the success of the peace talks, Garlosa disbanded his militant outfit in 2013.

Counting For Lone Mizoram Lok Sabha Seat Tomorrow

Aizawl, May 15 : Elaborate arrangements have been made for counting of votes tomorrow for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram.

Polling for the seat and the Hrangturzo assembly by-polls was held on April 11 last.

Votes polled in all the eight districts would be counted in the district headquarters here and those polled in Hrangturzo assembly seat would be counted in Serchhip, State joint chief electoral officer H. Lalengmawia said.

Out of the 7,09,110 total electorate, 4,26,083 voters (61.06%) including 2,134,77 women electorate exercised franchise in the electronic voting machines, while 7,993 voters out of the 11,243 Bru electorate in the Tripura relief camps exercised franchise through personal ballot, he said.

The total voter turnout including the Bru votes was 62.20%.

The contest in the Mizoram Lok Sabha seat is between three candidates - the sitting MP C L Ruala of the ruling Congress, Michael Lalmanzuala of the Aam Aadmi Party and Robert Romawia Royte an independent candidate sponsored by the eight opposition party combine called the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Sharmila To Appear Before Delhi Court

Imphal, May 15 : An Imphal court has allowed activist Irom Sharmila Chanu to appear before the court in New Delhi in connection with a pending case over a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in 2006.

On Tuesday, the court granted permission to the superintendent of Manipur Central Jail to produce Sharmila before the Delhi court on May 28. The jail authorities would have to produce her before the local court and submit her health (mental and physical fitness) status report on May 21.

Sharmila will be flown to New Delhi on May 27 and produced before the metropolitan magistrate the next day, a source said. She would be accompanied by a doctor, two nurses, a women police team and two jail officials in New Delhi.

Demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Sharmila has been fasting since November 2000. At present, she is being forced-fed through her nose in the security ward of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) close to her Kongpal Kongkham Leikai residence in Imphal East.

In October, 2006, she had shifted her stir to New Delhi to draw the attention of national-level leaders and the international community. The Delhi Police had registered a case against her under Section 309 (attempt of commit suicide) of the IPC. In March 2007, she returned to Imphal and continued her fast.

Besides granting Sharmila's production before the Delhi court, the CJM also heard a chargesheet filed against her by the Manipur Police.

For the first time, the state government's prosecution has submitted a chargesheet against Sharmila seeking her punishment under Section 309 of the IPC. As no chargesheet was filed against her till now, she was never convicted of attempting to commit suicide.

Sharmila said her struggle is for the cause of human rights and not an attempt to commit suicide as the police have been falsely claiming.

Noted human rights lawyer Khaidem Mani, appearing for Sharmila, said she is agitating democratically without trying to end her life. The court has fixed May 21 as the next date for hearing the charge against her.