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09/09/2005: "Naga summit in Thailand sets out to chart a coherent peace strategy:"

Naga summit in Thailand sets out to chart a coherent peace strategy: New Kerala
Dimapur : The ongoing Naga summit hosted by the NSCN (I-M) in Thailand, is expected to draw a broad policy roadmap that will define the nature of positioning that the NSCN (I-M) would take in its future political dialogue with the Centre. The hi-profile meet is also set to discuss threadbare on the aftermath of the economic blockade imposed by ANSAM the powerful Naga students’ organization in the Naga hills of Manipur on Manipur and the impact it had in the valley. While in Manipur the economic blockade obviously did not go down well, here in Nagaland the blockade is widely perceived as a successful legitimate, civil dis-obedience movement which had prompted Manipuri society to rethink on several past offers from Naga groups to engage in dialogue on the Naga integration issue.

Over 70 heavyweight Naga delegates from several influential Naga civil society, students, rights groups from Nagaland and Naga areas of Manipur like the Naga Hoho, the NSF, the NMA and the Naga Church have turned up at the summit level Naga meet in Thailand. The meet held under the banner of Naga People’s Consultation on the peace process would likely reiterate emphatically that solution to the Naga problem would not be possible without integrating all Naga areas into a single political entity. It may be mentioned that to inject momentum to the ongoing Centre-NSCN (I-M) political dialogue, albeit an uneasy one for New Delhi, the NSCN (I-M) had espoused a hard-line position during the last round of talks in Amsterdam. NSCN (I-M) negotiators had sent a strong political message back home and to New Delhi by reluctantly agreeing to extend the ongoing truce for six months only. The inherent message in its new ceasefire deal with the Centre was quite conspicuous : That it is open to all other options including resorting to armed campaign if there was no tangible progress on its political demands or aspiration on the Naga integration issue.

The Thailand meet also assumes added significance because of the fact that such a high profile Naga meet is being held abroad soon after top brass of the NSCN (I-M) left the country in the wake of any tangible breakthrough in its series of political talks with New Delhi during their stay in the country.
Non-progress on several outstanding political issues particularly on the Naga integration issue, had prompted the NSCN (I-M)’s top brass to leave the country with frustration citing ‘health ground’ and ‘personal engagements’. Sources said that the NSCN (I-M) had over the past few months shown growing reluctance to hold further talks in New Delhi citing the original precondition of the cease-fire and political dialogue that talks would be held in a third country. New Delhi’s own constraints to take a more favorable public stance towards the Naga integration issue in the face of stiff resistance from Manipur, has further distanced the two sides from reaching a final meeting point. The NSCN (I-M)’s influential leader Th. Muivah has used the Thai platform to reiterate the organization’s maximal position that solution could not be found within the ambit of the ‘Indian Constitution’. The Thailand meet which would be a brainstorming session for the Naga leaders from the NSCN (I-M) and the powerful Naga civil society network, will have discussed these crucial developing issues. It is expected that the meet would discuss on developing a more coherent and co-operative policy between the Naga civil society on such issues as possible dialogue with Manipur over Naga integration issue.
Mahajan accuses UPA Government of derailing Naga peace process Thannganing Hungyo September 8 Morung Express
Dimapur (MExN): The Bharatiya Janata Party has lambasted the ruling United Progressive Alliance government of not being sensitive to the problems of the Northeast. General Secretary of the BJP Pramod Mahajan, said in a press conference which was held at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur today that the Congress led regime’s behaviour towards the region was ‘discriminatory in nature’ and accused the Central government of having a ‘step-motherly’ treatment towards the seven sister states. On the issue of integration of all Naga inhabited areas, Mahajan stuck to the BJP’s earlier stand. He said that a consensus had to be taken up with leaders of all the states which have Naga populations if the map of the region was to be redrawn. Accusing the Congress-led government for derailing the Naga peace process, he said that had the people of India elected the BJP to power for another term, permanent peace could have already become a reality in Nagaland. For the last 15 months, the peace process has been lagging behind and is unsatisfactory, Mahajan remarked. While stating that the UPA was not serious in its approach to the problem in Nagaland, he asked the Center to expedite the peace process. He also asked all segments of Naga society, whether overground or underground to take earnest initiative towards the peace process. Mahajan also enquired of Manmohan Singh’s government as to where the special package initiated by the BJP had disappeared after the UPA came to power. While reaffirming the BJP’s support to the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland government, Mahajan said that the party was fully committed to the Common Minimum Programme of the NPF led government. He was optimistic that the DAN would complete its five-year term and by bringing progress to the state would renew its mandate. While naming terrorism, naxalism and illegal immigration as the three dangers to the internal security of the country, Mahajan said that Nagaland had become a victim to illegal influx of Bangladeshis. He said that effective steps had to be taken to contain this menace. Mahajan said that to root out this problem, the Central government had to accept that the problem existed. When asked to give a solution to the vexed issue, Mahajan said that illegal immigrants should be disenfranchised to stop them from exercising political powers. He said that this could be a first step towards eradicating the problem as deporting 20 million illegal immigrants was too huge a task. On the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act enforced in Nagaland, he said that the army and the police were not the only answers in the Northeast as the region was facing multi-dimensional problems. Mahajan came to Nagaland in place of Central BJP Vice President Venkaiah Naidu as the latter is engaged elsewhere. He will be leaving today.
NSCN (I-M) punishes Morung Express
Imphal, Sept 8 (MExN): The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) has stated that punishment has been meted out to its erring cadres for the September 3 Pallel Khulak incident. According to a press release issued by D Joy Rudolph, Executive Officer, Khurmi Region, these cadres have been punished and are still in military custody of the outfit for further military action. Earlier, five persons had reportedly beaten up two Naga youth at Pallel Khulak, Manipur while they were returning home from Tuisimi village. One of those assaulted happened to be an NSCN cadre. Later, the same cadre returned to the spot with two of his accomplices in search of the five who had assaulted him. Not finding them, they assailed a person by the name of M Ajit Singh who happened to be in the vicinity, Joy has stated. The NSCN has, in this regard, stated that the perpetration of such an act is not justifiable. The outfit has further apologized to the victim and his family members.
NSCN regrets assault on innocent villager at Pallel The Imphal Free Press
IMPHAL, Sep 8: Expressing deep regret and condemnation at the incident that happened at Pallel Khullak on September 3 in which one innocent person was assaulted by its cadres, the NSCN Khurmi region has expressed their apology to the victim and his family members.

Stating that the government of the people`s republic of Nagalim (GPRN) is a people`s government it said in a press release that the problem faced by any Kuki, Meitei, Pangal, madrassi, Panjabi, Naga, etc. living in and around Nagalim is the NSCN`s concern and responsibility the outfit deeply regretted and condemned the incident at Pallel.

The press handout issued today by the executive officer, central administered area, Khurmi region, stated that in the aftermath of the September 3 incident at Pallel Khullak, a fact finding team of Khurmi region was assigned to ascertain the nature of the incident.

After a thorough investigation, the statement added that it was learnt that two Naga youths returning home from Tusimi village via Pallel khullak on a motorbike were stopped all of a sudden by five youths and were beaten up without any reason. The incident was witnessed by the local people of the area and they provided first aid to the one of the injured youths.

Unfortunately one of the youths beaten up happened to be a NSCN cadre and infuriated at the treatment meted out to him he along with two fellow members of the outfit went back to the spot and finding none of the assailants there assaulted M Ajit Singh who was innocent person.

The action was not justified in any manner, the statement said adding that it is totally wrong on the part of the NSCN cadres to commit such offence. The cadres were punished and they are still in the outfit`s custody for further action.

Further, NSCN Khurmi region appealed to all that Pallel is home to different sections of people and so any incident in and around Pallel should not have bias. It also appealed for discouraging such motives and asked for every related matter of the NSCN to be reported to the Khurmi Region office for further rectification and action.
Tri-Nation Gas pipeline may cripple Northeast insurgency Morung Express The brief visit of the articulate Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to Dhaka to further explore possibilities to give shape to the proposed multi-billion dollar gas pipeline project to import natural gas from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh, will go down well in the insurgency-struck region of the Northeast. The perception among policy analysts in the region is discernible and unanimous: that the project could help positively reverse the current fragile ties between India and Bangladesh and boost prospects of reducing and containing, if not annihilating for good, the capability of various insurgent groups in the region to wage their violent campaign in the Northeast from safe shelters across the border in Bangladesh. India and Pakistan’s shared goal to go ahead with the multi-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline deal, notwithstanding several internal and external constraints, have to a great extent demonstrated the force of trade and commerce to positively influence and consolidate peace processes. This happened because of the growing realization both here and in Pakistan that such a mega project with tremendous financial spin-off for a state like Islamabad and similar benefit for New Delhi would inevitably act as a catalyst to further consolidate the improved relationship between India and Pakistan.
Similarly, the growing consensus here among the strategic community is that Dhaka should be brought under the growing net of Indian sphere of influence with optimism that it would be more co-operative in addressing India’s concerns despite its often-irritating transgressions and complicity hurting Indian interests. The pressing need for such a ‘reaching out’ policy is imperative because of the long-term security stake for the northeast region: Dhaka has often been accused of having covertly or overtly hosting swarms of insurgents from the Northeast, the most infamous being the ULFA of Assam, NLFT of Tripura and Bodo militants and encouraging poor Bangladeshis to cross over to the greener pastures in India’s northeast. Secondly, while India’s relationship with China is on the upswing there is also growing security concern over stepped up engagement by China-Pakistan axis with Dhaka in diverse areas from commerce to security and efforts to rope in Dhaka under its sphere of influence through Myanmar; Just as there is equally growing alarm in New Delhi over the rising influence of China-Pakistan axis in Nepal’s polity and military set up ever since its monarchy seized power.
While it is understandable that Dhaka had tried to inject pre-conditions upon New Delhi like request for transit for trade with Nepal and import of hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan during the latest discussion to concretize the gas pipeline project, there is a strong current of opinion in the region that sooner than later Bangladesh will have to make way for the tri-nation gas pipeline because of the anticipated financial spin offs involved which could be worth several hundred million dollars for Dhaka in the first few years itself as transit fee. Besides, it will only be at Bangladesh’s economic disadvantage, if not peril, to force New Delhi to explore the costlier alternative option of laying the pipeline through the other Northeastern states – India has already expressed its intent to bring gas from Myanmar in the near future for its growing energy need no matter whichever way the pipeline is laid and however daunting, longer and costly the alternative option might be. Infact, Indian oil giants are even exploring for increasing its activities in Myanmar to meet its growing energy needs. The proposed gas pipeline, espoused by a group under the banner of Mohona Holdings in 1996, was given the go ahead in principle by the governments of the states of West Bengal and Tripura as well as Myanmar. The proposed pipeline would enter Bangladesh through the Brahmanbaria border from the northeastern state of Tripura and reach West Bengal through the Rajshahi border. Political and defence analysts in the Northeast concur that if India should engage in trade offs with Dhaka to give life to the tri-nation gas pipeline project then it too should ask Dhaka to seriously and effectively address other non-economic but more serious issues like its security concerns and influx problem in the region.
It is quite clear that the Northeast particularly the states of Assam and Tripura had been victim of protracted violent campaign waged by proscribed armed groups using Bangladesh’s territory for logistics and as staging ground. India has repeatedly raised the issue of several top leaders of the ULFA including its top brass Paresh Baruah taking shelter in Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangla relationship had slumped to one of its lowest points only recently when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chose to keep away from the proposed SAARC summit in Dhaka on security grounds which led to abrupt cancellation of the meet. The fall out from the deteriorating Indo-Bangla relationship had been increased skirmishes between the border patrol forces of the two nations, often unprovoked, and allegations of inciting violent campaigns in each other’s territory by the other.
Union minister Aiyar’s talk in Dhaka to explore further to give life to the tri-nation gas pipeline should be carried forward for reasons other than meeting India’s growing energy needs. Observers in this part believe that if New Delhi could progressively inspire Dhaka to address its security concerns and connect it with incremental incentives for Dhaka like addressing Bangladesh’s concern on trade imbalance against it and going ahead with the gas pipeline project, the mutual benefits from such trade offs would be mutual particularly loaded heavily in favour of Dhaka. For Bangladesh, the minimum initial tangible steps that it could take to forward its immense potential to benefit from improved relationship with India, is to sincerely listen to India’s repeated accusation that powerful forces within its establishment or some powerful extremist groups inside the country are harboring armed groups like the ULFA to wage violent campaigns in India’s northeast. Any concrete step by Dhaka to dismantle the camps of these militant groups or actions to prevent these armed groups to operate from its territory is certain to go down very well in India. On the back of improved relationship between India and Myanmar leading to talks at strategic level, both sides are now co-operating to contain and pro-actively combat cross-border violent militant activities. The growing opinion among policy analysts in the region is that it is inevitable that in the near future Indo-Bangladesh co-operation on such critical issue as security would inevitably have to be developed and addressed to the satisfaction of each side - obviously to the benefit of the northeast - if hi-visible, mega projects with massive financial stake for both the parties concerned such as the proposed gas pipeline project, takes off.
Road Trip to Mon Kuknalim.com
All that I knew of Mon District and her people were only through stories related in colourful books published by Mapin and Prestel. Mon was like a shy dark lady tucked away in a corner in all her colourful mystery. She seemed so far, unreachable, remote. She fascinated me. So when my uncle Shancho Odyuo, an engineer of the Nagaland Empowerment of People through Economic Development (NEPED, India-Canada undertaking) invited me on a road trip to Mon I agreed in a flash. Shancho Odyuo is an energy specialist and he has been working with power generating machines called Hydrogers, which generates 200w to 8-kilo watts of power by the simple water force of even a small stream. The Mission of his project is to improve the economic condition of the villagers by giving them cheap, affordable and free power. It is an encouraging project and I had to witness how the villagers would react. We started the journey on the 29th of July. We had planned to take the smooth straight Assam highway but we had to opt for the Wokha/Mokokchung route due to the Karbi Anglong bandh in Assam. It wasn’t a total shame; we got to cover a lot of Nagaland. The cool serpentine roads of Nagaland were a welcome treat. There were four of us, my uncle Odyuo, his daughter Ajano, Piecko the driver and me. The weather was sunny and cool (27 degrees C approx) all the way to Mokokchung. Laden with eats and juice we started from Kohima at 7 am. We passed through Angami, Rengma, Lotha, Sema and Ao areas. A very interesting chain if you observe carefully. We bought Kemena roti (sticky rice cakes) in Botsa, the salesman said, “O, fiftay hobote”(that’ll be 50 bucks), then in Wokha we had lunch, the hotel lady asked “Machu han arro thalibo?”(More chilli curry?), in Mokokchung we bought bananas, the saleslady said,”Tin karuni twelbe hoboti” (12 bananas for 10 bucks). The accents varied but their essence remains basically the same. Each of them surviving by marketing jhum organic products from the fields.

As we rolled on in a Bolero, I noticed that the roads were not as bad as I had imagined. We quite forgot about the roads ‘cos we were so busy identifying the names and species of trees. My uncle taught us a lot about Botany. For the first time I opened up my senses to be in tune with the environment. I could smell wet grass and earth as we crossed small streams, I could see so many varieties of trees, Hollock-Terminalia myriocarpa, Khokon-Duabanga Grandiflora, Pine, Alder-Alnus, Cedrella etc. Our forest resources are awesome. At some stops we could hear birds calling. This was true Nagaland in her real beauty. It’s a shame most of us are so busy living in cities and towns. My 16-year-old cousin Ajano, learnt so much about Nagaland along the way. I know a lot of adventurous Nagas take road trips often, but a big chunk of young Nagas are missing out on something so beautiful and informative. Most state schools organize study tours in India and abroad but Nagaland has so much more to offer her students. Wont it be embarrassing if a student on a foreign excursion was asked about the flora and fauna of Nagaland and he goes……’zip’ He may ramble some names from his text book but would he be able to make Nagaland come alive to that foreigner? Maybe once in a while westernization needs to take a back seat. Maybe once in a while modernization in the Naga context needs to take place. In no time we reached Mokokchung. It was my first visit. Mokokchung reminded me of the small towns along the way to Darjeeling. We filled the tank with fuel at a local gas station, whereby we encountered an incident. Piecko the driver misplaced the fuel tank cover. Apparently he placed it on the spare tyre of someone’s gypsy and the tank cover had happily rolled along with the gypsy. After running along the road for 15-20 minutes, a sheepish looking Piecko appeared with the missing tank cover.

We saw a lot of Ao villages, Lungkhum, Chuchuyimlang, Changtongya etc. Somehow I felt quite close to my Ao friends as I saw their villages gleaming on hill tops. We passed through Tuli paper mill. The temperature began to rise as we neared Assam. The flora changed from Pine and Alder to Bombax and Neem. We stopped to take pictures of the Tuli tea gardens just before reaching the Assam border. We passed through Amguri, Sibsagar and Sonari. Four hours after leaving Tuli we finally reached Tizit town of Mon. As we stopped at a gas station we were greeted by a drunken brawl, which I believe offers local entertainment to the sleepy town of Tizit. The Tizit plywood factory was puffing away languidly as we climbed towards Mon. The weather was warmer than expected and Mon, more beautiful than imagined. The sun was just about setting and the Konyak villagers were returning home after a hard day in the fields. I could smell the paddy fields in the twilight and it gave me a rustic feeling of content. We stopped for the night in Tuimei village, as that was the first village my uncle was to work with. We were introduced to the young and modern Ang of the village; he was flanked by his secretary and the Village Dobashi. The people were polite and pleasing. The Ang had built a modern house beside his traditional hut. The house was clean and well maintained; the toilets to my relief were clean with proper walls and doors. Much better than some of the villages I had been to. Tuimei village is just beside the state highway leading to Mon town (20 km from Mon). There is a lot of economic scope for these villagers. They know that the hydrogers will provide them free power, which they can utilize in 101 ways. The Ang’s son spared us his room for the night. The room was well decorated with old CDs, pokemon tazos and Bollywood posters. It felt like walking into an Aishwarya Rai shrine. As I laid down to rest I was face to face with Ms. Rai, who was vacuously oblivious to the ironic fact that her face graces a Konyak Ang’s home. Power cuts are very frequent and during the short hours of power, the Ang’s family would enjoy watching hindi movies and gospel videos on their CD player that sat proudly next to the traditional wood carvings. Small modern pleasures they enjoy after a hard day in the fields. Looking forward to the next day I prepared for bed. The chirping crickets outside, the dim flickering light of the oil lamp and its smell lulled me to sleep in no time. 5 am and the household started teeming with activity. One has to get up early in a village…even visitors, it’s embarrassing to sleep late when everyone is up and about. After washing up I ventured into the huge kitchen, abuzz with morning activities. With strong tea to kick start our day, we trekked down the jungle following a stream in order to locate an ideal place to install the hydroger. If a small stream can produce hydropower of about 3-4 kilowatt imagine how much more power larger streams and rivulets will produce. At such rate, all the villages of Nagaland will have energy. So, for those people exasperated with the State Govt. be assured that there are Govt. workers dedicated to the development of rural Nagaland, all is not lost. After surveying the site, killing a meter long snake, slipping on wet stones, sliced by sharp blades of grass, we finally emerged from the jungle. All that made me wonder how Tarzan’s Jane survived the jungle or for that matter how David Livingstone did what he did. Much to our pleasure the Ang’s officials quenched our thirst with cool and fresh cucumbers, which we ate without skinning or slicing. It’s sweet juice dripping down my throat, I literally relished on the vegetable and for once I did not reach out for the tissues in my pocket, for which I was slightly embarrassed as I saw an old villager take out his dagger, neatly skinned his cucumber, sliced it and had it like a gentleman. I saw the resourcefulness of these villagers as one of them hastily started splitting the bamboos he had collected in the jungle. These bamboo splittings would be transformed into a beautiful basket by the end of the day. People know the Konyaks as backward tribes, but as I interacted with them, I noticed their intelligence and diligence. One old fellow insisted I take his picture for posterity, telling me that in a few years he’d be long gone but his picture would be a blessing for my children and me. He proudly posed with his dagger and pineapple, which he later gifted to us. I was touched at his far sightedness. They are humorous and kind people not the proud fierce race they are known as. Many times I got lost following their jokes much to their amusement, as they lapsed into metaphors.

As we walked up towards the village for breakfast, we heard little voices singing gleefully and the owners of those sweet voices emerged from behind a fold of trees. They were three little girls (aged around 8-9) and their grandmother with a baby on their way to the fields to work. Innocent pretty girls oblivious to the world’s worries. I have nieces their age playing with barbies and going for barbecue parties. But these village girls are so happy where they are, satisfied with their simple and hard life, carrying their little baskets with things they would need in the field. I wondered how their life would be like ten years hence; maybe one of them might become an officer. I hoped so much that they grow up into young ladies with vision and ambition. Taking their pictures thrilled them to bits. Its moments like these that make one want to make Nagaland a better place. In honor of our visit the Ang of Tuimei, our host, sacrificed one of his goats and served us a delicious lunch. The household help (both male and female) scurried around serving lunch. After the meal, my uncle asked me to witness the interviews. We were introduced to the Women leader of Tuimei village; her name was Nongle, probably in her late twenties. She was dark and beautiful; her fine features took me aback. I soon learnt that the women folk of Tuimei village were benefiting from the financial help they received from NEPED. Traditionally Konyak women cannot own property but changes are taking place. With the money they received from NEPED they purchased a plot of land and are cultivating bananas and beetle nuts. They are proud owners of an active field. The new proposed hydroger will help the women folk earn more by giving them power to run juicers and sell fresh fruit juice along the highway. With time running out, we had to leave the village. The Ang gifted us Konyak shawls and woodcarvings, for them it is a shame not to offer us anything for us it is an honor to receive from them. After the photo sessions and warm goodbyes we moved up to Shangnyu village. On the way we stopped to refill my uncle’s pockets with tamul (beetle nut with leaf) I saw a sight that interested me, the owner of the paan shop was an old Konyak warrior from an era that is slowing dying with him. Buying tamul and taking his pictures pleased him immensely. I wanted so much to know about his young exploits and war stories but we had to move on. So we left him smiling at us without any words spoken. It took us about an hour to reach Shangnyu village on the way we came across a pride of old Konyak warriors on their way from the fields taking rest by the roadside. We requested them to have their pictures taken, they agreed in exchange of tamul. By that they meant pocket money…. these people speak in metaphors and they are smart. They know that the popularity of their culture is international and it works in their favor if they can manage to earn a few rupees or dollars here and there. They were of the same peer group and from the same era of headhunters judging by their brass necklaces and tattooed faces. One could tell that photography was not new to them. They knew how to pose and what profile to present. While we as Nagas feel proud that our culture is popularized internationally through photographers and writers, it is sad that these village people benefit so less out of it all. After squeezing some rupees into their hands we continued on to Shangnyu. The road became mushy and inaccessible so for about 3 kms we trekked up to the Ang of Shangnyu’s hut. The Ang of Shangnyu on hearing our arrival hurriedly donned his royal necklaces of bones and turquoise. We entered his hut to find him fiddling with his pipe and tobacco. He explained how hard he tried to get the PWD to repair the village roads, how they are cheated and given only a fraction of the money donated by foreigners and such other complaints. He proudly told us about his son joining the IRB, about his first wife in Tizit and the political hunchos he is related to. We went to the mini museum where they keep a huge old relic, a wooden carving with its own legend. Much to my disappointment there were no human skulls around. We met the grand old patriarch of the present Ang, wobbling along with his cane. The Ang’s position passes on from father to son. The walk around the village was a delightful experience. We bought sweets for the local children, who were in their shorts playing football. Shangnyu is a beautiful village but we still had Chui village to visit so we moved on.

Chui village was quiet and deserted. The ailing Ang of Chui was in his house but he managed to come to the door for photographs. I had seen him healthier and regal in books but before me stood the same person, shriveled up and old. The books we read tell us and show us about the glorious days of the Angs that are no more. They are glorified and mystified, but I captured them in their ordinary everyday lives without their royal paraphernalia and officials. Just old warriors slowing succumbing to age. I was reminded of the ‘last of the mohicans’…how parallel their lives were. The Angs will go on from father to son but its true spirit will die out with these old Angs with the tattooed faces. It is sad that they are neither respected nor discarded. I was told that even in the 70’s and 80’s the Angs and their officials were respected and they did move about with dignity and pride, strictly following protocol. Life moves on, the world progresses and change is the only constant. Much to our disappointment there were no human skulls on display (however I was told that in the most interior villages one can still see the skulls on display). We did see the monoliths still standing with an eerie air about them. It was on these stones that severed heads were placed after a battle. With the advent of Christianity certain traditions died out. The human skulls that were believed to add strength to the village were all buried under stones. A few yards beside it stood the shiny church of Chui. As Christianity grew stronger, feuds between villages lessened. My uncle did some more work related surveys in Goching village after which we proceeded to Mon. We visited Mr. Shingwong, EAC and his wife. He was kind enough to arrange accommodation through his friend Major of the 20 Assam Rifles. We relaxed in the Assam rifles guesthouse suite, had a lavish shower, had dinner served by the attendants and were provided power back up. We easily fell asleep in such comforts.

The Konyaks are gentle and intelligent. Dusky in complexion and charming. It is said that when they started making hand made guns, the British saw it as a threat and exploited them with opium. This only tells us about the efficiency and sincerity of these people. I am glad that I got to interact with the villagers in their everyday lives and not with the town folks. Through the eyes of a Naga girl, I can see that they are at parity with the rest; I am not here to advocate any cause, but simply to let the young Nagas know that we are all one. Getting to learn about the other tribe will only be a blessing for you. It’ll be a first step in healing tribalism. This trip has been a real treat for me. We long to visit Dharamshala, Manali, Ladakh etc….but why not try out Mon, Tuensang, Phek, Wokha, Khonoma etc.? What have you have to lose?
Sophia Kikon has done her Masters in Multi Media and is presently pursuing a course in Print Journalism & New Media from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore. She has contributed extensively to kuknalim.com's Picture gallery.

Join politics and test your popularity, say Assamese to ULFA Yahoo Ani
Guwahati, Sept. 9 (ANI): The United Liberation Front of Asom's (ULFA's) latest violent episode killed one and wounded eighteen in Assam's Kamrup district. All the victims were local people who were out shopping in the market. Though violence by ULFA is nothing new, the incident has been condemned by the Assamese intellectuals, who have asked the banned outfit to shun violence and join mainstream if they are at all interested in serving the society. Over a period of time common people have become soft targets for the separatist outfit. Whether it is the Dhemaji blast last year or other blasts that followed - most of the victims of these heinous acts have been common citizens of Assam. In this situation they are bound to question the motive of the ULFA, which claims to represent the Assamese people. "We have not done anything wrong. Why we should be made victims. There is no reason and rationale to hurt us. Even small children are victims. They are seriously injured. What will happen to them," said an injured. Noted Assamese film director Santwana Bardoloi also expressed anger over the issue and said that present situation in the State is a result the continuing violence by the ULFA. Bardoloi, who is a recipient of the National Film Award in 1997 for her film, 'Adajya', believes that the outfit should test their popularity in the electoral arena to find out if it really represents the Assamese society. "Life has changed. Guwahati was one of the safest cities in the whole of India. It's no longer like that. And I would like ULFA to come to some kind of terms and join politics and work for the states," said Bardoloi. Bardoloi is also unhappy with the divisive politics being indulged in by ULFA, and says that by resorting to violence the ULFA has disturbed the peaceful ambience of the state and the Assamese way of life. She states that Assam has been part of the national mainstream for ages and it is difficult to even think of having an identity separate from the Indian nationhood. "If they keep on talking on sovereignty. It is very difficult. It's unimaginable for some of us. How can you have an independent country inside our country? So rest of the North East may not like it. So how can you have land locked area, which is an independent country inside one country? And I do not think its practical. Most of us do not believe. If they give that up it would be much easier for the centre to take care of it," Bardoloi said. Over the years the ULFA has tried to regiment the life of the Assamese society and tried to dictate people's taste and choice. This is unacceptable to people like Bardoloi, who blames the ULFA for the decline of the Assamese film industry. Now, crowds don't throng to the Assamese theatre, as audiences do not turn up due to fear of violence. Last year the entire cross section of Assamese society came out on the streets demonstrating against ULFA's policies. (ANI)

ULFA announces consultative group By A Staff Reporter Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, Sept 8 – The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today announced the list of a nine-member “people’s consultative group”, that will hold preliminary talks with the Government of India to pave the way for formal talks between the ULFA and the government. In a statement emailed to the media today, ULFA chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa said that the consultative group has been created with like-minded people who would pave the way for talks for political solution of the “Assam-India conflict”. The group formed by the ULFA includes engineer Mukul Mahanta, journalists Ajit Bhuyan, Haider Hussain and Diganta Konwar, doctor Brajen Gogoi, advocate Arup Borbora, adviser to the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad Dilip Patgiri, adviser to the Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti Lachit Bordoloi and sports organiser Hiranya Saikia.
The ULFA chairman said that noted litterateur Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami and former football player Rebati Phukan would act as facilitators of the group and they would maintain links between the government and the consultative group. Meanwhile, talking to this correspondent, Haider Hussain said that the ULFA commander in chief Paresh Baruah called him yesterday and requested that he should be a part of the team to be constituted by the ULFA to hold preliminary talks with the Government of India. “As the people of Assam want a solution to the problem, I agreed to be a part of the team. The success of the team will depend on the sincerity of the Government of India and the demands to be raised by the ULFA,” he said. He also revealed that he is yet to receive any guideline from the ULFA.
Dilip Patgiri said that said that the decision of the ULFA to engage the society as a whole for preparing the ground for talks with the Government of India is a positive step and a mature decision on the part of the outfit. He said that he is yet to receive any guideline from the ULFA on the issue of talks but “I believe that the job of the group would be to finalise the modalities and to prepare the ground. Ultimately, the leaders of the ULFA would have to sit in talks with the government.”
The All Assam Students’ Union has also welcomed the decision of the ULFA to form a consultative group and hoped that the Central Government would respond positively.
Its time to study government view on Sovereignty, says Ajit Bhuyan NET News Network Guwahati, Sept 8: Time has come to study Central government views and analysis on core demands of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) including sovereignty, said Ajit Bhuyan one of the nine members Peace Consultative Group (PCG) constituted by the outfit for initiating dialogue with Indian government. A leading intellectual and Editor of vernacular daily 'Aji', Bhuyan welcomed the outfit's move as a big breakthrough saying, " ULFA's decision to initiate the peace dialogue and subsequent declaration of the peace consultative group has succeeded in breaking a longstanding deadlock". Speaking on constituent of PCG, the senior journalist said that some very senior, experienced people with sacrifices behind them have been rightly chosen to represent the cause. " Now, the group should sit down immediately to chalk out strategies for the ensuing dialogue". Bhuyan was imprisoned twice during the regime of both Congress and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) for voicing against Human Rights Violations. He is presently on tour to France and US with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and is expected to return by September 17 next.
ULFA names its peace representatives NET News Network
Guwahati, Sep 8: The proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today announced the list of the members that would represent the “Peoples Consultative Group” (PCG) on behalf of the outfit for the path breaking peace initiative dialogues with the Centre to be held in the mid October. It may mentioned that peace mediator Mamoni Raisom Goswami yesterday informed about the probability of a 8 member delegation of the outfit meeting the Centre to initiate the peace process.
The list disclosed by the outfit features as many as 9 names, which includes the names of Mukul Mahanta (Bureaucrat), Ajit Bhuyan ( Editor, Aji), Hyder Hussain ( Editor, Asomiya Pratidin), Brajen Gogoi (medical practitioner), Arup Borbora (Advocate, Gauhati High Court), Dilip Patgiri (president AJYCP), Lachit Bordoloi (Adviser, MASS), Diganta Konwar (Journalist) and Hiranya Saikia (Sports organizer). The release further informed that the 9 member Peoples Consultative Group would be introduced to the Union Government by noted writer and peace mediator Mamoni Raisom Goswami.