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03/13/2007: "NPF wins Dimapur; Cong Tuensang Staff Reporter Nagaland Post"

NPF wins Dimapur; Cong Tuensang Staff Reporter Nagaland Post
DIMAPUR March 12 (NPN): The ruling Nagaland People's Front (NPF) and the opposition Congress each wrested the two assembly constituencies earlier held by the BJP: Dimapur-I and Tuensang Sadar-II respectively, after results were declared today for the March 8 by elections.
With this, the strength of the NPF went to 32 and the Congress to 17 while the BJP has been reduced to five in a house of 60.
The BJP fielded a candidate for the Dimapur-I seat while its candidate for the Tuensang Sadar-II had to contest as an independent due to technical reasons.
NPF candidate Atomi Zhimomi defeated his nearest Congress rival Aheto V. Yeptho by a margin of 3656 votes in a five-cornered contest for the Dimapur-I seat. Atomi, the son of Industries and Commerce Minister Khekiho Zhimomi, bagged 7584 votes as against 3928 votes for Aheto Yepthomi. BJP candidate Kevise Angami came third with 1931 votes followed by Limatemjen of the JD (U) with 834 votes and Dr Roland Lotha of the Nagaland Democratic Party (NDP) with 291. The Tuensang Sadar-II was bagged by Congress candidate Kejong Chang who defeated his nearest rival and Independent candidate Mrs. Rhakila, wife of then sitting BJP legislator late Lakiumong, by a margin of 625 votes in a four-cornered contest. Kejong polled 5947, Mrs Rhakila 5322 while NPF candidate H. Wongto polled 4979 and Independent candidate N. Kaimang polled 1744 votes Meanwhile, after declaration of result for the Dimapur-I assembly constituency by polls, victorious NPF candidate Atomi Zhimomi said, "The people have spoken for me, and now I shall speak for the people".
Talking to Nagaland Post Atomi said the margin was a "loud and clear" verdict of the people.
He promised that he would commit himself to work for the r "local welfare, local development and the youth."
He also promised to carry on with the legacy left behind by late (Dr) Hokishe who represented the constituency. Meanwhile, the NPF central office has thanked the people of Dimapur - I A/C for lending their helping hand to the party by giving its candidate Atomi a resounding victory.
Former DMC chairperson and DMC member of ward number-7 Y. Vikheho Awomi has claimed that of the ten wards under Dimapur-I A/C, No-7, which he represents, had cast the highest number of votes in favour of victorious NPF candidate Atomi.Vikheho claimed that 68.4 per cent of the total votes in his ward were cast in favour of Atomi Zhimomi.
Rio, Khekiho fete Chief minister Neiphiu Rio has congratulated Atomi Zhimomi and Kejong Chang for winning the elections. Rio expressed the hope that Atomi and Kejong "would immensely contribute to the House proceedings and the development of our people."
Meanwhile, minister for industries and commerce H. Khekiho Zhimomi has expressed gratitude to the electorates of Dimapur-I who had voted in favour of Atomi, minister-in charge of election campaign Thenucho, campaign director and parliamentary secretary Hewoto Awomi, legislators, supporters of NPF and all concerned NPF members for their contributions which made Atomi win the election.
NPF, Congress win Nagaland by-polls The Hindu
Kohima, March. 12 (PTI): The ruling Nagaland People's Front (NPF) and Opposition Congress in Nagaland today won the Dimapur-I and Tuensang Sadar-II Assembly seats, by-polls for which were held on March 8. NPF candidate Atomi Zhimomi, son of State Industry and Commerce Minister Khekiho Zhimomi, defeated his closest rival Aheto Yeptho of the Congress by 3,656 votes in a five-cornered contest, office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland said.
At Tuensang Sadar-I, Congress candidate Kejong defeated his closest rival H Wonoto of NPF by nearly 1,000 votes in a four-cornered contest. The by-polls to the two seats were necessitated following demise of BJP MLAs Hokishe Sema and Lakiumong.
Seven NSCN-IM rebels surrender to BSF in Tripura M&C India News © 2007 Indo-Asian News Service
Agartala, March 12 (IANS) Seven tribal separatists of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) Monday surrendered to the Border Security Force (BSF) in Tripura.
'The NSCN-IM militants came from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeast Bangladesh Sunday and contacted our border outpost in north Tripura,' J.A. Khan, BSF inspector general of the Tripura frontier, told journalists.
The separatists led by Jhon Lithungo deposited four Chinese M21 rifles, two AK series rifles, one sniper rifle, one .22 rifle, eight grenades, 13 loaded magazines and 1307 cartridges of sophisticated weapons at the Khantlang outpost, 195 km north of here.
'We were forced to leave Bangladeshi soil after the security forces of that country launched a massive operation against the outlawed and armed miscreants,' Lithungo told journalists immediately after the surrender. Meanwhile, NSCN-IM top brass remained in the dark about the surrender of the seven cadres.
'We have no knowledge about the surrender. The BSF authorities have not informed us about the development,' NSCN-IM leader and member of the ceasefire monitoring cell Phungthing Shimrang told IANS over phone from Dimapur in Nagaland. The NSCN-IM and security forces in Nagaland have been observing a ceasefire since August 1997.
Kejong wins Tuensang battle Congress celebration in Tuensang marred by rioting The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, MARCH 12 (MExN): The results of the bye-election to Tuensang Sardar II was declared today with the Congress party emerging victorious with 5947 votes, however sources revealed that the declaration of result has caused protests and rioting throughout the town. The Congress candidate Kejong Chang and his partymen were not available for comment as they had gone into hiding due to the riot that was created by the losing parties. Kejong Chang who had lost in the 2003 election by a small margin had previously declared that the people were with him but he had been defeated at gun point, stated that he was contesting the bye-election with a big vision for Sardar II.
Independent candidate Rakhila, wife of late Lakhuimong followed the winning party with 5322 votes. Ruling party NPF’s candidate Wangto Chang, on the other hand managed to bag just 4979 votes while Independent Candidate Kaimang Chang was left with just 1744 votes in the wrestle.
One of the main reasons for the defeat of the ruling alliance in the Tuensang bye-election could be the differences and infighting within the party, especially the NPF which caused the division in party votes. As many as five candidates had been in the fray for the NPF ticket and those unable to obtain the ticket decided to contest as independent candidates instead of supporting the party’s decision. Another mistake was that the NPF had underestimated Rakhila and the sympathy wave that resided with the wife of the late MLA Lakhuimong which could have been an added advantage to the party. The results of the Tuensang bye-elections could be a strong indicator for the coming polls in the general election which could be interpreted to mean the resurgence of the Congress party, at least in the Tuensang district.
NSCN-K stand on affiliation unchanged Says it will support separate board The Morung Express
Dimapur, March 12 (MExN): The final examinations of HSLC and HSSC under NBSE passed off peacefully with Manipur Naga students appearing their papers without disturbance but this does not mean that the NSCN-K has changed its stand on the issue of affiliation, the outfit reiterates. It, however, expressed support for a separate education board for the students from the south.
“Some people may think this is a sign of weakness on the part of the NSCN/GPRN but we have our own considerations and strategies” stated a note from ‘Secretary’ of MIP NSCN-K. “The stand of the GPRN/NSCN on the issue of affiliation in the four hill districts of Manipur to NBSE still remains unchanged and firm. No one should doubt about it” it reminded. The NSCN-K sought to observe how many of the students would seek and “ask” for technical study reservations like medical, engineering, technology etc., under Nagaland state’s quota and “let us see how many of them will be sent by Neiphiu Rio and Imkong Imchen for studies in the above cited special branches” under the state quota. The two, Chief Minister and Education minister respectively, will be solely responsible for making all “the avoidable troubles deliberately imposed on the Naga younger generations” the NSCN-K stated. “We will support separate BSE (board of school education) for the four hill districts of Manipur, if initiated by anyone and nothing more than that. Our stand is loud and clear” it added.
ZU hails elected MLAs Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 12: The Zeliangrong Union, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland has congratulated the elected legislators of Zeliangrong tribe namely Awangbou Newmai, Khangthuanang Panmei and Gaikhangam. While wishing them success throughout their tenure, the ZU also conveyed its expectation that they would render their best services towards betterment of Zeliangrong tribe in particular and the Nation as a whole.
A statement issued by its general secretary Katoldi Kamei declared that ZU entertains no prejudice or discrimination against any faction or group in Zeliangrong region. It also informed that a team of ZU led by its president has been touring every corner of Zeliangrong region since November last, meeting every faction, group and organisation, listening to the complaints of the people. The team has been looking into grievances of Zeliangrong people settled at Jalukie, Peren, Dimapur, Kohima and at other places in Nagaland, Haflong, Asalu, Laisong, Hangrum, Cachar in Assam and Jiribam, Tamenglong, Senapati, Imphal and other places in Manipur.

It said that the ZU has been putting its best efforts to bring about unity and integrity among Zeliangrong people living in different places.
Conveying deep regret on the unfortunate incident that took place in Jiribam recently, it stated that the incident was a result of misunderstanding. The ZU called upon all the peoples, factions, groups and individuals to refrain from all kinds of violence but to solve any problem/misunderstanding through peaceful talk.
Another press release issued by the ZU informed that Deena who is reportedly a leading figure of Indian civil society and has been closely associated with the Nagas for a long time would be coming to Tamenglong district Hqs on March 16.It further appealed to all the members of ZU and its zonal offices, women organisations, student bodies, youth fronts and church leaders to avail this opportunity and to share their thoughts and ideas with Deena.
Satakha reeling under after-effects of faction war The Morung Express
Dimapur, March 12 (MExN): Satakha town is reeling from the after-effects of intense factional clashes between the two warring NSCNs in the recent weeks. A note from the town’s local authorities highlighted various grievances being faced by the harried people of the sub-division.
A note appended by Chisho Swu (Peace Monitoring Cell), President of Sumi Totimi Hoho Satakha, Vitoly Hoky, and GB Vitoho Jimo stated how the factional clashes have left the town’s people unsettled and disturbed. “The school-going children’s careers are hampered for about one month and the schools are closed down due to the factional clashes where innocent publics and school-going children were injured” it stated. Secondly, this being the peak season of sowing for cultivators, farmers are facing immense hardships. If the situation continues, the difficulties the farmers are facing would be harder, it implied.
More to this, even the Satakha Town Baptist Church youth golden jubilee celebrations and related church programmes have been hampered. The local authorities also lamented that against the sanctity of the church, the underground cadres camped in the church.
Further, the official residence of the SDO (C) Satakha was occupied by underground cadres which, the note reminded, is a gross violation of ceasefire ground rules. “According to the ceasefire ground rules, the undergrounds are not allowed to roam around with arms and ammunitions in the towns. But Satakha town has become daily phenomenon for underground cadres to roam with full uniform and arms and ammunitions,” the note lamented. In view of the highlighted problems, the public of Satakha appeals to all underground factions to leave Satakha and return to their respective designated camps in the best interest of the people.
The note also expressed gratitude to DC Zunheboto and 111 Bn BSF for “risking their own prestige and intervening in the situation.”
Diary of events on the Satakha standoff The first spate of fighting between the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K took place on February 27 at Khukiye-Lukhai village. Civil organizations and public of Satakha town intervened and somehow managed to stop the fighting. The Peace Monitoring Cell, Satakha, and Satakha Mothers’ Association held separate meetings with both the NSCN factions. The NSCN-IM agreed to vacate Khukiye-Lukhai village while the NSCN-K agreed to vacate Satakha town, a note from the local authorities informed.
However, cadres of the NSCN-K came and occupied Khukiye-Lukhai village and attacked the rival cadres at Hoishe village on March 5. In the attack one NSCN-IM cadre was killed. Once again, civil organizations and public along with the deputy Commissioner of Zunheboto and the commandant of 111 Bn BSF tried their utmost to pacify the warring cadres. The fighting could be stopped with both the factions agreeing to return to their respective camps and also desist from attacking each other. However, on the same night at about 8pm, NSCN-K cadres attacked the NSCN-IM cadres at Hoishe village. The fighting lasted till 11:30 pm. The next day, March 6, the firing lasted the whole day. Since the fighting was ‘so heavy’ the civil organizations could not intervene. On the 7th around 6am, NSCN-IM cadres surrounded Khukiye-Lukhai village and drove out the NSCN-K cadres, the note stated. As a result, the NSCN-K shifted to Satakha town but was ‘chased’ up to Center colony the following day. Currently the situation is very tense and volatile and at any moment fighting may take place with NSCN-IM faction stationed at Khukiye-Lukhai village and the NSCN-K cadres camping at Satakha town, the note stated.
NNC supports UN panel on AFSPA repeal The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, MARCH 12 (MExN): The Naga National Council (NNC) welcomed the decision taken by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) at its session in Geneva this month to repeal the Armed forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 imposed illegally on the North East people by the Government of India since 1958. “The NNC on behalf of the South East Asian people support the decision taken by the CERD for the first time as the highest body of the world”, stated a press note issued by Mhasi Angami Information & Publicity wing NNC. The NNC appreciated the committee (CERD) for the concern and support shown to the people of this part of the world after many years. The committee has taken the right step after many years of oppression and suppression by the Armed Forces of India on the North East people with this draconian law, the NNC statement pointed out. Pointing out that there were many instances and incidents like rape, electric shock, torture and killing under this wicked act by the Armed Forces of India, the NNC stated that till date the Government of India was allowing her Armed Forces to carry out the same old action against the people of this region. The innocent villagers, public and common people suffered the most under this wicked law, the NNC stated while pointing out that the Government of India policy was to dominate and exploit completely the people of this region under this Act as an excuse and as a necessity.
“Therefore, the NNC condemns this illegal and wicked Act once again as a political cover for India to continually suppress and oppress the people of this region in this remote part of the World”.
As such, the NNC on behalf of the people of this region earnestly appealed to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to press the Government of India to repeal the act immediately for the larger interest of humanity at large.
Divergent memories in Manipur Anger is building in the Naga hills of Manipur regarding the Meitei bias in the state’s school curricula and textbooks. by | DOLLY KIKON Himal South Asian
On 9 August 2006 the Education Minister of Manipur, L Nandakumar, warned activists in the state’s hill districts, the government of neighbouring Nagaland and the region’s civil society to refrain from interfering in Manipur’s affairs. He declared that he had “abstracted assurances” from Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh and other Union ministers that they would not interfere with an ongoing school-affiliation agitation in Manipur.
One month prior to Nandakumar’s warning, students in the four Naga-majority hill districts of Manipur – Chandel, Senapati, Ukhrul and Tamenglong – made a bonfire out of the textbooks prescribed by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BSEM). They carried banners that read, ‘We want common education’, ‘Welcome Nagaland Board’ and ‘Goodbye Manipur Board’, and launched a campaign to affiliate the private schools in their districts with the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE). The protest was seen by many in the Imphal Valley as a move towards pressing for the unification of a Naga homeland. As such, the discussion has been diverted from the textbooks’ content and the students’ grievances. In a letter to the BSEM, the All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) pointed out that students in the hill districts of Manipur were being denied their rights on several fronts. It alleged that the Meitei Mayek language has been imposed on them by being made a compulsory school subject, and that Meitei culture and history – that of the Imphal Valley’s majority population – are glorified while the histories of several other indigenous Manipuri communities receive no mention in syllabi.
As for the textbooks themselves, the BSEM Social Science reader for Class VIII dwells heavily on the way of life in the Imphal Valley. It acknowledges the hills and their peoples only in descriptions of shifting cultivation as a primitive method of farming, narrations of the spread of Christianity, or topographic charts that compare population, literacy levels and landholding between the Imphal Valley and the hill districts. At the end of chapters students are asked questions that could be considered loaded, such as: “Which district in Manipur has the highest literacy rate?” and “Why do hill districts in Manipur have low density of population?”
Imposing knowledge The districts of the Manipur hills are some of the most neglected in the entire Northeast region. After 59 years of Independence, many of the villages here lack basic amenities such as electricity, roads, health care, functioning schools and safe drinking water. In addition, heightened security, militarisation and structural violence are part of everyday life. Questions such as those mentioned in the textbook contribute to a potentially dangerous conditioning of young minds. One can only imagine how the disparities suggested in that textbook play out in the minds of young children growing up in the Imphal Valley versus those in the hills of Manipur.
The Class VIII textbook celebrates the Meitei monarchy, which reigned oppressively from the Imphal Valley. Delving into colonial archives and feudal records to construct a version of Manipuri history such as this one is not conducive to the creation of a sense of shared heritage among the peoples of the valley and the hills, especially when social and political processes have left behind divergent memories and senses of belonging. The imposition of this valley-centric worldview has led to a distressing breakdown of relations already marked by hostility. Facile debates as to whether the Meitei Mayek language will be written in Meitei or Roman script continue, even as the hill people reject the idea of a shared future under valley-based educational structures. Though command of an additional language may be any asset to a young individual, such an argument in this case ignores uneven histories of cultural assimilation. Several indigenous hill communities have for generations learned both Meitei and Hindi in school, while state agencies have ignored the importance of existing indigenous languages.
The Indian Constitution contains provisions for the rights of minority groups. Linguistic minorities have the right to conserve their languages and scripts, to administer their own educational institutions, and to have their language recognised by the state in which they reside. Such constitutional remedies are frequently cited by minority groups in the Northeast, and would seem to address the injustice that Manipuri hill people feel when confronted with the BSEM textbooks. But there is a stipulation in these provisions: the onus of guarding these rights rests with the state governments.
The Naga ‘problem’ Thus far, those agitating against the BSEM textbooks have looked to neighbouring Nagaland and the central government for redress. Even if the demand for affiliation of hill schools is met, however, these academic institutions will continue to function under the injustices of the existing Indian educational structure. The only way out of this web of what can be called ‘cultural imperialism’ is to demand the transformation of the educational system itself.
The struggle for the recognition of an alternative Naga history is not new, but within India it has continuously been viewed with suspicion. It was in 1963 that an area was carved out of the colonial province of Assam to become the state of Nagaland; but communities that feel tied together as Naga through shared historical experience continue to inhabit parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. In these states, attempts to produce alternative Naga histories have been dismissed in favour of ‘acceptable’ archival material – mostly colonial – in which the Nagas appear as perennial troublemakers, simpletons or jhum cultivators out to destroy the forests. It is not that the Nagaland Board of School Education textbooks are any better: the way they treat Naga history and culture is just as poor. The Class VIII Social Science textbook developed by the Nagaland State Council of Educational Research and Training for the NBSE, for instance, devotes hardly any space to the subject. Instead, the first eight sections are devoted to India’s role in the modern world, the colonisation of the Subcontinent and the anti-colonial struggles. The part of the textbook devoted to Civics includes sections on subjects such as National Goals and Democracy of India, The Society in India, Economic Reconstruction, National Integration, Defence of the Country, India and the World, and World Problems – but nothing specific to the Northeast. Only the History section of the reader manages to include a chapter on Naga society, and even this is extremely cursory, putting an overwhelming emphasis on qualities such as ‘simple, honest and hard-working’ when describing the Naga people’s past. The condescending and reductionist stereotype promoted is once again that of the ‘simpleton Naga’. Modernisation is equated with the coming of locks and keys – guards against the dishonesty that plagues Naga society today. The perceived ills of modernisation are blamed on the oppressed themselves. The present generations of Nagas, it is said, are not sufficiently hard-working. In other places, the textbook proffers that they are not in the same league as their ‘simpleton’ ancestors because they “lie, steal and are lazy”.
In reality, the state of decline evoked by such prejudiced prose corresponds to the changes wrought in Naga society by five decades of militarisation. The public space has been brutalised by the systematic and perpetual policing of civic structures by the Indian state, and what is left is a polity and civil society characterised by violence. The role of the Indian government in this “decline” receives no mention in the chapter in question. Political questions are elided, and the text dwells instead on what it sees as the ramifications of the “ills” of the Naga people: AIDS, alcoholism and drug addiction. Remarkably, after all of this, the writers of the chapter still found it prudent to venture back to the civic and political questions of what might have caused this “decay”, and once again equate what they see as a “moral ineptitude” of Naga society to the dangers of modern life. Despite being one of India’s most researched peoples, the Nagas are frequently represented as primitives, savages and naked hills-dwellers. Nonetheless, this group today espouses some of the most radical ideas in postcolonial India, rallying as they do around indigenous rights and the right to self-determination, and resisting the hegemony of the Indian educational system. The current education-based agitation in Manipur is a part of this process of questioning. How the New Delhi authorities address these asymmetries will be important. If this most recent point of contention is not taken seriously and addressed quickly, there is every possibility that it will join the long list of agitations that surround the subject of identity politics in India’s Northeast. Their importance forgotten, those issues are now used only as convenient reasons not to deal with pressing questions of justice.
State Irresponsibility The Morung Express Column
The manner in which encroachment and the annihilation of flora and fauna has been reported at Intangki National Park is shocking and deserves the highest condemnation. That the State government remains a mute spectator gaping in utter confusion is clearly evident from the fact that no one—not even the head of the government nor the concerned Minister deems it fit to respond to the one day bandh called in Peren district by the Zeliangrong Students Union protesting the marauding that is going on inside the treasured forest land. This clearly points to a complete breakdown of the government machinery as far as protecting the natural resources of the State is concerned. This complete silence on the part of the government may mean only one thing—the utter lack of responsibility that the State has shown to protect one if it’s biggest natural assets.
For the immediate, the State government under whose jurisdiction and responsibility the Intangki National Park falls should take all necessary measures for ensuring proper security so that such acts of encroachment and the destruction of the State’s bio-diversity wealth is brought to a halt. It is unfortunate that even after coming to know of such nefarious activities, the government is turning a blind eye to such wanton elements, whether it is self vested looters or the underground organization—here the NSCN (IM). The concerned underground organization should also give a thorough explanation to the Naga public on the stand taken by the Zeliangrong people against the encroachment and destruction of natural resources taking place.
The NSCN-IM it may be mentioned had even issued ‘shoot-at-sight’ order inside the Forest; however, this order became a dead letter due to some differences amongst its own functionaries. Various reports and sources revealed that almost all the logging inside the Intangki Forest has been carried out by NSCN-IM officials, with the exception of few private individuals. The Organization has also imposed total ban on logging from the Forest, but some ‘self-interest’ officials flouted this order and there has been heavy felling of trees still now. Failure to respond and the continued silence of both the State government and the underground organization will only help in justifying such marauding of our national property.
That the 202 sq km forest land is fighting for its survival and the State government powerless amidst the free for all ‘encroachers’ has been clearly evident by what a high level official of the forest department admitted to this newspaper, which is that the ‘Park’ has completely gone out of the control of the State government and that it may not be able to do anything unless a strong ‘political will’ is adopted. It is strongly suggested that rather than waiting for politicians to decide, the State government should hand over the management and control of Intangki to the community. The government of Nagaland has already enacted the Communitisation of Public Institutions and Services Act 2002 in order to share with the communities the responsibilities for managing such institutions and services in various sectors. Elementary education, electricity management in villages and health services has already been handed over to the community. Seeing the plight of what is happening at Intangki, there is now a strong case for communitisation of the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
Centre giving attention to NE: Jacob Correspondent Nagaland Post
SHILLONG, March 12: Governor of Meghalaya M M Jacob Monday urged the northeastern states to prepare their share of the Indian dream to turn the country into a favourite investment hub.
Delivering his customary speech on the opening day of the budget session of Meghalaya, Jacob said in recent years, the Centre had paid special attention to the development of the region in various fields.
He said there were numerous central schemes and separate industrial policy to promote industries and developing infrastructure in the region.
At the end of Tenth Five Year Plan, the Governor said Meghalaya had made substantial progress in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, industry and social services like education and health.
"The overall annual growth during the Tenth Plan has been about six per cent," Jacob said.
On the Eleventh Five Year Plan, due to begin in April, Jacob told the House that the state government had set a target of 7.3 per cent annual rate of growth.
To ensure economic development, the government had identified physical infrastructure as the most critical factor, he said.
"Highest emphasis will be laid on road communication, power generation and transmission," the Governor said adding special emphasis will be laid on rural roads through the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and electrification of villages under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana.
The government will also lay emphasis on education, health and other social services.
A beginning had already been made with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Rural Health Mission besides decentralising the Special Nutrition Programme to make it more effective.
In order to alleviate rural poverty, Jacob said the Meghalaya Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme had already been initiated in the two districts of the state to enable all rural people willing to work to get at least 100 days of employment in a year.
The state government will endeavour to extend this programme to all the districts in the state during the Eleventh Plan and accord high priority to agriculture and allied activities, including agro-processing and marketing.
Jacob said the state had apparently no communal problems in the recent past which was a tribute to people's spirit of mutual cooperation and tolerance.
In the last two years, there was a perceptible improvement in the insurgency situation in the state, he said.
"We welcome this positive trend that has brought about a change in the overall law and order situation. It is expected that it will bring about more economic activity in both the public and private sector," he said
Jacob claimed the activities HNLC were controlled to a large extent and a large number of cadres had surrendered, where government was keeping its doors open for talks with any group to settle the grievances.
KRA claims responsibility Sangai Express
IMPHAL, Mar 12: Claiming responsibility for the killing of Jamthang Haokip of T Thangkan village on March 9 at Ekou Laipham, ROCK/KRA has spelt out a series of alleged crimes committed by the deceased.
In a statement made available to the press today, information and publicity secretary of the outfit Th Misao said that when Lenkhohao and Chungthang defected from UKLF along with some cadres with arms and ammunition in 2004, Jamthong Haokip had rushed to ROCK/KRA for shelter. At that time, the organisation had told Jamthang Haokip to return the arms and ammunition to UKLF while the cadres should remain with ROCK/KRA. But instead, Jamthang Haokip floated Kuki Revolutionary Social Organisation (KRSO) though it could not survive for long. Subsequently, Jamthang surrendered all the arms and ammunition as well as the cadres to KNO/KNA, thus starting a bitter battle against ROCK/KRA. The statement further said in the year 2005, ROCK/KRA helped Jamthang Haokip in financial matters and handed over a sum of Rs 2 lakhs for purchasing arms and ammunition. But neither the arms and ammunition have been purchased nor the amount refunded to ROCK/KRA. In the year 2006, Jamthang assisted KNA to enter Konghom area and master minded in playing the game of diplomacy with different organisations. This had annoyed the ROCK/KRA, the statement said, while charging Jamthang with misusing the general fund of the area by creating confusion and chaos among the organisations. The statement further said Jamthang had been advised against such activities, but he did not heed. As a consequent, he was given the last warning on February 6, 2007 but he disregarded the warning and continued to indulge in his old habits thereby constraining ROCK/KRA to award capital punishment.Therefore, Jamthang Haokip was shot dead not on communal ground nor on matter related to election, the statement clarified. Anyone who speaks up in favour or against the deceased should be considered as against the organisation and he/she would be given the same sort of punishment, the statement of the ROCK/KRA warned.

98 pc turn out for HSLC at Ukl centre Addie Chiphang. Sangai Express
UKHRUL, Mar 12 : Despite the wide spread apprehension that the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM) may be foiled by ANSAM volunteers on the very first day of the examination over 98 pc of the candidates turned up to appear for the examination held at Ukhrul centre today.
The day began with a lot of high tension when some youth believed to be volunteers of ANSAM and TKS directed all to shut down the shops in Ukhrul Town from Hamreikhong to Viewland.
Taxi service was also suspended by the volunteers besides closing down all the education institutions of Ukhrul.
To avert any trouble, tight security was put in place and prohibitions under CrPC 144 was clamped around the examination centre. Senior police officer, Romen Kumar, IG personally supervised the over all security measure during the exam. In Ukhrul the HSLC examination centre was held at Ukhrul Higher Secondary school (UHSC) only, unlike the previous years when there used to be 2 to 3 centres. The number of candidates to appear for the examination as Ukhrul centre was 529 numbers of HSLC candidates and five candidates were found absent with 524 appearing. At Phungyar centre the number of candidates enlist- ed for the exam was 196 and Somdal 245. About 968 students appeared for the exam from Ukhrul district.

Valley vs Hills: A critique By R Rungsung Sani Express
Manipur today is in a state of disorder (in a deeper sense anarchy) having a triangle body that consists of i) Valley nationalists, ii) Kuki Nationalists, iii) Naga nationalists wherein each body claims respective authority and rights that produce contradictions and impasse among the organisations and as a consequence this directly have or bears its impact good or bad in the minds of general public.
The beginning of the disorders started from the root of Naga uprising against the mighty India, and gradually and eventually took root and expanded its cause to wider areas that ultimately engulfed Manipur. The camera zooms in for close-up, focusing on internal violence. Actually the exalted Manipur, Sanaleibak and its people has lost all sense of direction. A time comes when you can no longer blame your (our) problems on other people. In Pogo's immortal words, 'We have met the enemy, and he is us'. Today we are in a mess. Foes or friends?
Among the three organisations (group of people) the Meiteis are majority and are dominating in running the Govt and have the lion's share in all fields and other aspects of life. In this scenario I cannot blame all the ills of life here in Manipur solely to the Meitei community. Since the time of Union Territory till to this day all the past Govts were borne and shouldered together both by valley and hill leaders of good or bad quality. The second majority community, the Nagas, has been spearheading for its homeland and identity since last many years to which the valley people took strong and stringent methods at all costs to curb the Nagas struggle for its rights.
This is the crux in the process of co-existence honouring one another. Herein comes the Kuki organization whose views and ways are tilted either toward the valley or the Naga way. In this, Churachandpur is a summarising volcano that can/ will erupt anytime and spew down the burning ashes upon the inhabitants.
In a fair game, Meiteis and Nagas are on a see-saw plank each looking to Delhi with bated breathe and sleepless nights hoping for or hoping against in which Delhi is playing hide and seek policy with false and unpredictable promises, one at valley and another at hill areas. In such dirty play of Delhi I can boldly say that we are all in the control of God. God has his own timing and finally God's will prevail. In this case men are free to obey or disobey. However, that disobedience is not beyond God's power. He knows and planned to judge the evil activities. Delhi is not honest.
Among the issues ‘territorial integrity Vs Naga integration’ is the hottest one where all Meiteis irrespective of clans, organizations, lups and political parties are solidly one - a solid state like the unbreakable rock firmly standing as a family for one Manipur. It is good to know that stand and a commendable practical collective action. On the other hand Nagas are divided and today Nagas are experiencing a time of money-monger, disobedient to God, selfish, etc like Israel at the time of Old Testaments. And yet we believe that for a few faithful and trustworthy people a time will come for God's intervention sooner or later. The promise cannot be changed. God is always there.
God loves Meiteis, Nagas, Kukis and all. His intention is good. He will not allow dishonest Delhi leaders to bluff and crush us for the benefits and advantages of others. In the sight of God India's power is nothing and yet he cares for all.
On the course of Naga areas uniting with other Naga areas, Meiteis are bitter and aghast where its remedy will only be in the channel of understanding one another and seek peace among ourselves. Here Nagas will not or never reverse its course and will go on come what may and Meiteis will never give up the logic of one Manipur. So a big what? A good and well prepared confrontation is firmly set or a line is drawn between the contending parties. Shall we have to call for Delhi umpire? I wish not.
I don't want to enter and entertain the argument on the merits and demerits of belongingness to Meiteis or Nagas or Kukis out of which one of the contending group/party will emerge as winner but will further slide down-hill and will drifted apart. The best thing is to come together for good. If not willing, going one's way without disturbing other(s) is best.
This may sound unpleasant and non-acceptable logic to the valley people. If so undesirable confrontation of any kind may/will occur/ erupt paving the way to heavy burden and loss of precious lives. If this happens then that action will be final for total separation and departure on parallel road. I hope this will not happen. Naga is a nation-not an individual. As such a nation cannot be sacrificed at the cost of others. Let us consider the past histories of various countries around the world. Viz (i) USA destroyed Japan with atom bombs that led to Japan's surrender in WW2. Today they are closely related countries in security, economics and trades. 2. USA liberated from the British Empire and they are the best inseparable partners in all matters exercising world power. So are Meiteis and Tangkhuls related as they are ethnically related. 3. India under the yoke and rule of British suffered a lot. And yet today million of Indian origins are there as the full citizens of UK having members in both the houses of Parliament as Sir and Lord. Plus in commerce and trades are Mittal corpus, The Hindujas, Swaraj Paul & Co and so on. 4. A case to take a close look is the gone empire, the USSR, that broke up into fifteen independent nations with the formation of commonwealth of independent states exercising her own rights respecting one another for good.
In this line of advanced ideology Meiteis brothers and sisters will have to abandon the narrow ideology of self-possessiveness (Imphal Valley means all Manipur) and also forsake the boasting words, such as Sana Leipak with very limited resources (living on the doles of Delhi) which you call Manipur. The very name/title Manipur does not carry meaning in the minds and hearts of the hill people. Someday, sooner or later, valley will have more Nagas than today and the hills will have more (many thousands) Meiteis like million Indians in the UK. In my humble opinion your ideas of possessiveness and the exercise of superiority are the main blockades that hamper the way to good relationship and peaceful co-existence. Considering the living dead law called, the MLR and LA Act, of Manipur passed and enshrined in the code book has become a fish out of water. The mere fact of it is that the Act does not carry the people's mandate except those twenty tribal MLA stooges. The hope of Meiteis to reap the harvest baulked at the rockwall.
In the hearts of hill people there is no love lost for the valley. The significance of our love for you is testified by church buildings in town and in Leikais. So long valley people see them the bond of love is there. This critique is based on the words predicted in Puya (Puran) like ... leipak kangkhong chaigani... amaga-ama nungshinaloi... nongpokthong hanggani... phingang shetpana joi uoikani... yaiphapa matam lakani... kuiraloi loishinrani. If any of my word hurt someone and offend sentiment kindly figive me.

No direct contact with ULFA: Govt By A Staff Reporter Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, March 12 – The State Government has not established any direct link with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The militant outfit has also not made any direct contact with the State or the Central Government on resumption of the peace process.

This was stated by Environment and Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain, on behalf of the State Government, on the floor of the State Assembly here today. He was replying to a question from Asom Gana Parishad’s (AGP) Padma Hazarika.

He also told the House that the State Government was not aware as to which of the conditions slapped by the ULFA would be on the agenda of the discussion between the Centre and the outfit.

The State Government has a rough picture about the numerical strength of the ULFA. The outfit has at present no political wing, he said, adding, since September 24, 2006, the security forces under the Unified Command killed 35 ULFA militants. During the period, 11 security personnel were also killed in the encounters with the militants, the Minister said in reply to the same question.

NDFB talk: The Minister said in reply to a question from Karendra Basumatary of the Bodoland People’s Progressive Front –Hagrama faction (BPPF-H) that the Governments in the State and at the Centre had signed an agreement of suspension of operations to facilitate peace process. On receipt of the the charter of demands of the outfit, formal discussion on substantive issues will start with the outfit and the Government is hopeful that the NDFB problem will be solved through negotiation.

So far, six meetings of joint monitoring group among the Governments at the Centre and in the State and the NDFB have been held, he said.

Paramilitary forces: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told the House in written reply to a question from Badruddin Ajmal of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) that altogether 158 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed in the State now. The Government spends Rs 266,02,85,302.00 on these companies of the paramilitary forces.

Firing ranges: There are 17 firing ranges in the State to train the police personnel. Each of the personnel and officers of the State Police receives training at these firing ranges once in a year. For their training, around 35,50,000 rounds of ammunition are required annually. The empty shells of each round of these ammunition is deposited with the Government. During the 2005-06 fiscal, in all 2479.178 kgs of such shells were deposited with the Government, said Chief Minister in a written reply to a question from AGP- P’s Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

Home Guards: The Chief Minister told the House in a written reply to Abhijit Hazarika of the Congress that with effect from April 1, 2005, the pocket money of the 237 Home Guards deployed along the rail tracks had been raised to Rs 1500 per month from Rs 50.

Similarly, the pocket money of 11,061 Home Guards have been raised to Rs 500 per month. Communications have been made with the Central Government to raise the pocket money of the newly recruited 8,583 Home Guards to Rs 500 per month. However, the Home Guards are yet to receive a total amount of Rs 6,57,38,800.00, said the Chief Minister.