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05/08/2007: "Khaplang for sovereignty based Naga unification The Morung Express"

Khaplang for sovereignty based Naga unification The Morung Express
Dimapur, May 7 (MExN): Chairman of the NSCN (K), SS Khaplang is not averse to unification of the Nagas as long as it is based on ‘sovereign principles.’
A press release received here from the “under secretary” of MIP NSCN (K), Ame Konyak, stated that ‘the NSCN (K) chairman does not oppose unification of the Nagas but wants it to be based on the ‘principal of sovereignty’, as told by the NSCN (K) chairman to Y Wangtin Naga, Deputy Kilonser, “Ministry of Home Affairs,” who spent almost two months with Khaplang in Myanmar.
However, in this respect, the release stated that the NSCN (K) chairman wants the NSCN (IM) leadership to ‘withdraw their charter of demands and disown the interview statement of Th Muivah that Nagas have dropped Sovereignty issue’.
Giving his opinion on the quit notice, the NSCN (K) chairman felt that the activities of Tangkhul cadres in NSCN (IM) and the silence on the part of the Tangkhul public in the face such crimes being committed in Nagaland ‘might necessitate’ the NSCN (K) Council of Kilonsers to take such drastic decision branding all the community members a partner to the ‘criminalisation’, stated the release. However, Khaplang also believed that even the community are the victims of their ‘own terrorism,’ and therefore called upon all the right-minded citizens of the community to raise their voice against such forms of terrorism.
Highlighting the opinion of the Deputy Kilonser, Ministry of Home Affairs, Y Wangtin, the release stated Wangtin opined that the Naga leaders of the various factions should regret for what happened and start a ‘new thinking’ to find ways and means for cessation of hostility among the Nagas. The release said Wangtin asked the Naga youths in the various factions to stop killing of ‘their comrades’ for cash and promotion of rank. Wangtin also asked the Naga NGOs to realize ‘their mistakes’ of one-sided support to the NSCN (IM) in their peace talks for the past 11 years as the talks have gone ‘in vain and will achieve nothing even in hundred years unless all the Nagas stand united’. The release reminded that Th Muivah was the first to oppose the Shillong accord and added that the NSCN (K) will be the first to oppose Muivah’s ‘second Shillong Accord solution.’
Self-determination of people most fundamental human right – Muivah The Morung Express
Dimapur, May 7 (MExN): Expressing solidarity with the Sikh people fighting for an independent Khalistan state outside India, General Secretary of the NSCN (IM), Th. Muivah said self-determination is the most fundamental of all human rights and all other human rights can be readily abused by an oppressive state when self-determination is denied.
A speech delivered by Muivah to the Council of Khalistan, Delegates at the Khalistan Conference held at Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Shaheed, Birmingham, UK on 6 May last, which was read out by Professor Timothy Kaping, president of Naga Support Group (UK), Muivah said the Naga people fully recognise the Sikh nation’s right to live as a sovereign independent Khalistan in their homeland in Punjab and that it was their right ‘as enshrined in international law.’
“Self-determination is the most fundamental of all human rights and, as we have seen to our terrible cost, all other human rights can be readily abused by an oppressive state when self-determination is denied” said Muivah.
Muivah said that India does not deserve to be described as a democracy and certainly should not secure membership in the UN Security Council since it has militarily occupied homelands of freedom-loving nations, committed genocide, illegally appropriated the precious natural resources of others and enacted brutal laws which defy internationally accepted standards of human rights. He said that India has branded them as the aggressors, which is far from the truth.
In the light of this, the NSCN (IM) General Secretary said the Nagas will stand with the Sikhs in the international community in upholding freedom and call for those responsible for the genocide in Punjab over the last 25 years or so to be brought to justice.
Muivah also called for exposing the injustice and brutality of the oppressors in the international area united and added that the NSCN (IM) looks forward to work with them and with others who share the same aim of freedom, dignity and security in our respective homelands.
The NSCN (IM) General Secretary also said the Indian government, though it is engaged in a peace dialogue with the underground outfit, is sponsoring division among the Nagas just as it did with the Sikhs and other and that it maintains to hold ‘Nagalim’ by force. However, he said these tactics will ultimately fail as the urge for freedom is too great to contain.
Muivah also said the present Naga peace talks between the GOI and the NSCN (IM) is in a limbo simply because India, though it has recognised the unique history of Nagas as a Nation, yet stalls on delivering any meaningful solution to give effect to their national rights. He said the Naga nation has sought to pursue its goals through peaceful means by entering into a ceasefire with India and pursuing negotiations which will secure the sovereign position of the Naga nation.
Naga outfit admits to excesses - On reform path? THANNGANING HUNGYO The Telegraph
New Delhi, May 3: For years they have done it in the name of governance. Extorted money and called it “tax payment”.
Today, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) admitted that “indiscipline” in its rank and file was slowly eroding the outfit’s popularity with the masses. The Centre, too, has been complaining about violation of ceasefire ground rules and extortion.
Admitting that the success of any revolutionary outfit depended largely on the support it enjoyed among the people, the NSCN(I-M) seems to be on a crisis management drive to win back the earlier acceptance. And as a first step towards strengthening its contact with the people, the outfit today admitted to the excesses of its militants and promised to mend their ways.
Samson Jajo, secretary to the outfit’s “collective leadership”, today regretted the “indiscipline” in the rank and file of the armed group, and said, “Revolutionaries are backed by the support of the people.”
Asked to elaborate on NSCN (I-M) chairman Isak Chishi Swu’s proposal of forming a united front with fellow revolutionary groups in the region to counter the “common enemy”, Samson said though internal differences exist, other militant groups from the Northeast shared a “common feeling” against India. Yesterday, Swu had told members of the outfit: “Your enemy is indecisive; it is the most provoking period and a dangerous one.”
A solution with India had to be based on “rights and honour” of the Nagas, he reiterated. The outfit also went back to blaming the Centre for its “divide and rule policy”.
A.S. Atem, another senior leader of the outfit, said the Centre was pursuing a “tactical policy” to divide the Nagas on communal lines by instigating one tribe against another.
12 hrs deadline to NSCN-IM The Morung Express

Dimapur, May 7 (MExN): The Niu colony community has set an ultimatum that the two NSCN-IM cadres – responsible for assaulting two students on May 6 at Chumukedima– should be handed over to the public within 12 hours on May 7. Failure to meet this demand would invite necessary action from the colony according to customary laws, the ultimatum stated. A general meeting of the colony’s council and youths was held where the demand was set. It mentioned that ‘the two NSCN-IM cadres under the command of one “captain” Akho Angami should produce the accused persons before the public on the dateline set. The ultimatum appended by the chairman of the council Khavishe Zhimo and president of Niu colony youth Reuben N Kiho mentioned that the two underground cadres entered a hotel and queried on the identity of the two victims, Akheto Kiba and Niketo Yeptho. On being told of the community, the cadres severely assaulted the two youths without any reason. “Mr Akheto Kiba’s condition is very serious and is under coma and admitted to Zion hospital” the community informed.
Organizations condemn NSCN-IM assault of students The Morung Express
Dimapur, May 7 (MExN): Strongly condemning an assault incident involving some cadres of the NSCN (IM) and two civilian in Chumukedima on May 6 last, the Tribal Union Chumukedima demanded the NSCN (IM) cadres to immediately leave Chumukedima town.
Giving a brief highlight of the incident, a press releaser issued by Khuluvi Assumi, president of the TUC, stated that two youths identified as Akhato and Nikato, who came up to Chumukedima to drop their brother-in-law were drinking at Natraj Hotel at Chumukedima, were approached by some cadres belonging to the NSCN (IM) Town Command, Chumukedima to hire their auto rickshaw. The release stated that the two youths refused the NSCN (IM) saying that they had come to drop their relative and that being a Sunday they do not carry passengers on hire basis.
On their refusal, the cadres first bashed up the two inside the hotel then dragging them outside, the two youths were again beaten up in full view of the public of the town, stated the release, which added that the property inside the hotel was also destroyed during the scuffle. The release stated that the cadres paid no heed to the intervention of some public leaders, and after beating up the two youths, went away in the auto belonging to the youths.
The release stated that the two victims were taken by the public to the Holy Redeemer Hospital Chumukedima and later one of the victims, Akheto was shifted to Civil Hospital, Dimapur and then since injury was serious, shifted again to Zion Hospital, Dimapur.
In the light of the above incident, the release stated that this is not the first time that the public are being harassed and beaten for no fault at all. The release lamented that the underground faction stays in the public areas of Chumukedima town but instead of being a guardian of peace, they go around harassing the public of Chumukedima without any rhyme or reason. “Therefore, they should leave the town area of Chumukedima immediately,” the release added.
Also the Dimapur Sumi Students Union vehemently condemns the assault of the two youths. The two students, of Niu Colony, were assaulted by some “irresponsible NSCN-IM” cadres for “reasons best known to them” stated a note appended by the union’s president Tokato G Sumi and assistant general secretary Hotolu Achumi. Urging the NSCN-IM to “assure” safety of innocent youths and public, the students informed that one of the two victims, Akheto’s health is in very critical condition. He has been taken to Guwahati for treatment, the note stated. The DSSU has demanded appropriate punishment to the erring cadres.
NSCN (K) on unity of Nagas Nagaland Post
DIMAPUR, MAY 7 (NPN): NSCN (K) chairman SS Khaplang has reportedly said he was not opposed to unification among Nagas, but wants such a unification to be based on the principle of sovereignty.
"Therefore, the NSCN chairman (Khaplang) wants IM leadership to withdraw their charter of demand and disown the interview statements of Th. Muivah that Nagas have dropped sovereignty issue," informed a press released issued by under secretary, MIP/NSCN (K) Ame Konyak.
Khaplang's stand on unification was conveyed through deputy kilonser (Home Affairs), NSCN (K), Y Wangtin Naga who returned recently after spending nearly two month with the NSCN (K) chairman in Eastern Nagaland (Myanmar).
Responding to the 'Quit notice' served to the Tangkhuls to leave Nagaland State, Khaplang felt that the "criminal activities" of Tangkhul cadres in IM organization and silence on the part of the Tangkhul public, might have compelled the council of kilonsers, NSCN (K), to take "such drastic decision," the release said. "However, the chairman believed that even the Tangkhul public are victims of their own terrorism. Therefore, he (Khaplang) called upon all the right-minded Tangkhuls to raise their voice against such form of terrorism," the release added. Similarly, Wangtin also asked why the Tangkhuls had failed to realize their crimes and not try to buy the forgiveness of the Nagas, despite quit notices served by several Naga tribes before the NSCN (K) quit notice.
Terming the April 22 Wungram incident as a minor outburst of Nagas' anger, which should serve as a "good lesson for their change," Wangtin pointed out that almost all Naga leaders were assassinated under the "commanders of Tangkhuls because Tangkhul leaders in IM always backed them and awarded richly on the heads of Naga leaders."
Wangtin also said it was unfortunate that other Nagas in different factions have started "imitating Tangkhuls' system," which, he said, cannot be justified under any circumstances. Advising some NSCN (I-M) kilonsers not to act as divisive factors since they do no have any authority, Wangtin said these kilonsers cannot bypass "their godfather Issac Swu who declared on many occasions that 'unification is not a must for solution.'"
Wangtin also reminded that Issac Swu who suspended his younger brother Shikato Swu, deputy kilonser, for signing cease-fire agreement between the rival NSCNs in Zunheboto during May 2006, was still alive. "Hence, some IM kilonsers writing a letter to some NGOs for unification between the NSCN and IM is not only a mockery but also a mad plan. If at all IM wants unification with NSCN, they should write official letter to NSCN Government," he added.
‘No Chinese incursion in Arunachal’ Nagaland Post
Itanagar, May 7 (IANS): The Arunachal Pradesh government Monday denied reports of any Chinese incursion into the frontier northeastern state.
"There is absolutely no truth in the reports of any Chinese intrusion. The allegations were unfounded," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu told IANS.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh, Khiren Rijiju, had been quoted as saying that China had moved 20 km inside Arunachal Pradesh.
"There has been a Chinese incursion in our country particularly in Arunachal Pradesh. I have written to the government of India and raised the issue in parliament. The government of India is not accepting the incursion openly. But defence personnel do acknowledge that this is happening and the Chinese are occupying our land," Rijiju was quoted as saying by the media Monday.
The allegations of Chinese intrusion are being taken very seriously by locals, particularly after Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi in November told a private TV news channel that "the whole of what you call the state of Arunachal Pradesh is the Chinese territory. ... We are claiming the whole of that".
India had then strongly protested, with the external affairs ministry saying, "Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India".
Beijing had in 2003 given up its territorial claim over the Indian state of Sikkim but was still holding on to its stand that a vast stretch of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it.
The mountainous state of Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,030 km unfenced border with China.
The India-China border along Arunachal Pradesh is separated by the McMohan Line, an imaginary border now known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
India and China fought a bitter border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on federal troops.
The border dispute with China was inherited by India from British colonial rulers, who hosted a 1914 conference with the Tibetan and Chinese governments that set the border in what is now Arunachal Pradesh.
China has never recognised the 1914 boundary, known as the McMahon Line, and claims 90,000 sq km - nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh.
India also accuses China of occupying 8,000 sq km in Kashmir. After the 1962 Sino-Indian War, tension flared up once again in 1986 with Indian and Chinese forces clashing in the Sumdorong Chu valley of Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese troops reportedly constructed a helipad in the valley leading to fresh skirmishes along the borders at that time.
NSCN (IM) warns KRA, ANLAA The Morung Express
Dimapur, May 7 (MExN): The NSCN (IM) today warned the KRA and ANLAA to stop demanding money from truck drivers and other businessmen in the name of the NSCN (IM) and also to release three truck drivers held in their custody. A press release issued by the MIP of NSCN (IM), while refuting the allegations leveled by UPDS through its CAO, Longki Rongphi in some local dallies yesterday, the NSCN (IM) today clarified that it does not assign duties to other organizations except its chaplee (finance) department bearing unique authenticity.
The release warned that any individual or organization operating under the name of the ‘government’ in exacting money from the public is a serious crime which the hand of the law will never let them go scot-free and therefore warned the KRA and ANLAA to abstain from such mal-practices and also directed them to immediately release the three drivers held under their custody.
The release assured the UPDS and the denizens of Karbi Anglong, that the NSCN (IM) will look into the matter seriously and in this regard solicited the co-operation of the public.
The UPDS on May 7 alleged that the KRA and ANLAA, in the border areas of Karbi Anglong district of Assam by way of demanding money from them in the guise of NSCN (IM). The UPDS also alleged that three truck drivers who were summoned to Dimapur are still under their custody.
NSCN-IM, PCPIA seek solution to border dispute By A City Correspondent Assam tribune
GUWAHATI, May 6 — The NSCN (IM) and the Peoples’ Committee for Peace Initiatives in Assam (PCPIA) have jointly called for a peaceful solution to the long-standing border dispute between Assam and Nagaland and for strengthening the bond of brotherhood between the people of the two neighbouring States. In a communiqué issued to the press, the functionaries of PCPIA, the conglomerate of 27 organizations, have stated that as a step towards strengthening unity and solidarity between the people of Nagaland and Assam, they have initiated parleys with the leaders of NSCN (IM).

Both side met at the headquarters of the NSCN (IM), i.e. Hebron on Saturday and discussed several issues including the border dispute. Top leaders of NSCN (IM) Isak Swu and T Muivah discussed at length various issues with the office bearers of PCPIA. According to PCPIA convenor Birinchi Neog, the two sides agreed to work jointly towards building unity between the neighbouring States. Neog further informed that the parties also took the decision to continue with the dialogue. It may be mentioned here that many functionaries of NSCN (IM) were present at the discussion. The PCPIA was represented by a 11-member delegation.
NNC castigates Muivah/GoI Newmai News Network
Imphal, May 7: Coming down heavily on NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and the Government of India, the Federal Government of Naga- land (FGN/NNC) of the Zeliangrong Region has said that while Muivah has now turned towards the Zeliangrong people in order to subjugate under his control, the Government of India sees the Nagas as sub human beings.
Issuing a statement to Newmai News Network today, FGN/NNC Tartar (Member of Parliament) of the Zelianrong Region Tanngam has expressed “anguished and vehement displeasure” for the reason that many Zeliangrong people have been suffering because they are following Th. Muivah.
The FGN/NNC statement alleged that Th. Muivah had abandoned the struggle for the Naga freedom the moment he had left the Naga National Council (NNC).
The FGN/NNC Zeliangrong Region further alleged that Muivah had perpetrated the terrorist activities and thereby he had killed countless Naga army and civilians “in an attempt to annihilate the Naga National Council (NNC), the founding body of the Naga freedom struggle”. It said that Muivah would not be able to kill the NNC even though he will be able to kill its workers.
The statement further alleged that Muivah made himself a leader by using violent means and had calculated elimination of the Naga outstanding leaders. The FGN/NNC of the Zeliangrong Region also said that those Zeliangrong leaders and the lower ranking NSCN-IM cadres had been completely victimized and their rights had been suppressed by Muivah.
“The UNO should intervene soon as the Indians attitude towards the Nagas as sub-human beings has been felt by the Nagas themselves. Nagas by birth are independent and sovereignty is inalienable. NNC as the only common apex body of the Nagas shall continue to fight for total Sovereignty as in the beginning Britisher ruled over a larger part of Nagas (save Tuensang) for 67 years since 1880 (though the alien forces penetrated into Naga areas in 1832 first) and on 14 August, 1947 Nagas declared themselves Independent but India captured Naga areas for the last 60 years ever since 1947 itself “, said the FGN/NNC of the Zeliangrong Region statement.
It then alleged that India has been financing Muivah for Indianising the Nagas and also that the ten years long ceasefire between the GOI and the NSCN-IM has failed miserably and hence India is gaining its ground while Muivah has “fallen headlong into the trap of India as Muivah has become mad for monetary power and leadership.”
It then urged that the NSCN-IM hegemony should be eradicated from the soil of the Zeliangrong Region and shun bloodshed among the Nagas in future.
Wake up Brothers! Letter to editor The Morung Express
•Sir – When the Wungram happened, the concerned tribes in particular and Nagas, in general hung their heads in shame. We also awaited, anxious and worried, for its outcome that could’ve resulted in a Civil War and the start of disintegration of our Nation, while enemies surrounding our land on all sides went ‘ho...ho...he...he’ and hoped for the worst to happen.
It was then that the Sumi and Tangkhul nations, led by their Ho-Ho leaders sat down together and, thank God! And sadly for the enemies, instead of declaring war, revenge, shared the peace pipe, admitted their wrongs, asked forgiveness and resolved to bring their understanding/relationships to a better, higher level in future. Here they deserve pats and praises for their maturity, understanding, foresights, concern and care for the tribes, the nation. They make each of us proud to be Nagas again. And I say, mistakes are common and will keep occurring as long as we live. And the weakness of a man/nation/greatness can be measured by how high he rises from the depth he has fallen into.
Here as a son of the land, I would like to ask our gun-toting factional brothers and sisters. “Can’t you also show your strengths by admitting/apologizing for your mistakes and faults? And can’t you show even greater strength by forgiving others’ faults too? For the strength of our Nation, brothers, will come from peace, our unity, our embracing each other, irrespective of families, kin, zones, tribes…. As a brother and sister, and never from your AK’s (If you still think taking of lives is power, remember, we, the lowest, weakest and poorest of the people, also have that power, for even the lowly 12 bore, or for that matter spears, arrows, swords, even clubs, rocks can take lives too.) Wake up Brothers!
G Khapudang Lecturer, Sentinel College Ukhrul
Congress to contest all 60 seats Kuknalim.com
KOHIMA, May 7::The Congress party in Nagaland will contest in all sixty seats in the next assembly elections, scheduled in February, 2008.

Disclosing this to media persons here on Monday, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president Hokheto Sumi, however, ruled out any pre-poll alliance with other parties. "It will be difficult to have a pre-poll alliance with other political parties," he said. Hokheto also said Congress would like to set up all the sitting MLAs in the polls.
"So far personal approaches have been made by ticket aspirants, but we have no commitment because we will decide on survey report and also like to live to grassroots recommendations in order to build the grass-out confidence" he stated.
Hokheto also dismissed allegations about differences within the party. "It must be the ploy of our opponent to create misunderstanding among the members but Congress would not succumb to it".
On reports that Governor of Goa and former Chief Minister of Nagaland, SC Jamir; might come back to state politics, Hokheto said "I leave it upto him".
On the recent claim made by senior BJP leader MC Konyak that BJP would win fifteen seats in the next general election, Hokheto said it was a surprise that Konyak had forgotten the recent by-elections in which the BJP lost in Dimapur-I besides even failing to put up a candidate in Tuensang Sadar-II assembly constituency.
He wondered on how the BJP dreamt of winning so many seats in the next election when the party was "vanishing" in the State. Castigating the previous BJP-led NDA government at the centre for being apathetic towards Nagaland and the then Congress-led State government, Hokheto said the DAN government was receiving sufficient funds from the Centre because the Congress-led UPA government was liberal and sympathetic unlike the NDA. (NPN)

NCP chalks out plans for next year’s polls OUR CORRESPONDENT’ The Telegraph
Shillong, May 7: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is all set to launch its poll campaign in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, where Assembly elections are slated to be held in February next year. The NCP Coordination Committee chalked out the party’s poll strategy at a marathon meeting here yesterday, which was attended by the party’s public representatives and workers across the region. Revealing this, NCP MP from Tura, Purno A. Sangma, told newspersons after the meeting that the party was ready to take on the Congress in Meghalaya and was confident that the party would come to power in the state.
Sangma ruled out a pre-poll alliance in Meghalaya, but hinted at the possibility of entering into an understanding with some Independent candidates in the Garo hills and Khasi hills districts. He, however, did not rule out “a post-poll alliance” with regional parties of the state to form a non-Congress government. Sangma said if his party came to power, he would unveil the “new vision statement 2020 for Meghalaya” which includes short-term, medium-term and long-term measures for development and an increase in use of human resources. The NCP is expected to announce its list of candidates for the Assembly elections by the end of this month.
Sangma said the party would take in people from all walks of lives. Intellectuals, especially those from educational institutions, would be roped in to be a part of the party’s think tank and help it frame policies and programmes. Several academicians from the North Eastern Hill University (Nehu) are expected to join the party soon. Prof. Eugene Thomas, a former Congressman, has already joined the NCP. He said there has been no development under the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government in the state.
Meghalaya’s NCP unit president W.R. Kharlukhi said more intellectuals and seasoned political workers will be joining the party soon. He said by October, the party would have the party enough manpower to work for the Assembly elections.
India to redefine minorities Indian Catholic
NEW DELHI (ICNS): In a significant move with long-term implications, the concept of ‘minorities’ at the national level is set to be replaced by a state-wise classification of minority religions.
The Hindustan Times reported Monday that the “government will soon move a constitutional amendment in Parliament to establish the procedure for defining minorities and laying down the criteria to be fulfilled for a group to find place in the list of minorities.”

The proposed amendment will do away with the very concept of ‘minorities’ at the national level. There will only be state-specific minorities. “This move is in keeping with the spirit of a number of Supreme Court judgments. It defines a ‘minority’ as a section of citizens of a state which has been specified as a minority in that state,” the newspaper said.

The move would drastically change the concept of minorities in India. It would result in Hindus of Jammu and Kashmir becoming minorities, while Christians in states such as Nagaland where they are a majority losing the minority status.

The Parliament will be empowered to enact laws to include or exclude any section of citizens from the list of minorities. “The amendment is a major step,” a senior government functionary, who did not wish to be named, was quoted by the Hindustan Times. The official further said, “This is the first time that minorities are going to be defined.”

The amendment will remove any confusion on the question of minorities, like the one that led to last month’s Allahabad High Court judgment. The court ruled that Muslims — 18.5 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s population in 2001 — were not a religious minority in the state. The ruling, though, was stayed a day later.

The newspaper said the cabinet cleared the official amendment to the Constitution — the 103rd Amendment Bill 2004 — at a meeting chaired by the prime minister last week.
India begins reconstruction of highway link with China The Morung Express GUWAHATI, May 6 (AP): India has deployed hundreds of workers and engineers to rebuild the last portion of a highway to neighboring China that was abandoned six decades ago, authorities said Sunday. The Stilwell Road linking India and China, which also traverses stretches of Myanmar, was closed after India gained independence from British rule in 1947. Frosty relations with China in the following decades impeded the reopening of the route.
In recent years, relations between the two countries have rapidly warmed, with both sides looking to boost economic and political exchanges. A mountain road through the Nathu La pass in the Himalayan state of Sikkim, linking India with the Tibet Autonomous Region, was reopened last year, but the Stilwell Road is seen as financially more viable for traders in India and China.
“Widening of the road on the Indian side has picked up speed and provisions are being made to make it a four-lane highway,” said Pradyut Bordoloi, commerce and industry minister in the northeastern state of Assam. The 1,736-kilometer -long Stilwell Road begins in Ledo, a small town in Assam, and rolls westward through Myitkyina in Myanmar to Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province.
The road was built during World War II to transport supplies to the beleaguered Chinese army after the Yunnan-Myanmar Road, a critical lifeline in China’s war of resistance against Japan, was cut off by Japanese troops in 1942. The Indian portion of the Stilwell Road is just 61 kilometers long, while the Chinese stretch measures about 632 kilometers. More than 1,000 kilometers lie in Myanmar, which is getting financial help from Beijing to rebuild that stretch. Beijing has already completed work on its portion.
Reconstruction of the Stilwell Road has generated much excitement in eastern Assam, where people expect to benefit from trade along the route. Goods from India will take just two days to reach China on the road. Currently, sea cargo between India and China must pass south of Singapore and through the Malacca Strait. “Also, the reopening of this road would bridge the artificial barrier that had kept ethnically similar people away from each other for so long,” Bordoloi said. The area around Ledo, where the road starts, is inhabited among others by the Singphos, an ethnic group known across the border in Myanmar as the Kachins.
Hmar body demands autonomous council From Our Correspondent Assam Tribune
HAILAKANDI, May 7 – The Hmar people have demanded formation of Hmar Autonomous Council in the Hmar-dominated areas in Assam under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India. The All Assam Hmar National Union has also decided to start movement for the fulfillment of their demand. The leaders of the Union have already finalised the structure of the proposed Council. The newly elected Chairman of the Union, T Sankhum, who is spearheading the movement, said that all the other tribes and the people of other communities may easily live within the Hmar Autonomous Council, if created.

He said that the Hmar people are very peace loving and want to live peacefully within the democratic framework of India. He alleged that the Hmar people in the state are indeed the victims of the discrimination and that's why they need the separate autonomous council for the development of the entire community. He however did not elaborate the strategy of the movement regarding the fulfilment of the demand of the Hmar autonomous council.

Sankhum informed that the Hmar people are economically very backward and they too have the democratic right to live properly. He alleged that in most of the cases the very democratic right of the Hmar people is dishonoured. The demand of the formation of the Hmar Autonomous Council covering the Hmar dominated villages of the state was mainly discussed in the general assembly of the Union held recently at Mirpurpunjee of Jirighat in the Cachar district of Barak Valley in Southern Assam bordering Manipur.