[Previous entry: "Security for Ukhrul buses OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph"] [Next entry: "Blame shifts from Kukis to Khaplang OUR BUREAU The Telegraph"]

09/10/2007: "Five NSCN-IM separatists killed by rival (IANS)M&C Britain"

Five NSCN-IM separatists killed by rival (IANS)M&C Britain

Kohima, Sep 10 Five separatists of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) were killed by suspected members of a rival tribal group in Nagaland, the latest in a violent gang war between two ethnic groups in the northeast.
A police spokesman said the bullet-riddled bodies of the five NSCN-IM members were found Sunday by the side of a river close to Jotsoma, about 30 km away from Kohima.
'The dead include P.K. Stone, who is the priest of the NSCN-IM's headquarters at Camp Hebron, and his wife Mariela. The other three were NSCN-IM cadres,' a police official told IANS.
Police blamed the killings on the outlawed Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the minority Kuki tribe in the adjoining state of Manipur.
'Probably the KLA militants followed the vehicle carrying the five NSCN-IM members from Kohima and attacked them in an isolated area,' the official said. Several empty cartridges of pistols and rifles were found from the spot.
The attack is seen as a retaliation to the killing of 10 KLA cadres by the NSCN-IM Sep 3 at Tangkhul Hundung village in Manipur's Ukhrul district, about 70 km from state capital Imphal.
The NSCN-IM claimed responsibility for the attack on the KLA saying they were 'anti-socials'.
The NSCN-IM is a rebel group fighting for a tribal Naga homeland in Nagaland state with cadres of the outfit also located in the hill district of Ukhrul. The group is operating a ceasefire with New Delhi since 1997 and holding peace talks.
The NSCN-IM and the KLA are engaged in a bitter fratricidal clash for territorial supremacy in the area since long with an estimated 500 people of the two tribes killed in gunfights in the past decade.
5 NSCN (I-M) members killed Tangkhul Naga News Correspondent

KOHIMA, SEPT 9 (NPN): In defiance to popular call for cessation of factional clashes, five NSCN (I-M) members including a chaplain, his wife and their three body guards were abducted and killed by suspected rival NSCN (K) members near Jotsoma village on Saturday night.
The deceased have been identified as GHQ chaplain ‘ss’ Maj P.K. Stone and his wife Maireila, of Hongpong Tungrei village, Ukhrul district; ‘ss’ Ln. Cpl Ngashankui of Theva Maram village; ‘ss’ Pte Ahenmi Sareo of Heinganglok village, Ukhrul, and ‘ss’ Pte Eastern Light Raikui of Shanching village, Ukhrul, all from Manipur. Police recovered the bodies at Lakie Road, some 200 feet below the road near Jotsoma village.

The bodies of the four males, all hands bound from behind and bearing bullet wounds on the heads and chests were recovered at one place, while the body of the women, whose hands were also bound from behind with bullet wound on the head, was recovered from a separate spot. Police said all the victims were shot on their heads with AK rifles while some were shot on the chest with .32 pistol.
Police also recovered five empty cases from the site. According to NSCN (I-M), the deceased were proceeding towards Dimapur in a black Bolero when an Alto overtook them at Piphema and abducted them at gun point yesterday at around 4 pm. The abductors took the victims and their vehicle and turned back towards Kohima through Kiruphema via Mezoma road towards Jotsoma. They were later suspectedly shot death in cool blood at around 6 p.m the same day as villagers heard gun shots around the same time in the area where the bodies were recovered.
The bodies were brought to South Police Station Kohima, where they were formally identified and later taken to Hebron after a short prayer service conducted at the police station.
The Jotsoma Women Organization earlier covered the five bodies with Naga shawls.
Meanwhile, the Jotsoma Village Council in a press release condemned the killing under Jotsoma village jurisdiction and appealed to all sections of society, whether underground or overground, to refrain from such activities within the village jurisdiction.
“The frequent incidences of such cases in the village area bring defamation of the village who aspire for peace and harmony”, stated the release issued by JVC chairman Tshuneilie Gwirie.
Guns prevail yet again; 5 killed Morung Express News
Dimapur An NSCN (I-M) chaplain, his wife and three others were killed after gunmen abducted them from near Piphema while they were on their way from Imphal to Dimapur last evening. Their bullet-ridden bodies were recovered this morning from near Khonoma and brought to South Police Station, Kohima. “They were shot at very close range,” a top police official said.
The chaplain of the NSCN (I-M) Church located at their General Headquarters, ‘Major’ P K Stone, was reportedly traveling with his wife, a mother of three, and the three others identified by police as his personal bodyguards in a Bolero when a Maruti Gypsy carrying armed men intercepted them.
Denouncing the act in strongest terms, the NSCN (I-M) Angami Region said the deceased were “mowed down” between Khonoma and Jotsoma at around 6:30 pm by the “turncoats.”
“There is no crime too base for these partners of the aggressor; there is no pretext too vile to assume,” the organization’s ‘Caretaker’ for the Angami Region, KK Angami, said in a release.
“Let all Naga people judge and speak out who are for peace, and who are for innocent blood at this moment when these oppressed Naga need settlement and an end to the long pent up conflict, the most. This is yet another most unpalatable expression of the GOI’s scheme to go round peace programs and settlement.”
Expressing shock over the recurrence of “such cold-blooded proceedings in the region when our people fervently yearn for understanding and calmness, while waiting for final settlement,” the release said, “Our broken hearts at this distress moment, go to those near and dear ones of the martyrs, to the children of Major Chaplain Stone and the mother who had followed her husband till the last. May the Almighty grant the necessary strength and courage and be the everlasting, compassionate Father to their children in particular, near and loved ones of all the martyrs, eternal soul mate to the faithful wife.”
NSCN (I-M) condemns Nagaland Post
Dimapur, Sept 9 (NPN): The NSCN (I-M) has condemned Saturday’s killing of five of its members and attributed the “cold blooded killing” to the rival NSCN (K).
The MIP, NSCN (I-M) in a press release also alleged that after the five were abducted and identified as all belonging to the Tangkhul community, the “most inhuman killing was let loose on the five innocent victims.”
“What shocked the conscience of the public who receive the bodies at Dimapur was the utter disregard for a person attached with the God-given assignment as Chaplain, and the treatment normally given to fairer sex and a mother was just not given any respect. She was just a mere housewife like most other woman with special attachment to the care of the young growing kids who are in need of the mother’s care in the most loving manner,” the release added.
UNC appeals for restrain Newmai News Network
Imphal To ease the simmering tension in the aftermath of the T Hundung killing incident of 10 Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) cadres on September 3 by the NSCN IM, leaders of the United Naga Council (UNC) accompanied by the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) representatives went and met the leadership of the Kuki Inpi, Manipur today.
While issuing a statement on the positive development to Newmai News Network, the United Naga Council (UNC), on behalf of the Naga people, expressed deep regret over the T Hundung village killing and extended condolences to the bereaved family members of the slain KLA cadres and prayed for the departed souls.
The UNC statement signed by its Care-Taker Samson Remmei expressed its appreciation to the Kuki Inpi, Manipur for the efforts put up by the apex Kuki body in maintaining restrain and preventing any undesirable activity. The Naga body further appreciated the KIM for the latter’s openness during the meeting today in Imphal. The UNC statement urged the concern group not to repeat such acts in future. The Naga body statement said that it will hold more meetings with the Kuki Inpi, Manipur in this regard so as to bring amicable solution on the T Hundung village incident at the earliest. The UNC appealed the public to restrain themselves in the interest of the society.
Opinion on “Jamir eyeing Tuli constituency” The Morung Express In focus
•Sir—My attention has been drawn to your news-report ‘Jamir eyes Tuli for comeback’ as carried in your newspaper dated September 8, 2007. While in a democracy like ours everybody has a right to contest elections from any place we like, but we must also remember that we all have our territorial obligation that every body must understand and we must not underestimate the leaders of that locality and hence in my opinion a tall leader like Jamir should not make mistake by shifting his constituency if at all he is coming back to State politics.
Coming back to his return in the State politics I admire the quality of leadership he has provided for the past many years where many changes has been done in all front. However, we must be aware that in Nagaland we are faced with issues and most importantly the Indo-Naga political issue where we cannot at all undermine the underground factor in elections and if my memory is not short the Congress walkover in 1998 election by going against the call of Naga NGOs and undergrounds and for which we the Congress had to pay the price by bringing back only 21 MLA in 2003 election. And so should we consider this as a rejection of Jamir’s leadership and since the election is round the corner where Jamir has expressed his willingness to come back to State polity will the Naga people accept him is a million unanswered question and if at all he comes back what will be the fate of the Congress in the coming election. Will the Congress come back to power? I personally think that his coming back will end the era of the Congress in the State. And hence it is my earnest request to His Excellency to save the Congress in the State from further ruining by not coming to Nagaland if at all you love the Congress family.
Last but not the least it is my request to the leadership of the State Congress and the central leadership of the Congress to survey in detail before taking any decision in bringing back our former Chief Minister SC Jamir.
Chungshi Lkr Active Member Congress 6th Mile, Tuli town
Northeast terror groups seek money, publicity |Nagarealm.com
Ransom letters seem to be a thing of the past. In Northeast's new-age militancy, neat CDs of abductions and torture are being reached out to families of victims and media newsrooms.


Terrorism here was always hungry for money. But now, it seems, it's equally hungry for publicity. As the long-dragged out insurgency here becomes stale news militants seem to be opening up inside stories to grab media attention back. This is new to the terrain of militancy in the northeast. A CD has been delivered by ultras to the house of these kidnapped victims in order to step up the pressure for ransom.

''Brother please come and take us away. They will kill us,'' says the kidnapped person. Kishore Choudhury and his friend Sanju Debroy were kidnapped from a town near Nowgaon in Assam on July 22. A group that calls itself the Dima Halim Daogah or the Dima Army demanded a ransom of Rs 15 crore.

Complaints of torture : Later they slashed the demand by half.

''We can't raise so much money. Even if we sell everything, we won't come close to a fraction of what they are demanding. We heard him cry, asking for help. The family is traumatised. We appeal to the militants to release him,'' said Vijay Choudhury, brother of Kishore.

There seems to be no consolation for the family after what they have seen. Not even after the police assured them that these visuals in the CD appear staged and exaggerated. The CD soon found it's way into national media, leaving the Tarun Gogoi government embarrassed, even more so, because the government is negotiating ceasefire with this very Dima Army.

''It's very very disturbing. I have never seen such torture. It's the first time they have tortured victims like this. Earlier we never heard of any complaints of torture. When they were released we were told that they got food and relief. And as everyone knows these groups are engaged in extortion they don't have any ideology,'' said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The CM started talking tough and threatened to pull out of the ceasefire if the hostages were not released immediately. But in this hostile terrain of militancy nothing is what it appears.

Unexpected visitors : As the kidnappers now threatened to sell off the boys' organs in Bangladesh, NDTV received unexpected visitors at its Guwahati office. It was the commander-in-chief of the Dima Army, Dilip Nunisa, and he wanted to tell his side of the story.

''We have seen from the TV that two boys are very much brutally beaten up. In this case some agencies blamed my group DHD is involved. My clarification is that no DHD and no members of DHD are involved. We are investigating as to who are involved. I have already authorised my people to investigate who are involved,'' he said. Police has refused to give this statement any credence. They say bigger group like ULFA use their own name in abductions. But groups in ceasefire cannot. So they fall back on trickery and lies.

Ransom is one of the quickest ways of making money, a strategy militants of northeast have mastered over the years. The most conventional mode of demanding kidnap ransom was through extortion notes on letterheads of militant outfits. Then there were phone calls. But now they are using tactics used by global terrorists.

Organised extortion racket : The ATTF militant group in Tripura circulated a CD among tribal villages on the eve of Independence Day. It shows a police combing operation in the militant zones. This was a message for villagers: If we can film the police during its undercover operations we can also outdo them.

Stamped with a logo of Freedom Channel, the CD, police say was edited and packaged in Bangladesh. In neighbouring Nagaland, the state with the most organised extortion racket, militant groups have started deducting ransom right at the source of income. They have arrived at negotiations whereby the cashier of government departments pays for the entire agency on a given date. And if the money does not come on time reminder letters decorated with grenades are quick to arrive.

Now a prominent militant outfit, NSCN(K), has come up with a simpler method. They blatantly advertise bank account numbers in which the concerned people are requested to deposit their share of ransom. Are these then just terror tactics and ransom threats? Or is this posturing to grab national headlines, from which the decades-long militancy is slowly slipping out?

Media glare : A few months ago in Manipur NDTV was invited to film a rare sight. Fourteen Kuki rebel groups, bitter enemies until now, were coming together and they wanted to display their armed power. The leader of one of the factions explained that they have come together to fight a common enemy, the Nagas. But why this new found display of solidarity? And this rare access? Like allowing us to film not just their martial posturing but even rebels listening to Bollywood songs and showing photos of their girlfriends?

Why do militants adopt such exaggerated measures to kidnap collect ransom or even combat? The answers are not easy to come by. But on the surface it shows a need for publicity for media glare from which these militants perhaps derive some validity and some prominence that helps them spread the fear. [Kishalay Bhattacharjee, NDTV]
Security beefed up in Manipur Security for Ukhrul buses; "Mobile Patrolling after Kuki-Naga War of Words" The Morung Express
Imphal, September 9 (Agencies): The Okram Ibobi Singh government has provided security escorts for buses plying between Imphal and Ukhrul town as a part of its measures to prevent clashes between the Kukis and Nagas in the district.
Four security vehicles comprising armed police and Manipur Rifles personnel are escorting the buses from Litan in Ukhrul to Yaingangpokpi gate in Imphal East district from today.
Militant groups belonging to the Kuki and Naga communities are reportedly active in these areas.
“The combined team of the armed police and Manipur Rifles will continue to escort the passenger buses in a convoy till complete normalcy returns in the district,” the superintendent of police of Ukhrul, L. Dorjee, said. The SP said though there is “no tension” between the two communities in the district, the state home department does not want to take any chances.
The superintendent of police of Imphal East district, L. Kailun, said security measures have been tightened in Kuki and Naga-dominated areas in the district. “We are patrolling the tribal pockets in Imphal East and all possible measures have been taken to maintain peace and order,” Kailun said. Tension has been mounting between the two communities after the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) gunned down 10 activists of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) at Tangkhul Hundung in Ukhrul district on Monday. The Naga rebels also took away the weapons of the KLA members.
The NSCN (I-M) justified the killings by saying “criminal activities” by the KLA activists had prompted them to take action against them. The KLA has rejected the accusations made by the NSCN (I-M). It KLA has asked the Naga outfit to return the snatched weapons and pay fines according to tribal laws.
“Failing to fulfil the two conditions would be tantamount to inviting a bloodshed similar to the one between the two communities in the nineties,” the KLA publicity secretary, Ady Kuki, warned.
The Kuki organisations, including armed Kuki groups like the Kuki National Organisation, the Kuki National Front and the Kuki Revolutionary Army, has unanimously condemned the “unprovoked killings”.
Militants’ hold over Manipur total Hindustan Times


The grip of militancy on Manipur is becoming tighter. Consider this: recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had to actually negotiate with a militant group to reach the man wanted for killing the state health minister’s eight-year-old daughter.
In a state where two dozen militant groups run amok as the government and the police watch helplessly, CBI officials had to urge a leader of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), an armed group currently in a ceasefire agreement with New Delhi, for access to the alleged murderer of Lungnila Elizabeth. On November 4, 2003, Elizabeth, a Class III student, had stepped out of her Little Flower School and was waiting for her school van when she was abducted. She was the daughter of the state’s then health minister Francis Ngajokpa.
When the police failed to make any breakthrough, the minister had to negotiate. The abductors, who reportedly wanted a ransom of Rs 15 lakh, could not be traced. On November 12, Elizabeth’s mutilated body was found in a sack, dumped in a pond in Imphal.
For months, police were unable to find the killer. Months after the killing, the NSCN (I-M) said it has “arrested” the main suspect, James Kuki, tried him and later let him out on “parole”.
Nothing happened in the case till February this year, when the rebel Information and Publicity Minister Kilonser Chawang told the local Sangai Express newspaper that handing over Kuki to the Manipur government was “a matter of serious concern … (as) the organisation has doubts (whether) the investigation would be carried out effectively.” The CBI took over the investigation and found that Kuki, indeed, was their prime suspect. “The state police threw up their hands. They said only the NSCN (I-M) can help,” a senior officer told the Hindustan Times. A meeting was arranged and an investigator travelled to Camp Hebron in Nagaland, the rebel headquarters outside the insurgent hub of Dimapur. The officer met a top rebel leader there.
“He did not agree. We persisted. We reminded him of the grisly nature of the crime. We gave them arguments,” the officer said. “Finally he said, ‘ok, we will not hand him over to you but we will tell you where he is, and you can launch a joint operation with the police and get him’.”
Kuki was swiftly arrested and is set to be charge-sheeted. Governance has lost control on the northeastern state to such an extent that citizens take their grievances to the rebels, not the police or courts. Every single citizen of Manipur pays “taxes” to the militants directly or indirectly. Government contracts, officials say, are given out by local administrators only after the approval of the militants.
(With inputs from Sobhapati Samom)
Zeliangrong students fed up with factional killings Newmai News Network
Imphal Fed up with the factional killings between the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K in the "Zeliangrong region," the All Zeliangrong Students Union, of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland (AZSU-AMN) expressed its deep resentment over the matter.
The apex Zeliangrong students' body while pointing to the recent factional killing between the two NSCN factions at Khundong village in Tamenglong district, has stated that the periodic outburst of fratricidal killings of the NSCN-IM and the NSCN-K in the Zeliangrong region have not been the wishes of the entire peace loving Zeliangrong community. Two cadres of the NSCN-K were killed at the Khundong village incident.
All these blood lettings are outrightly against the wishes of the Zeliangrong people which have been going on inspite of the repeated pleadings from the Zeliangrong civil societies and the churches, said the AZSU-AMN.
"Sadly this unfortunate flare up occurred when at a time our memory is still strong where 30 houses at Jalukie-Zangdi village were burnt down by the intruders and above that many got seriously injured assaulted by unwarranted IRB personnel while the Zeliangrong people were on the peace rally headed for Camp Hebron to bring justice," recalled the AZSU-AMN.
Giving the clarion call, the AZSU said," Differences are inevitable that have led to the conflicts in the organisation set-up but we can be united by our own common agendas, problem, challenges and aspirations for better future. Boldly let us live up to get rid of the differences and to pave the way for mutual understanding in order to safeguard our region from becoming to lamb-duck." The apex Zeliangrong students' body urged the "national workers" of both the NSCN factions in the Zeliangrong region to have respect for human values for the good of the present and the upcoming generations. It quipped that producing of more widows and orphans will not be accepted by the sensible society. The AZSU also rued that the present generation failed to live upto the reputation of the legacies left by "our forefathers."
Meanwhile, AZSU-AMN called upon the agitating ZSUM to suspend their agitation in the best interest of the people of the Tamenglong district. However, it said that while the government refused to pay any heed to the demands of the ZSUM, if situation compels, AZSU-AMN may intervene.
Preventing Terror Attacks By Ram Puniyani Countercurrents.org
The Hyderabad blasts, August 2007 at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chaat, both places which are frequented by people in large number, on the heels of blasts in Mecca Masjid in April 2007, are too tragic for words. So many of innocents got killed and added one more tally to the acts of insanity which are going up during last few years in the country. From 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, over 12 major terror attacks have taken place. In Indian scenario, the acts of terrorism are scattered all over. In Kashmir the militancy which began around the slogan of Kashmiriayt went through the roof, in 1980s, with Al Qaeda elements entering Kashmir after their mission of defeat Russian communist army got over. Incidentally, Al Qaeda was a US-CIA creation, propped up for its proxy war against USSR, whose armies had occupied Afghanistan. . The number of innocents killed in North East has been an equal if not bigger than in Kashmir. It has been a hot bed of these terrorism The NE problem has been revolving around the issues of ethnicity the worst of which was seen in Nagaland in yesteryears and the current worst is witnessed in Assam and Manipur, where ULFA is the major player in the field.
The serial blasts which rocked Mumbai in 1993 were in the aftermath of the Mumbai pogrom, in the aftermath of Babri demolition. These seem to be the only one which was investigated. Mumbai probably has been the most unfortunate city as far as the blasts are concerned. After the Mumbai blasts of 1993, it was to witness blasts again in 2003, which could be related the massive carnage of Gujarat in 2002. there were traces of a group called Gujarat Muslim Revenge Group, which was the main culprit, but not much ahs been heard on this front. Again in 2006 Mumbai saw the blasts in trains, in the Western Railway, in the first class compartment, and one can faintly correlate it again to the Gujarat anti Muslim pogrom.

Than again one sees series of blasts in front of Mosques at crowded times of the afternoon Namaz when the congregations are heavy. In April 2006, in one of the less publicized cases one blast took place in Nanded, in the house of Bajrang Dal activist, killing two of them.
As such there are multiple types of terror acts which have shaken the peace and killed so many of innocent people. Despite the rise in the acts of terror, where does the state stand in preventing the same? So far, the response has been to tighten the security, to pursue the investigations in a particular direction and to postulate the involvement of the terrorist groups from Bangla Desh and Pakistan, which may have more than a grain of truth in that. But how come the matters stand where they were and the control of these acts is no where in sight. One of the theories doing
rounds is that, since the laws like POTA or TADA have been abolished these acts are taking place, so they should be brought in again. One recalls here that these laws were in existence during the NDA regime and one has seen enough of acts of terror during that time also, including the attack on Parliament. The terrorists are willing to get killed in the act, so can such laws deter them? One recalls the case of Dhanu who came as a live bomb strapping the plastic bomb around her body and killed Rajiv Gandhi, surely knowing that she her self will be killed while doing so? Terrorism is an act of extreme frustration. These laws at the worst will give further authority to the police machinery in torturing some labeled characters.

So far what are the examples where either some reduction or partial success has been achieved in controlling this insanity? Two of these stand out. One, the political understanding between central Govt and Nagaland, did result in the control of the situation there to a great extent. Mark the role of political process in this case. Same way one is seeing the reduction in the acts of terror in Kashmir during last three years, of the current ruling coalition. This Govt. has been the outcome of a fair election process. The democratic representation of people coupled with the political process of dialogue with different groups has been a major factor. As large acts of terrorism are due to the underlying political discontent, one has to begin with the political
process to tackle the terror attacks.
The process of winning over the confidence of communities cutting across religious lines is a must. It is the political alienation, which is the root cause of the formation of the psyche of the terrorists. The mere rhetoric of War against Terror, which only operates by the biases against particular communities, the biases which by now have assumed institutional characters, can in no way weed out the problem. United States claimed to have launched a war on terror after 9/11. Can there be such a thing as 'war on terror'? Terror is an abstract concept coming in to being because of innumerable reasons, so we have seen that more the use of intimidation and oppression; more is the increase in this phenomenon. Today one can say that terrorism has roots in three major problems. One, the foremost is the politics for control of oil resources, which gave rise to outfits like Al Qaeda, which are now spreading far and wide and spreading the poisonous weeds. The second is the ethnicity related issues, like Kashmir, North East and the ones' in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka the major terrorist organization in the World, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam is operating, the latest of its dastardly act was the attack near the hotel where our cricket stars were staying in July 2006. The third one is the rising communalization, the consequent polarization of communities. The increasing sense of despair in the minority community. Here the correlation of Babri demolition, Mumbai riots followed by blasts should be noted and matched with the ones' in Gujarat. In Gujarat Godhra train burning, followed by Gujarat carnage and later, by the Mumbai blasts is unmistakable. The parallels cannot be missed. The sincere efforts to control terrorism will involve, looking at the root causes and trying to solve them. The terrorist acts can be prevented by an unbiased investigation, getting over the biases, and coming to identify the criminals, than their designs can be thwarted well in time. The biased intelligence and mere superficial approach cannot make any headway in preventing terror attacks.
Northeast goes to New York K.P. NAYAR The Telegraph
New York, Sept. 8: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have discreetly decided to stay away from US President George W. Bush at his ranch in Crawford and during this annual season of summits in the Big Apple, but it is not preventing his government from going into overdrive to woo America. India is employing a pioneering new strategy in this courtship of the US: it is offering the Northeast to Americans for investment and tourism.
The chief ministers of Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur will all be in New York on the same platform on September 26 to court America. Also taking part in the same initiative will be the deputy chief minister of Meghalaya, the industry ministers of Assam, Nagaland and Sikkim, and the information technology ministers of Meghalaya and Assam.
In a sense, if any collective decision-making on the Northeast has to be taken within the Indian government during that week, it will be done in New York.
Because the secretary of the Union ministry for the development of the Northeast region, the chief secretaries of Nagaland and Meghalaya, the urban development secretary of Manipur, the agriculture production commissioner of Nagaland and the power secretary of Arunachal Pradesh will all be in New York, too, to lend support to their ministers. The chief guest at this Northeast India Investment Conference here will be the man who controls the purse strings for the development of the region: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. On the corporate side, the effort will be anointed by Sunil Bharti Mittal, the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has put together the event.
Conspicuously absent from this region-wide initiative is Tripura, which is ruled by the CPM.
Americans are not wasting any time speculating on why no one — neither a civil servant nor a bureaucrat — from Tripura is taking part in this programme.
The northeastern initiative to woo America is part of a four-day spectacular that is planned in New York from September 23 to 26 under the glamorous title of “Incredible India @ 60”.
The four-day event will kick off with the minister for overseas Indian affairs, Vayalar Ravi, acting as master of ceremonies at a mini-Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at the spectacular location of New York’s Chelsea Piers, which are built on four historic piers on the Hudson river waterfront.
Ravi conceived the idea of taking the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held in India in January every year, to locations abroad as a vehicle for building bridges with overseas Indian communities with the help of CII. The image of the Northeast in the US is a curious and complex one because of regular reports about insurgencies and territorial disputes. At the same time, there is ample recognition here about the region’s strategic importance.
There are fears that if the Northeast initiative bears fruit in the US, Bengal may come a cropper because the state has dallied with the US without making any commitments on anything. Unlike the chief ministers from northeastern states, Bengal Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has shied away from visiting the US despite several invitations. The latest effort to deepen bridges with America through the Northeast will be supplemented by at least seven heavyweight Union cabinet ministers who will arrive in the US in the last 10 days of this month. However, one visit being watched here with intense interest is that of R. Chidambaram, nuclear scientist and principal scientific adviser to the Prime Minister, who will be in Washington from September 26 to 28. Chidambaram will be accompanied by Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, former Indian ambassador to China, and Prodipto Ghosh, former secretary to the ministry of environment and forests. They will be joined by foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee on September 27 for a climate change conference, which is being hosted at the US state department by secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
Whether the Left parties like it or not, when a former chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission and former secretary to the department of atomic energy — who is still in the Prime Minister’s Office — and the foreign minister meet Rice, it is inevitable that the future of the Indo-US nuclear deal will be on top of their agenda.