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05/10/2011: "Nagaland bypoll peaceful The telegraph"
Nagaland bypoll peaceful The telegraph
- 90% polling despite two gelatine stick explosions OUR CORRESPONDENT
Kohima, May 7: Barring a few incidents, the byelection to the Aonglenden Assembly constituency in Nagland passed off peacefully today with a over 90 per cent voter turnout.
There were two gelatine stick explosions at Arkong ward in Mokokchung town in the morning but this could not deter the enthusiastic voters.
Stone-pelting between supporters of former chief minister S.C. Jamir and Naga People’s Front candidate Toshipokba Longkumer was also recorded in the ward. One person was injured in the stone-pelting but was released after initial first aid, police said.
Sources said the NPF candidate was ahead of Jamir, a veteran Naga politician, in Ungma village, the ancestral homes of both the candidates.
Senior leaders, ministers, parliamentary secretaries and legislators of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) as well as leaders of the Congress, which is in Opposition in the state, are still in Mokokchung.
Chief minister Neiphiu Rio has been in Mokokchung for the past week.
Sources said both the parties have allegedly spent huge amounts of money, beyond the Rs 8 lakh upto which candidates can spend, violating the election code of conduct.
The counting of votes will take place on May 13.
Giving details of the security arrangements for the bypoll, Mokokchung superintendent of police Liremo Lotha said besides the district executive force of Mokokchung, additional five companies of IRB, including one of IRB (Mahila), and 10 companies of CRPF had been pressed into service to maintain law and order.
In addition to this, Assam Rifles provided environmental security on the periphery of the constituency.
Lotha said all the 14 polling stations in the constituency had been classified as “critical” and the security forces were well prepared to curb unwanted activities during polling.
There were reports of the presence of a good number of NSCN cadres in the area during polling.
The Congress has alleged intimidation, threat and kidnapping of party workers by the NSCN cadres.
Cong, too, asks NSCN to stay away from poll OUR CORRESPONDENT E Pao
Kohima, The Congress has asked cadres of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) to stay away from the byelection to the Aonglenden Assembly constituency in Mokokchung district slated for tomorrow.
The party said it had specific information of involvement of NSCN (I-M) cadres in the election through intimidation and threat to its workers.
It said active party functionaries were forced to sign documents not to support former chief minister S.C. Jamir, who is contesting against Naga People’s Front candidate Toshipokba Longumer.
Former minister K. Therie said they have received concrete information about the involvement of NSCN (I-M) cadres in the poll and asked them to stay away from the “constitutional state election”.
He said the involvement of militants would not make any difference in this election, because the people cannot be manipulated this time as in the past.
Like Jamir, K. Therie, the former Congress minister, was not in the good books of the NSCN (I-M) for his alleged inclination towards the Naga National Council (NNC), which had accepted the Constitution unconditionally through the Shillong Accord of 1975.
Cadres of the NNC still function from Shillong Accord camps.
“We appeal to Naga national workers to refrain from getting involved in the constitutional state elections. Going against the Congress in the state and negotiating with the Congress in the Centre may not go well as we are all human beings,” Therie said.
He said patience and tolerance would bear fruit in finding solution and not confrontation. The former minister said phone calls were made to Congress workers and they have been called to certain locations and once they reached the place, the cadres made them sign an agreement.
He said this time, the involvement of NSCN (I-M) cadres would not make any difference because the people are aware of their rights.
On the other hand, the NSCN (I-M) has accused the Congress of using the Khaplang group of the NSCN to intimidate and threaten public.
To prove its claim, the outfit apprehended Wapangtemjen of the Khaplang faction, from Chungtia village under Mokokchung district, who along with his comrades were deputed to Mokokchung to support Jamir.
According to the NSCN (I-M), on being interrogated, Wapangtemjen had confessed that he and his group have been deputed from Kehoi Camp, the designated camp of Khaplang cadres, to interfere into the election process.
He allegedly said Jamir had supplied all the arms that he and his friends were carrying
On Naga political issues, Therie said, “The Congress has always believed that the Nagaland political problem to be a human one and it needs to resolved through human approach.”
“Neither the Congress nor individuals have obstructed settlement in all these 14-year-long negotiation. We have rather urged the Centre to settle the problem early,” he said.
“The policy of the Congress is to secure a consensus to find an honourable and acceptable solution. The solution has to be inclusive and not exclusive. Exclusive solutions are not solutions, they are divisive forces,” Therie added.
NSCN presence sparks tension at Mokokchung - The Telegraph -
Kohima, Tension is simmering in Mokokchung because of the presence of a large number of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) cadres in the town ahead of the May 7 byelection to the Aonglenden Assembly constituency. Intelligence sources told The Telegraph that around 80 cadres of the outfit are currently camping in town.
Security agencies, however, said the flush-out was merely an eyewash. They added that the NSCN had deployed around 80 heavily armed cadres in Mokokchung from its battalion camp at Chungtia village, about 30km away, who were camping in different colonies in the town, including the high security area where residences of the deputy commissioner and other top district administration officers were located.
The associate press secretary of Naga People’s Front (NPF), the main constituent of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), Shilumar Ao, said the government would provide foolproof security to ensure free and fair poll. “People should not be afraid of threats and intimidation,” he said.
Former chief minister S.C. Jamir is contesting the byelection against NPF candidate Toshipokba Longkumer. The NSCN (I-M) had vehemently criticised Jamir for contesting the election, stating that he would try to sabotage the ongoing Naga peace process with the Centre.
Chief minister Neiphiu Rio, who is campaigning in Mokokchung for the past four days, has urged the cadres to stay away from the polls or face the wrath of the security forces. “They should never get involved in the elections. This is not their game,” Rio said.
Nagaland by Jonathan Glancey: review
Jonathan Glancey's book about this forgotten corner of India is informative, but doesn't quite deliver, writes Basharat Peer.
Most of the recent writing about India deal with its economic success, social change and vigorous, colourful electoral politics.
Nagaland by Jonathan Glancey
For years, I struggled to find books on the conflict in Kashmir, where I grew up. Eventually journalists from the region, including myself, wrote accounts of our war, our home. I have shared that feeling of being compelled to tell a story with various Naga friends I made in New Delhi.
While Naga writers are still reporting on or imagining their homeland on India’s north-eastern border with China, the Guardian journalist Jonathan Glancey has produced a historically informed account of his journeys through Nagaland.
Although Kashmir and Nagaland have different histories and legal arrangements with the Indian state, both share a desire for independence, a history of insurgency, ruthless military campaigns and little hope of a peaceful future.
I set about reading Glancey’s Nagaland with great expectation, delighted he had taken time to tell this much-ignored story. It turned out to be slightly different. Glancey’s father and uncle had lived in India and during his childhood he heard stories of their colonial adventures. What actually sets Glancey out on his journey is the search for his own Shangri-La.
The first part is a tiring justification of his search, summaries of the attempts of colonial Shangri-La seekers, stories of Sir Wilfred Thesiger and TE Lawrence. I was ready to give up at the point he writes: “There is in many of us a desire to both live a civilised life and experience, if only temporarily, a wilder, less controlled world.”
His account improves with his discussion of American missionaries, their conversion of the Nagas to Christianity, and the spread of education. He writes with feeling about the Battle of Kohima, where Naga warriors and British forces fought valiantly against the Japanese.
A mission-educated Naga insurance salesman, AZ Phizo was among those who hoped a Japanese victory would end the British Raj and help to create an independent Nagaland. After 1947, Phizo led calls for independence, heading the Naga National Council before moving to England and spending his life lobbying for the Naga cause. In the Sixties, India carved out the state of Nagaland and tried to pacify the region. A long, brutal war continued between Indian forces and rebels led by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah). Around 200,000 people have died in the struggle. India’s counter-insurgency efforts have been marred by human rights abuses, from burning villages to rape and torture. Naga insurgents, too, have been accused of extortion and murder.
It is the last third of this book, where Glancey writes about the Naga battles with independent India, that is quite rewarding. He has empathy for the Naga people and explains the politics well. The rebel group NSCN (I-M) declared a ceasefire in 1997. Peace talks have moved slowly, but violence has reduced.
A new generation of Nagas is now seeking non-violent ways to find a better future. The first novel from Nagaland, A Naga Village Remembered, by Easterine Kire Iralu, was published in 2003. As Iralu explains to Glancey, “it is only by understanding Nagaland that one might begin to unravel its politics and to address its future”.
Nagaland: a Journey to India’s Forgotten Frontier by Jonathan Glancey
