Nagaland Congress urges Centre to implement Clause 13 of 16-Point Agreement Nagaland Page
Nagaland Congress urges Centre to implement Clause 13 of 16-Point Agreement Nagaland Page
Kohima, August 24: Nagaland Congress has once again urged the Centre to implement the Clause 13 of the 16 Point Agreement for integration of Naga contiguous areas. The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee this evening urged the Centre to implement the agreement in toto as this has remained elusive and unfulfilled for the last 47 years. A resolution issued this evening from Congress Bhavan said since Naga problem is a political issue and needs political solution, the party would continue to work for unity of the Naga factions to achieve lasting solution through democratic means.
"The Congress Party without any discrimination will seek the opinion of all Naga leaders for broader consultation irrespective of the Party affiliation as far as the Naga political issue is concerned," the NPCC said. The Congress Party will be prepared to step down from the Government should there be any political solution arrived at between the Government of India and "Naga national workers".
Congress Party also resolved to be politically accommodative and approachable to all sections of the Naga people. The state Congress' resolutions assume significance, as it has often been controversial in Naga political issue, which has been often criticized by Naga rebels.
As for the Nagaland state boundary dispute with neighbouring states which had cost precious lives and loss of property and immense inconveniences to innocent public since for the last few decades, the Nagaland Congress resolved that it will go all out to protect "our traditional rights" and amicably settle boundary disputes so that "we safeguard the live and properties of Nagas and at the same time have friendly neighbours for peaceful co-existence."
The NPCC said it respects and affirms the desire of Naga people to have complete peace and prosperity in the state and therefore the Party will introduce fundamental changes in the developmental strategies of State in tune with demands of globalization and economic restructuring towards economic independence. "Set a vision for maximizing productivity providing opportunities for self-employment, enhancing public participation in developmental activities towards increasing income generation particularly with special attention to under developed areas of the State".
On economic front the party said it will venture into external assistance and foreign direct investment while development of agriculture for rural based sector needs priority attention, judicious exploitation of natural and mineral resources shall be given due attention, besides exploring tourism avenues and promoting cottage industries. The NPCC further resolved to equip the Naga youth with necessary skills and capabilities to compete and succeed in various professions with training, guidance and motivation and to empower women for advancement and participation in decision-making process.
The resolutions further stated that Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee as a responsible political Party in Opposition has been observing and that, ever since the regime of NPF led DAN Government had come to power, the people of Nagaland State have been living under confusion and chaos due to the total failure of NPF led DAN Govt. in all fronts. " The political negotiation and cease-fire initiated by the Congress Party leaders has become directionless under the DAN leadership and the innocent public has been taken to ransom by anti-social elements. The NPF led DAN with the policy of equi-closeness has proved its inability to tackle the deteriorating law and order situation as there is no transparency in dealing with the Naga national workers. Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland, attempted to jeopardize the peace process by talking of 'Interim Agreement' without specifying what type of arrangement was proposed under such Interim Agreement.
"And whereas, the present NPF led DAN Govt. lacks transparency and accountability in it's governance and has been committing rampant corruption in the Govt. such as misuse of Rs. 365 crores peace package, Saijang IRB Hq, Bogus appointment of teachers in School Education Department, selling of job by Lok Sabha MP, Free Text book distribution scam, Fake Certificate scandal in Nagaland Board of School Education, Transport Subsidy, Fake Gun License, Scam in Horticulture Department etc. and many others.
"And whereas, the DAN leaders are totally engrossed in nepotism, favouritism, abuse of power and misappropriation of public money using benamy contracts for self aggrandizement and remain unresponsive to the plight of the suffering public, this deafening silence has encouraged criminal activities in the State," the resolution stated. Several top functionaries of congress party, including AICC secretary Ranjit Thomas attended the session. (Page News Service)
‘Rights of indigenous Nagas cannot be encroached’ The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The NSCN-IM today affirmed that it stands vigilant over patenting rights, over theft of intellectuals’ properties and technically modified products from the inheritance of indigenous Nagas.
“Any Indian state agencies, individuals, corporate, firms or entrepreneurships are hereby forewarned to acknowledge strict ownership over what is under the ground, on and above the Lim,” D Mero, secretary of the organization’s “Forests and Environment Ministry” said in a press statement.
“The stand of GPRN is hereby once again made plain that ownership of the Lim of the indigenous/native people is defined beyond any argument. This is the issue of Naga politics, among others.”
Slamming down on illegal rampant encroachment by making special reference to the present zoological park at Rangapahar, the statement said “natural lakes/ponds, flora fauna and their habitats should never be exposed to encroachment at any cost.”
The preservation of places of historical importance, interests, monuments or reserved forests and zoological parks was harped on. “All forms/types of exercises, operations/exploitations or for that matter, any commercial activities in these connections should first be subject to the interest and reality of indigenous Nagas.”
‘Don’t punish the Nagas any more’ The Morung Express
Dimapur, August 24 (MExN): Highlighting what it stated is the untold sufferings on “various counts,” NSCN-K appeals to the government of India and her leaders not to “persecute and punish the Nagas any more.”
“During the three quarters of a century of freedom movement, Nagas had undergone the untold sufferings and the hardships on various counts which many human races could not endure in order to retain God-given freedom” explained NSCN-K Kilonser AZ Jami. He mentioned that Nagas were summarily executed even on petty offenses and that even during the British Raj the people were deported to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The government of India continues to do so, waging a major but undeclared war against the Nagas, the Kilonser opined.
Jami also mentioned of the talks between the GoI and the NSCN-IM. “Now, during the more than 10 years of ceasefire between GoI and the I-K group nearly 70 rounds of talks had been abroad as well as in India without any result because of this all the I-K cadres and the I-K supporters among the Nagas are being kept in dark and in torturous suspense” Jami asserted. Three other Naga underground groups are also keeping in the same situation, he added. He explained that in this way, the Indian leaders are “planning to wear the Nagas out and to make the Naga movement meet a natural death.” However, this policy would be futile on the part of India, Jami asserted.
Further “the I-K leadership at one place and at one time declared that they had already dropped the sovereignty issue ad at another place and at other times said that they are claiming the sovereign rights of the Nagas.” Such “clumsy pronouncements” of the NSCN-IM’s leadership has completely confused the Nagas masses, the NSCN-K explained. But the GoI fully understands the NSCN-IM’s demands “so the GoI should immediately make solution to the problems of I-K group and wind up their talks” the Kilonser advised.
“Enough is enough therefore don’t torture the Nagas physically as well as mentally with your false diplomacies and hypocrisies; the demands of the I-K leadership are very simple and acceptable to India; settle the problems of the I-K group and give a chance to Naga freedom fighters to enter into a political dialogue” Jami stated, claiming the NSCN-K and the NNC/FGN are the “torchbearers of Nagas’ aspirations.”
Southern Angamis condemn MSF claim over Dzukou The Morung Express
Kohima, Aug 24 (MExN): Different organizations of the southern Angami community have strongly condemned the claims made by Manipur Students’ Federation (MSF) that Dzükou valley belongs to Manipur.
In a joint release issued Southern Angami Public Organization, Southern Angami Youth Organisation, Southern Angami Students’ Union and SAPO Core Committee Dzukou in a strong reaction to the statement made by the MSF general secretary over a question in the UPSC preliminary examination, reiterated that “Dzükou Valley belongs to the Southern Angamis of Nagaland since time immemorial and there had never been any doubt or dispute over it”. Therefore, the organizations described the claim of MSF as “irrational and misleading”.
A statement signed jointly by SAPO president Pheluphwe Kirha, SASU president Pueyo Lcho, SAPO Core Committee Dzükou secretary Kezhokhoto Savi and SAYO president Sulvi Angami stated that the people of Southern Angami would never recognize any boundary, drawn arbitrarily by the British imperialists for administrative convenience. They further said that the word “Dzükou” was derived from the Angami dialect and it itself was enough to “prove our authentic ownership”.
It may be mentioned the MSF had taken strong exception to a question in the UPSC preliminary examination where names of four States including Nagaland and four valleys were given side by side to match each other. In the list, Dzükou valley was given to match Nagaland but Manipur was missing.
Pratiyogita Darpan, a competitive examination booklet, also showed Dzükou valley falling inside Nagaland. In an ultimatum served on Wednesday, the MSF asked the UPSC to clarify its stand within seven days or be ready to face a series of agitations from the students.
Naga talk: Centre cannot hold… The Week The Morung Express Perspective
The above title write up by Anandan S in one of the most widely circulated magazine, The Week issue of August 12, 2007 page 68 was inhuman and mischievous. The words quoted by (retd.) Major General Deepankar Banerjee of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and Bibhu Prasad of the Institute for Conflict Management has not gone to the core issue of the Naga India conflict.
The former stated “Unified Nagaland is an unrealistic dream” is not expected from a person who is suppose to research and comment how to end the conflict and not to dead lock. The 60 years of Naga struggle with blood and sweat is much greater than Naga unification.
The latter’s disagreement with the Indo-Naga ceasefire due to the fatalities of the Naga factional fights is shallow reasoning. Such people prime motives are to gain hefty sum of money out of the Naga issue, from the Government of India (GoI) for their calculated comments. The fatalities statistic have nothing to do with the Indo-Naga cease fire. The factional fights are caused due to the double standard of the GoI but, this is not surprising as to reach the goal there are full of trial by fire.
Everywhere there are agents of the dark and evil. They are inhuman, ruthless and do not take into account the suffering, humiliation and thousands of life’s loss for the just aspirations and objectives. There are rotten ideas against the Naga unification based on the 18 Meiteis killed on June 18, 2001, when the fully charged emotion mob attempted to get crash the gates of the then governor of Manipur against the Indo-Naga cease fire without territorial limits over weighing the thousands of Nagas perished fighting the Indian troops for the last 60 years.
The Naga unification is not a dream. Naga unification is a reality. It cannot be compromised as our most honorable General Secretary, Th. Muivah of the NSCN (IM) stated in the local English daily Imphal Free Press issue of August 21, 2007. The Naga masses are solidly behind the collective leadership of the NSCN (IM), come what may.
S. Ashikho , Ex-President,Mao Students’ Union, Tadubi Patrick K. Lirete, Tadubi, Senapati District
State Cong to push Delhi on integration Morung Express News
Kohima/Dimapur With barely six months to go before the next Assembly Election is due, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) today took the first step towards kick starting its poll campaign by coming out with a 10-point resolution at the party’s Annual General Session held at Congress Bhavan, Kohima.
Among others, the Congress took the significant decision to urge upon the Government of India to implement in toto, Clause 13 of the 16 Point Agreement of 1960 calling for the integration of Naga contiguous areas. The Congress in its resolution pointed out that the integration clause had remained elusive and unfulfilled for the last forty seven years. “The NPCC resolves to urge upon the Government of India to implement the agreement in toto”.
The party also resolved that the Naga political problem being a political issue needing political solution, reiterated its appeal to the Naga undergrounds to unite for achieving a lasting political solution through democratic means. It was resolved that the Congress party “without any discrimination will seek the opinion of all Naga leaders for broader consultation irrespective of party affiliation as far as the Naga political issue is concerned”.
The Congress party also made it clear that it was prepared to step down from the government should there be any political solution arrived at between the Government of India and Naga undergrounds. It resolved that the party will be “politically accommodative and approachable to all sections of the Naga people”.
On the State boundary dispute with neighbouring states, the Congress said that the dispute had cost precious lives and loss of property and immense inconveniences to innocent public since for the last few decades. “It is resolved that the Congress party will go all out to protect our traditional rights and amicably settle boundary disputes so that we safeguard the live and properties of Nagas and at the same time have friendly neighbours for peaceful co-existence”.
AICC Secretary in-charge Nagaland Ranjit Thomas addressing party funcitonaries at the Annual General Session of the party at Congress Bhavan, Kohima on Thursday. Also seen in the picture is party president Hokheto Sumi and CLP leader I. Imkong. (MExPix)
The Congress also took a dig at the NPF-led DAN government pointing out that ever since the present regime came to power, the people of Nagaland State have been living under confusion and chaos due to the total failure of DAN government in all fronts. “The political negotiation and cease-fire initiated by Congress party leaders has become directionless under the DAN leadership and the innocent public has been taken to ransom by anti-social elements”, the party stated.
The party did not spare the policy of equi-closeness either stating that it has proved its inability to tackle the deteriorating law and order situation as there is no transparency in dealing with the Naga undergrounds. “Mr. Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland, attempted to jeopardize the peace process by talking of ‘Interim Agreement’ without specifying what type of arrangement was proposed under such interim agreement”, it further stated.
The NPF-led DAN Government was also indicted for lacking “transparency and accountability in it’s governance”, mentioning that it was “committing rampant corruption in the government such as misuse of Rs. 365 crores peace package, Saijang IRB Hq, bogus appointment of teachers in School Education department, selling of job by Lok Sabha MP, free text book distribution scam, fake certificate scandal in Nagaland Board of School Education, Transport Subsidy, fake Gun License, scams in Horticulture department etc. and many others”. The Congress also charged the DAN leaders of being “totally engrossed in nepotism, favouritism, abuse of power and misappropriation of public money using benami contracts for self-aggrandizement” and that these leaders remained “unresponsive to the plight of the suffering public”. “This deafening silence has encouraged criminal activities in the State”, the Congress stated.
Cong moots eco reforms DIMAPUR, AUGUST 24 (MExN): The Congress in Nagaland today implied that if they were voted to back to power it would introduce fundamental changes in the development of the state in tune with demands of globalization and economic restructuring towards economic independence. “The NPCC respects and affirms the desire of Naga people to have complete peace and prosperity in our land.”
As part of its agenda, the Congress said it would “set a vision for maximizing productivity providing opportunities for self-employment, enhancing public participation in developmental activities towards increasing income generation particularly with special attention to under developed areas of the State.”
“To venture into external assistance and foreign direct investment while development of agriculture for rural-based sector needs priority attention, judicious exploitation of natural and mineral resources shall be given due attention. Explore tourism avenues and promote cottage industries.” The Congress said it would endeavour to equip Naga youth with necessary skills and capabilities to compete and succeed in various professions with training, guidance and motivation. Moreover, the party vowed “to empower women for advancement and participation in decision-making process.”
State Congress calls for unity among Naga Groups Nagaland Page
Kohima, August 24: With the state general elections nearing, several political parties here have accelerated their tempo as expected harping on Naga political issue which has never been materialized by any political party so far. For many this issue is the principal tool to woo the innocent Naga voters for their gain.
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee general session today once again assured of full support for early resolution of Naga political issue, provided that all groups of Naga undergrounds are united. Several Congress leaders today were unanimous that for lasting solution to the vexed Naga issue there must be one voice.
"When we come to Naga political issue, the Congress party playing a significant role cannot be ignored. The state Congress party leaders could prevail upon the wisdom of the Central leaders and during the time of the then Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao it was declared at Dimapur that Naga problem is a political issue and also it is a national problem," Hokheto Sumi President PCC said.
Through this declaration as 'Political Issue' the matter was taken up by the Government of India and opened the way for negotiation to find a lasting solution he added.
Sumi said when the Congress led UPA came into power, the talk was elevated to Ministerial level and the peace process continued to take place in the right direction. "Recently, the indefinite extension of Ceasefire was announced by the negotiating team at Dimapur, which was welcomed by all sections of the people," he said.
He said now in this direction, people must forget the past but take new vision and new step towards the solution of Naga political issue. The congress chief suggested that people develop a human and political relationship with all the groups rather avoid confrontation policies. "We also must practically involve through the people and this can be worked out only when we get the mandate of the people, for we cannot remain just a mere spectator but fully and actively participate in the process of solution of the political issues".
R C Chiten Jamir a senior Congress leader said Naga undergrounds had missed several opportunities to resolve the problem. Narrating the past events, which led to deepening of the issue further, Jamir said Naga National Council had made 'greatest' blunder in the history of Naga political movement by signing a Shillong Accord in 1975, unconditionally accepting the constitution of India.
Another senior Congress leader Chingwang Konyak who also highlighted the events of Naga political problems said for the first time in August 1957 under the aegis of Naga People's Convention Naga people decided to accept the constitution of India and which later gave birth to Nagaland state in 1960 under 16 Point Agreement. But for many congress leaders here still say 16 Point pact was not a final solution to the Naga issue.
Former Lok Sabha MP Asangba Sangtam said in the present context the centre must take all aspects into consideration to smoothen the peace process and create congenial atmosphere for the people. He said people are agitated over the slow pace of peace process for the last ten years and therefore New Delhi must speed up the process for early resolution to the problem.
While NPCC President in his address said PCC General session is being held with a purpose and that is to rededicate 'ourselves' to the Party policy and programme as they continue to serve the people. He said time has come for them to introspect past activities and work out suitable comprehensive programmes to usher new development that can forge the state forward. "We have to lay a foundation where we can firmly commit to the people that Congress Party is their Party and the participation of everyone is required to build a strong and vibrant Nagaland. We shall ensure to uphold transparency and accountability in Governance and respect the rule of law," he said.
He said Congress will strive to work for the upliftment and welfare of the people and assure to provide justice and equality. "We need to have a balanced planning system where development touches every corner of the State. We cannot allow random planning to ruin our economic growth and make people to suffer" he asserted.
Sumi said after attaining Statehood, the name development was made known to the people but they are yet to see the type of development that can benefit them and push our economy into a comfortable position. He said if people continue to remain silent and don't realize in what way they should prosper they might be left far behind than others.
"We are now confronted with unemployment problems and the Government is not in a position to provide adequate employment avenues. This problem will keep on increasing with literacy rate growing at a faster speed. In order to minimize the growing demand of the employment front we have to look for alternative arrangement where our potential educated unemployed youth services are not being utilized elsewhere".
He underscored the need to build an atmosphere where others also would have the interest to invest in Nagaland. Sumi said Nagas cannot remain isolated with the outside world but have to play a role as equal partners with others in developing our State.
Lashing out at the present government the NPCC chief said Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Government was installed in the State, the law and order situation went out of control and the public were compelled to risk their lives coming in between the underground groups whenever clashes take place in thickly populated areas.
"When the DAN Government cannot control law and order situations where peoples lives were at stake, the present Home Minister appeal to the people to seek God's intervention instead of providing security to the people," he lambasted.
Law and order was termed to be a political problem by the present Planning Minister Dr. Shurhozolie Liezietsu and not a subject matter of the State Government, he said. "We understand the underground groups are fighting for a cause but when clashes take place in villages and town areas where innocent peoples are made the victims it is very much law and order situation and it is the bounden duty of the state Government to restore normalcy and create confidence in the minds of the people". He said government simply terms the clashes to be political problems when innocent publics are to pay the price out of the conflict between the underground groups.
He also pointed out various irregularities committed during their short span of stay in office where a district is looked after by a particular family member. The bogus appointments of teachers and free text books distribution scam in School Education Department, fake certificate scandal in Nagaland Board of School Education, selling of jobs by Lok Sabha MP Wangyuh Konyak are some of the issues we have brought to the notice of the people through the booklet. The DAN Government constituted Special Investigating Team to look into the issues raised by the Party in the booklet and to submit report within a stipulated time, he said adding, but has 'miserably' failed to come out with the report and we still insist the report should be made known to the public.
The Congress Party had demanded for a White Paper on Rs. 365 crore granted by the Centre as Peace Bonus to the State but he said the DAN Government failed to bring out the White Paper on the utilization of the grant. People need to know how DAN utilized the grant?
Sumi said one notable achievement of the DAN Government is the number of cases being filed in the court challenging the action of the Government not following the rules in matters relating to appointment and awarding contract & supply works and contempt of court. "How long can we allow this Government to go who is working only for their own personal interest and not in the interest of the people," he asked. (Page News Service)
A Failed State?
It is worse than J&K. "Freelance insurgent groups" ensure that even the ministers pay up extortion demands. Not only funds for development, but also those for counter-insurgency operations, go to the militant groups' coffers! Jaideep Mazumdar Outlook India
The arrest of 12 militants belonging to four rebel outfits from the official quarters of three Congress legislators and an ex-legislator in Imphal the other day made for screaming headlines in the national media. What didn't is more shocking and not only symptomatic of the mess that Manipur is in, but also mainland India's apathy to the plight of the hapless people of the state.
For more than two weeks now, pharmaceutical companies have stopped supplying drugs, including critical life-saving medicines, to the state. The reason: militant groups had demanded a larger slice of the profits made by the drug companies in Manipur. Consequently, drugs are in severely short supply and relatives of many patients have been flying out of the state to procure drugs from Guwahati, Kolkata and even Delhi!
Incomprehensibly, the state government hasn't done anything beyond issuing a perfunctory appeal to the drug companies to resume supplies and holding out the flaccid promise of 'ensuring security' to them. And till just a few days ago, Manipur had been reeling under a desperate shortage of cooking gas due to a nearly three-week-long strike by drivers of trucks transporting LPG cylinders protesting the abduction of two of their colleagues by rebel groups. As a result, people had to buy LPG cylinders for as high as Rs 750 to Rs 800 a cylinder!
Find all this very appalling? The average Manipuri, whether in the Imphal valley or in the hill districts buffeting the valley, doesn't. For the simple reason that all this, and more, has become commonplace, part of normal life in the state. For the landlocked state, National Highway 39 that enters Manipur from Nagaland and winds its way through the hill districts dominated by various tribes before touching the Imphal Valley and going up through the hills again to end at the Indo-Myanmar border at Moreh is the sole lifeline.
The other entry into the state, National Highway 53, is not much to write about, not the least because it connects to Barak Valley that is itself a backward, remote and neglected part of Assam. And taking advantage of the state's dependence on NH 39, militant groups frequently block this lifeline through bandhs and 'curfews', thus crippling life in the state. It's like all roads entering Delhi being blocked and supplies of foodstuff and all commodities, including fuel, being stopped. An unimaginable scenario, and one that would have not only resulted in a huge outcry, but also invited swift and decisive action. But in this remote part of Northeast India, the lifeline remains a 'no-traffic' zone for weeks at a stretch.
Last year, various militant groups and other organisations blocked the highway for a total of 146 days to highlight demands ranging from integration of Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur with 'Nagalim' or 'Greater Nagaland (as is being demanded by the NSCN's Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah faction) to better health facilities. Since all commodities and materials required by the people of the state, save for some rice and vegetables that grows in the sprawling Imphal Valley, comes in through NH 39, the severe shortages that resulted, and the consequent suffering of the people of the state, from this highway being blocked for 40% of the year can well be imagined. But did we read or see anything in the national media about this? Compare that to how the media would have gone into a frenzy if people in any other part of the country, leave aside Delhi, been subjected to such sufferings.
But the Manipuris' sufferings don't end there.
Lack of even basic civic amenities, healthcare, education and job opportunities, interminable power cuts, scant water supply and the twin threats posed by rapacious rebel groups and the trigger-happy security forces for whom human rights hold no meaning puts the life of a resident of this state beyond the pale of description. Nowhere else in the country, not even in Jammu & Kashmir, are citizens' fears and sufferings so acute. So how do Manipuris cope?
Well, they do.
When LPG prices shoot up, they use kerosene and firewood as fuel. People take to walking or rickshaws when petrol and diesel runs out of stock. They subsist on the little that grows in the state when food supplies are stopped. The ones who can afford it migrate to Assam and other parts of the country during the periodic bouts of blockades. Children are more accustomed to studying by kerosene lamps and candles than Edison's invention. All government offices still have and use the manual typewriter; since power supply is intermittent, electronic typewriters or computers and printers don't work most of the time. Every household buys water.
No one ventures out after dark when the streets are taken over by gun-toting soldiers who have the power to detain people on mere suspicion (it's a different matter than many of the detained are roughed up and maimed or, if unlucky, disappear). During a recent visit to Imphal, human rights activist Babloo Loitongbam told me: "Manipur is a classic case of functioning anarchy; a situation where the state has failed, but people have evolved ways of getting things done and maintaining whatever small semblance of normal life is possible, often with the help of non-state entities". Even getting a glass of water is a struggle, he says, adding that a feeling of dark depression and dread envelopes him whenever he returns to Imphal from the rest of the country or the world. Yambem Laba, Director of the Manipur Dance Academy tells me that people have "got used to" the dismal conditions. "We have developed the psychology of the oppressed," Laba, the ex-chief of the Manipur Human Rights Commission, says. The oppressors are, as is normally thought, not only the security forces but, to an equal or even greater measure, the militant groups that extort money wantonly and issue diktats at will. The entities most responsible for the plight of the people of Manipur are the "freelance insurgent groups". Laba calls them 'freelance' since their only aim is to extort money and harass people, they lack any ideology or goals and exist in a permanent state of flux, shifting allegiance from one major rebel group to another.
It is a small state, but Manipur has more than 20 rebel groups, most of whom have been demanding sovereignty for the state or the small portions of it they claim to represent. Three of these groups draw inspiration from China and Mao and have, at various points in time, received assistance from that country. And most of the remaining have no ideology at all. But all extort a lot of money from government and private sector employees, traders, businessmen, contractors and politicians. It's an open secret, we are told calmly, that even the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have to part with a portion of their monthly income. The 'tax' imposed by the militants ranges from five percent (of the income) for a small farmer or petty trader to 12 or even 15 percent for a senior officer or an affluent businessman. And on top of this, 15 to 20 percent of the outlay on any project, even a small road repairing work, goes into the militants' pockets. Every item that's sold in Manipur is 'taxed' by the militants. For instance, a tube of toothpaste whose MRP is, say, Rs 15, would cost Rs 17 in Imphal and even more in the hill districts, the difference being the money that the trader selling the item would have to pay to one or more militant groups operating in that area.
Each group has its own area of influence and dominance carved out and is the undisputed master in that area. In nearly the whole state, barring the small pocket of Imphal town, it is the militants' writ that runs and not that of the state administration. The rebels have often triggered violent clashes among the various ethnic groups in the state, like the infamous Kuki-Naga clashes in the early 1990s that left more than 750 people dead. Fratricidal clashes and bloodshed are common.
The obvious question then is: why doesn't the state do anything to curb militancy? The answer is simple: the state can't. And more than the largely corrupt politicians in Manipur, it is New Delhi that has to bear the burden of the blame for Manipuris' untold sufferings. For decades now, the union government has been content with relying on the army and para-military forces to contain the militants. But the security forces, despite the blanket powers given to them by the much-reviled Armed Forces Special Powers Act, have failed miserably to carry out their mandate. Because it's a mandate that cannot be fulfilled. The reason: New Delhi, thanks to its myopic policies, is responsible for keeping militancy alive.
Let me explain this conundrum: holding the view that militancy stems from socio-economic deprivation, Delhi's glib response has been to pour in millions of Rupees into militancy-affected states like Manipur. But since no mechanism is put in place to ensure proper utilization of these funds (audits in these states are a farce), most of it is siphoned off by politicians, bureaucrats and contractors. The militants then want a share of this pie and get it by holding out threats to the vulnerable politicians, bureaucrats or contractors. This is easy money for the militants, and it emboldens them to hike their demands and start extorting from all others, including businessmen and even petty traders.
When the politicians, including ministers, pay up, there's little that the common man can do except not follow suit. Thus, a flourishing parallel economy that finances not only the militants, but also the politicians they prop up, takes shape. Since militant groups wield enormous power and use it to decide the outcome in elections, contesting candidates have no option but to seek the rebels' help in winning. The rebels help whichever candidate pays them the most. Very often, such deals are struck at the party level with one or more groups supporting one party or the other. And if that party comes to power, it's not hard to imagine what favours and concessions they extend to the group that has helped them in the electoral battle. The help is in the form of outright rigging and issuing diktats to the electorate to vote for a particular party or candidate; and the voters dare not defy the militants.
This is all an insidious game and arrangement and the security forces, as well as the state administration that anyway has already been co-opted and compromised, can do little to stop it. The union government is well aware of all this, but prefers to turn a blind eye to this vicious cycle that feeds militancy. Because it is also complicit in the game—a portion of the funds that politicians siphon out of the central grants finds its way back to the pockets of politicians in Delhi. That's the price the powers-that-be in Delhi extract for keeping quiet and allowing the loot to go on.
Also, like other militancy-affected states, Manipur, too, gets huge funds for fighting militancy.But once again, most of these funds are siphoned off by politicians, bureaucrats, police officers and even high-ups in the army and para-military forces. A substantial portion of it, quite naturally, goes to the militant groups. So here's the supreme irony of the situation: not only funds for development, but also those for counter-insurgency operations, go to the militant groups' coffers! Is it any wonder then that the politicians, the bureaucrats, the police and security forces and the elite in Manipur don't really want militancy to end? If insurgency is curbed, not only would the flow of funds for fighting insurgency dry up, attention would also shift to proper utilization of development funds and greater transparency in the government's functioning. Why would Manipur's politicians and those who gain from the present situation want that to happen?
Now then, given this complex and hopeless situation, does the news of militants being caught from legislators' official quarters seem so shocking? It is a given that politicians have to seek support of the militants and in return for that favour, politicians have to pay large sums of money and provide other assistance like safe shelters to the rebels. No one, with perhaps just a couple of honourable exceptions, contests elections in Manipur without an understanding with the rebels. The union government knows it, but for reasons elucidated above, keeps quiet. All parties are guilty of having close ties with insurgents. And so, they can never be expected to make a way out of this impasse in Manipur. As for the other stake-holders in Manipur, including the central security forces, it suits them fine to allow things to continue as they are in the state. Only, it is the largest group of stakeholders—the suffering masses of Manipur—who are paying a heavy price for the shenanigans and chicanery of the political-bureaucratic-security establishment in the state.
Dark sunrise in the East
The Assam-Nagaland border is restive as the State persists with colonial boundaries and policies to continue exploiting the region’s resources. Dolly Kikon & Sanjay Barbora
THE BORDER between Assam and Nagaland along the districts of Golaghat, Jorhat and Sivasagar (in Assam), Wokha and Mokukchung (in Nagaland) is currently at the centre of a conflict between the two state administrations. The conflict has drawn civil society organisations into its orb and reports of local students marching from Assam to Nagaland have been answered by calls by Naga men to resist the proposed march. This comes in the wake of several weeks of tension following clashes near the town of Gelekey in July 2007. Following these clashes, members of the All Tai Ahom Students Union tried to mitigate matters by visiting their Konyak counterparts on July 24, 2007. However, such reconciliatory gestures were drowned in the shrill politics of maintaining boundaries, where politicians and administrators on either side have begun to refer to people as “invaders”, “marauders” and “thugs”. This has further vitiated the situation.
The Singibil and Athkhel weekly marts are among intercommunity markets along the Assam-Nagaland foothills that are signposts of a long cultural relationship between the Nagas, Ahoms and other indigenous communities. These markets were established in pre-colonial times by Naga elders and the Ahom nobility as spaces to settle disputes, negotiate and trade. These spaces are likely to disappear if the political discourse on the border dispute continues to emphasise sealing the movement of people and trade by demarcating the borders as rigid zones. Even as the Assam government continues with its plan to arm ex-servicemen to protect the state’s foothills, there are a series of protests, blockades and “awareness” campaigns being planned by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) in villages within the state. Such measures are signs of an impending emergency and are considered to be urgent steps to pressurise the two governments to settle the dispute. Arming inhabitants in the border villages is reminiscent of other national emergencies, where the rule of law remains in suspended animation.
Conflicts and violence to settle inter-state disputes in the Northeast are common, but these demands reveal how the creation of boundaries is rooted in a discourse shaped by colonial intervention. The colonial legal framework, which helped establish the plantations, coalmines and oilfields, continues to operate in the Brahmaputra valley and along the foothills of Nagaland and Assam. The persistence of colonial laws and deployment of excessive military power are argued to be exceptional situations where military rationale supersedes civic concerns. The Northeast has been under a state of exception for the last six decades. Given the number of security agencies that operate in this region, one may argue that the region does not require another regulation to arm civilians to protect themselves. Even as there is talk of the Look East policy, several border disputes in the Northeast have exposed the inherent paradoxes of post-colonial state formation in the region.
Since the 19th century, the foothills of the Naga Hills have witnessed a series of demarcations of boundaries for plantations, forests and oil exploration. The current understanding of territorial units is largely based on colonial cartographic techniques and governance. Such techniques were based on natural signposts and were meant to protect the plantations, raise revenue and regulate movement of people. More than four decades later, the national committees formed to settle the Assam-Nagaland dispute have continued to apply the colonial method, even though the natural signposts have undergone transformations.
Events that pit Nagas against the Assamese have been few in Gelekey, situated on the Nagaland-Assam border. The area is dotted with tea plantations and gas gathering stations owned by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. The former have been around for over a hundred years and are owned by a mix of corporate houses, nonlocal proprietors and, of late, small tea growers. The foothill areas are also rich in strains of coal. Most mines are on the Naga side while the traders are mainly from Assam, though they are compelled to have Naga associates because the land is under the purview of Article 371 (A) that is applicable to Nagaland. Thus, the livelihoods of the people of Gelekey are deeply intertwined with the two major industries (tea and oil) and marginally with the third (coal).
Those with land titles on the Assam side can barely eke out a living through agriculture and usually see it fit to lease land to the tea and oil sector. On the Naga side, both individual and community land leases are unable to deal with the growing impoverishment of the subsistence farming sector and demographic growth. Therefore individuals and collectives have begun to experiment with other forms of earning a living.
There are a few events that stand out, like dots waiting to be connected, in the whole affair that led to the so-called clashes. On January 23, 2007, Nilikesh (Dul) Gogoi, a resident of Gelekey and a popular figure among both Naga and Assamese inhabitants, and his colleague Bholu Gogoi were executed by CISF personnel as they were returning from Anakhi village. The deaths caused widespread anger and the testimony of the surviving colleague showed that the official “encounter” version was nothing but a farce. On May 29, 2007, the Assam Police killed a young Naga man — S. Alemmongba — who was responsible for looking after the welfare of casual workers in his brother’s tea garden near Gelekey. The official version stated that Alemmongba tried to attack the police with a machete. Witnesses said that about 18 policemen entered the area, slapped the victim a few times, pushed him to the ground and shot him point-blank. Two empty casings of Kalashnikov shells and scores of eyewitness accounts confirm the gormless quality of the police version. In another incident, armed Nagas entered a village near Gelekey and killed two persons and burned livestock. The last event was widely reported in the press. Organisa tions like AASU and AJYCP called for an economic blockade of Nagaland. The security apparatus and politicians in Dispur made sympathetic noises and seemed outraged by the action they attributed to “Naga miscreants”. LOCAL FIGURES like Nilikesh Gogoi and S. Alemmongba represent the disruptive voices in the border transformation.
They disturb the neat script of pliable natives who, once corrupted and coerced into being part of the extractive economy, begin to act as local points-persons for further exploitation of the region. Instead, with their alternate agenda of creating economic enterprise out of local resources and their constant claim to the pre-colonial eco - nomy of indigenous control over resources, they go against the very logic of corporate privatisation of land. Though it is near impossible to attribute a sinister plot to their deaths, both events are united in the largescale anger they generated. It was as if people had momentarily forgotten their ties to the oil and plantation economy and mour n - ed for the death of those who called for alt - ernatives. Yet, these protests did not change realities. If anything, the violence reiterates the continuing stranglehold of events that are beyond the communities’ control. In the past few decades, Naga and Assamese rebels allegedly traversed the foothills to training camps in the hills.
In response, the State has positioned armed personnel along the foothills. In addition, given the history of counterinsurgency, the area is dotted with informers and spies who are part of any social setting in places that have witnessed protracted armed conflict and are important elements in fostering a political climate of suspicion and fear. Anthro - pologist Talal Asad says suspicion occupies a space between law and its applications and “incorporates margins of uncertainty”. The uncertainties in places like Gelekey are compounded due to legal provisions that allow security agencies to operate with impunity. These borders are considered disturbed areas and fall not only within the Armed Forces Special Powers Act but also under several security regulations that protect plantations and oil installations. In a milieu rife with ambiguities, the manner in which the State and civil society organisations are seeking to establish order is dangerous. The disregard for local histories and communitarian memories has always been an impediment to conflict resolution here. If the marts at Singibil and Athkhel do not reopen soon, the symbols of the last vestiges of a pre-colonial social formation and polity will have given way to the military-industrial complex’s vision of change along the border areas. It is not a very promising vision for the future for the people who live along the border and for the larger ethical politics of respect for peoples in the region.
Barbora is the programme director of Panos Institute South Asia in Guwahati.
Kikon is a researcher at Stanford University, United States
Rifles kind of ‘Human Rights’ by Rozohu
This refers to the article written by a distinguished militarist G.B.S. Thapa from Assam Rifles School, Kohima.
It is no co-incidence that such bold attempts are being made by people who believe their time to strike is now. The time appears to be ripe to drive in the last nails in the Naga coffin. Why? Because there is sufficient confusion and disillusionment in the minds of the people. Thanks to our own weaknesses which are quite many.Yet, compared to the scheming minds and designs that have been used by the adversary (most of them already implemented or some ongoing), the Naga weaknesses pale.
Nagas don’t question anymore. And many who have the capacity to question, don’t. I call it internalization. He or she is moving towards believing and accepting whatever is being talked about, written about in newspapers, especially the latter.
I see so many articles by suspicious characters who write anything from sanitation, environment, election, illegal immigrants, traffic jam. They suddenly spring a surprise by writing a ‘good’ and ‘frank’ article on the movement, with Bible quotes coming in a flurry.
Terrorist – In this article in question, the Assam Rifles School teacher (?) says all the rights things enough to even make a human rights expert stand up and take notice. However, just like most of these write-ups which have flooded the scene in recent times, the writer drops the shell by saying, “So, the police and the para-military have to deal with the terrorists in a tough manner to control the murder of innocent people and to maintain normalcy in the country and in specific regions.”
The Human Rights Nagas talk about has no boundaries. We do not confine ourselves to judicial torture, child labour or extra judicial killings or violations against women or minorities. Our human rights are all interlinked and the most basic of all is the right to self determination.
When the powerful Indian state has everything at its disposal: military, police, bureaucracy, media, telecommunication control and everything else like judiciary too, the question comes WHO IS VIOLATING WHOSE HUMAN RIGHTS?
I read sometimes articles by individuals and organizations questioning why human rights bodies and NGOs do not condemn certain incidents of alleged violations. I think the silence is ought to be understood. Because, everything has linkages and addressing a certain serious issue has no meaning unless our OVERARCHING issue is addressed. When the adversary continues to play and devices ways and engineers events, the question of addressing the issue of the presence of the THIRD force is critical.
CSD Inc. – Canteen Stores Department (CSD) is one industry that has fetched the military establishment huge profits. Indian companies, both big and small, readily (?) reserve a certain chunk of its goods to be sold at very low costs to the defense personnel and their dependents. What I know of Kohima and Dimapur is this. Every second shop, especially non-Naga shops, are flooded with ‘CSD Only’
When the writer talks about Human Rights let him also take this VIOLATION of economic rights into consideration. What about the defense ministry fooling the Indian taxpayer in such blatant ways. What a student body missed while criticizing the underground Nagas on the economy is that, except for the stray incidents of excess and bullying tactics, Nagas can breathe and are among equals with the giant Indian nation because our forefathers decided to confront the aggressor militarily.
Political Boundaries create political identities - How did we do that? How have we sustained despite the unwanted creation of Nagaland state? How did we become confined and so small? How did we become slave to the text books printed in New Delhi which for nearly 44 years, have informed us that the Nagas are only 16 tribes, including Kuki brethren. That there are only 7 districts (now we have 11). That, the festivals include Moatsii, Tokhu Emong, Siikrenyii, Tuluni and a few others.
“Maram khan to Naga ase,” asked a young college student to her friend who sat behind me a few couple of years ago. I forgave them because I did not blame them. I blamed the system that they have been forced to live and grow up in.
Last Days - The National Workers, Undergrounds, or whatever we use to refer them as, are now sufficiently isolated from the people. Or at least that is the intention of the schemers. This agenda is being helped by the errant trouble maker here and there in the factions. We also know that most of these guys are highly motivated. Gave their everything they had. Their youth, family and dreams for the nation.
Now, through the games of the propaganda machines, rumors are being spread.
I see so many real and unreal people writing and finding prominent spaces. The justice that the filerers can bring is important there. Let there be debates and opinions, but finding out the subtle mischief mongers is important.
Do we think that Nagas would have achieved such political bargaining power had not Phizo, Imkongmeren, Sakhrie, Yongkong, Khodao, Khaplang, Isak and Muivah stood their grounds.
Today, Nagas are among the most respected of any struggling peoples anywhere. Other smaller nationalities and struggling peoples are amazed that we have withstood militarily and politically powerful India for 6 long decades.
Migrants hounded in Assam By Subir Bhaumik BBC News, Guwahati, Assam
A day after heavily-armed guerrillas killed his neighbors, Abhay Ram packed his belongings into a truck and left his home for two decades in Assam's picturesque Karbi Anglong hills. Many like him have already boarded trains for their ancestral villages in Hindi-speaking states like Bihar to escape the mayhem unleashed by the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) and other tribal militias in the state.
More than 30 Hindi-speaking settlers were killed in Karbi Anglong district alone this month. Four times as many of them have died in similar attacks elsewhere in Assam since the beginning of this year. But several hundred kilometres to the north, near the town of Dibrugarh, Shujat Ali is also leaving after being branded an "illegal migrant" from Bangladesh and served with a "notice to leave Assam" by local youth groups.
"I don't know where to go? My ancestors may have come from eastern Bengal [now Bangladesh] but I was born in Assam," says Ali, as he boards a train for western Assam.
"This is my land, I am no infiltrator, I will not leave this state," he says.
Growing violence
Across the state, Assamese vigilante groups are hounding out the likes of Shujat Ali with renewed gusto.
Many are taking shelter in older camps sheltering Muslims displaced in earlier waves of ethnic cleansing.
Bombs are also exploding near mosques and in Muslim-dominated areas.
"All illegal migrants from Bangladesh have to be expelled from Assam. Otherwise we will launch a huge agitation soon enough," says Sammujal Bhattacharya, the "chief adviser" of the All Assam Students' Union (Aasu), which led a powerful campaign against illegal migrants between 1979-1985. That movement degenerated into fierce ethno-religious bloodletting and left more than 3,000 people dead - almost half of them in a cluster of villages around Nellie.
An accord the Aasu signed with the Indian government finally ended the mayhem.
"The governments in Delhi and Assam have not implemented the Assam Accord. It has not expelled the infiltrators because they are a big vote bank," thunders Mr Bhattacharya.
He has called upon all Assamese to join "one last battle" against the illegal migrants.
Old conflicts
Mr Bhattacharya and his supporters were emboldened by an order of the Indian Supreme Court last December which scrapped a controversial piece of legislation that was seen as a safeguard by the minority groups against arbitrary action by an Assamese-dominated administration. Rich in resources, Assam is India's leading tea-producing state and its third largest producer of oil and natural gas.
But it has failed to grow economically because its unending ethno-religious conflicts have kept away investors for nearly 30 years. And now, Assam's old conflicts are threatening to get worse. Even as Assamese and tribal separatists are killing Hindi-speaking settlers to drive them away, powerful student and youth groups in the state are preparing to launch a full-scale campaign to throw out alleged illegal migrants from Bangladesh. And tribal militias continue to fight each other over conflicting homeland visions. But this time, the so-called migrants are determined to fight it out.
"The harassment of our people has to stop. Their roots may be in what is now Bangladesh, but almost all of them were born in Assam. So why should they be thrown out," says Badruddin Ajmal, chief of Assam's nascent minority party, the United Democratic Front.
Provoked
The acrimony recently hit fever pitch when one of the UDF's top leaders called for separate autonomous councils for Muslims in western Assam - along the lines of one created for Bodo tribes people in the state.
The UDF distanced itself from the demand but the Assamese groups have been sufficiently provoked.
Even the Ulfa, which avoids the shrill anti-Bangladesh rhetoric of other Assamese regional groups and targets the Indian government instead, warned Mr Ajmal "not to play with the sensitive social fabric of Assam".
Local journalist and one of the mediators for the Ulfa, Ajit Bhuiyan, blames the Indian government for the current situation.
"If a breakthrough had been achieved in the negotiations with the Ulfa, Assam would have returned to the road of peace. But now it is back to square one," he says. Talks broke down last September and military operations were resumed against the Ulfa, which hit back with serial bombings and attacks on Hindi-speakers. Assam's Congress Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, increasingly caught in the crossfire between Assamese radical groups and those representing minorities, has appealed to the Ulfa to return to talks.
His invitation has yet to be taken up. And while the UDF accuses Mr Gogoi of trying to crush the party and of failing to protect Muslims, the Assamese groups allege his government is "sacrificing" Assamese identity and turning a blind eye to illegal migration.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6958188.stm
Naga letter blow to tea growers A STAFF REPORTER The Telegraph
Guwahati, Aug. 24: Phuleswar Gogoi has procured a land acquisition certificate from the government and is all set to apply for Tea Board benefits to develop his 70-bigha tea estate located in Jorhat district along the Assam-Nagaland boundary. But a letter from the neighbouring state has jeopardised his plans.
“Why are agricultural activities being taken up in these areas meant for jhum cultivation without prior permission from Nagaland?” the letter sent to him by Leriman Basti village council in Nagaland asked and directed him to stop tea cultivation by today.
“Who would want to invest in a tea estate having an uncertain future? What will happen if the Nagas take possession of the tea estate tomorrow?” Gogoi, the president of the Seleng unit of the Small Tea Growers Association, said. Gogoi said the council had sent letters to seven small tea growers about 15 days ago. The letters have made all the small tea growers along the Assam-Nagaland boundary jittery about their future.
Most of these tea estates have come up on government land in the past two decades.
The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which has been spearheading the state’s fight against encroachment of land by neighbouring states, today staged a four-hour sit-in at Seleng Chariali, under Teok police station, to demand security for the small tea growers. The Jorhat unit president of AASU, Biren Saikia, said small tea growers in the bordering areas should be encouraged since they were the ones keeping Naga encroachers at bay by taking up cultivation.
“It is unfortunate that the government is a mute spectator to such threatening letters from across the border,” he said. Saikia said Nagaland has also asked Laujan High School authorities to hand over the school to Nagaland. Purna Phukon, another small tea grower, said he had struggled to procure the last possession certificate and had begun the process to apply for Tea Board benefits. But the letter had jeopardised his plans. With the small growers coming up as big players in the Assam tea industry, the commerce ministry has given stress on developing this sector. It directed the government to issue land acquisition certificates to small tea growers so that they could reap the benefits from the Tea Board. Gogoi said he has apprised the border peace committee, comprising representatives from Nagaland and Assam, about the letter. He, however, expressed doubts that he would get any support. “What is the use of having a peace committee when we receive such threatening letters from across the border?” he asked.
Extortion Hinders Business Growth In Manipur By Arun J. Pegu
How can anybody do good business in a situation of constant threat and illegal trade practices? This is exactly what is happening in Manipur, a state plagued by the constant extortion from the insurgent groups. The dealers in the IT industry are often 'taxed' by the insurgent groups to pay for their activities in the state.
Not just that many of the dealers and businessmen in the industry have to follow the instruction of insurgent groups before concluding any business transaction. All business agreements are forced to go through approvals from different insurgency group. Many of the regional dealers and distributors do admit that taxes are imposed on their monthly earnings to fund insurgent groups like PLA (military outfit of RPF), NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagalim), Prepak and UNLF in the name of "life insurance premium".
Highlighting the issue of IT market in the region, a dealer on the condition of anonymity said, "Here extortion is the major problem which deter further growth of IT market. The more powerful underground outfits appoint extortion gangs that target mostly big dealers and business tycoons. This is the main hurdle for further enhancement of the IT market in the region."
Added to this, the state is also seeing a burgeoning market for illegally imported goods, especially in IT. Since the state borders Myanmar and China, there is an influx of gray market products at cheaper pricing, which spells doom for the delicate business balance for legal goods mostly in IT. In fact insurgency groups are known to encourage this as this helps them with funds. The illegal traders also take support of the groups to promote gray market in the region. A tough nexus to break! In fact industry watchers say that this is impacting the whole of Northeastern markets of India.
In a scenario where the Indian IT market is seen as the golden opportunity by most big vendors across the world, a negative situation like extortion, corruption, and illegal trade practice in the name of freedom and revolution is only harming the economy of the state. It is high time the government and the IT industry worked together to tackle the issue. Barbs fly over valley claim
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Kohima, Aug. 24: Several Angami Naga organisations have condemned the claim made by Manipur Students’ Federation that Dzukou Valley belongs to Manipur. Reacting to a statement made by the MSF general secretary, Thokchom Bomcha, over a question in the UPSC preliminary examination recently, the Angami organisations reiterated that
“Dzükou Valley belongs to the southern Angamis of Nagaland and there has never been any doubt or dispute over it”.
The organisations described the MSF claim as “irrational and misleading”. A statement signed jointly by the Southern Angami Public Organisation (Sapo) president, Pheluphwe Kirha, Southern Angami Students’ Union president Pueyo Lcho, Sapo Core Committee Dzukou, secretary Kezhokhoto Savi and Southern Angami Youth Organisation president Sulvi Angami today made it clear that the people of southern Angami would never recognise any boundary, drawn arbitrarily by the British imperialists for administrative convenience. The signatories claimed the word “Dzükou” was derived from the Angami dialect and it itself was enough to “prove our authentic ownership”.
Taking serious exception to a question on Dzuko Valley that figured in this year’s UPSC civil services examination, volunteers of Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF) had on Tuesday seized copies of a career guidance magazine for publishing the “controversial question”. A question in the geography paper of the UPSC preliminary examination had asked candidates to match four valleys with the states. In the list, Dzukou Valley was given to match with Nagaland but Manipur was missing. Pratiyogita Darpan, a competitive examination booklet, had published the UPSC question in its August issue. In an ultimatum served on Wednesday, the MSF asked the UPSC to clarify its stand within seven days or be ready to face the consequences. Dzuko Valley has been a bone of contention between Manipur and neighbouring Nagaland. Both states stake claim to the valley.
Frans on 08.25.07 @ 03:03 PM CST [link]