Northeast Platform

by Charles Chasie “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…” — Charles Dickens in Tale of Two Cities “Beware of the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry, [who] infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How will I know? For this I have done. And I am Julius Caesar”. — William Shakespeare in Jul...

by Anil Bhat Manipur’s media has been bearing the brunt of both menacing threats from the many terrorist groups and pressure from the state government. While some reporters have been killed, quite often editors have been hounded and even abducted. So, reporting on the deterioration of security and law and order in Manipur right since 2004 has been quite hazardous. This daily is out of the few in New Delhi which has been regularly reporting on the situation in Manipur and the north-eastern states, interspersed by comment pieces now and then. It is no wonder then that two disturbing and highly newsworthy developments in Manipur, which local correspondents and reporters may have been justifiably been hesitant to report on, came my way through two retired Army officers in Imphal, who write regularly for local dailies. Major R.S. Jassal, who served in Assam Rifles, married a Tangkhul Naga lady and settled in Manipur, has written about how non-Manipuris are being intimidated by undergro...

27/5/2010 by Yambem Laba WHEN Thuingaleng Muivah left for the jungles to wage a bush war against India more than 40 years ago, never once did he think of returning home. Which is one reason why he was never caught. Instead, he trekked to China’s Yunan province and made the Kachinland and Somra tract in Myanmar his home, from where he directed his cadres in hit-and-run tactics. By 1980 he emerged as the flag-bearer of Naga insurgency following the ill-fated 1975 Shillong Accord. In 1988, when the NSCN broke up, he almost lost his life. He ought to be thankful to the Meiteis for saving him for it was the United National Liberation Front that had warned him of the impending danger when the Pangmeis and Konyak cadres rose in revolt against Tangkhul domination. However, in the skirmishes that followed, he lost his trusted aide, Lt-Col Luitha Tangkhul, and a host of other Tangkhul followers. Around the same time, R Minshaming, then chairman of the Tangkhul region of the NSCN, was caught by...

IMPHAL, April 3: The Integrated Check Post (ICP) Joint Action Committee, Moreh ward No. 1 has urged concerned authorities to delay distribution of compensation to the affected land owners/pattadars until the KNO/KNA is shifted out of Moreh and Chandel district or else the land owners/pattadars of Moreh ICP are resettled at a suitable place. According to a statement jointly signed by the chairman, Semjathang Haokip and secretary, Ngamjathang Lhungdim, the JAC revealed that the president of the HTC Moreh, Jangmang Haokip has been threatening the land owners/pattadars that they would get their share of 50 percent wherever the compensation is distributed. It said that despite being aware of such intimidations to the public, the Chandel district authorities remain silent spectators. The failure of the concerned authorities despite open intimidation and is unfortunate, it said. The JAC also alleged that all the extortions at Moreh is made through the HTC by the KNA/KNO including NGR...

IMPHAL, April 4: Altogether 12 local organisations of Arapti Mayai Leikai in Lilong convened a public meeting today and discuss over collapse of GT Memorial Academy in which a girl student was killed. Mention may be made a standard III student of the school namely Konsam Rosni died at the school during a heavy storm on April 1 afternoon. During today’s meeting, principal of GT Memorial Academy, M Kirankumar disclosed that Rosni was amongst students who ran out from the class room when the heavy storm struck the school on the fateful day on April 1. However, the girl suddenly rushed into her classroom apparently to collect her missing belongings. No sooner she moved into the class room, a Mango tree suddenly felled into the school structure and hit the girl student and killed instantly. During today’s meeting, representatives of 12 local organisations and local public later unanimously resolved to allow the school to revive with new rigid structure so that no students could be ...

IMPHAL, April 4: The first high level meeting of the state security advisory body was convened yesterday afternoon soon after Gopal Sharma, Retd. DGP BSF, the security advisor to the chief minister Okram Ibobi, took charge of his new office. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the chief minister at his official bungalow from 3.30 pm till around 6.30 pm.and reviewed the existing law and order situation in the state. The meeting was also attended by the chief secretary Manipur, DS Poonia, commissioner home V Vumlunmang, DGP Y Joykumar Singh, IG, Intelligence LM Khoute and concerned SPs of both Imphal East and Imphal West who submitted reports of various security related problems which hinder the progress of various major projects undertaking in the state. In particular, the meeting discussed reports of interferences by insurgent groups in the construction work of the Capitol Project at Chingmeirong, Tipaimukh Multipurpose Project, Loktak Downstream Project and various ...

DUBAI: Legendary painter M F Husain, who was recently granted Qatari citizenship, has surrendered his Indian passport to the country's mission in Doha, a media report said on Monday. 95-year-old Husain, revered by many as India's Picasso, on Sunday went to the country's mission in Doha and surrendered his Indian passport, the Gulf Times reported. Husain, who has been living in self-imposed exile for nearly four years following a spate of cases in India over his controversial paintings of Hindu goddesses, had accepted Qatar's offer and would no longer be an Indian, his son Owais Husain said recently. India does not recognize dual citizenship. So, "in such a situation, surrendering passport by the person concerned is mandatory and Husain has only done that," an Indian Embassy official was quoted as saying by the paper. The artist has also applied for the Overseas Citizen of India card, the mission sources said, adding the embassy has facilitated all requ...