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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 99
Quitting as CM in a huff was a mistake, Kejriwal says
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Dreams are the touchstones of our character
By Sandemo Ngullie
“Heard She still loves him, even though he abandoned her like some development project.”
The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn
Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your answer to 9862574165 Are Naga institutions and churches doing enough to nurture value based leadership in the society? Yes
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ECI urged to address Ladaigarh situation DIMAPUR, APRIL 11 (MExN): The Nagaland state BJP unit has expressed regret and condemned the “non inclusion” of the Ladigarh polling station under Tamlu 41 A/c for “being under the disputed area.” A press note from the BJP Nagaland unit requested the Election commission to look into the matter. The note further informed that party office bearers conducted a meeting on April 11, where reports of respective districts and constituencies were prepared. Stating that the election was a “well co ordinate democratic exercise,” it lauded the Election Commission, security forces, the people and all involved in the polls for their active participation.
UNTA appeals against creation of differences DIMAPUR, APRIL 11 (MExN): The United Naga Tribes Council has appealed against the creation of “further differences amongst Naga brethrens.” A press note from the UNTA cautioned individuals, group(s), village(s) or any government officials to refrain from indulging in “forceful means to occupy the land already acquired by member groups of UNTA adjacent to Rilan, Indisen, Ao Yimkum and Dikoi villages at Nagaland-Assam border.”
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–Henry David Thoreau
[ PAGE 2]
UN approves force for Central African Republic [ PAGE 9]
Doping ban for Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell [ PAGE 12]
indian women want politicians to deliver
SARAI, APRIL 11 (AP): Trudging home after a long day harvesting wheat, Veena Devi has little time for the political workers swarming her northern Indian village, seeking votes for their candidates. “They come to us each time promising piped water, public toilets and factory jobs. But these political leaders will disappear after they win,” said the grayhaired Devi, sitting outside her thatched-roof hut in Sarai, a village just outside the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. Women form more than 49 percent of India’s 814 million voters, but many of them, especially in rural India, feel their concerns are not taken seriously by political parties, and that they take a back seat to men in everything from health care to education to legal protection. India has had a woman president, a woman speaker of Parliament and women leaders of political parties. Two of India’s biggest states have women chief ministers. But few Indian women feel these leaders have served them well. And women leaders have rarely made
women’s issues a priority. “Most women leaders are careful not to identify themselves with women’s causes. They fear they will be marginalized in their own parties,” said Suniti Kumar, a shop manager from Varanasi. “In that, they are not so different from the men.” For millions of Indian women, the national elections that take place every five years are merely a minor distraction in their quietly desperate lives. Every day Devi, a 42-year-old widow, wakes well before dawn to accompany her teenage daughter to the nearby field they use as a toilet. They collect buckets of drinking water before heading to work in the landlord’s fields. On days when there is no farm work available, she toils at a nearby brick kiln. The money Devi earns, and the pittance her daughter gets doing odd jobs, is just enough to feed her and her three children. While India has a growing middle class, tens of millions of women still struggle with illiteracy, poverty and little social status. For these women, political choices are often still
In this April 4, 2014 photo, an Indian woman farmer works to separate peas from chaff at Bhaitora village, 65 kilometers east of Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh. Women form more than 49 percent of India’s 814 million voters, but many of them, especially in rural India, feel their concerns are not taken seriously by political parties, and that they take a back seat to men in everything from health care to education to legal protection. (AP Photo)
made by their husbands or male community leaders. Chaya Kumari, a field worker with a nongovernmental organization in Varanasi, makes her own political choices, and knows she is in the minority.
“My husband wants me to vote for his candidate. I refused and there is little he can do about it,” she said, her voice filled with determination. Kumari said she can defy her husband because
she holds a steady job and is not financially dependent on him. For most Indian women, safety remains their biggest concern. Outrage seized India more than a year ago when
a young woman was gangraped on a moving New Delhi bus and later died of her injuries, becoming a symbol of the dangers that millions of women face every time they leave their homes. An outpouring of protests pushed the government, and political leaders of all hues, to join the cause. Since then, voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women have been made criminal offenses, courts dealing with sex crimes have become faster and men who are repeatedly convicted of rape have become eligible for the death penalty. Political parties also promised to find ways to empower women — though have done very little to follow through. Except for the high-profile female leaders, most parties field few women candidates. The last general election saw 59 women, or a little over 10 percent, elected to the lower house of Parliament, out of 543 members. Few women politicians have the money they need to fund campaigns, making them dependent on parties for financial help. Fewer still get that help.
“The biggest hurdle women in politics face is from within the political parties to which they belong,” said Sehba Farooqui, a New Delhi-based political activist. Major parties are careful to include women in their platforms, though the communists are the only one that favors setting aside one-third of legislative seats for women. In Sarai, Devi’s woes stem from the abject poverty that grips the region, in Uttar Pradesh,India’s biggest state. Decades of poor governance have left literacy levels low, health care abysmal and other public services lacking. Devi cooks over a small fire she makes with sticks, and gets water from a hand pump shared by nine families. Rusted pipes reaching from an irrigation canal some distance away end abruptly near the village, evidence of failed promises made during a 2009 election. “When politicians want our vote, they say: ‘Sister, we will get you water pipelines, we will get you higher wages,’” said Devi. “They win, and then they forget their sisters.”
You don’t play with NSCN (K) clarifies on April 9 attack children’s lives: Pope Orgs seek justice for victims VATICAN CITY, APRIL 11 (AP): Pope Francis asked for forgiveness Friday from people who were sexually abused by priests, and vowed that there will be no going back in the church’s fight to protect children. Francis made the off-the-cuff remarks after coming under criticism from victims’ advocacy groups for a perceived lack of attention to the problem and ongoing demands that he sanction bishops who covered up for pedophiles. In his remarks to members of the International Catholic Child Bureau, a French Catholic network of organizations that protects children’s rights, Francis said he felt “called to take it upon myself” and “ask forgiveness” for the evil that some priests had com-
mitted against children. “The church is aware of this damage; you don’t play around with the lives of children,” the Pope was quoted as saying. Last month, Francis named the initialmembersofacommissiontoadvise him on best practices to combat sexual abuse in the church. Half of them are women and one was assaulted by a priest as a child. The Vatican has said the members will draft the statutes of the commission and would look into the legal “duties and responsibilities” of church personnel, a suggestion that they might take up the critical question of disciplining complicit bishops. Church law provides for sanctions if a bishop is negligent in carrying out his duties, but to date no bishop has been disciplined for protecting an abuser.
DIMAPUR, APRIL 11 (MExN): The NSCN (K) has clarified on the April 9 attack on ACAUT member, Abe Mero and one other person, stating that “none of its cadres deployed at Urban Town Command (Kohima) was involved in the incident.” A press note from the MIP informed that the group had conducted “thorough deliberation, enquiries and investigation” on the matter. It further clarified that “the person mentioned in the media, stated to be the younger brother of the commander, urban command is no more in its fold and the person involved in the incident had been terminated from the NSCN (K) in the year 2012 for repeatedly going against the azah
of the government.” NSCK (K) stated that “his termination order was served after he was caught by the Kohima Police in several cases.” The concerned person, according to the MIP was also booked under NSA and was released on bail a few months back. While condemning the incident, NSCN (K) said that such anti-social elements “deserve no place in society” and assured to extend full support in nabbing the culprits involved in the incident. It added that the NSCN (K) “will take stern action against the culprit for tarnishing the image of the NSCN (K) government if the culprit is arrested.” It further expressed hope for speedy recovery of those injured during the course of the incident.
KOHIMA, APRIL 11 (MExN): The Business Association of Nagaland (BAN) and the Youth Association of Nagaland (YAN) have demanded justice for ACAUT member, Abe Mero and one other person, who were attacked in Kohima on April 9. A press note from the BAN stated that “such defiance for law and order in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and security.” It added that such acts are “criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation.”
It further demanded justice for the victims of the crime. Stating that “every member of BAN is a committed business man and woman striving hard to make a living and also to make the world a better place,” it added that the “whole Naga business community is deeply grieved” and that it would “take a strong stand against such crimes.” Meanwhile, the YAN condemned the incident and called upon the authority to bring the culprit(s) to book and deliver justice to the victim.
‘our roots bind us together’
NASA to take you farther into our galaxy WASHINgTON, APRIL 11 (IANS): Applying a technique that can yield new insight into dark energy in space, astronomers can now precisely measure the distance of stars up to 10,000 light-years away - 10 times farther than previously possible. Astronomers used the 24-year-old NASA’s Hubble space telescope by employing a technique called spatial scanning that improves Hubble’s accuracy for precision distance measurements 10 times farther into our galaxy. “This new capability is expected to yield new insight into the nature of dark energy, a mysterious component of space that is pushing the universe apart at an ever-faster rate,” explained Noble laureate Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Saturday, April 12, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
Church nurturing young entrepreneurs
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reflections
Selena Gomez fires parents as managers
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Ura Academy president Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu and others during the ceremonial event to mark beginning of celebration for the 75th anniversary of Ura Academy on April 11. (Morung Photo)
Ura Academy nearing 75 years of existence Chizokho Vero Shajouba (Manipur) | April 11
Marking the beginning of celebrations to commemorate 75 years of its existence, the Ura Academy today conducted a ceremonial event at Makhel/ Mekhrora and Chitebu Kajii/Kitsubo (The Sacred Wild Pear Tree), Shajouba village, in order to acknowledge and honor the origin of the Tenyimias. “Celebrating 75 years of existence is a great plat-
form for all of us to begin the process of reclaiming and relearning our history and culture and therefore, enable shared-responsibility for all,” said Daso Paphino, convener, Ura Academy Platinum Jubilee Organizing Committee. He asserted that for everyone to advance fully and progressively towards its future, it is critical to recognize and claim their roots of origin. “Our roots bind us together. It is our roots that give us the foundations and the nourishments for us to grow as one big community spreading our branches towards all directions.
Our forefathers brought us to this special land and blessed us to grow and develop fully into our destiny. It is here where they settled for us to live as a united family. We are here to pay our highest respect and honour to them for their wisdom, perseverance and sacrifices that brought to where we are today,” said Paphino. “When we acknowledge our culture, language and other traditional heritage given to us by our forefathers, we begin to realize that we have a unique role to play to enrich the diversity of human co-exis-
tence,” he said. He also stated that Ura Academy is committed to play its rightful role to promote and encourage young Nagas to learn, value and develop our heritage, especially language and culture. Speaking at the occasion, Ura Academy president, Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu said that Ura Academy was set up in 1939. Highlighting the activities and initiatives of Ura Academy, he said that necessary formalities have been submitted to the Government of India for inclusion of Tenyidie in the Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution and the response is awaited. He called upon elders to promote and propagate the language of Tenyidie to youngsters. Dr. Liezietsu said that it is important to know one’s own language to keep alive one’s identity. He informed that the platinum jubilee of Ura Academy will take place from May 29 to 30 this year in Kohima and extended invitation to one and all to be part of the celebration.
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