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www.morungexpress.com
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 128
The Morung Express “
www.morungexpress.com
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What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others
Relaxed Manmohan Singh winds down, no holiday plans
Bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst wins...
[ PAGE 8]
Monday, May 12, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4 –Confucius
Nagaland legislators observe Mothers’ Day at Kaziranga [ PAGE 2]
Ukraine regions hold sovereignty vote
[ PAGE 11]
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Hamilton wins Spanish GP [ PAGE 12]
[ PAGE 9]
need to address illegal adoption in nagaland
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
Interests of many illegally adopted children are being neglected Ashikho Pfuzhe Dimapur | May 11
Yesterday the church was fully packed. How many of them were Christians and how many were Cashtians?
The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn
Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your answer to 9862574165 Has the Church and civil society organizations been silent over poll malpractices in Nagaland? Yes
no
Others
Are the modern-day nagas willing to overcome and go beyond tribalism? Yes
42% 45%
no Others
13%
Details on page 7
MAy 13 rAlly ZBN directs frontal orgs not to participate Story on page 5
A young Indian girl walks carrying water as others wait for a municipal water tanker to arrive in Ramol, outskirts of Ahmadabad, Sunday, May 11. As India faces certain water scarcity and ecological decline, the country’s main political parties campaigning for elections have all but ignored environmental issues seen as crucial to India’s vast rural majority, policy analysts say. With 814 million eligible voters, India’s weeks long general election runs through May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament set to be announced May 16. (AP Photo)
Karbi bodies call for dialogue over border issue
Govt asked to NASA recreates Nagaland encroachers or cosmic dust in lab control face Economic Blockade
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Washington, May 11 (ians): NASA scientists have for the first time reproduced tiny particles of dust that are known to accumulate around red giant stars. Stellar dust is very special stuff as it forms the building blocks for planets. “The harsh conditions of space are extremely difficult to reproduce in the laboratory, and have long hindered efforts to interpret and analyse observations from space,” Farid Salama, space science researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California, was quoted as saying. Using the Cosmic Simulation Chamber (COSmIC), scientists have been able to create the same dust that is ejected into the interstellar medium as a star approaches the end of its life. Until now, the production mechanisms behind these small dust grains have been a mystery and impossible to recreate in a laboratory setting. “Using the COSmIC simulator, we can now discover clues to questions about the composition and the evolution of the universe, both major objectives of NASA’s space research programme,” Salama said. Able to simulate the stellar environment down to densities billions of times less than that of earth’s atmosphere, jets of cold argon gas seeded with hydrocarbons are sprayed into the vacuum. The extreme cold, high radiation environment can then be simulated, blasting the whole system with an electrical discharge. After the gas mixture was exposed to the mini space environment analogue, the researchers detected the production of tiny grains of dust that carry similar characteristics as the dust generated by dying stars. Using an electron scanning microscope, these primordial dust grains were studied.
Morung Express news Dimapur | May 11
The Coordination Committee for Border Protection, Karbi Anglong (CCBPKA) stated today that it is willing to have a dialogue with Naga civil bodies to resolve the Assam-Nagaland border issue. Convenor of the CCBPKA, Bidya Sing Teron, said that the Karbi civil society has been asking their Naga counterparts (Naga Hoho, NSF, Naga Council Dimapur etc.) to take an initiative to “talk to the encroachers” as well as the Karbi civil bodies for nearly 3 months now. This initiative, however, has not been taken yet by the Naga civil bodies, it was informed. “We were left with no other alternatives after waiting for 2-3 months, so we directly appealed to the Government of Nagaland to stop the
encroachers, or we will have to impose an economic blockade,” said Teron. Karbi civil bodies, namely the Karbi Students Association, Assom Jatiabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad Karbi Anglong, Karbi Students and Youth Council, Karbi Riso Adarbar, All Assam Gorkha Students Union, Karbi Unemployed Youth Association, United Students Union of Karbi Anglong and Karbi Reawakening Organisation, have come together under the CCBPKA to make the “appeal” to the Government of Nagaland to control the encroachers or face an economic blockade of up to 90 days. “What else can we, as general public, do to protect our homeland when people are grabbing our land forcefully?” questioned Teron, terming the call for an economic blockade (yet uncharted) a “democratic fight”. “We regret the gun battles and violence—it is not a good sign for the people living in the region and can hamper the relationship between neighbours,” he said, reiterating that “we can still have a dialogue with Naga civil bodies if they are ready.”
A 17-year-old Naga girl, adopted by a single mother the day she was born, was thrown out of the house after relations between the girl and her adopted mother became strained. The girl was not only denied her birth certificate and educational documents when she was forced to leave the house but was also served an ultimatum to change her name and the clan of her adopted mother. In another case, a Naga family who adopted two non-local boys is at the receiving end as the two boys have started questioning their “real identity” and parentage and are causing a lot of problems at home. The adopted parents are perplexed as their approach to legally adopt the two boys after many years would not mitigate the tension running in the family. These are typical in-
DiMaPUR, May 11 (MExn): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has stated that the low voting percentage in the May 10 repolls at Akhakhu and Naltoqa under 33 A/C “vindicates the stand of the NPCC that massive polling malpractices adorned the entire polling process for election to the 16th Lok Sabha from Nagaland Parliamentary Constituency.” The two polling stations had recorded a voting percentage of 31.25% and 41.37 respectively during the repolls. The NPCC, in a press note reminded that both
the polling stations had earlier polled more than 100% votes on April 9. As such, it reiterated the party’s demand for repolls in 1344 polling stations that polled over 90 % and above. “The low voting percentage in the two re-polling stations is a befitting reply to the Returning Officer who had chosen to publicly rubbish the NPCCs claim on massive polling malpractices carried out by the NPF government and its workers across the state,” the NPCC stated. It added that the Nagaland Returning Officer’s report, which was published in the media, “is therefore uncalled for.” The NPCC reiterated that there is “hard evidences of low voter turnout followed by massive rigging and booth capturing.” With regard to the RO
Kikon said. ‘Wondang Ki’ and ‘Mothers’ Hope’, both based in Dimapur, are the only two SSAs in Nagaland. Kikon informed that the JJ Act emphasizes on the “best interest of the child” in all adoption processes and “to provide permanent substitute parents to a child who cannot be cared by his biological parents.” However, in cases of illegal adoption, the “best interest of the child is totally neglected” as there is no written agreement guaranteeing protection or safeguarding the future of an adopted child. The ‘Wondang Ki’ managing director further said that in both government and private hospitals of Nagaland, there are numerous cases of infants, born out of wedlock or abandoned, being given to others as “commodities” without going through the legal processes of adoption, which amounts to
trafficking. Recently, the Nagaland Alliance for Child Rights (NACR) in a memorandum to the Chairperson of the Nagaland State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NSCPCR) urged the later to check the rampant illegal adoptions taking place in both government and private hospitals in Nagaland. It directed that notices be served directing a stop to the practice of giving infants for adoptions from hospitals. NACR stated that such practices not only violates the best interest of the child in the process of adoption but is also a direct violation of Government of India rules on Adoption. This offence is punishable under Section 370 IPC with imprisonment of not less than 7 years but may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine. NACR has urged that the notice may also be published in local newspapers.
NSCN (IM) leaders to of BooKs AnD reADinG leave for Delhi on May 13 “Knowledge is Power”…and it’s all the static matter of print. Imsuienla Jamir, who newmai news network Dimapur | May 11
The NSCN (IM) Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and the General Secretary, Thuingaleng Muivah will be leaving Dimapur for New Delhi on May 13, Tuesday in connection with the ongoing peace talks. The formal talks are likely to resume next month. According to well placed sources, Swu and Muivah will leave Dimapur on Tuesday while the ‘advance team’ of the NSCN (IM) will leave Dimapur on Monday, May 12. The NSCN (IM) leaders have been in Nagaland since March 9. In their two month stay here, the two leaders had signed the Lenten Agreement with the FGN/NNC and the NSCN/GPRN under the aegis of Forum for Naga Reconciliation. Formation of the Naga National Government (NNG) is clearly featured in the Lenten Agreement. The NNG is a product of the ‘Naga Concordant’. In the March 28 meeting, the NSCN (IM) and the GPRN/NSCN had agreed in principle to the formation of the NNG.
NPCC on low repoll turnout
Claims that NPCC stand is ‘vindicated’
stances of the dilemma faced by both adopted children and parents due to illegal adoption, which is rampant in Naga society. According to NT Kikon, managing director of ‘Wondang Ki’, a specialized adoption agency, in Nagaland most adoptions are done illegally outside the specialized adoption agencies (SSA). SSAs follow Section 41, sub-section 1&3 of Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of children) Act 2000/2009 along with the guidelines laid down by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) under the Ministry of Women and Child. Citing another case, Kikon said a Naga man in his early fifties was denied of family property and asked to shift his house from the family land when his adopted father died. “He was compelled to leave for his dignity, he was compelled to trace his roots and change his clan name”,
“crediting high voter turnout on to the Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign,” the NPCC stated that this “contradicts that of the state Chief Electoral Officer who had stated that high voter turnout is due to proxy voting,” as per a “statement published in the media on March 27, 2014.” NPCC stated that over 1334 out of 2058 (excluding Ladigarh) polling stations polled over 90% votes “despite the voter turnout being abysmally low especially in urban areas.” It then expressed shock to find that “the EVMs were stuffed with random proxy voting by NPF workers in connivance with polling officials” The NPCC further questioned as to what actions the Nagaland Returning Officer “had taken, at
least on the polling station where voters with multiple voter slips were caught on CCTV footage.” It lamented that the RO has “failed to discharge his bounden duty as an official who was supposed to function with strict impartiality and uphold the neutrality of the election machinery.” The NPCC further stated that it had, in the first place, “never questioned the integrity of the RO but had only demanded fair probe into the large scale polling malpractices that had made a mockery of the entire democratic process.” It asserted that the party would continue “its relentless fight against the polling malpractices that has subverted the principles of free and fair elections and has made a mockery of democracy in the state.”
between the covers of the book.
Dr Asangba Tzudir Dimapur | May 11
Any civilized society is marked by an intellectual environment besides civic sensibility and one that sets high moral standards. The case of Nagaland state ostensibly presents a looming skepticism over the value of knowledge and thereby ‘truth,’ that we are confronted by a major crises - intellectual bankruptcy. This has happened to a society that lacks reading culture. Reading is a pleasurable activity. But what makes it pleasurable? Why do people who love to read love to read? I suppose only an avid reader or a ‘book worm’ will know. But whatever it is that makes reading books pleasurable, books are windows that open up your imagination and let you travel across the unbounded world of knowledge. Sadly, there seems to be a lack of reading culture amongst youngsters especially students. Chumben Merry, a B.A student of Dimapur Government College opines that, “studentsarenotencouraged by teachers to read books, magazines, GK, etc. Our college library does not have any latest magazine. With our focus only on course study our minds becomes static and not dynamic.” Rongsenkala, who teaches at CHSS Dimapur, says that, “the lack of reading culture among students
is because social networking sites have robbed them of their time and imagination. We are losing our oral tradition. Today’s parents/ elders lack a sense of story-telling…thus there is a failure to instill the spirit of inquisitiveness or the thirst for more knowledge through reading.” As Tsutsowe Kupa, EAC (P), aptly puts, “If our environment itself does not produce incentives for reading, then the question of motivation to read does not arise.” He laments the lack of intellectual and spiritual search among children, who are more into material and social nourishment, which is tangible besides its associated immediacy having returns that are visible and worldly desirable. Bokali Shohe cites the fast lifestyle they live in today. They are also overtly exposed to technology and media culture. TV keeps them entertained with movies faster than they can read a story in a book. In such a lifestyle, reading books and using their imagination is no longer considered an ideal way to spend their time. Vits Savi Nagi from Kohima says that, “reading is hardly encouraged apart from syllabus at schools.” She adds, given the context, what is dynamic before the eyes seems more appealing such as social media, technology, etc. irrespective of how substantial its contents might be rather than
teaches at GHSS, Jalukie, laments the lack of proper libraries in most institutions. She adds, “Amazingly, there is hardly any proper bookstore in the state. There is hardly any readership amongst the teachers themselves and hence cannot influence or encourage.” First and foremost, one cannot be forced into reading unless certain interest is generated in their minds which are already trapped in a ‘virtual attack.’ Reading should be done for the sake of reading. Knowledge and learning should not be seen as a tool to get into jobs. If we only stack it within the end object of getting a job, then that’s full stop to knowledge and education. Of course it is important to get a job but we need to approach knowledge and education for the sake of it, so that reading and learning becomes pleasurable and fun. This calls for sensibility and collective responsibility of parents, teachers, students and society at large. Nagaland finds itself robbed of an intellectual environment and there is an urgency to revive the culture of reading towards building a critically thinking society. Within the sparse reading, there is also a ‘compartmentalized exclusivity’ where certain books are only confined to certain groups or sections of people. Knowledge needs to be channeled and shared. Abraham Lincoln said, “The things I want to know are in books.” They are integral as well as forms the basis for thinking. On a redeeming note, my spirits brightened up with hope for Nagas on learning that the favorite authors of the twin sisters and HSLC toppers, Mesano Peseyie and Medeno Peseyie included classic writers like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. They just passed HSLC but are already exposed to such books.
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