19th March 2014

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www.morungexpress.com

Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 75

The Morung Express “

www.morungexpress.com

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Love, we say, is life; but love without hope and faith is agonizing death

Kejriwal says he will defeat Modi [ PAGE 8]

Fashion World Mourns Designer L’Wren Scott’s Untimely Death

Empowering young leaders in fight against HIV/AIDS [ PAGE 2]

Planning could hold key to missing MH370

[ PAGE 11]

[ PAGE 9]

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4 –Elbert Hubbard

Kevin Pietersen named Delhi Daredevils captain [ PAGE 12]

NAGALAND AND RTE Self regulation for SSA Teachers’ Agitation- How long can one survive?

Vibi Yhokha Kohima | March 18

“To go to school regularly without being paid for four months, how long can one survive?” questions Thungchamo Lotha, a Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teacher and General Secretary, Nagaland SSA Teachers’ Association (NSSATA), Dimapur, voicing out the plight of the 2730 teachers in Nagaland appointed under SSA who have been working without being paid a salary for four months now.

NSSATA is on its first phase of a pen down, silent agitation demanding the payment of pending salaries from November 2013 to February 2014 and arrears of 2013; induction of SSA teachers (2010-2013 batch) as regular government employees; SSA teachers’ salaries to be made from the non-plan revenue expenditure and cessation of new appointments of retiring state government teachers until SSA teachers are absorbed under the said category.

“We were the first batch to be appointed through a proper channel.

We sat in the written exams, gave interviews and were approved by the Cabinet, Finance Department and PNAR. The treatment that the Government is giving us is totally unfair,” says Visechol Chaya, President, NSSATA, while pointing out the irony of the functioning of the Government wherein SSA teachers are deprived of their salaries while many bogus teachers are regularized instead of being terminated.

Then, “There are cases where both the husband and wife are working as SSA teachers, who have not received their salary for four months, so one can imagine how they are surviving,” adds Thejakhrielie, an SSA teacher. As the Government of Nagaland continues to pass the buck without solving the salary crisis, the NSSATA agitation is gaining further momentum. It is important to note that the mobilization started with zero resources especially for the SSA teachers in the rural areas who are

the worse-affected.

The agitation has affected students in particular but the agitating teachers maintain that their motive is not to jeopardize the welfare of the students.

“We are fed up with verbal assurances,” admits Chaya. “Our students are mostly helpers or children belonging to the weaker sections of the society; they are children who are in most need of education in our society. Like any other student, they have high dreams and ambitions.

We also want to contribute and help the government promote education. We waited for a long time to start the agitation, with lots of expectation and hope for a change.”

“We have reached a point where tolerating is not going to solve the issue. This is our only source of livelihood. We are serving and earning,” says Thungchamo Lotha, adding that most people who are indifferent towards the agitation must remember the four months of hardship they faced, hoping that the Government

will deliver their demands.

The current SSA agitation is perhaps a tiny drop in the mighty ocean of corruption in the education sector of the Government of Nagaland. The teachers lament that even though the long pending textbooks have arrived, it is doubtful whether it will be enough for the 11 districts.

The Central government provides notebooks but these hardly reach the students. The dream of free uniforms remains half-fulfilled, with the students usually receiving a shirt and trouser while they have to spend from their own pockets for the rest.

“The government has committed the worst mistake when it comes to education in Nagaland. It starts from something as small as pencils to construction of infrastructure and from salaries to mid-day-meals,” adds Visechol, who concludes that the Government needs to correct itself where it has erred and that neither the teachers nor the students should suffer because of the Government’s mistakes.

Aghunaqa public warn of boycotting LS polls Morung Express news Dimapur | March 18

The public of Aghunaqa border belt, Dimapur, has threatened to boycott the approaching parliamentary elections if their demand for setting up adequate polling stations in the area is not met. A joint forum of Aghunaqa civil society declared at a press conference on March 18 that electors in the area will abstain from voting if the demand is not met.

The Aghunaqa GBs Union (AKK), Aghunaqa Area Students Union, Ag-

hunaqa Sumi Totimi Hoho, Aghunaqa Area Sports Association and VDB Aghunaqa Block along with political party units of the area had submitted a representation to the Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland on February 18 last stating the reasons behind the demand. But the government has failed to respond, it was maintained.

Aghunaqa area, under Niuiland sub-division, comprises 38 villages with more than 10,000 registered voters. It is a constituent of 4 Ghaspani I Assembly Con-

stituency. Considering the number, the forum said, Aghunaqa area requires at least nine polling stations at Homeland, Khehuto, Nitozu, Tohoi, P. Vihoto, Aghunaqa, Yetoho, Zhekishe and Nikihe villages.

The area has yet to have a polling station, inconveniencing voters in the area, the forum said. As a result, voters here have to travel 20-40 km to cast their votes at the nearest polling station, located at Kiyezu village, it was stated. The distance to the polling station has remained a problem

for the aged and resulted in poor voter turnout, giving way to proxy voting.

Restriction on vehicular movement and clamping of CrPC 144, in the lead up to polling day, further dissuades voters from heading to the polling station, the forum explained.

The Aghunaqa area is designated as a ‘Disturbed Area Belt’ (DAB) owing to the border dispute between Assam and Nagaland.

While the area does not have a single polling station, villages on the Assam side, which also fall within the

DAB, have polling stations.

“Our neighbours on the Assam side have eight polling stations but we have none,” said a member of the forum at the press conference today. The forum further stated that it had earlier written to the Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi, outlining the difficulty faced by voters in the area, but nothing has been done so far.

Quoting the Election Commission’s norms, the forum maintained that the area deserves a polling station within a two-kilometer reach of every voter.

curbing paid news Our Correspondent Kohima | March 18

State Level Master Trainer and Coordinator for Natural Disaster Management ATI Nagaland, Dr. Hovithal Sothu today asserted that self regulation by political parties, candidates and media houses is the ultimate solution to address the issue of paid news. He stated this while addressing a training programme on ‘Paid News’ at the office of the Chief Elector Officer, Nagaland (Media Cell) on Tuesday.

He called upon the trainees to stay informed about the regulatory mechanism and consequences regarding paid news. To the media persons, he requested, “let us work together for clean and free elections.”

Representatives from the electronic and print media, and political partiesNaga People’s Front (NPF), BJP and JD (U), attended the training.

Dr. Sothu said that paid news tries to evade election expenditure laws/ceilings, causes undue influence on voters and affects their right to information. There is circumstantial evidence, but not much clinching proof, as charges are promptly denied by both sides, he said.

The ECI has appointed a Media Certification & Monitoring Committee (MCMC) at state and district levels to scrutinize all media within its jurisdiction, to identify political advertisements in the garb of news. MCMC shall also actively consider paid news

WHEN CAN ONE SUSPECT PAID NEWS? • Identical articles with photographs & headlines appearing in Newspapers carrying by-lines of different authors around the same time.

• On the same page of specific newspapers, articles praising candidates with comments such as “likely to win.”

• News item stating that a candidate is getting the support of all sections of society & that would win.

• News items favoring a candidate, not carrying any byline.

• Newspaper publishing a banner headline stating that a party/candidate is ready to create history in the state/constituency but not carrying any news item related to this headline.

• News item saying that the good works done by a Party/Candidate had marginalized the electoral prospects of the other party/candidate in the state with all sentences of the news item in favor of the party/ candidate.

• Instances of fixed size news items, with a double-column photo. News items are seldom written in such a rigid format & size, whereas advertisements are most often.

• In specific newspapers, multiple font types & multiple drop case styles were noticed within the same page of a single newspaper. Such things happen because –layouts, fonts, printouts, photographs – were provided by candidates who paid for slots in the newspaper. cases referred to it by the Expenditure Observers.

Dr. Sothu informed that publishing and abetting the publishing of paid news is an electoral offence, with punishment of a minimum of 2 years imprisonment.

Regarding advertisements in media, MCMC shall check, if the same is with the consent or knowledge of the candidate. If it is done with the candidate’s knowledge/consent, it will be accounted for in the election expenses of the candidate. If not, then action may be taken for prosecution of the publisher for violation of Section 171H of the IPC. If any election pam-

phlet, poster, handbill and other document does not carry name and address of the publisher, as required under Section 127A of RPA 1951, action can be taken against the defaulters, he said.

The State level MCMC shall dispose the case within 96 hrs of receipt of appeal, and convey the decision to the candidate, with a copy to the District level MCMC. The Candidate may appeal against the decision of the state level MCMC to the ECI, within 48 hours of receiving of order from the committee. Following this, the decision of the ECI shall be final.

UNTA demands withdrawal BOOK FAIR HELD AT CAREWELL SCHOOL, DIMAPUR of 144 CrPC within 24-hours

DIMAPUR, MARCH 18 (MExN): The United Naga Tribes Association (UNTA) has submitted a representation to the Dimapur Deputy Commissioner, demanding withdrawal of Section 144 CrPC in the Dimapur side of its border with Karbi Anglong, within 24 hours.

The UNTA representation, appended by Chairman

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

Chubatangit Jamir and Secretary, Hukavi Yepthomi, called upon the district administration to “maintain neutrality in all policing matters in the said area and stop unnecessary harassment of Naga people inhabiting and residing in and around the traditional land of the Nagas, adjoining Dimapur.” It further

urged the district administration to co-ordinate with its Assam counterparts and “bring back those arrested and booked under several acts illegally by Diphu police.” The UNTA cautioned that it would not be held responsible for any untoward consequences,” resulting from failure to consider the demands .

ncsU demands new tender for nagaland foothill road KOHIMA, MARCH 18 (MExN): The Nagaland Contractors and Supplies Union (NCSU) has issued a reminder to the Chief Engineer, PWD (A&B), reiterating its demand for cancellation of work order against the Nagaland Foothill Road and invite open tender to the concerned office. The union, in a press note, ex-

pressed concern that its demand, which was submitted on March 10, 2014, has not seen any development and has instead led to “misunderstanding between different parties.” As such, the NCSU cautioned that it would be compelled to take its own course of action in the court of law, if the demands are not addressed.

Traffic regulations for NLA session “I don’t want to be the next CM of nagaland; too many problems.”

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The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn

Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your anSwer to 9862574165 Do you feel that Nagaland should have more Members of Parliament to the Lok Sabha?

Yes

no

Others

KOHIMA, MARCH 18 (MExN): In view of the fourth session of the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly from March 20 to 24, the Kohima SP has informed of various traffic regulations to be enforced during the said duration. A press note from the SP informed that only vehicles with the appropriate car pass will be allowed to enter the Assembly Secretariat.

No vehicles will be al-

lowed to park by the roadside from 6:00 am onwards in the areas from BSNL Telephone Exchange till M/S Classic Island, from Raj Bhavan till M/S Classic Island (only on March 20) and from M/S Classic Island till Assembly Secretariat. The SP cautioned that police will tow away any defaulting vehicles parked on the above mentioned stretch of road and that towing charges will be realized from the defaulter.

Books are a mirror of ones soul which enrich the mind and soothe the heart. Carewell School, Dimapur organized a One Day 'Book Fair' on 15th March, 2014, with the initiatives and keen interest of Mr. P.De, Founder Director of the school, in order to promote good and wholesome books reading habits amongst children to widen their knowledge and to help them to grow up intellectually .The fair was organized by Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd., one of the largest publishers and distributors of children’s books in India and overseas. The fair started at 9.00am with the inauguration by the Headmaster Mr.P.N. Sahay.

Thousands of useful and informative books of various types were displayed in different rows in an orderly manner for the rapt attention of the visitors. Books of various types and interests such as novels, stories, biographies, travels, and adventures, dramas, fictions, current affairs, science, mathematics etc. evoked an enthusiastic response from the book-lovers. Child literature and some excellent and rare books stole the lime light. The fair was attended by a good number of bibliophiles. In choosing the books, the students were guided by the teachers according to their likes and dislikes, taste and inclinations, and what books were really beneficial and worth reading. A lucky lottery was drawn in favor of the buyer’s in connections with the Book Fair in which Chihanphy,a student of class-5 won the lucky draw.

The most interesting part of the Book Fair was the interaction with the parents by Mr. S. Ghosh, Asstt. Teacher, who took the initiatives to know about the Fair and its influence on them. Most of the parents opined that the Fair was arranged in a befitting manner, some excellent and useful books displayed were the center of cynosure. They commented such a Book Fair is a crying need for the learners and should be organized at the regular intervals for the benefits of the students. Mr. Tapash Mandal, co-ordinator of Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd. expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Mr. P. De, Founder Director of the school for encouraging such fair in the school and appreciated everyone for their interest and co-operation. He was also extremely delighted by the discipline of the students. The founder Director of the school thanked the parents, guardians, well wishers and the students for their collaboration.

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Wednesday 19 March 2014

The Morung Express C

JMS: Celebrating 25 years of imparting quality education Morung Express Feature Mokokchung | March 18

Considered as one of the premier educational institutions in Mokokchung town, Jubilee Memorial School (JMS), established in the year 1989, has come a long way in imparting quality education to students from all walks of life.

As the name Jubilee Memorial School signifies, this school was incepted 'as a home Mission Field' to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mokokchung Town Baptist Church (MTBA) in May, 1987. With the aim to establish "a school for quality education that 'includes learning to know, to do, to live together and to be,'" the school was founded on March 4, 1989. "(It was) a lofty 'aspiration' which Mokokchung Town Baptist Church (MTBA) in its Golden Jubilee Year had 'awakened' itself to," stated Wapangnao Pongen,

the vice principal of the school.

Today, Jubilee Memorial School with its motto "Mount Up Like Eagle', stands majestically on a sprawling school campus in Salangtem Ward, educating students and 'inspiring them to reach for the skies to crest above and beyond the lofty regions'. The school presently has classes from Nursery to Class XII, with a strong well-qualified faculty, administered by a Principal and looked after by a Board of Governors drawn from different fields of education, social service, administration, etc. It also has numbers of co-curricular activities likes sports week, summer camp, workshops, parents day etc, so the personalities of the students can be molded in an all-round manner.

The school also has a fulltime Counselor 'to attend to the psychological needs of the learners through personal counseling'.

The teaching faculty members,

The Jubilee Memorial School located at Salangtem Ward, Mokokchung. (Photo: JMS)

turn by turn, participate in annual educational seminars and workshops at ICSE centres located in different metro cities.

JMS adopted the system of edu-

cation under the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), New Delhi, which is considered as one of the top School Boards in India.

It was granted 'Provisional Affiliation' from ICSE on October 10, 1997, after the first inspection by the Council. On July 17, 2002, the School was granted permanent

affiliation to ICSE, New Delhi.

Wapangnaro, the vice principal, stated that the specific objectives of the School, as outlined in the constitution, 2001, is to give each individual students the opportunity and freedom for the fullest development as a total person; academically, physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially. To provide higher quality programme of curricular and co-curricular activities; and developing the mental, physical, social, cultural training under a Christian atmosphere for the promotion of scholarship and research, to the advancement of human knowledge and the improvement of the quality of human life.

"Holistically and faithfully so, JMS has thus been endeavouring to fulfill the 'Mission' of the Church ever since the arrival of the first batch of LKG pupils on April 3, 1989," stated Wapangnaro.

It (JMS) proudly shares a his-

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tory of excellence in nurturing the highest and best within individual learners, ever focused on their sustained development and inclusive growth. It is indeed an institution that provides learners the wings to fly and explore the lofty regions above and beyond.

A former student of the school, Bendang Chingmir, who is a teacher in a government school, gave all credit to his alma mater. "We owe a lot to Jubilee Memorial School. We are what we are today because of this school, the teachers and everyone. I hope the school will become bigger and better as it looks beyond the 25th year in the quest of providing quality education to the children," said Bendang, who was one of the first batch students of the school.

The school celebrates its Silver Jubilee on April 4, 2014 at Town Hall Mokokchung with Chief Secretary Banuo Z Jamir as the Chief Guest.

Empowering young leaders in fight against HIV/AIDS

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The participants with resource persons and church leaders during the Training for Trainers (TOT) organized by Nagaland AIDS Control Society (NSACS) at Dimapur Ao Baptist Arogo for the leaders of youth ministry.

Dimapur, march 18 (mExN): Under the initiative of Nagaland AIDS Control Society (NSACS), Training for Trainers (TOT) was organized at Dimapur Ao Baptist Arogo (DABA) for the leaders of youth ministry on March 17 and 18.

With an aim to empower young people in the fight against HIV and

AIDS, a team of resource persons from NSACS and others conducted the twoday training in four groups.

More than 240 youths participated.

A press release from DABA youth ministry informed that session on ‘expectations and concern’ was taken up in all the four groups by different re-

NBCC to launch U-Link for children in Kohima C M Y K

Dimapur, march 18 (mExN): The launching of ULINK program, an initiative of the Education and Communication Department of Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) will be held on March 22, 2014 at the NBCC Convention Centre, New Capital Complex, Kohima at 12:00 noon. This program is for children between the ages of 13 and 15 living in Kohima and will be ongoing for the whole year. Three important highlights of the program are “Growth Group,” “Family Forever” and “Teens game.” For those who are interested to be a part of this program can contact “Bible House” shop, near New NST Kohima or one’s own local churches. As an intended intergenerational program, all the parents have been invited to come, participate and worship along with their children at the launching of the program.

For more information call 9436067384, 9856185990.

Notice regarding sale of acid/corrosive substance mokokchuNg, march 18 (Dipr): As per the directive of the Supreme Court and notice received from the Home Department, Nagaland, the Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) for Mokokchung, Rajesh S. (IAS) has informed that selling of acids and corrosive substances is regulated until a new Poison Rule is promulgated. It is also informed that over the counter sale of acid is completely prohibited unless the seller maintains a log/register, recording the sale of acid and detail of the person to whom acid is sold. No acid shall be sold to person who is below 16 years of age. Educational institutional, research laboratories, hospitals etc. who are required to keep and store acid, need to maintain a register for usage of acid and the same shall be filed with the Sub-Divisional Magistrate concerned.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

source persons with special emphasis on the role of the church as a model in prevention and spreading awareness on HIV & AIDS. For this, the youth leaders of DABA were encouraged to take up creative programs especially on World AIDS Day. They were also encouraged to join the Red Ribbon Club and also get oneself

tested.

They also highlighted on how the church can reach out to the weaker sections of the society and thus act as facilitators on doing away with discrimination and taboos associated with HIV & AIDS. Giving an overview on the updates of HIV & AIDS scenario in Nagaland, dif-

ferent resource persons gave out information and statistics from their latest findings. It was revealed during the address, that Dimapur is called the “Capital of HIV & AIDS”. Hence, young people were called to understand and take the training very seriously.

In the two-day training, following topics were covered: Youth drugs and alcohol by Dr. Rose, SPO, NSACS; Understanding human sexuality-role of church in promoting human sexuality by Dr. Joyce Angami; Role of youth in behavioral change by Renemla, project director, Sisterhood Network; and Music and youth

by Akangjungla, sub-editor, The Morung Express.

An open sms competition was also held where Imnanuchet, Sentimenla and Imnaodang were declared first, second and third winners respectively.

Further, all the groups also presented very practical and fitting ‘action and plan’ which they committed to implement in work.

With temperature soaring, children in Dimapur rush to Chathe River to cool themselves.

Seen in the picture are some children diving and swimming. (Photo by Heutinggumbe)

Ungma village steps up to preserve wildlife mokokchuNg, march 18 (mExN): With an aim to preserve the degradable flora and fauna, the Ungma Senso Mungdang (general meeting) held in December 2013, resolution no. 4, resolved to constitute a Wildlife Sanctuary Committee (WLSC) with Imolemba Jamir, Chairman, Ungma Village Council as the convener.

Stating this in a press release, WLSC Publicity Cell informed that the aim of the committee is to locate an idle forest within Ungma Village jurisdiction and declare as reserved areas where both flora and fauna will be preserved. The committee will also encourage collective efforts in terms of

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Loving family members, wife and son

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Impact 5000 by 18: Teaching basket weaving to villagers Authorization on usage of sirens,

kohima, march 18 (mExN): As part of the Impact 5000 by 18, a five-year campaign on entrepreneurship and employment, Youthnet in partnership with the Department of Youth Resources & Sports, Government of Nagaland, and Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency, conducted a vocational training program on bamboo basket weaving at Mhainamtsi, Peren, from March 11-14, 2014.

The training was held keeping in mind the need to create an entrepreneurship ecosystem where there is contribution by Nagas at all levels of the social strata, thus boosting the private sector and economy as a whole. A case in point is the Amonar Tea, an indigenous tea brand, with the requirement of bamboo baskets to package their tea, for which rural craftsmen are being trained to meet the requirement. In this connection,

Participants and trainers of the basket weaving training organized by Youthnet at Mhainamtsi, Peren.

Youthnet with the help and expertise of NBDA targeted two villages, namely Mhanamtsi and Jalukie B due to their proximity to Dimapur, and interested people from these villages, especially those with no constant source of income, were invited to participate in the program. The trainers were from a Self Help

In Remembrance

Group in Tuli, Mokokchung, arranged by NBDA. One of the entrepreneurs behind Amonar Tea, Sentinaro Alley, was also present throughout the training.

The trainees were briefed on the purpose of the program and the campaign as a whole, further covering all aspects of bamboo basket weaving in order

that the trainees can explore other entrepreneurial avenues by themselves in the future. During the course of the training, a design for Amonar Tea was also selected, based on the abilities of the trainees and the last part of the training had all the participants working on it to master the selected design.

The trainees were, in the meantime, informed that there will be several follow-up visits to the villages where the baskets will be purchased from them, provided they meet the specifications as discussed.

Under the Impact 5000 by 18 campaign, Youthnet is targeting rural entrepreneurs this year with several programs already being conducted, while also maintaining that training is not the focus and is only a means to achieving an end, the end being linkage between entrepreneurs and their markets.

DSSATA informs members

Dimapur, march 18 (mExN): Dimapur SSA Teachers Association (DSSATA) has informed all the SSA teachers appointed under Dimapur district to reach near New Secretariat complex, Kohima before 8:00 am on March 20 without fail, for matters relating to the issues of the association. An amount of Rs 1000 will be imposed upon the absentees, stated a press release issued by DSSATA president and statistical secretary.

Phek SSA teachers association formed

LATE ACHANG JAMIR 26/04/1970-15/03/2014 Through this column we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all individuals, friends and well wishers who stood by us and supported us physically, materially, financially and through constant prayers during the sudden demise of our beloved Late Achang Jamir on 15th March 2014.

We are not able to thank every person individually but we remain indebted and grateful to everyone for your kindness. It is our sincere prayer that our gracious Almighty God would bless you all abundantly.

contributing wild animals and creating a safe sanctuary. Any defaulters from within the village or from outside will be liable to stringent punishment by the Village Council, the release cautioned.

The first meeting of the committee was held on March16, and the members decided to constitute a sub-committee with the nomenclature –Management Board consisting of 15 members selected from Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung and Ungma village. Appointments for the members are being dispatched and the first meeting of the Management Board will be held on April 19, 2014.

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Neiphretuonuo (Abu) Nakhro

On her 1st death anniversary on 19th March

“Your life was a blessing your memory a treasure....

You are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure....

Always in our thoughts Forever in our hearts” - Husband, children & loved ones

kohima, march 18 (mExN): The Phek SSA teachers convened an emergency meeting on March 14 at TU Building near NST Kohima and formed their association with Wezhode Sara as president, Zhopove Tunyi as general secretary, Krovielhoupe Koza and Nukhozo Dozo as press secretary and Mudotsulu as treasurer. Later, the union deliberated on the non-payment of salaries and arrear. Strategies of the second phase were also discussed in case the SSA teachers’ demands were not met in specific time. Also stating that boycotting of classes will be continued till further notice, it also asked Phek SSA teachers to extend its full support and cooperation to the central SSA team.

For further enquiry call 9856620782/ 9612636315.

Training for 2nd & 3rd polling officers held at kohima

kohima, march 18 (Dipr): The training for 2nd Polling officers and 3rd Polling officers for Kohima was held at the Indoor stadium (TT Stadium) and Badminton Stadium, Kohima on March 18. With a good response from a number of polling officials who attended the training, they were imparted knowledge on the use of EVMs, recording of valuable votes and voting procedures.

red lights, designation plates

kohima, march 18 (Dipr): In pursuance to the powers conferred under Clause (1) Sub-Clause (iii) and Clause (2) of the Central Vehicle Rules 1989, and in partial modification of all earlier Notification, the Governor of Nagaland has authorized the use of Sirens, Red Lights and Designation Plates on the Official Vehicles of the following VVIPs/VIPs, High Dignitaries and vehicles escorting them and other Emergency Service Vehicles:

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I. Use of Sirens: a)Governor of Nagaland. b) Chief Minister, Nagaland. c) VVIPs and Union Ministers during their visit to the State. d) Governor and Chief Ministers of other States when they visit the State e) Speaker, Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

II. Use of Red Light, Designation Plates & Flag Posts 1. Governor of Nagaland 2. Chief Minister of Nagaland 3. Holders of Bharat Ratna decoration 4. Deputy Chief Minister, Nagaland 5. Chief Justice of High Court of Assam and Nagaland 6. Speaker of Nagaland Legislative Assembly 7. Cabinet Ministers of Nagaland 8. Vice-Chairman, State Planning Board 9. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly 10. Puisne Judges of the High Court 11. Deputy Speaker, Nagaland Legislative Assembly 12. Parliamentary Secretaries of Government of Nagaland 13. Member of Parliament 14. Member of Nagaland Legislative Assembly 15. Chief Secretary to the Government of Nagaland 16. State Information Commissioners 17. Chairperson & Members, NPSC 18. Additional Chief Secretaries to the Government of Nagaland 19. Director General of Police 20. Commissioner of Nagaland 21. Home Commissioner 22. Principal Secretaries to the Government of Nagaland 23. Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland 24. Additional Director General of Police 25. Commissioner & Secretaries/Special Secretary to the Government of Nagaland 26. Inspector General of Police/Officers in the rank of Major General and equivalent in the Army 27. Advocate General of Nagaland 28. Accountant General of Nagaland 29. Vice Chancellor of Nagaland University 30. Secretaries to the Government of Nagaland 31. Secretary to Legislative Assembly 32. DIG of Police 33. Brigadier or equivalent ranks in the Army 34. Deputy Commissioners – Posted in Districts 35. Superintendent of Police – Posted in Districts Provided that the red light shall be kept covered with black hood when the authorized dignitaries are not carried in the vehicle.

III. Use of Multi-coloured Orange, Blue and White Light combination 1. Police Pilot Vehicle as per entitlement of all VVIP’s 2. Recovery/Break Down Crane on road accident duty 3. Police vehicle on road/traffic interception duty 4. Ambulances on emergency duty 5. Fire Tenders.

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REgional

The Morung Express

M'laya assembly rejects motion for Garoland ShILLoNG, MARch 18 (IANS): The Meghalaya assembly Tuesday rejected a motion to create a separate state in the Garo Hills in the western part of the state.

The motion was moved by lone Garo National Council member Clifford R. Marak whose party has been demanding a separate Garoland for over two decades.

"The demand for separate Garoland state was raised due to lack of economic development and also due to linguistic barriers with the Khasi-Jaintia tribes inhabiting eastern Meghalaya," Marak told the assembly. "If the state government is willing, they can take up the issue with the centre and help us to achieve our goal for creation of a Garoland state," said Marak.

Supporting the motion,

veteran Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) legislator, Hoping Stone Lyngdoh said there is need to bifurcate Meghalaya due to major differences in language, culture, customs, traditions, local governance and land holding system which has necessitated the need for a separate state for the KhasisJaintias and the Garos.

The HSPDP has four members in the 60-member house but three of his party colleagues did not participate in the discussion. However, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Roytre Christopher Laloo said division of the state would increase the social and economic vulnerability of the people.

"Further division of the state would place even more constraints on our resources. The developmen-

Northeast Briefs Country-wide voter awareness campaign starts AGARTALA, MARch 18 (IANS): The information and broadcasting ministry will organise exhibitions in 480 locations across the country as part of its voter awareness campaign, an official said here Tuesday. The first such three-day exhibition was inaugurated here Tuesday by Tripura Chief Electoral Officer Asutosh Jindal. The exhibitions will be organised by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity. Besides Agartala, three more exhibitions would be held in three district headquarters of Tripura before April 7, when polling would be held in one (West Tripura) of the two Lok Sabha constituencies in the northeastern state. The focus of the exhibition would be on voting, duty and responsibility of the voters and advisory on Dos and Don'ts. The exhibition panels would highlight various moods and pattern of the voting process found in several geographical areas and communities through pictorial manifestation. Alongside the exhibitions, officials from the election departments would demonstrate the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Sikkim Assembly Poll: Chamling to contest from Yangang GANGTok, MARch 18 (PTI): Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, who is seeking a straight fifth term in office, will contest from Rangang-Yangang Assembly seat, from where he entered electoral politics 32 years ago. Chamling had started his career in politics from Yangang village in 1982 and was elected to the Yangang Gram Panchayat. Two years later, he contested the Assembly elections from Damthang and has been an MLA ever since. Chamling, the President of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, will also contest from Namchi-Singhithang. Launching the campaign from West district, the party President said SDF was a democratic party which was successful in maintaining peace and security of the people for the past twenty years and this would not go in vain. He also levelled a series of allegations against his former cabinet colleague and current opposition leader, PS Tamang Golay and his party, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.

One killed, 4 injured in police firing MoRIGAoN, MARch 18 (PTI): One person was killed and four others were injured today when police opened fire to quell violence involving two groups over fishing in a leased out natural water body in the district. "One person identified as Biswajit Bordoloi (19) was killed and four others injured," Superintendent of Police Ainul Haque told PTI adding, the wounded were admitted to Morigaon Civil Hospital. At around 10.30 AM, nearly 5000 people gathered at Tetelia Kordoi Beel and tried to forcibly catch fish there, he said. When the employees of the lessee of the water body tried to prevent them from fishing, the two sides clashed, Haque said. They continued to attack each other even after police resorted to lathicharge and firing of rubber bullets, he said, adding, to control the situation police fired five rounds of bullets. Additional security men have been posted in the area and the situation was now under control, Haque said. The fishery department leases out water bodies for fishing and sale of the fish in the market.

tal process will suffer. For the viability of a state, a certain mass in terms of area and population becomes necessary," Laloo said in his reply to the resolution in the assembly seeking creation of a separate Garoland state.

"In the name of preservation and protection of the identity, shall we finally split into the political units aligned on the basis of tribal clans and sub-clans? Would that not take us back surely to the Stone Age again?

Would that characterise us a civilized society," the deputy chief minister asked.

Stating that the Garo Hills region has witnessed improvement in its socioeconomic profile since the emergence of Meghalaya, Laloo said the region sends a decisive presence of 24 members to the assembly, besides having its own autonomous district council.

Dimapur

3

IRRI to provide technological support to Assam farmers GUwAhATI, MARch 18 (PTI): The Manilabased International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has agreed to provide technological support to Assam farmers for popularising water-resistant paddy varieties.

A delegation from IRRI recently visited the state’s flood-prone crop land and observed that Assam could easily become a rice-surplus state by reducing flood-induced crop damage and also contribute significantly to the nation’s food security, an official release said here today.

IRRI’s Director General, Robert Zeigler and other members of the delegation had a discussion with the state’s Agriculture Minister Nilamani Sen Deka and emphaIndians throw squirt water and dance during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of sised on local trials in colors, in Guwahati, Assam on Monday, March 17. The holiday, celebrated mainly in India and agro-climatic zones for Nepal, marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) introducing and ensuring

GUwAhATI, MARch18 (AGeNcIeS): The state authorities of Assam have ordered compensation for the acid victims following an urgent appeal by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on January 17, 2014, for immediate intervention and financial assistance to a survivor of acid attack as per the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India in 2013.

Women in Governance (WinG-Assam), a network of women activists in Assam, India, had apprised the AHRC about the acid attack on two young girls, Nirupama Kalita, aged 18, and Karishma Kalita, aged 12 and their mother and grandmother. They were attacked with acid while they were returning home from a local religious site on November 6, 2013, in Assam's Darrang district.

This caused serious injury.

Karishma, her mother, and grandmother all suffered injuries, while it was Nirupama who suffered grievous injury. The victims were immediately admitted to Asamarik Medical College Hospital, Mangaldoi.

Later, they were shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, for appropriate treatment.

Nirupama had already undergone four plastic surgeries and related treatment when the AHRC issued its Urgent Appeal. At the time, to continue better treatment outside the state, the family was in need of more financial resources.

However, it is only in March 2014, after a draining battle with

judiciary and other justice delivery institutions, that the authorities have ordered compensation for the victims as per the mandates of law. The insensitivity of the state for the victims of the attack has only added to the trauma.

The authorities have sanctioned Rs 3,00,000 as compensation for Nirupama Kalita and Rs 61,000 for the other family members injured in the acid attack.

And, this has only been possible after a long battle in the Guwahati High Court, District Court and constant visits for assistance from the State and District Legal Service Authority.

In order to raise awareness about the violence against women in Assam, WinG-India organized a public hearing in Guwahati on January 8-9, 2014, and this case was presented before the public domain. The jury members of the public hearing visited the chief justice of Gauhati High Court and appraised him about the case. Chief justice forwarded the case to Portfolio Judge of Darrang district.

On 20 January 2014, activists from WinG-Assam requested for the early payment of Rs 3 lakh INR as compensation as per Supreme Court's order to which the Portfolio judge replied that the 'Supreme Court order requires to be examined first as though SC has laid such a verdict its not compulsory to follow the same'.

The judge also asked for the bail documents of the accused when the activists demanded proper

investigation by police.

Police investigation in the case has progressed slowly and is incomplete even today. The case, registered under Sipajhar police station [/case no 357/13 u/s 341, 326A and 34 IPC/], betrays justice and there is negligence in investigations. The bottle of acid left at the spot of incident by the accused was not seized by the police even after they were repeatedly informed about its presence there.

The maternal uncle of the survivor took the bottle and gave it for testing in a local laboratory where it was confirmed by experts as nitric acid. Nitric acid was stored in a 1 liter coca cola bottle, which was then concealed in a 3 liter mineral water bottle covered with black tape.

As a part of the police investigation, the suspects were arrested and released. They have been moving around freely in the locality, causing continuing threat to the safety and security of the survivors and family members. Corruption and negligence of duty by the police in this case cannot be ruled out.

The family members have been constantly requesting the police to expedite the investigation. To respond to such a request, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Jitmal Doleym, accused the victim of immoral character in order to assassinate her character. Following such remark, activists of WinG-Assam on 22 January, 2014 complained to the Additional Director General of Police (DGP) seeking action against the errant SP and also

variety adaptability.

Zeigler stressed the need for “phase-wise strategic improvement of capacity building” so that stakeholders, especially the farming community, could have their own decision making power.

The IRRI developed Swarna SUB-1 variety of paddy has already been cultivated after the state procured two tonnes of seeds.

Submergence-tolerant paddy varieties assume importance here in view of the recurring damages caused to crops by floods.

Of the state’s net crop area of 28.11 lakh hectares, 4.93 lakh hectares happen to be chronically flood-prone.

Rice production in the state, spread over an area of 24.88 lakh hectares, during 2012-13 stood at 52.33 MT.

compensation for acid attack victims or their dependents that require rehabilitation.

Additionally, on July 18, 2013, the Supreme Court of India in a remarkable judgment directed all Indian state governments to pay acid attack victims Rs 3, 00,000 of which Rs 1, 00,000 must be paid within 15 days of the incident. The Court also issued directions to ensure that the stocking and sale of corrosive substances is documented.

These directives are, however, not being enforced in India. While other states in India are replete with such dastardly attacks, this represents the first reported case of an acid attack in the state of Assam. None of the legal and Court's provisions have been followed to help bring relief and justice for the victims.

The AHRC is concerned about several issues that relate to this case.

Despite having clear guidelines regarding relief and rehabilitation for acid attack survivors, the authorities forced those that suffered such a harrowing attack to have to run from pillar to post to obtain the state-sponsored relief via litigation.

The long term consequences of such an attack include not only permanent physical damage but also debilitating psychological, social, and economic difficulties. The cruelty of an acid attack causes tremendous trauma to victims and a long drawn out process of redress and relief can only add to the pain.

The protracted and insensitive response of the state exposes the state dishonesty towards its citizens.

demanded speedy investigation.

Additional DGP informed that SP Jitmal Doley has been transferred to another city and Ganjawala has been deployed at Darrang. He then over phone directed the new SP Ganjawala to handle the case properly. Authorities informed that they are to collect sufficient evidence soon.

From the above descriptions it is clear that the law enforcement mechanism has no understanding of the fact that the impact of acid attack on women is enormous. Acid violence survivors face marginalization from society after the attack. Additionally, it creates fear among women in society. Acid violence, a form of gender-based violence, is defined as a severe form of discrimination under the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Acid attack is penalized under Indian law. Section 326A and 326B of Indian Penal Code criminalizes causing or attempt to cause grievous hurt using corrosive substance like acid. Section 326A prescribes imprisonment of not less than ten years, extendable to imprisonment for life, and with fine. Fine shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses of the treatment of the victim and any fine imposed under this section shall be paid to the victim. Also, Section 357A has been inserted in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, by Act 5 of 2009, with effect from December 31, 2009. This section mandates

Third front yet to take shape in Manipur reserved Outer Manipur constituency.

With some parties staying away from the last crucial meeting, the common candidate could not be selected. However, the NCP proposed its member, C. Doungel, a former minister, as the common candidate and appealed to the constituent parties to support him.

There has been no response from the other parties so far. Both Moirangthem and Doungel have been defeated in the 2009 elections.

The CPI had been a co-

alition partner of the Congress for two consecutive terms. However, voters are unhappy that CPI rank and file and ministers have criticised the Congress on many public issues. The two coalition partners fielded their own candidates in all elections for a “friendly fight”.

The Left and Secular Alliance is conveying to the people that its candidates will win both the Lok sabha seats since the Congress and the BJP have no chance. However the ten parties which are already

divided on the basic issue of the common candidate selection cannot publicise its political agenda. The Inner Manipur constituency candidate and the CPI cannot launch a broadside against the Congress as these two political parties which are sworn enemies at the national level had been the coalition partners for ten years in Manipur. If the Congress is to be blamed for many of its acts, questions will be raised as to why and how the CPI had swam together for such a long time.

Solve Assam's problems before polls: AASU

APPRECIATION

tion of the Assam Accord, constitutional protection for the indigenous people, solution in the perennial flood issue, erosion problem and protection of Majuli Island and scheduled tribe status to six ethnic groups.

They also demanded right over land and natural resources for indigenous people, land ownership deeds to small tea and rubber planters, protec-

I had lost my Hero Honda bike bearing Regd No. NL-07/E4110 on 25th February 2014 from my residence (Bor-Lengri Block II).

Through this column, I would like to thank the NNC, N/A UT(I) for recovering my bike on 13th March 2014.

tion of the 15th century Satras (monasteries) of socio-cultural-religious reformer Srimanta Sankardeb, stopping construction of big dams in earthquake prone zones.

AASU also asked political parties to spell out their stand on declaration of the northeast region as special employment and economic zones to solve unemployment problem.

Rahul Gandhi would like to settle in Arunachal ‘after retirement’ ter my retirement”.

“I have never seen such a beautiful place anywhere in the country and am also willing to spend a few days here to enjoy the natural beauty,” he said.

Gandhi also said that real development was possible only after devolution of power to panchayats and party-ruled Arunachal Pradesh had set an example in this regard.

19 March 2014

Compensation for acid attack victim in Assam after long battle

IMPhAL, MARch 18 (The hINdU): The nonCongress, non-BJP third front in Manipur is yet to take shape although the Lok sabha elections are round the corner with the first phase scheduled for April 9.

The ten political parties of the proposed alternative had selected Nara Moirangthem, the state unit secretary of the CPI as the Rs 3,325 crore vote-on-account common candidate in the Inner Manipur constitubudget for Mizoram ency. However, the groupAIzAwL, MARch 18 (PTI): Mizoram government has ing has failed to select the proposed no new taxes, or any increase in the rate of the ex- common candidate for the isting taxes in the Rs. 3,325-crore vote-on-account placed in the Assembly on Tuesday for the first four months of the next fiscal. In his budget speech, state Finance Minister Lalsawta estimated the deficit in the current fiscal at Rs. 340.80 crore, but said that it was expected to come down to Rs. 299.63 crore by the end of the next fiscal.

GUwAhATI, MARch 18 (PTI): The All Assam StuExplosives seized in Assam dents Union (AASU) on TuesGUwAhATI, MARch 18 (PTI): A huge quantity day demanded that the politiof explosives, grenades and detonators, were seized cal parties should work out a from two persons in Assam's Baksa district today, a time-bound action plan on top police official said. Altogether 26 pieces of high ex- various problematic issues in plosives, 36 grenades, 19 detonators and a bomb shell the state before the upcoming were recovered from the two at Kalajhar under Tam- Lok Sabha elections.

The influential student's ulpur police station, IGP (BTAD) L R Bishnoi told PTI. The two, who were arrested, were planning to supply body demanded a solution to the illegal migration from the explosives to militant outfit NDFB, Bishnoi said.

Bangladesh, implementa-

hAPoLI, MARch 18 (PTI): Enchanted by natural beauty of Arunachal Pradesh, Congress VicePresident Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he would like to settle there after “retirement”.

Addressing a rally here in Lower Subansiri district, Gandhi said he would love to settle at Hapoli, popularly known as the Apatani plateau “af-

Wednesday

“The literacy rate of the state has significantly improved in the past decade and the state government has launched several schemes for empowering youth and women,” he said.

He also referred to programmes like Skill D e v e l o p m e nt C o u n cil, Employment Generation Council and the Chief Minister’s Liveli-

hood Mission Schools.

Arunachal, he said in his brief 16-minute speech, had shown the country the path of peace and zealously protected its culture and history which should be emulated by all states of the country.

“The women of the Northeast are very strong as society empowers them. The people of the country should learn from

the Northeast,” he said at the rally ahead of the April nine Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Referring to the immense potential in tourism, horticulture and hydro-power sectors in the state, Gandhi said that more focus should be given on these sectors for overall development of the state as well as the entire country.

SENIOR CITIZEN OF MAO COMMUNITY

P.O. Mao Senapati District, Manipur - 795150

NOTICE

Mao, the 6th March, 2014

A Special meeting of senior citizen of Mao area will be held on Saturday the 22nd March, 2014 in the Town Hall, Mao Gate at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the following agenda.

All the interested senior citizen who have attained 60 years and above are therefore cordially requested to attend the meeting in time.

Agenda of the meeting: 1) To discus formation of senior citizen society.

2) Any other matter related to the same.

Convener Sd/1. (S. Lokho Retd. Dy. R.C.S.) 2. (A. Adani, Retd. H/M)

Ganesh Thapa

Christian Institute of Health Sciences & Research 4th Mile, Dimapur

VACANCIES

1) BSc Staff Nurse/Tutor with Registration Certificate 2) Librarian (MSc in Library & Information Science) 3) Diploma in Pharmacy/B Pharma with valid registration certificate.

4) Physiotherapist/ Occupational Therapist with min 2 years of experience Candidates should submit the prescribed application form along with their supporting documents by 2nd April 2014.Application form can be downloaded from our website-www.cihsr.in And address it to The HR Department, Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research, 4th Mile, Dimapur-797112 Or e-mail to:hrd.cihsr@gmail.com Contact Number: 03862-242555 (Extn no. 2213)

C M Y K

4

public discoursE

Wednesday

Dimapur

19 March 2014

Our identity beyond ‘pork, beef and dog’ consumers

A

dramatic incident that happened in my neighborhood in the recent past has left me thinking about my identity as a Naga ever since. One peaceful evening I was attracted to an argument in the process between a Naga and a Bengali. Amidst the drama that unfolded that evening, disturbing the serenity in the neighborhood, the Bengali suddenly mustered so much courage to shout “I am also a Naga”. Amused to this proud declaration, the Naga asked “Oh yeah! How is that so?” The argument that the want to be “a Naga” made that evening still lingers on my head clearly to this day and rightly so, this article is a progeny of that argument. “I am a Naga… I eat pork, beef and dog” said the proud Bengali guy. It didn’t take time for him to reduce the identity of a Naga to merely a cluster of tribal’s who consume meat and that consumption of the meat that we intake simply became the criteria for him to be considered part and parcel of being a Naga.

Now, this incident will provoke different narratives to different minds if we try to pause and engage over it. And I believe that many of us have come across such thought provoking

incidents in and around. I assume that someone just reacted with surprise to his argument and questioned, “Seriously?

How could he even say that?” well I am afraid there is much more to question about. What could have gone wrong here with whatever he said? Was he to be blamed alone? Or somewhere do you also get a feeling that we need to question “the way we have portrayed ourselves to the outsiders”. I say yes!

We are to be blamed for allowing people to reduce our identity to such extent. Isn’t it even shameful to think about the ‘Amur Falcon’ news that made big headlines, in the magazines and newspapers (national and international)? Should you and I be proud that Nagaland was highlighted as a merciless state located in the northeastern part of India who killed thousands of migrating birds and relished its taste for lunch and dinner? Is that the best we could have done to let people realize that “well I know now that there exist a state called Nagaland in this world”.

There are already different narratives of pre conceived notion existing about us in the head of people who have heard of us. The belief that Nagas are still a tribal group living in the

hills yet to be shaped by modernity and education, dominates the thought of those who have not met us, yet for those who have associated with us considers fun and party loving as our priority and laziness is the next best attribute that they associate us with. Having said this, the simple point I want to make here is that our identity as a Naga certainly goes beyond the misunderstanding that people have developed about us over the years. In the first place we are Christians and our state go by the so called tag “Nagaland for Christ” true that we have distorted and misused ourselves in several ways which all of us are aware about, using the name of “Christ”. Shameful isn’t it? By virtue of being Christian could we then try to portray ourselves in a better manner?

Wouldn’t it be more digestive to hear that Nagas are a group of tribal people who are known for being honest, non corrupt, hard working, forgiving, loving, humble and benevolent. I think if you and I could base ourselves firmly on the principles of truth that Christ has taught the fallible beings then the identity that we are attached to could have been different altogether. At the least as a responsible Naga we could begin

to reorient our relationship and the way we approach the fellow beings around us. Let the celebrated identity of the past that “Nagas are tough and fearless warriors” not influence the way we are today. We could only admire and respect our ancestors who earned that identity at a time when ‘modernity has not touched their lives’. Things have changed in the present, and this generation calls for alteration in the way we approach things in life. Thankfully we don’t need to train physically and mentally at the possible prospect of being attacked by the Ahoms, side the British soldiers in warding off the Japanese from Kohima or raid another village. The need to be progressive and contextually situate ourselves cannot be discounted at this point of time. Education has touched a major section of our society unlike other unfortunate states within India and even countries abroad. What has education taught us then? What does it mean to be the residents of “Nagaland for Christ”? to be aggressive and violent, gang up and loot poor workers and shop keepers, to be feared as a local notorious hooligan, celebrating every event by getting drunk and causing ruckus in the street, locality and within family mak-

ing oneself look more and more barbaric, to disrespect parents and abuse them, to rape someone’s daughter, sister, wife and mother (God’s created being), to break into someone’s house and loot to the extent even killing, to seek revenge, to corrupt when given an opportunity etc… sad but true our society is woven by these happenings and we care less to address them just because we are still proud to be ‘Naga warriors’ but in doing so we are only validating the many assumption of the others about us.

Should we then care to pause and ponder over what has been unfolding in our society dear all? Should we continue being stereotyped? I hope by the end of this article I am able to posit some questions in the minds of some thoughtful Nagas which may help us to reorient if not more at least 1 percent of our attitude as a Naga more importantly as a tribe who stands for Christ. I should not ask for more I guess. Lastly, let us make the criteria of being called a Naga be worthy of respect and admiration, something that goes beyond ‘eating pork, beef and dog’.

Chibenthung Yanthan Research scholar, JNU

On the book “Naga Society and Culture”

I

t is an undeniable historical fact that the Ao tribe is comprised of two distinct major groups, namely, the Jungli and the Mongsen. That these two groups are distinct from each other can be ascertained from their ancestry, difference in dialect and the difference in the traditional/customary social and political practices of the two groups.

The Jungli trace their origin to the following three progenitors, on the basis of which three clans came into existence: 1. Tongpok 2. Longpok 3. Longjakrep Of the three, the clan descended from Tongpok is recognized as the ‘Unger’ clan.

So also, the Mongsen group is comprised of the following clans, which are also traced to different progenitors: 1. Longchar, whose forebear is Longjendi 2. Imchen, whose forebear is Tsungremjang 3. Walling, whose forebear is Longmedang, etc.

In the Mongsen group, the clan recognized to be the ‘Tsunger’ (equivalent to the Jungli ‘Unger’) clan is the

Longchar. Members of this clan are, therefore, also called ‘Mongsentsunger’.

The settled Ao marriage system being that of clan exogamy, marriage between two persons of the same clan is prohibited and one can validly marry a person belonging to another clan only.

Since time immemorial, there is intermarriage among the different clans of Jungli and Mongsen and a person belonging to one clan may marry a person belonging to any of the other clans. For instance, a descendent of Tongpok may not marry a descendant of Tongpok, but he/she may marry another from any of the other two clans of Jungli and all the clans of Mongsen. So also is the case with all the other clans. This was and is the accepted settled customary practice of the Aos. Despite these, attempts have been and continue to be made by a section of the Aos to club the Jungli and the Mongsen into one homogeneous group. This section, without rhyme or reason, clings to the opinion that the Mongsen is only a sub-group of the Jungli and that the different clans of the Mongsen are only sub-clans of the Jungli clans and this has been a contentious issue plaguing the

peaceful coexistence between the two groups. Every now and then, like the false prophets of yore, the proponents of this preposterous opinion claiming false authority in ancient lore and history muddy the water bringing confusion among the ignorant masses and inflame passion.

One such instance is the authorship of a book titled ‘Naga Society and Culture’ by N.Talitemjen Jamir and A. Lanunungsang. In the book, under the chapter ‘The Ao Naga Marriage System’, a table is provided titled ‘Grouping of Marriagable Clans: A Model’, where the authors have arbitrarily clubbed the three Mongsen clans with two of the Jungli Clans: the Imchen clan has been placed under Group A (Tongpok) and the Longchar and Walling clans under Group B (Longpok). Clearly, the intention of the authors is to obliterate once for all the very fabric of Ao tradition and culture, and introduce bitter conflict in Ao society. Already, the intent of the two authors have borne fruit in Mekhuli village, where the Church, going against settled custom, refused to solemnize the marriage between a gentleman belonging to the Longchar

clan and a lady from the Walling clan, citing the book as authority. Further ramifications are bound ensue and time is not far off when a member of the Imchen clan which is not an ‘Unger’ (Jungli) or Tsungba (Mongsen) clan may be made an Unger in a Jungli Putu Menden or may claim the post of Tsungba in the Mongsen Putu Menden against the Longchar clan.

The book in question reflects the authors’ immaturity, irresponsibility, ignorance of Ao history and tradition and utter lack of reasoning. It is not a work of research as its authors claim it to be, but merely an advancement of the bigoted opinion of the section of society that clings to the view that Aos must have only three clans and no more. The result of their work is a time bomb. It is, therefore, declared that the book is not an authority on Ao society and culture. Further, the two authors shall be called to account for the harm their theory has caused to the Ao society and church.

Supongwati Longchar (Mongsentsunger) Bendangangshi, Ex-MLA

The Morung Express

Déjà Vu

(Here comes the Elections again) ome things that will come around again with the elections.

1. They will suddenly remember you again and will come once begging on your door for your votes saying ‘Kiniki ase? Sop bhal ase na?Bhishi din lok panay ho,kile ghor tebi kitiyabi nahey na?’

2. All those grumblings about bad roads, poor powersupply, non-payment of salaries and countless false promises etc. becomes silent and inaudible and will be forgotten once again for sometime.

3. Many will start thinking he/she is the most important person to the candidates or a party to make any important decision for them .And for sure they are going to make you feel like one.

4. Our national workers declaring once again that they will not participate in the Nagaland puppet state Indian sponsored elections but they seem to forget this declaration once the election fever sets in and become the king-makers and canvassing for votes with two similar voices from one mouth, a soprano of goodwill and a lower baritone of a gun threat on the other. Everyone seems to be more responsive to the baritone one.

5. Councils, colonies, clans and party meetings etc. become the most important event of the season. Free meals with pork, cigarettes, tamul-pan with bonus of adulterated Mc Dowell rum and whisky from nearby Assam are available aplenty and many folks at home need not cook for those heroes/heroines at home during this season.

6. Almost all the defunct and hitherto unknown party unit workers becomes the most important and the busiest self important persons.

7. The gates of the political leaders are wide open 24 hours now, no sentry or guards questions you anything about your coming and going. You can go in or go out anytime you like. Their houses are now multi-purpose homes to gambling, drinking, dormitory, feasting, meeting venues and prayer halls.

8. The Hong-kong markets and the New markets in Dimapur will be buzzing once again with countless shoppers buying new shoes, jeans, clothes, mobile phones, sun- goggles,hats etc. Hotel rooms are booked house-full with customers without any luggage but checking only with playing cards, liquors and party girls. Next to Christ-

S

mas, this is the most hectic business season and profitable time for businessmen. No wonder you can often hear the miya shopkeeper saying ‘Ayaa,hudai election thakile kimanbi bhal ho.’

9. All money in the banks and treasuries are empty with salaries delayed, bills postponed, payments deferred but who cares as long as your pockets are “gorom gorom”.

10. Some famous and most popular lines during this time ‘I have these much men with me, I can convince those people to vote for you, I can bring those people to you’ etc. are some famous lines during this time.

11. The local dadas and the neighbourhood hooligans are all having the time of their life…….with good pocket money, free booze and ride around the town uncountable times for some slogan shouts, what more can you want? This is life for them.

12. Now it’s the time for any Tom who is Hairy and got a Duck to call the shots. Those politicians will pick up your phone calls anytime, anywhere (even if it is some bloody unknown number) at midnight or before daybreak and they now obey you like a trained bull-mastiff .

13. Demands and agitations starts with new vigour .Also nameplates of party designations shown full out on all vehicles hogging the roads.

14. The people whom you considered dumber and useless seems to be more important and smarter than others during these time.

15. After the elections are over once again, the gate remains closed, forget about going inside but you feel uneasy even to be nearby the gate because the guards will chase you away like some stray dog. The only time you see him will be on the newspaper being a chief guest at some event or on a road wheezing by with his escorts breaking all the traffic rules .No he doesn’t remember you anymore or doesn’t even care to know.

You sold yourself again for another five years, what right do you have now to say anything or grumble about? Just grin and bear it. For your folly all others are suffering too.

The cycle goes on but we never learn……..!

Think carefully and vote wisely.

Jonah Achumi Dimapur

Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

_

LEISURE

Simple Rules - There is just one simple rule: “Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box co ntains the digits 1 through 9.”

SUDOKU Game Number # 2824

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 2835

DIMAPUR Civil Hospital:

STD CODE: 03862

Metro Hospital: Faith Hospital: Shamrock Hospital Zion Hospital: Police Control Room Police Traffic Control East Police Station West Police Station CIHSR (Referral Hospital) Dimapur hospital Apollo Hospital Info Centre: Railway: Indian Airlines Chumukedima Fire Brigade Nikos Hospital and Research Centre Nagaland Multispecialty Health & Research Centre

Answer Number # 2823

KOHIMA

Police Control Room: North Police Station: South Police Station: Fire Brigade: Naga Hospital: Oking Hospital: Bethel Nursing Home:

232224; Emergency229529, 229474 227930, 231081 228846 228254 231864, 224117, 227337 228400 232106 227607 232181 242555/ 242533 224041, 248011 230695/9402435652 131/228404 229366 282777 232032, 231031 248302, 09856006026

STD CODE: 0370

Northeast Shuttles

100/2244279 2222222 2222111 2222952 2222916 2243339 2224202

R

First GrAde FrieNds

ABIGAIL

LAINEY

ADRIAN

MELISSA

BLAZE BRANDON CHLOE DANAKA

NATHANIEL OWEN PARKER PEYTON

DANIEL

ROBERT

DIEGO

RYAN

DOMINIC

SAMANTHA

ESTELA

SHAYNA

GAGE

SKYLIN

HUNTER KIERSTEN

ZANDER

D

Z A N D E R E N U W D U L S C T

S H B O C B W A O S C T A I M Q

S

P U E I L E Y P K T D O N W E A

E

B N U N G H O Y R A Y I O A L S

I T I E I A L O N Y M E H E I E

I E Q G P I I I T O A T P M S V

A

A R L G N A E L D I N N R R S I

L K A A A L R I Y A D B N O A O

R

N I I V R G E K M O A L A B C T

I E N N A G E A E B N A T E H E

S R E E O D S N T R A Z H R L A

C

H S Y S N O T N R A K E A T O D

A T U T O I O W E N A A N U E R

H

Y E O E P I A I T D N A I H Y I

N N D L E E O I T O R O E J R A

ACROSS

A O X A N E F B I N T O L N V N

1. Nosed (out) 6. Big party 10. Nile bird 14. New Zealand native 15. Twin sister of Ares 16. List of options 17. Graphic symbols 18. Where a bird lives 19. Jetty 20. Re-beautify 22. Monster 23. Citrus drink 24. Adjust again 26. Be able to spare 30. One who is excessively proper 32. Cirrus or cumulus 33. Rewards 37. Diplomacy 38. Streamlined 39. Rhythm 40. Religious 42. Town square 43. Broadcast 44. Move unsteadily 45. An unidentified aircraft 47. Family 48. Unadulterated 49. Designation 56. Therefore

57. Oversupply 58. Very slow in tempo 59. Brother of Jacob 60. Lean 61. Attempted 62. Focusing glass 63. Sacred 64. Affirmatives

DOWN 1. Arab chieftain 2. Small European freshwater fish 3. Well-behaved 4. Sea eagle 5. Throw out 6. Style 7. Region 8. Enumerate 9. A star-shaped character 10. Something that cannot be done 11. Ecru 12. Unreactive 13. Certain 21. Eccentric 25. S 26. Does something 27. Flutter 28. Central points 29. Offensive 30. Beg

31. Bobbin 33. Color of the sky 34. Tidy 35. Stare 36. Sun 38. Physical energy 41. 3 in Roman numerals 42. Punishment 44. Can 45. An exchange 46. Keyboard instrument 47. Pussycat 48. Rind 50. Hodgepodge 51. Think (over) 52. Container weight 53. Colored part of an eye 54. Curved molding 55. Gestures of assent

Ans to CrossWord 2834

CHUMUKEDIMA: 03862-282777/101 (O) WOKHA: 03860-242215 (O) 9402643782 MOKOKCHUNG: 0369-2226225/101 (O) 9856872011 (OC) PHEK: 03865-223838/101 (O) 9436012949 (OC)

MON: 03869-290629/101 (O) 9856248962/ 9612805461 (OC)

Toll free No. 1098 childline

O

DIMAPUR: 03862-232201/101 (O) 9436601225 (OC)

TUENSANG: 03861-220256/101 (O) 8974322879

CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE

W

KOHIMA: 0370-2222952/101 (O) 9436062098 (OC)

ZUNHEBOTO: 03867-220444/101 (O) 9856158740 (OC)

08974997923

MOKOKCHUNG:

FIRE STATIONS

STD CODE: 0369

Police Station 1: Police Station 2 :

2226241 2226214

Civil Hospital: Woodland Nursing Home: Hotel Metsüpen (Tourist Lodge):

2226216 2226263 2226373/2229343

TAHAMzAM (formerly Senapati) STD CODE: 03871 Police Station: Fire Brigade

222246 222491

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STARTING PRICE

SPARK 1.0 MCE

3,38,705/-

BEAT 1.2 (PETROL)

3,91,493/-

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4,77,441/-

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4,23,265/-

SAIL U-VA 1.3 (DIESEL)

5,33,999/-

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5,03,799/-

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6,34,665/-

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* CONDITION APPLY *3 YEARS / 100,000 KMS WARRANTY * FOR PETROL *CASHLESS OWNERSHIP MAINTENANCE OFFER

For details & Test drive Contact: Urban Station, Near NSC Petrol Pump, 6th Mile Dimapur. Ph No : 240994 CURRENCY EXCHANGE CURRENCY NOTES BUY(Rs) SELL(Rs) US Dollars Sterling Pound Hong Kong Dollar

61.18 101.42 7.86

61.61 102.57 7.95

Australian Dollar

54.87

55.65

Singapore Dollar Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen

48.17 54.97 60.01

48.74 55.64 60.73

84.6

85.53

Euro

LOCAL

The Morung Express

Wednesday 19 March 2014

State BJP refutes NPCC’s communal charges DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): Reacting to communal charges leveled by the Congress against BJP and its alliances, BJP Nagaland has called Congress the real perpetrators of communalism under the garb of a centrist secular party. “If the congress is not communal, then why did the communal incidents in Muzaffarnagar in collusion with the SP party, Bodo and Muslims in Kokrajhar area and Karbi Rengma clashes near home happen,” questioned a press statement issued by BJP Nagaland secretary Jaangsillung Gon-

mei. “Certainly because of their covertly passive government attitude,” it added.

The BJP Nagaland rejected the charges of NPCC against Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister and DAN consensus parliamentary candidate and BJP as “just another routine congress effort to wash off their misrule dirt on BJP.” The state BJP opined that “NPCC is visibly shaken of its impending downfall and has therefore scathingly charged Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister…of sectarian agenda.” Ironically, it added, "the NPCC has leveled its charges at the DAN

government without acknowledging the fact that the present state’s political and financial dilemma is the outcome of the deliberate non cooperation policies of the Congress I’s UPA government at the instigation of the NPCC.” As to NPCC’s accusation that Neiphiu Rio did not deliver the Naga solution within three months as promised, the statement said NPCC ought to have checked their facts that the Naga political issue is a central subject and as R.S. Pandey, the interlocutor for Naga talks had revealed,

the Congress UPA regime had been sitting over the matter all these eleven years and stalling it. On the state’s financial situation, it agreed it is in a totally bad shape. However, BJP stated it has been accentuated by the fact that under the UPA government, several central flagship programmes and schemes such as PDS and SASRD had been downsized or suspended and the overall state budget had been slashed.

Further, BJP declared that the current DAN initiative to strengthen the NDA is “by no means to justify the ill

informed misgivings of the NPCC that this initiative is to further any sectarian motives as they accuse the BJP and its allies of.” Clarifying on the allegation regarding Anti conversion, BJP affirmed it is against politically or communally motivated forms of mass religious conversions among different religions of the country for the sake of social or political convenience at a given period, time or circumstances.

Rather, BJP is for religious conversions driven by an individual’s spiritual commitment within the ambit and as guaranteed by the funda-

mental rights of the constitution, it added.

On the cow slaughter legislation, BJP responded to NPCC that cow slaughter comes under the directive policy which is non-enforceable. And in keeping with the Hindu majority sentiments, it is the general observation that the dietary requirement of the non Hindus had always been compensated by the slaughter of buffaloes all over except the north east, it added. The BJP leaders, the statement said, are aware of the diversity of the country’s religion, culture and dietary habits.

Advocacy program on HIV/AIDS held Assam Rifles apprehends NSCN (K) cadre ZuNhEboto, March 18 (MExN): On March12, 5 Assam Rifles apprehended one NSCN (K) cadre from Project colony, Zunheboto.

One pistol and extortion notes were recovered from him. According to a press note from Assam Rifles, the apprehended cadre was identified

as Wilson H Chishi, Regional Secretary, Sumi Region. The apprehended cadre was later handed over to the Police.

Liquor seized In a separate incident, 5 Assam Rifles seized 418 bottles of Rum MC Dowell and 205 Kingfisher can beer,

costing approximately Rupees 77,000/-, from a vehicle at Anangba village, Zunheboto on March 15. The driver of the vehicle has been identified as Md Abdul Fatta, 28, from Nagaon, Assam. The driver along with recoveries has been handed over to Longkhim Police Station.

Papers invited for NE biodiversity seminar Participants of the HIV/AIDS advocacy program organized by Nagaland Development Outreach at Singrijan, Dimapur.

DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): In continuation of the effort taken by the church to capacitate and build awareness among its members, Nagaland Development Outreach (NDO), the development wing of Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) in collaboration with Legislators’ Forum on AIDS (LFA) conducted Advocacy Program with Gorkha Baptist

Churches Nagaland (AGBCN) at its mission centre, Singrijan, Dimapur.

A press release from NDO informed that the resource persons were Dr. Molusen Jamir (ART Doctor, Civil Hospital, Dimapur) and Takatoba (Director SoLAF). The topics that were covered during this program included: Basics on HIV & AIDS and its treatment- medical perspective;

Overcoming Stigma and Discrimination; and Care and Support for PLHIV. All together 95 participants representing youth leaders, women leaders, church elders and other church members attended the program.

JakhaMa, March 18 (MExN): A two-day national seminar on “Biodiversity of Northeast India” will be held from October 3 to 4 at St. Joseph’s College, Jakhama. The seminar focuses on the need for conservation of biodiversity and natural resources of the region. It aims at calling attention to the area’s rich biodiversity, the threat to its existence, the role of the Government departments, and the impacts on the people and all those who live in

the region as they try to protect, promote and preserve the rich aspects of their motherland, according to a press release.

Papers have been invited from research scholars, scientists, sociologists, agencies and others who are involved in these areas of concern to present their views, their scholarship and research.

The seminar includes and is not limited to the following panels: Endangered flora, Endangered fauna,

Conservation of Biodiversity of Northeast, Fish biodiversity, Impact of pollution on Biodiversity, Biodiversity conservation issues of Northeast India.

Abstracts for paper presentation may be sent to the following on or before August 31, 2014: Sr. Nancy A.C., Convenor, Phone no: 08730938796, E-mail: nancyac2000@gmail.com; and Dr. Ramita, Co-convenor, Phone no.: 09863267284, Email: sougrakpam.r@rediffmail.com.

200 for new membership.

To foster unity and build stronger bond amongst members, the house also decided to organize a sports meet tentatively in the third/ fourth week of April.

The sports meet will be conducted in the discipline of Badminton, Table Tennis, Carom and Volleyball, both for men and women. The details of the sports meet would be intimated by the sports secretary in due course of time.

On the recommendation from the members, the house also decided to re-instate the post of joint secretary. The nomination for the post of joint secretary will be decided after the completion of membership drive. Further, the house also endorsed the proposed welfare schemes for the members initiated by the executive members.

Tsütuonuomia Model Village Council Hall Foundation Stone was laid at Rutsagei, Kohima on March 15 which was unveiled by Dr. Satuo Sekhose, Rt. Director of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry, Nagaland along with elders and leaders of T. Khel. (Morung photo)

TWO condemns kidnapping and rape by Havildar in Mkg DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): The Tenyimi Women Organization (TWO) has expressed deep anguish over Havildar Takukaba from DEF Mokokchung abducting a young salesgirl employed in his shop and raping her.

According to a press statement from TWO president Beinuo Besu and general secretary Vilanuo Yhome, the girl was employed by

the accused on March 3 and was abducted from her work place on March 5.

The women organization alleged that Takukaba confined and raped the victim at Hotel Longkumer Semtu for the night until the next morning when the police search team broke opened the locked door of the room and arrested him.

It stated that the hotel manager reportedly locked the

room from the outside at the request of the Havildar and denied their presence when the rescue team of the victim’s family, neighbours and police came searching in the night.

TWO while appreciating the law enforcing agency for their prompt action taken against the accused by registering a criminal case against him and investigating the case to ascer-

ElEction nEws ECI expenditure observ- from the office of the deputy commissioner & district ers arrive in Nagaland election officer, Peren from kohiMa, March 18 March 18 to 31 during office (Dipr):The Expenditure hours by producing BLOs Observers appointed by the ID card without fail. ThereElection Commission of In- after no payment will be dia for Nagaland reached entertained, stated a press the State on March 15. The release issued by Assistant two Expenditure Observ- Election Officer, Peren. ers are to be stationed at Kohima and Mokokchung. 1st phase of election trainSushil Kumar Singh, Sr. ing held in Phek PHEK (DIPR): The 1st Dy. IFA will be stationed in Kohima and is assigned phase of Election training to the Assembly Constitu- for the presiding Officers encies of Dimapur, Peren, and first polling officers for Kohima, Pughoboto, Phek, the forth coming Members Zunheboto and Wokha. K. of Parliament (MP) ElecHauthung, IRS is stationed tion 2014 was held at Phek at Mokokchung and is as- Town Hall on March 18. signed to Mokokchung, The Deputy Commissioner Mon, Longleng, Tuensang & District Election Officer, and Kiphire Assembly con- C.M. Tsanglao,(IAS) Phek, exhorted the gathering and stituencies. called upon the trainees to Peren BLOs asked to col- give their best efforts while discharging their duties. lect reimbursement “Either big or small we PEREN (MExN): All the BLOs of 6-Tening and should work hand in hand 7-Peren assembly constitu- for the successful of our encies under Peren district duties/ performance; for have been directed to col- which we need to equip our lect the annual reimburse- selves how to handle our ment for the block year 2013 self for better performance (January 2013 to October of our services,” he said. He 2013) in connection with called upon the trainees to Special Summary Revision be attentive in the training of e-roll (wrt 1/1/14 as Q/D) programme so that collec-

5

MEx FILE ANEFWA Wokha general meeting Wokha, March 18 (MExN): All Nagaland Electricity Field Workers Association (ANEFWA), Wokha unit has informed its members that there will be a general meeting on March 21, 9:00 am at LTC Hall. All members have been requested to attend the meeting without fail, except in cases of fuse call and emergency duty.

NPF youth meeting on March 19 DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): The NPF Youth Wing Dimapur division has called a meeting of its office bearers on March 19, 10:00 am at the division office. All division office bearers have been informed to attend the said meeting

APTMS raids illegal electrical connection DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): Anti-Power Theft Mobile Squad (APTMS) checked illegal electrical connection under SDO (E) No.1 Dimapur on March 18, 2014 and caught three consumers using electricity without proper connection. The offences included hooking, motor direct, and meter by-pass, informed a press release issued by Er.Namheu Khate, Sub-Divisional Officer.

BJP expels member DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): The Nagaland State BJP Unit has expelled MM Thromwa Konyak from both primary/active membership of the party for a period of six years “for violation and breach of party discipline as per Article XXV of the party constitution.” This was stated in a press release issued by BJP Nagaland office secretary, Lachit Khersa.

CCRC Upper PWD informs kohiMa, Mar 18 (MExN): The Chakhesang Christian Revival Church (CCRC), Upper PWD, Kohima has informed that any letter sent in favour of the CCRC, Upper PWD, Kohima be posted or sent through New Post Box No. 1001. This was stated in a release issued by Senior Pastor Rev. Zhowhuyi Nyekha and Church Secretary Vilhou Koza.

Naga missionaries’ retreat in Nepal DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): Naga missionaries working in Nepal will be organizing a retreat at Dhulikhel, some distance east of Kathmandu from March 28 to 30. A press release from Co-ordinator Dr. LM Murry informed that this has been made possible through the generosity of well wishers from Nagaland. It will be a time for sharing the experiences of different ministries, it said. Other topics like Refilling, Rejuvenate, and Excel in Christian lives will also be shared by resource persons.

NSEAOA meeting kohiMa, March 18 (MExN): The Nagaland School Education Administrative Officers’ Association (NSEAOA) has informed all the cadre officers of secondary and elementary school education Nagaland and three District Education Officer’s (DEO) i.e Mon, Kohima and Dimapur and all the Sub Divisional Education Officer’s (SDEO), headmasters, assistant headmasters, junior education officers, area education officers, senior graduate teachers and ANSTA that an emergency meeting will be held on March 21 at Chapel Hall, Government Higher Secondary School Kohima at 11:00 AM. Stating this in a release, NSEAOA vice president R. Ekonthung Lotha has requested all concerned to attend the said meeting positively.

DPC informs members DiMapur, March 18 (MExN): Dimapur Press Club (DPC) has informed all its members to get registered within March 31, failing which, the defaulting members would be denied of any claim or complaint after the expiry of the stipulated period.

The resolution to this effect was taken during the general meeting on March 18 at Rotary Club, Dimapur, wherein the members unanimously agreed to the resolutions in spirit and in letter. It was agreed that only registered members would be issued Smart ID Card. The Club also decided to follow the policy of non- interference against non-registered members in the event of any circumstances.

The house also decided to charge Rs 100 as renewal fee for old members and Rs

Dimapur

tive efforts can bring about success. He also called upon the trainees to cooperate with one another for successful implementation and smooth functioning of the election processes.

The day long training programme was conducted by S.P. Raja, Senior Graduate Teacher, GHSS, Phek; along with ten EVM Master trainers. A lecturer from Phek College showcased the slide process of the EVM. About four hundred trainers attended the training programme.

both heavy and light, advertisement in local papers etc. were specifically notified.

The detailed rates of items are available on the DC’s Office notice board.

Contact number of expenditure office Mon TUENSANG (DIPR): The Deputy Commissioner for Tuensang has informed that any queries or objections with regard to accounts and expenditure in connection with the forthcoming Lok Sabha election 2014 may be brought to notice of K. Hauthang, ExpenMkg DC notifies on rates diture Observer at mobile items on election expen- number 8414957321. diture MOKOKCHUNG (DIPR): Schedule for 2nd phase of In compliance with the Elec- training under Pughoboto PUGHOBOTO (DIPR): tion Commission’s instruction on expenditure on moni- The Additional Deputy toring in Election, Deputy Commissioner & AssisCommissioner and Assis- tant Returning Officer, tant Returning Officer Mo- Pughoboto has informed kokchung, Murohu Chotso Presiding Officer under has notified the rates of 13-Pughoboto Assembly items of election for Mokok- Constituency that the 2nd Phase Training of Polling chung district.

The rates for hiring Personnel is scheduled on charge of loud speakers 25th to 26th March 2014 with amplifier and micro- at the office from the ADC phone, cloth banner, cloth Pughoboto at 10:30 a.m. onflags, hoardings, posters wards. He also informed all and pamphlets, vehicles Polling Personnel that the

3rd Phase of Polling Personnel training will be held on 7th April 2014 at the same venue and time. Therefore he directed all Polling Personnel to attend the said training without fail.

Training of polling personnel held at Peren PEREN (DIPR): Training for polling personal for the forthcoming Lok Sabha Elections was held at Town Hall, Peren on March 15.

The Training was conducted by Albert, Nodal Officer and Master Trainer from Peren, with all 271 polling personnel attending the programme.

Training on election expenditure held at Longleng LONGLENG (DIPR): Election Expenditure Monitoring Cell Longleng conducted training for the forthcoming Parliamentary Election on March 18 at the Conference Hall of DC office Longleng. The training was meant for the Assistant Expenditure Observers, Accounting Team, Paid News, SVEEP and MCMC team.

ADC Longleng T. Wati Aier imparted the training.

tain the facts, condemned the act and demanded the authority to deliver immediate punishment as per the section of the law at the earliest. It further demanded that under no circumstances the accused should be granted bail.

SRSU first executive meeting ZuNhEboto, March 18 (MExN): Suruhuto Range Students’ Union (SRSU) has called its first executive meeting for the tenure 2014-16 on March 25, 11:00 am at Duncan Bosti. All executive members have been requested to attend the meeting.

Corrigendum Apropos the article ‘Nagaland and RTE’ that appeared on Page 1 of The Morung Express on March 18, 2014, it stands corrected that Azo Solo is the Head Teacher of the Government High School PWD, and not as rendered. The inadvertent mistake is regretted.

election ahead, dC mon directs officials and organizations to be vigil MoN, March 18 (Dipr): Mon District Planning & Development Board meeting was held on March 15 at the DC’s conference hall. The meeting began with the observance of one minute silent mourning for Late Ronshong Konyak, Information Assistant of DPRO office Mon who expired on March 5. While offering condolence message to the bereaved family, the Deputy Commissioner said that though late Ronshong was not a member of DPDB, he was a sincere officer whose service was utilized by the board for various purposes. She also announced financial assistance of Rs. 10,000 from the DPDB to the deceased family.

Regarding collection of data for identification of beneficiaries under National Food Security Act 2013, the DC appealed to the ADS (Supply) to coordinate with the respective administrative officers and Social Welfare department to collect accurate data and rectify the wrong figures.

The board recommended opening of a new school ‘Holy Trinity School’ at Tizit Town. In view of the Parliamentary Election 2014, the DC appealed to all the Heads of the Departments who are appointed as nodal officials to sensitize their subordinate

officers and their staff regarding election duty and training, in order to ensure free, fair and peaceful election in the district.

Referring to the decision of the District Level Standing Committee held on March 12 on Parliamentary Election, she said that carrying of Arms, plying of truck loaded with timber, logs & coal and liquor in the district are prohibited with immediate effect. In these connections, she directed the administrative officers, KNSK, Police and Excise department to keep vigil on the issues. At the same time, she also lauded KNSK for conducting frisking and seizing of liquor in different parts of the district.

She also informed that without the approval of the medical board, no government servant would be exempted from election duty.

Regarding carrying of locally made Muzzle loading Guns which are part of Konyak culture, she said that as per the decision of DLSC it has been exempted from the purview of the order till April 6, in view of the Konyak Aoleang festival from April 1 to 5.

AEO, Mon, Akheto informed the board that medical board examination would be held on March 18 at 11 am in the office of the

CMO, Mon. He also requested the administrative officers to collect the EPIC cards from the office from March 7 onwards, to ensure that it is not handed over to the wrong person. Since majority of the polling stations are Schools and all the Polling Stations are to be connected with power and water supply, Akheto requested the DEO (Education), EE. Power and PHED to submit the status report of the Polling Stations on March 18.

SDO Civil, Phomching, Pakon Phom, who is in charge of training for polling personnel, informed that the 1st phase of training for the polling personnel was held on March 11 and the 2nd phase of the training will be held on March 22 at GHSS, Mon at 11 Am. The 3rd and final training will be held on April 4 at the council hall at 11 am sharp.

SDO Civil, Mon, Keyirangding Hegui, who is in charge of transport and communication, requested the HODs to bring their respective vehicles to the local ground on April 4.

Since there is a shortage of vehicle, he requested the administrative officers of the sub-division to identify private vehicles in their respective jurisdiction for election duty.

6

IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express WEDnEsDAy 19 MArcH 2014 voluME IX IssuE 75

Relearning and Rethinking

W

hen Christopher Columbus landed on ‘Turtle Island,’ he believed he had reached India and insisted, despite knowledge to the contrary, that the people he encountered were Indians.

This encounter elucidated by modern education curriculum serves as a point of reference to illustrate that not only were indigenous people being defined by others, but that these definitions made value judgments that relegated indigenous peoples to the margins of human existence.

The fact that land occupied and belonging to indigenous people was defined as ‘vacant land’ which could be colonized in the name of ‘discovery,’ and subsequently, legitimated by international law, is a clear indication that indigenous people were not recognized as human beings. Through expansionist and colonizing processes, indigenous people were stripped of their identity and the ability to both retain and practice their own traditions, knowledge system and values. Fortunately, most did not lose confidence in their political identity and in their will to decide their own future.

Indigenous people’s endurance and perseverance has supported the assertion of their individual and collective identity in the face of compelling and overwhelming circumstances is perhaps what saved them from vanishing altogether. The collective conscience of their nationhood in practical terms has ensured that indigenous peoples have not become a thing of the past.

The modern state unsustainability in combination with its dominant knowledge system has necessitated the need for indigenous people to explore alternatives for securing their heritage. The search for alternatives is indicating an inevitable return to the teachings of indigenous knowledge systems.

Ironically, the indispensable contribution of indigenous knowledge in the human search for alternatives has not been completely grasped by indigenous people themselves, as they continue to confront the guile of State distraction.

Indigenous people are in a position to reinforce their aspiration and to deliberately reconstruct their nationhood based on indigenous values and wisdom. These two processes of reinforcing and reconstruction are intertwined with each other. In essence, it involves the process of relearning, rethinking and reinterpreting the evolution of indigenous identities, culture, self-governance and institutions in ways that would meet the challenges and needs of modern day aspirations. Indigenous people are constantly invited to reflect and evaluate a variety of ways to be modern without losing the essence of being indigenous.

lEfT wiNg |

Anurag Dey IANS

‘Trinamool is an anarchy that works’

T

he Trinamool Congress "is an anarchy with an autocrat" at the helm but it's an "anarchy which works", says rebel MP Kabir Suman, describing a party wobbling in its efforts to create ripples at the national level.

"She (party chief Mamata Banerjee) is an absolute autocrat with no democratic values. In Trinamool, everything belongs to Big Mama," the Lok Sabha member from Jadavpur in West Bengal told IANS, quoting Gabriel Garcia Marquez's satirical commentary "Big Mama's Funeral".

"But then, much like (then US envoy to India) John Kenneth Galbraith had described India as a functioning anarchy, the Trinamool too is an anarchy that works," says Suman, an acclaimed singer-composer credited with having created a new popular genre of songs in Bengali.

Even as the Trinamool talks of a significant role in national politics and becoming the third largest party behind the Congress and the BJP after the Lok Sabha polls, Suman has reservations about Banerjee's bid to set up a Federal Front - a grouping of regional satraps like her.

"Except for the Trinamool, I don't see anybody excited about the Front. And as for Mamata becoming prime minister, I would be the first one to congratulate her if she manages to do it," says Suman, who last met the Trinamool supremo in 2011 at her swearing in ceremony as chief minister.

The 64-year-old blamed Banerjee's autocratic ways for his own fallout with the party.

"I wanted to quit, but stayed at the insistence of the people who voted me in. As regards Trinamool, I am surprised, they never expelled me. May be they can't afford to.

"Perhaps Mamata realises that her success is largely because of Mahasweta Devi's writings and Kabir Suman's songs that enabled the Trinamool make inroads into the urban masses and civil society," says the singer, who has rubbed shoulders with folk music legend Pete Seeger.

Observing that it is difficult for a first time MP to understand the nitty-gritty of parliament, Suman is unfazed at being denied a ticket this time by the Trinamool. He may contest as an independent.

"My health is degenerating very fast... Though highly unlikely, but if I contest, I will stress on development and poverty.

"Development doesn't mean you develop rocket science but your people go to sleep with empty stomachs," says Suman who defeated CPI-M's outgoing MP Sujan Chakraborty in 2009.

He said that in parliament he was "never given a chance to speak, not even once. May be if I was independent, I could have raised a few issues.

"Parliament is not a bad place.... one can do a few things.

The Indian government has money. If there is a will, it can be used for development."

Radically opposed to any form of communal or theocratic politics, Suman says he cannot stand BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

"He has no secular or democratic values. I am radically opposed to him, to the BJP, and all forms of theocratic politics and parties."

He may have a soft corner for the ultra Left but Suman insists he is not a Communist.

"Are only the Maoists killing people? Every party has criminals. Just look at the number of people killed during elections. Maoists can't be our enemies, they are patriots.

"But that doesn't mean I am a Communist. In capitalism, at least, you will have a store where people can buy a Suman song. Communism is not my cup of tea."

For Suman, the most appropriate person to lead India for the next five years is Manmohan Singh.

"People may laugh at me, others may get peeved, but I would like to see Manmohan Singh yet again at the helm.

His poise, his gentle ways and his knowledge, he is right up there, much the way I liked Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

Esther Htusan Associated Press

Myanmar opium fight failing

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very morning, more than 100 heroin and opium addicts descend on the graveyard in this northeastern Myanmar village to get high. When authorities show up, it's for their own quick fix: Soldiers and police roll up the sleeves of their dark green uniforms, seemingly oblivious to passers-by.

Nearby, junkies lean on white tombstones, tossing dirty needles and syringes into the dry, golden grass.

Others squat on the ground, sucking from crude pipes fashioned from plastic water bottles.

Together with other opium-growing regions of Myanmar, the village of Nampakta has seen an astonishing breakdown of law and order since generals from the formerly military-run country handed power to a nominally civilian government three years ago.

The drug trade — and addiction — is running wild along the jagged frontier. In this village, roughly half the population uses.

"It's all in the open now," Daw Li said at the cemetery, wiping tears from her cheeks. As she stood before the graves of her two oldest sons, both victims of heroin overdoses, she could see addicts using drugs.

"Everyone used to hide in their houses. They'd be secretive," the 58-year-old widow said. "Now the dealers deal, the junkies shoot up. They couldn't care less if someone is watching.

"Why isn't anyone trying to stop this?"

Myanmar was the world's biggest producer of opium, the main ingredient in heroin, until 2003. The government spent millions on poppy eradication, and drug syndicates began focusing more on the manufacturing methamphetamines. But within just a few years, poppy production started picking up.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the country produced 870 tons of opium last year, a 26 percent increase over 2012 and the highest figure recorded in a decade. During the same period, drug eradication efforts plunged. President Thein Sein's spokesman, Ye Htut, indicated the decrease was linked to efforts to forge peace with dozens of ethnic rebel insurgencies that control the vast majority of the poppy growing territory.

Nearly a dozen ceasefire agreements have been signed with various groups, but several insurgencies, including the Shan State Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, continue to hold out. If Thein Sein goes after the rebels' main source of income, the drug trade, he risks alienating them at a delicate time.

But many opium-growing towns and villages, including Nampakta, are under government control.

Here, authorities are in a position to crack down but have chosen not to.

"When I first assumed this post, I said to my bosses, 'We need to take action to stop drugs,'" said a senior official in Nampatka who spoke to The Associated Press on condition he not be named because he feared retribution.

"I was told, quite flatly, 'Mind your own business.'"

He said every family in the village is now affected: "Half the population of 8,000 uses. It's not just opium or heroin anymore, but methamphetamines."

Ye Htut said methamphetamines are currently a bigger problem for Myanmar than opium, with the precursor chemicals flooding into the country from neighboring India, but that several recent drug busts show the government is taking law enforcement seriously. Those seizures focused primarily on meth, including the reported seizure of 1 million tablets in Yangon this month.

Though the government eradicated only about 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of opium poppies last year, barely half the total of 2012, Ye Htut said he is

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he Creator created man and woman but disappeared from them. Communication between the Creator and the creatures is through the mind and dreams only.

Men and women are guided and controlled by their desire, ambition, need and fear. They have the fear of unseen beings which are believed to be super being who can protect, do harm or give fortune, they worship the super beings in accordance with their dreams and experiences. So there are different religious beliefs and practices all over the world.

Today there are many different religions. There are major religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Sikhism and others. All religions believe that there is a Creator of the heavens and the earth. Different religions perform different religious rites according to different beliefs and one religions is intolerant of another religion. So religious intolerance is a problem among human societies in the world. Some religions do violence against other religious groups claiming that their religion is the true religion and the other is not. They perpetrate evils on others thinking that it pleases God. From time immemorial up to now, the Creator revealed Himself to humankind in different ways. Through the revelation of God Himself to humankind we came to know that the Creator God is the everlasting life, Omnipotent and Omniscient. He is holy, righteous, just, perfect, loving kind, infallible and is no respecter of persons. He hates sin and all sorts of evil and wickedness and He likes humbleness and goodness and hates arrogance. He rewards good and evil according to the deeds. His characteristics are perfect.

Every man and woman is bound to face inner battle in life. Human beings have high intellect and are highly sensitive. So unless the mind is guided and strengthened by the word of God and prayer, it can easily go astray and it cannot withstand any test of time, temptation or trial or depression or loneliness. Carnal mind has vacu-

In this Jan 28 photo, Daw Li, standing between the graves of two of her children, positions a dried floral arrangement at her eldest son Lasham Brang Seng’s grave in the Nampatka village cemetery, northeastern Shan State, Myanmar.

Both boys died of heroin overdoses. “It's all in the open now,” she said. "The dealers deal, the junkies shoot up. They could care less if someone is watching. Why isn't anyone trying to stop this?” (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

hopeful future poppy eradication efforts — this time with the help of the U.S. — will be more successful. He said sanctions imposed on the country when it was under military rule made it difficult to finance crop alternatives for poor poppy-growing farmers.

The No. 123 Infantry army base and several police posts overlook waves of white and pink poppies in full bloom on both sides of the dusty road leading to Nampakta, blanketing the sloping valleys and jagged peaks as far as the eye can see.

Farmers living in wooden huts dotting the landscape say the crops are patrolled by governmentaligned civil militias known as Pyi Thu Sit, which hold sway over many parts of Shan and Kachin states, the country's biggest producers of opium.

Jason Eligh, country manager of the U.N. drugs and crime office, said pretty much anyone with a gun has a role to play.

The militias force farmers to grow poppies, lend them money for seeds, protect fields from being eradicated and ensure that buyers collect the opium and get it to market, collecting fees every step of the way.

Soldiers and police, in exchange for turning a blind eye, get a piece of the cut, the official in Nampakta said.

Dealers hanging out at the graveyard, on street corners and behind hillside homes pay security forces to leave them alone, he said, adding that some soldiers and police prefer to receive drugs as payment.

Police work is how Naw San, a former narcotics officer, says he became a drug addict.

"Whenever we were trying to get to the drug dealers, we had to pretend we were drug addicts to make sure they didn't recognize us as police," the 32-yearold said from The Light of the World Rehabilitation Center, a Baptist facility where he had checked in three days earlier with his wife, also an addict, and their 2-year-old daughter.

The girl, Tsaw Tsaw, is happy, easygoing and possibly unaware that both her parents are so weak they can't even hold her. A volunteer at the center helps care for the child.

Naw San said he is trying to overcome his addiction

for her daughter's sake and that of his parents, who had once hoped he would go to theological school.

"My younger brother died already because of drugs and my other brother barely seems human anymore. I am the only one left for my mother to give her hope," he said. "I hope I will go forward with God and I will serve him. I pray for that."

Many residents say they are sick of seeing their community ripped apart by drugs, though growing opium is one of the few ways people can make money in impoverished rural areas such as Nampakta. More than a billion dollars in development aid has poured into Myanmar, but it has been spent mainly in urban centers and other more accessible areas. Now some residents in opium country would prefer to see the crops destroyed.

Daw Li, the woman who lost two sons to drugs, one 32 and the other 28, worries that it's only a matter of time before her youngest, now 25, follows them to the grave.

"I expected my children to be great," she cried.

She said her boys started doing drugs after graduating from high school, but she had no idea at first.

They hid it well. But then money started disappearing, and after that, household items such as blankets and dishes that she presumes they sold to buy drugs. Later she hid in neighbors' homes, worried that her sons might attack her if she refused to give them money.

"There is nothing I can say except that it makes me so sad, and angry," she says. "At the drug dealers, at their friends, at myself, but also, of course, at authorities who aren't doing a thing to stop it.

"Now whenever I see young addicts on the streets, all I can say is, 'Please, don't use drugs anymore. Look at me, an old lady who lost two sons. Your parents will also feel so sad, just like me.'"

The message is lost on those who loiter in the graveyard in the center of the village, the most popular hangout for addicts. The village tallies deaths almost every week. Days before an Associated Press team visited the area, four men between 18 and 45 died of drug overdoses.

The body of the youngest was found in the graveyard, draped over a tombstone.

The World Is To Be Built Up On The Foundation Of Relationship With The Creator Rev. L. Suohie Mhasi um without the Spirit of God. Mental battle is the fiercest battle.

As a matter of fact, God pours out His Spirit upon the true believers. Those who are anointed by the Spirit tremendously experience what God is. First of all, they feel remorse for their past sins and confess their sins. They experience peace and joy which the world does not know. The unique experience such as ecstasy, Spiritual gifts, love for God and for fellow men and women. Forgiveness and reconciliation which was impossible in the past became possible. Broken families are restored and wayward children are changed.

Churches are fully packed morning and night every day listening to the word of God, praising God and praying to God. Tears of joy and love is shed. Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a phenomenal experience. John Buchman the founder of Moral Rearmement said, “I want to see that the world is governed by men governed by God.” The Spirit of God alone can change the world through the instrumentality of His obedient children. The perfect Creator can make the world next to the Paradise but human beings failed to know Him and obey Him. There is only one Creator and Lord. The Creator is the Father of all human beings and all human beings are His children. Out of ignorance, human beings worship many different imaginary beings other than the Creator. All human beings have to know Him and to give loyalty to Him only. If you and I miss Him and worship a wrong imaginary being, what a great loss it will be ! Should you and I be fanatic in superstitious belief ? Do you believe handicraft . Can handicraft, stone, trees and animals

represent God? If one is on board of a wrong train, what will be the destination? The only true Creator of the heavens and the earth will save us.

The world is to be built up on the foundation of human relationship with God, “KNOW GOD, BELIEVE IN HIM, FEAR HIM AND OBEY HIM.” This is the fundamental of human life.

Deviating from it is an alienation from God. This is the basis, guidance and focus of all human beings. No human being can defy it. The more it is honoured, and obeyed the better. It is not religion but human ethical relationship with God. The world will have no confusion and chaos if the world is clear about the law or human ethics of relationship with God. If all human beings know God, believe in Him, fear Him and obey Him, all human beings will be systematic and symmetrical in human relationship with God and with fellow men and women. Performing religious rites divides fellow human beings but being competitive to imbibe in the characteristics of God embraces all.

It is a healing process and it creates consistency. The law or human ethics of relationship with God saved the family of Noah from the destruction of the world by flood when all of the people perished. There has been flood in various forms in the world and the way of security is, “KNOW GOD , BELIEVE IN HIM, FEAR HIM AND OBEY HIM.” Religion has failed to bring about human unity because of religious intolerance. Secularism has failed because it seeks unity without the Lord. Politics has failed to bring about unity because politics seeks after building up self-image. Civilization has failed because civilized people are more prone towards ma-

wRiTE-wiNg

terialism and materialists are more prone towards degeneration. Human ethics of relationship with God seeks to do any thing by having relationship with God and with fellow men and women. It seeks relationship between the Creator and humankind and between man and man because having the right relationship with God corresponds to having good relationship with fellow men and women. The law of relationship with God which is human ethics of relationship with God is always the basis of every thing and every thing is in recognition of it.

Mountains of barriers or walls which cannot be addressed or penetrated by religions or politics can be addressed or penetrated by human ethics of relationship with God with the language of human ethics because the unwritten human ethical laws are universal laws. If mountains of barriers or walls can be penetrated and removed, odds of problems also can be removed. Through the platform of human ethics, the deepest and darkest superstitious beliefs and wrong concepts and philosophy can be surfaced to light.

“KNOW GOD, BELIEVE IN HIM, FEAR HIM AND OBEY HIM,” is in recognition of His creations of us and our obligation to honour His Lordship. He is our Creator and His laws are the creator of our upright way of life. Human beings are wanderers on the earth without the word of God. Human body alone cannot live and do anything without the head. Human beings attempt to live and to do any thing without the head which is the cause of the failure. The law or ethical human relationship with God is the basis, guidance and focus of the upright life of human beings. Nothing is wiser, better , greater, higher, deeper and happier than this in the world.

No school of thought can challenge it.

If there is any element of truth which can challenge it, it is welcome. If not, accept it and give paramount importance to it. If so, the world will find that it is good. A day be set aside to be observed as a day of thanksgiving for God’s creations every year.

Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The Morung Express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com All letters (including those via email) should have the full name and Postal address of the sender.

Readers may please note that the contents of the articles, letters and opinions published do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

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WEDNEsDAy

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

19 March 2014

PERSPECTIVE NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

Exercising Our Franchise With Conscience Dr. John Mohan Razu

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Professor Of Social Ethics, cTc, Mokokchung.

he jigsaw puzzle in terms of permutation, tactical and strategic mergers and alliances of the national and regional political parties to a large extent is over. The picture for the 16th Lok Sabha elections, 2014, is unfolding with greater clarity as the dates for the polling are coming closer. The media viz., print, audio and visual in their own ways play important roles in disseminating information with diverse opinions and analyses. Rallies, interactive sessions, interviews, statements and utterances keep flooding the dailies, periodicals, TV channels and radio stations.

The private research groups keep publishing the opinion polls. The hype has touched the peak. In addition, technology contributes immensely in creative ways to capture the voters’ attention.

Undoubtedly, the 2014 Parliamentary Elections has generated awareness than the previous elections particularly amongst the middle-classes and the young voters. The toiling masses of our country fervently exercise their franchise, since they have faith in the work of the government. They do believe that despite the governments’ non-performance for them the government is the final arbitrator which could translate their hopes and aspirations in real terms. India’s Parliamentary Democracy is alive because of the masses who in their own way vote differently in the elections for the State Governments and the Government at the Centre. World’s largest democracy is going to the polls for the formation of government at the Centre with a mandate of “Good Governance”.

In this election all the political parties are focusing on governance. It is not because the political parties are concerned about it, but the people want and thus expect. So the political parties are forced to capture and capitalize on it, failing which they are doomed.

It is apparent that all the political parties in one way or the other have failed to govern with “governance principles”. In the past two decades the whole country as such embroiled with all sorts of scams and allegations. At last the citizens of this country came to a realization and awareness that they would no longer tolerate the bungling of the government at the Centre, and so went all out to reform and cleanse the functioning of the government.

There have been many interventions by the civil society that rattled the political establishments especially at the Centre. Citizens could intervene more effectively and authentically only at the time of election that too every five years. Peoples’ representatives in the Lok Sabha by and large have failed to represent the problems of their electorates. Many in their own ways involved in amazing wealth and mustering power. A critical point at this juncture is: in our democracy once we elect our representatives the citizens have no provisions for calling them back, irrespective of their performances. While on the other they continue to represent their constituencies till the term expires. Hence, hardly are they pressed to take up the concept of accountability seriously.

Citizens at large in this election want a corrupt-free transparent and accountable government with good governance at the centre. This time the masses and the people of this country have given the political parties a clear and categorical mandate. Nonetheless, we have hardly witnessed good discourses on the basis of programs, policies, and so on. Mudslinging and attacking the candidates on personal levels in indecent manner have become the political culture. Criticisms by the candidates of political parties have thus far been leveled not on policy levels, but on personalities.

This type of behavior we did witness in the last Parliament sessions where there were hardly any intelligent debates. We did witness speakers were shouted down by the opponents, mikes were flung around and walkouts by members belonging to different political parties for each and every issue. Often the Parliament was adjourned while tabling bills and taking up important issues, policies and programs. There were frequent uproars leading to antinomianism. So, it was very difficult to discern the merits of the issues and problems that were looming the country.

Policies and programs were not analyzed based on the facts and impacts, but only on super-

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ATO planes monitor Ukraine's border. East and West fight for influence and trade angry warnings. Russian troops conduct massive war games as tensions rise.

With its brinksmanship, bellicose rhetoric, threats and counter-threats, the crisis over Moscow's takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula seems to have whisked the world back to the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union squared off in a high-stakes standoff that divided the world into two opposing camps.

But this is not Cold War 2.0.

Communism has long ceased to be the feared enemy. The ideological certainties of that era are gone. And Russia and the West are locked in economic interdependency.

Here is a look at how the Ukraine crisis may have turned into an East-West standoff — but not a Cold War. ENTWINED ECONOMIES The West's economic and diplomatic pressure may harken back to an age of isolated blocs. And measures such as visa bans, financial sanctions and threats to boycott the G-8 summit that Russia is slated to host all certainly seem intended to isolate Moscow.

But the economies of Russia and the West have become entwined since the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago — meaning it would be hard to go back to the hermetic "us-versus-them" world of the Cold War. U.S. brands including McDonald's and Pepsi have a big presence in Russia, and the European Union does far more trade with the country than the U.S. The Europeans are less eager than Washington to take punitive eco-

ficial understanding of the issues that curbed the working of Parliament. Ideas have to be allowed and discourses should be entertained, so that the views on innumerable problems could perhaps be clarified and viewed objectively. The culture that prevails in our democracy is when the ruling party proposes for instance policies or programs, the opposition would not allow for detailed discussions and debates, and thus abruptly and randomly opposes for the sake of opposing. It is the same vice versa. This sort of logic prevails in most of the governments at the state levels. Whichever party forms the government they want to undo the good works carried out by previous government.

Without getting into the merits of the programs and works, both the ruling as well as opposition parties oppose each other. This election is clouded with all sorts of personal animosities and vendettas stooping down to most vulgar and unparliamentarily levels.

In this election one of the frequently used terms is development. Each and every politician is talking about development. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee is claiming that Bengal’s development model is better than Gujarat Model which Modi claims as the best paradigm on the whole and for the entire country. But for former Chief Minister of Delhi Kejriwal it is just the opposite. He has exposed Modi by citing Modi’s own constituency is in deplorable condition especially the roads and connectivity to rural Gujarat. Even the schools do not have proper facilities and Public Health Centre in Modi’s constituency that gives pathetic look without any basic requisites. According to Kejriwal, the Gujarat Model is over-hyped and highly exaggerated, since there are no visible transformations have taken place in the State of Gujarat. Rahul Gandhi is emphasizing more about empowering the toiling masses from below. No slogans and big rallies, but interactions with the commoners. Modi criticizes Rahul that his party had failed on all counts and certainly not for poor.

However, the citizens of India will be exercising their franchise based on diverse perceptions. People of India have their own ways of discerning the political reality around them. Their perceptions have always been balanced. They are based on several factors. The rural masses in particular have always shown their wisdom while exercising their franchise. Added to these factors, in this elections the middle-class and educated young segments are aware of their rights and roles in the polity. My prediction in this election is that there shall be a massive turn out which would certainly help the democratic process. Our democracy has come of age and certainly maturing. In spite of several problems Indian democracy survived and continues to show vibrancy and dynamism.

It is unfortunate that during elections the political parties spend huge sums of moneys to buy votes. The electorates in most cases fall prey to them. Corruption is manifested in many forms especially at the time of elections. People are wooed and lured overtly and covertly. There are diverse means and methods that the agents of political parties employ to secure the votes. In general people fall to it. We may have taken oaths and campaigned for “corruption free” elections.

Many would have promised that they would abide by the oath. When it comes to translating their oath into votes they vote for those from whom they have taken money or some favors or assured of something after winning. Why do we backslide? Why don’t we keep up to our promises? Why do we sell our constitutional right electing a candidate who is not of our own choice? Do we act on the dictate of our conscience?

Have we kept aside our conscience and act on the dictates of moneys, positions and power?

The term “conscience” means “one’s knowledge of oneself as judging and acting which accompanies one’s judgments and actions.” Keeping this definition in mind we should vote because once the candidates get elected for who we voted if they fail to perform and govern and thus become ruthless or useless, we cannot change and as a consequence regret. At that time a series of questions that emerges: What have I done?

Who was I when I acted in such and such a way? Why did I commit such a blunder? For some favors or money or position I have sacrificed my citizenry right?

What do I do with these, be it gold or silver or money?

So, every morally relevant action of a person puts one

into a relation to oneself and thus concerns that person’s identity. All of us are ethical beings and our lives revolve around certain ethical principles. All religions teach us how to be morally good. No religion teaches to submit one’s conscience for the sake of money, power, and other incentives. So, “conscience” helps us to judge our decisions and actions.

Unlike animals, we are endowed with common sense coupled with reason that enables not only recognizes the goals of possible actions, but also develops opinions or discerning capacity towards them. As rational beings why don’t we exercise our rationality in voting? Why do we submit ourselves for temporal happiness by sacrificing a larger good? The fact is we are in most of the situations act in particular ways propelled by our instantaneous impulses, rather than reasons. If our actions are impelled by reason then our actions will grapple on causes or consequences.

For every action there are causes leading to positive or negative consequences. Consequently, the implied maxim of our moral action while exercising our franchise is: “vote for a non-corrupt honest person who would do good work,” is almost equivalent to the rule “follow conscience” which implies “follow reason”.

We are going to vote with increased awareness backed by our conscience and reason. To a question which is always being asked: why are we voting for this candidate or that candidate and how do we decide? It is decided and arrived at on the basis of our moral decision being judged by our conscience. Basically “conscience” is nothing but “judgment on our actions”. Conscience can never be buried and set aside. It is always in us and within us, and thus gives us signals while making decisions. We do make decisions in big and small ways, but certainly what is the basis on which we make decisions. Most of us are illumined by our conscience. We may think that we could outwit our conscience and do whatever we want. But it is not possible, because we are accountable, and thus answerable. It pricks for which our conscience is responsible. Days, months, years may pass by but whatever acts that we did without listening that went contrary to our conscience remains. They are deeply seated in our sub-conscience. Flash backs are indicative of our actions that we failed to give proper hearing to our conscience.

As said by B.R. Ambedkar, all the citizens of our country ought to be considered as equals before the Constitution on which our democracy lives and resonates. A maxim said by him is relevant and appropriate as we are engaged in the process of choosing and exercising our franchises should go in line with: “One Person, One Value, and One Vote”. The principle of equality becomes important. No one should be treated having more value or less value before our Constitution since as citizens we are going to exercise our basic right to vote. More importantly, we should never abdicate the very essence and spirit of our constitutional and citizenry right in return of money or for favors or obligation. If we abdicate the right to vote it amounts to submitting ourselves to lesser value which is antithetical to rationality and belief systems. We are expected to invoke our conscience and apply our rational mind while deciding and exercising who is the right candidate, to which party he or she belongs.

But it is that easy in our democracy. There are several instances across the country where people who went to vote had to return since their names were not found in the list. In other cases where their names were enlisted, but could not vote, since they were intimidated or coerced. However, these incidences occur to deter our resolve and resilience. We certainly believe in freedom and democracy. In spite of these obstacles and hassles the citizens of our country face continue to vote. Certainly because of those who defy the undemocratic forces keep alive the Spirit of Democracy. 2014 Elections is clearly poised for a battle for India. The battle the political parties fight is for different things. But we should discern the type of India we want. We should be careful in our discernment and certainly invoke our conscience and exercise our votes judiciously. Let us be cautious while voting. We ought to be diligent and prudent. To whosoever we vote it should be ethically justified, morally driven and consciously grounded.

“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” –Plato

East vs West Ukraine conflict not a new Cold War Jill Lawless associated Press But Western leaders show little appetite for a military response.

NATO did deploy two surveillance planes to fly over Poland and Romania on Wednesday to monitor Ukraine, and the U.S. sent additional fighter jets to Lithuania and Poland to boost air patrols. Russia is in military control of Crimea but has not moved into other areas of Ukraine, aside from seizing a gas distribution facility just outside of Crimea's border.

The crisis could still escalate. Adrian Basora, a former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, said that if Russia sent troops into eastern Ukraine, it could trigger an escalation that might pull NATO troops into eastern Europe.

He acknowledged that would be "an extremely dangerous situation."

But even that is unlikely to turn into a global confrontation.

Crucially, China — the rising global power of the 21st century — has shown no desire to take sides. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has discussed the crisis with U.S. President Barack Obama, has merely urged calm and restraint.

It is true that Putin has launched a huge military modernization proMILITARY LIMITS Rhetoric such as "dangerous escala- gram. And Russia's defense minister tion" and "brink of disaster" — as well said last month that it was seeking as talk of boosting military defenses in to expand its worldwide presence by seeking permission for navy ships to Europe — echo Cold War tensions. nomic measures, in part because European companies from German engineering firm Siemens to British oil giant BP have major Russian investments. And Russia supplies almost a third of Europe's natural gas.

But economic rupture could hurt Russia even more. Russia relies heavily on income from oil and gas, which make up more than two-thirds of the country's exports. Around half of Russia's exports, mainly natural gas, oil and other raw materials, heads to the EU. And rich Russians rely on places like London for a place to stash their cash in homes, businesses and discreet, stable banks — so much so that some British people refer to their capital as "Londongrad."

"London is more important to Russians than Russians are to London," said Yolande Barnes, head of global research at real estate agent Savills. She says Russians buy about 2.5 percent of prime London properties. "If Russians disappeared, I think London would barely blink."

use ports in Algeria, Cyprus, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore.

Still, Matthew Clements, editor of Jane's Intelligence Review, said Russia's "ability to undertake operations across the globe is fairly limited."

"This is not a reformation of the Soviet Red Army," he said.

CLASH OF CULTURES In one area the Cold War comparison may be apt: a mutual lack of comprehension and trust.

The Ukraine crisis has revealed that Russia and the West remain far apart — not just politically and diplomatically, but culturally and temperamentally.

Putin has stoked a brand of macho nationalism increasingly at odds with liberal Europeans, who have reacted with anger to the jailing of punk protesters Pussy Riot and Russia's ban on homosexual "propaganda."

Attempts to isolate Russia further may boost support for Putin — whose poll ratings have soared due to his tough stance on Ukraine — and make rapprochement harder.

But historians see fundamental differences.

"Two things characterized the Cold War. First of all there was an ideological divide which was kind of black and white — 'You're either with us or against us,'" said Margot Light, professor emeritus of international relations at the London School of Economics. "That really doesn't exist anymore.

"And the Cold War started off as European, but it became global. And again, this isn't it. I think neither Russia nor the United States have that kind of global reach any longer."

The Newspaper with an Opinion The Morung Express

Competition exists in every sphere and facet of our lives from politics, sports to business. Political parties are redefining themselves to appeal to the people, sports men are using better equipment and ideas to get an edge over their opponents, businesses have to generate profit or eventually collapse. Healthy competition demands that we adapt to survive and to stay relevant. However, for competition to be useful it requires an environment with a level playing field consisting of the basic essentials of a well governed society. It also requires an understanding that we need competitors to push us sometimes.

Adapt or Perish

Imtitola, Asst. Professor, Commerce Department

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hat comes to your mind when one says the word ‘Survival of the Fittest’? “Survival of the Fittest” is actually a phrase that originated in the evolutionary theory as an alternative way of describing the mechanism of natural selection and was coined by the naturalist, Herbert Spencer. He first used this phrase after reading Charles Darwin’s (an English naturalist and geologist) 5th edition of On the Origin of Species published in 1869.

The interpretation of this phrase is to express the theory of ‘fit’ and ‘unfit’ individual or species in a test. It is the theory that the fittest individual/species survives; there is little evidence that competition has been the driving force in the evolution of large groups. Every person has their own opinion and in this case, it may not be acceptable to all or applicable, in all the areas. The individual/species that survives are not always the strongest, fastest, or smartest.

When pressed for a further explanation of the term, however, the majority will probably accept this statement, while others may deny.

Today, we are witnessing lots of emerging trends, not only in the political scenario, but also in different social, economic and technological fields - which involve heavy competition to survive. Besides competition, the ability to adapt to any situation or environment is the driving force behind survival. Competition prevails in different spheres of life like politics where there is inevitable competition within the government, and even - to provide an easy example - in sports in which winning is the primary goal of every sportsman. It is also present in the field of business in which businessmen compete with one another to survive in the market and so on. What’s important to ask here is: Why do we compete with one another? And why is it necessary to compete? The answer to this question could be explained by the theory of “survival of the fittest”. To put it simply, we compete because we want to be the best and also because our very survival depends on it.

Here, I would like to express this phrase from the business environment terminology. Growing a business is not an easy task. It is not about isolating oneself from a competitor or working against one another in order to succeed.

The fact is, successful competitors tend to meet on a more common ground. One day they will be collaborating, and the next day they will be bidding against each other. The key to survive or win market shares is to differentiate one’s company from ones competitors by providing products, services, and solutions that will make their product more desirable than that of their competitors. The central question is: why do some companies thrive while others perish? Why do some make extravagant profits, while others losses? What is the secret to survival? The factor determining survival is often not superiority over another in competition but ability to survive dramatic changes in environmental condition (some of which might be changes in customer taste and behavior). The strategy of a business or a brand is to be best “fitted” or best “adapted”, to its environment (market and customers) to survive and flourish. Right products/services to the right customer at the right time take the lead. No one can argue with the fact that our economy has become progressively more globalised and as such, all customers expect great products/services, regardless of their background.

Businessmen or companies needs to cater to the many different needs and expectations of today’s increasingly diverse customers. We are also witnessing dramatic changes in our own market itself. Different competitors exist, which show that the attitude and buying behavior or the capacity of consumers is changing. The challenge here is consumers tend to keep on switching from one product to another. The reason behind this is the availability of different brands and companies. A smart entrepreneur needs to be aware of the changing environment scenario and the behavior of the consumer.

By providing the right product at the right time at the right place and at the right price through the right channels of distribution, customer loyalty will be achieved. This will enable a company to remain in the race of the survival of the fittest.

Take a pause and look around, you will see mushrooming of smart, creative and innovative entrepreneurs. Can we make use of such resources for everyone’s benefit? Many entrepreneurs attempt to start their own venture, which is very good, but unfortunately some happen to shut down, while some are on the edge and barely surviving. Many businesses fail to survive long because they produce goods which are not fit with the environment and not according to the needs and wants of their consumers.

Entrepreneurs must learn to adapt and do things differently; he/she should have a plan and not merely a dream. An important quality one must possess is the ability to listen to other people’s advice because they need people to bounce off ideas and scrutinise what is being done, because ultimately it is the public they need to please and not themselves alone.

One’s success is about the survival of a business and not about individual interests. If one can consistently cater to public demand and wants, then I believe that at the end of the day, you can be proud of your company’s achievement. Wise decisions made today will definitely ensure survival in the future.

“Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College.

For feedback or comments please email: admin@tetsocollege.org”.

Readers may please note that, the contents of the articles published on this page do not reflect the outlook of this paper nor of the Editor in any form.

8

Dimapur

NATIONAL

Wednesday 19 March 2014

The Morung Express

US unease grows over Indian drug quality

WA S h I N G T O N / N E W YOrK, MArch 18 (rEUTErS): Some US doctors are becoming concerned about the quality of generic drugs supplied by Indian manufacturers following a flurry of recalls and import bans by the Food and Drug Administration.

India supplies about 40 percent of generic and overthe-counter drugs used in the United States, making it the second-biggest supplier after Canada.

In recent months, the FDA, citing quality control problems ranging from data manipulation to sanitation, has banned the importation of products from Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Wockhardt Ltd and, most recently, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. “I’m just beginning to realize the gravity of the problem,” said Dr Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s terrible and it is starting to get a lot of traction among physicians.”

Indian drugmakers are by no means the only companies to recall products or be warned by the FDA about manufacturing problems. For instance, quality control failures at Johnson & Johnson forced the company to recall dozens of products over the past five years, ranging from artifi-

neric drugs from specific manufacturers outside India. “I’m tending to stay away from India,” he said.

“There’s something wrong.

Too many things are happening.”

Pills of all kinds, shapes and colours, March 2003. (REUTERS File Photo)

cial hips to children’s Tylenol.

And last year, Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim said it would shut down its US contract manufacturing unit, Ben Venue Laboratories, after it was cited for repeated manufacturing violations that led to shortages of the cancer drug Doxil.

India’s drugmakers, a $14 billion industry, reject any criticism that their products are inferior to drugs made in other countries. “We have heard doctors making generalized statements, without being specific on any product or

Notorious wildlife poacher Sansar Chand dead JAIPUr, MArch 18 (IANS): Notorious wildlife poacher Sansar Chand died of cancer at a hospital here Tuesday, a doctor said.

Sansar Chand, who was undergoing trial on charges of killing several tigers in Rajasthan’s Sariska Tiger Reserve, was admitted to the Sawai Man Singh Hospital here few days ago, a doctor told IANS. Resident of New Delhi, he is believed to be India’s biggest wildlife criminal who has been responsible for more tiger and leopard deaths than anyone else.

Sansar Chand was undergoing trial in connection with poaching of tigers at Sariska in Alwar district, some 150 km from Jaipur. It was alleged that he was one of the smugglers responsible for disappearance of all the tigers from Sariska Tiger Resrve in 2005.

“He was lodged in the Alwar Central Jail and was brought to SMS Hospital last week. Tumours were detected in his lungs, brain and spinal cord. The cancer was in the last stage. Before being shifted to SMS, he was undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Delhi. He died while undergoing treatment today (Tuesday),” said the doctor.

The district and sessions court in Alwar had rejected his bail application filed by his lawyers on the ground that he was terminally ill and suffering from cancer.

“However, the court had directed the court of additional chief judicial magistrate to hear the case on the daily basis to dispose of the case as soon as possible, since the accused is terminally ill,” said his lawyer Ashok Sharma.

Diaries seized from Sansar Chand’s family by the Rajasthan Police in 2004 allegedly showed transactions of 40 tiger skins and 400 leopard skins, in a period of just 11 months from October 2003 to September 2004.

During interrogation by the CBI in 2006, Sansar Chand apparently admitted to selling 470 tiger skins and 2,130 leopard skins to just four clients from Nepal and Tibet.

company,” said D G Shah, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, a trade group representing large Indian drugmakers. “This is a deliberate and serious campaign to malign the Indian generic industry.”

If US doctors come across a medicine that does not meet quality standards, they should report it to regulators, he said. “Doctors are not in a position to judge whether manufacturing processes are correct or not.

That is the US FDA’s job.”

Generic drugs account for nearly 85 percent of

medicines prescribed in the United States and the government is relying on them to help rein in healthcare costs.

“We are losing control over what people are swallowing,” said Dr Harry Lever, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who is trying raise awareness of the matter among US lawmakers. “Now, when a patient comes in who is not doing well, the first thing I do is look at their drugs and find out who makes it.”

Increasingly, Lever said, he is recommending patients seek out ge-

INDIAN DOcTOrS hIT BAcK Indian physicians do not share the concerns.

“Our drugs are being sold in many countries and being accepted, so we have no issues,” said Narendra Saini, Secretary General of the Indian Medical Association, a voluntary body of 215,000 doctors. “How do I know that western drugs are better than our drugs?”

A 2012 report by India’s Parliament alleged collusion between pharmaceutical firms and officials at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the country’s drugs regulator, and described an agency that was both understaffed and underqualified. Saini said physicians trust that the CDSCO is taking care of the quality and the standard of the drugs made in India. “We very much trust those medicines,” he added.

Representatives of Ranbaxy, Sun and Wockhardt were not immediately available to comment. Dr Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at

Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said he is concerned about the quality of generic drugs in general, not just those from India.

He cited, as an example, his experience with the diabetes drug metformin. “When patients open the bottle of medication it smells like dead fish,” he said. Zonszein did not know which company made the foul-smelling drug.

Physicians do not have a say in which generic drug a patient receives, as that depends on which products are stocked by individual pharmacies. If a patient wants to avoid a certain manufacturer, he or she may have to change pharmacies. Doctors may specify that the branded version of a drug be dispensed, but insurance companies frequently refuse to pay for them.

Dr Richard Kovacs, who heads a number of American College of Cardiology committees and sits on its board of trustees, said doctors may need to play a greater role monitoring the medications prescribed by their practices. “The average US cardiologist has been able to assume that the drugs were safe and effective. It now appears we need to be more vigilant as a profession, and assist the FDA by reporting cases

where we are concerned The array of recalls and about irregularities in the warning letters can be dizdrugs supplied to our pa- zying. Ranbaxy recently recalled more than 64,000 tients,” he said. bottles of a generic choleshArD TO KEEP UP terol-lowering drug after FDA Commissioner doses were mixed up in a Margaret Hamburg, who bottle, and Sun began rerecently returned from her calling 2,528 bottles of a first official visit to India, is diabetes drug after a bottle urging greater collabora- was found to contain an tion between the two coun- epilepsy treatment. Those tries. During her visit, the mix-ups follow a recall in FDA and India’s Ministry of January by Dr. Reddy’s LabHealth and Family Welfare oratories Ltd of more than signed a statement of in- 58,000 bottles of its hearttent to cooperate to prevent burn drug lansoprazole the distribution of unsafe due to a microbial contamination. drugs.

“It’s hard to be sure on Shortly afterwards, India’s drug controller gen- a day-to-day basis with the eral, G.N. Singh, said in an array of medications that interview that the country you have to be potentially will follow its own quality aware of that there’s a spestandards. “The FDA may cific problem with a specific regulate its country, but it medication from a specific can’t regulate India on how generic manufacturer,” said India has to behave or how Dr. Elliott Antman, a cardiolto deliver,” he said. ogist at Brigham and WomSome companies seem en’s Hospital in Boston.

The medical communito be responding to the FDA’s actions. Piyush Na- ty is dependent on agencies har, an analyst with Jeffer- such as the FDA, he added. ies India Private Ltd who “The bottom line for me is recently met with a number we have to make sure they of Indian drugmakers, said have sufficient resources in a recent report that most to do their job correctly.” To companies “have increased Dr Jason Gaglia, a diabetes their investment” in com- expert at the Joslin Diabetes pliance and some are con- Center in Boston, the warnsidering investing in U.S. ing letters and import bans or European facilities “to indicate the FDA is doing its overcome challenges relat- job. “Is it scary? Yes. But to ing to both regulations and me it means the system is perceptions.” working,” he said.

Italy appeals to UN to help free marines from India

UNITED NATIONS, MArch 18 (PTI): Italy has appealed to the United Nations to help free its two marines who are being tried in India for killing two Indian fishermen in 2012.

“Italy is willing to try the marines at home, but in the meantime we ask for their freedom,” said interior minister Angelino Alfano was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency. Alfano’s remarks came ahead of his meeting with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon here. Italy has been trying to rally international support among the EU, the US and NATO countries to bring home marines.

Marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone shot dead two fishermen off the Kerala coast in February 2012, sparking diplomatic tensions between India and Italy. The marines, deployed on the Italian-flagged oil tanker MT Enrica Lexie, said they mistook the fishermen for pirates. They are now stay-

ing in the Italian embassy in New Delhi awaiting trial.

India has removed the possibility of a death penalty but insisted that the marines would still be prosecuted under the anti-piracy law. Now, they face up to 10 years in jail. Rome wants the marines to be tried in Italy, claiming the incident took place in international waters. However, New Delhi says it has the right to try the Italians as the victims were Indians on board an Indian fishing boat.

Italy argues that the case sets dangerous and wide-ranging precedents for any country involved in anti-piracy missions overseas. Lats month, UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters that the secretary general is “concerned that this long-standing matter between Italy and India remains unresolved and is prompting tensions between Tibetan Buddhist monks holding ceremonial scarfs stand in a line to welcome their spiritual leader the two friendly and important Member Dalai Lama, fourth left, as he arrives at the Jhonang Takten Phuntsok Choeling monastery in Shimla, on Tuesday, March 18. (AP Photo) States of the Organisation.”

Kejriwal says he will defeat Modi

No comment on top secret India-China war report: Govt

new Delhi, march 18 (assembly) elections, nobody rally in Varanasi to decide if (ianS): AAP leader Arvind Ke- knew our candidates. But they people want him to take on jriwal Tuesday vowed to defeat defeated those who were MLAs Modi, who the BJP has fielded new Delhi, march 18 (ianS): out sections allegedly from the HenBJP’s prime ministerial candi- for 20 years. I feel this will be in the Hindu holy town in Ut- Citing the extreme sensitive nature of derson Brooks Report on the Indiadate Narendra Modi in the Lok repeated in the 2014 general tar Pradesh. Kejriwal quoted the contents, the government Tuesday China conflict of 1962”.

Sabha election in Varanasi. “I election.” some people as saying that declined to comment on sections of a “Given the extremely sensitive was reading in some newspaKejriwal, who was repeat- Modi would provide “stabil- classified report on the 1962 India-Chi- nature of the contents of the report, pers that it will be a symbolic edly cheered, was addressing ity” if he became the prime na war that have been posted online. which are of current operational valfight (in Varanasi) and it is Modi a meeting of Muslims attend- minister. But the AAP leader Sections of the classified Hender- ue, it is reiterated that the government who will win,” Kejriwal told a ed by over 500 professionals said “stability” was not as im- son-Brooks report have been put on- of India has classified this report as a meting of Muslims from across and intellectuals from several portant as providing security line by Australian journalist Neville ‘Top Secret’ document and, as such, it the country here. places including New Delhi, to citizens. would not be appropriate to comment Maxwell.

“I want to tell him (Modi) Lucknow, Mumbai and HyderHe asked if the victory of The report analysed the causes of on the contents uploaded by Neville that I am going (to Varanasi) abad. There was a roaring ap- the Samajwadi Party in Uttar India’s humiliating defeat in the 1962 Maxwell on the web,” it said.

NEW DElhI, MArch 18 (AFP): The Indian defence not only to fight but I am go- proval when the former Delhi Pradesh, while supposedly pro- border war against China and allegThe report, authored by Lt. Gen. ministry Tuesday said it will appeal against an Italian ing to defeat him,” he said. chief minister demanded to viding political stability, had led edly put the blame on the then gov- Henderson Brooks and Brig. P.S. Bhacourt order rejecting its request to recover some $387 Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi know who from among the to matching security for Mus- ernment of prime minister Jawaharlal gat, reportedly details military and million in bank guarantees over a scrapped helicopter Party’s “success story” of Del- audience will go to Varanasi to lims in the state. “Some people Nehru and the military leadership for political blunders by India that led to deal. hi - when the party won 28 of support him in the election. say we don’t have an economic India’s defeat. the defeat.

India had cancelled the deal with the Italian-owned the 70 seats and formed a govAmid cries of “Inquilab vision for the country,” he said.

Maxwell reportedly got a copy of In a statement, the defence minAgustaWestland in January to buy 12 luxury helicop- ernment that lasted 49 days - Zindabad”, scores of hands “All these can come later. The istry said it has “come across news re- the report and wrote a book called “Inters amid allegations that the company paid bribes to would be repeated in the Lok went up in the hall. Kejriwal most important thing now is to ports which state that an Australian dia’s China War”. He has put out secwin the 556-million-euro ($753 million) contract.

Sabha election. “In the Delhi has said that he will hold a battle corruption.” journalist, Neville Maxwell, has put tions of the report on the web.

On Monday, a court in Milan ruled in favour of AgustaWestland, preventing India from encashing guarantees of more than 278 million euros ($387 million), a statement from Agustawestland’s parent company Finmeccanica said.

The Indian defence ministry responded by stating ThiruvananThapuram, expected to be a fight to the finish of our main campaign issues. The report, whose revelations have is nothing but an eyewash by the that it “will be filing an appeal against the order”. “Simarch 18 (ianS): A sensa- between the Congress-led United court in its verdict has clearly said rocked the hilly districts of Idukki state and the centre because this multaneously, the government will vigorously pursue tional political murder, a multi- Democratic Front (UDF) and the that the motive of the crime was and Wayanad since November order is just meant to soothe the all options for encashment of the bank guarantees,” a feelings of the people and the final million rupee solar scam and a CPI-M led Left Democratic Front political and not personal,” said last year. statement from the Indian defence ministry said.. state Congress chief campaign The report that was cleared decision will be made once a new green controversy - electoral is- (LDF).

India had suspended the contract in 2013 after For the UDF, which won 16 of manager M.M.Hassan. by the union environment and government assumes office,” said sues clearly aren’t in short supply Italian investigators began looking into accusations But, politically, the Congress the forests ministry came under CPI-M politburo member Kodiin Kerala, which is headed for one the 20 seats in the last general electhat AgustaWestland paid bribes to win the contract of the most keenly contested elec- tions, the murder of a rebel Com- is expected to be on the backfoot heavy attack. Adding to the row, yeri Balakrishnan, ridiculing the in 2010. Italian prosecutors suspect kickbacks worth munist Party of India-Marxist over the infamous solar scam, in vested interests suggested that much-hyped revision. tions on April 10. around 10 percent of the deal -- $67.6 million (50 mil(CPI-M) heavyweight leader T.P. which three of Chandy’s staffers “unfriendly” recommendations To reap full political capital The three issues are likely to lion euros) -- were paid to Indian officials to swing the Chandrasekharan in Kozhikode were linked to key accused Saritha made in the report, if implementfrom the issue, the CPI-M will occupy the mindspace of the votdeal in favour of AgustaWestland, according to Italian ers, even as the process of filing district in 2012 by Left party activ- Nair, who along with her live-in ed, would make life miserable in also support a candidate put up media reports. ists is tipped to be its “killer punch” partner, is accused of cheating 123 villages in these districts. by the High Range Action Counnominations began Saturday.

The company denies any wrongdoing. for the poll campaign. many investors after promising to Under duress, the Chandy cil (which was at the forefront of All the three issues the India’s defence ministry came under scrutiny after A hugely popular leader supply them solar panels. government raised this issue at the the protests against the KasturiT.P.murder case, the solar scam and detectives raided the home of former air force chief S.P. from northwest Kerala, ChanThe opposition went hammer highest level involving both Prime rangan report since November the contentious Kasturirangan reTyagi as part of the probe into the allegations of bribery. drasekharan took on his former and tongs in this case and held nuMinister Manmohan Singh and last year) to contest the Idukki Lok port are expected to be highlighted The controversy was further embarrassment for the party from which he was ousted merous protests demanding that United Progressive Alliance chairSabha seat. all over the media and in the thouCongress-led government which has been buffeted by Keralites across the state will sands of street corner meetings in 2008, which had forced CPI-M Chandy order a judicial probe and person Sonia Gandhi. This forced a string of corruption scandals in the lead up to a genstate secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to quit office. the environment ministry to take in all likelihood hear more about during the campaign phase in the eral elections starting next month. publicly brand him a “renegade” .

According to political observa re-look at the report, eventually these issues over the next few southern state that sends 20 parliaThe aborted deal has also come as a severe setback A trial which followed the ers, this Chandy-linked scam is clearing it, early this month. weeks as the political tempo rismentarians to the Lok Sabha. to Finmeccanica, whose chief executive Giuseppe Orsi murder resulted in the sentencone of the key issues for the Left Last week, the election comes all the way to D-Day, with both And with Chief Minister Oomresigned after being arrested last February. men Chandy already declaring ing of 11 people, including three and parody songs are being read- mission intervened and, after political fronts putting their side Orsi denies any wrongdoing and his lawyer has that the elections will be a referen- CPI-M district level leaders, to life ied, including about Nair’s links to going through the revised order of the story. called the allegations against him “inconsistent” and Chandy’s office. from the union ministry, finally Only the results will eventudum of his government, the lines imprisonment. his arrest “unjustified”. The deal is currently under ar“Yes, the murder politics of the The opposition is also expectcleared it. ally reveal, whose story the voters have already been drawn.

For the bitration in India.

“Who does not know that this eventually believed. next three and a half weeks, it’s CPI-M leader will certainly be one ed to rake up the Kasturirangan

India to appeal Italian court setback over helicopter deal

Murder, scam, green row spice up Kerala polls

Wednesday

InternatIonal

the Morung express

19 March 2014

Dimapur

9

Planning could hold key to missing MH370 KUA L A LU M PU R , MARch 18 (ReUteRs): Whoever reached across the dimly lit cockpit of a Malaysia Airlines jet and clicked off a transponder to make Flight MH370 vanish from controllers’ radars flew the plane into a navigational and technical black hole.

By choosing that exact place and time to vanish into radar darkness with 238 others on board, the person - presumed to be a pilot or a passenger with advanced knowledge - appears to have acted only after meticulous planning, according to aviation experts. Understanding the sequence that led to the unprecedented plane hunt widening across two vast tracts of territory north and south of the Equator is key to grasping the motives of what Malaysian authorities suspect was hijacking or sabotage.

By signing off from Malaysian airspace at 1.19 a.m. on March 8 (1719 GMT March 7) with a casual “all right, good night,” rather than the crisp radio drill advocated in pilot training, a person now believed to be the co-pilot gave no hint of anything unusual. Two minutes later, at 1.21 a.m. local time, the transponder - a device identifying jets to ground controllers - was turned off in a move that experts say could reveal a careful sequence.

“Every action taken by the person who was piloting the aircraft appears to be a deliberate one. It is almost like a pilot’s checklist,” said one senior captain from an Asian carrier with experience of jets, including the

traced to pilot error, the suspected kidnapping of MH370’s passengers and crew was carried out with either skill or bizarre coincidences. Whether or not pilots knew it, the jet was just then in a technically obscure sweet spot, according to a top radar expert.

Air traffic controllers use secondary radar which works by talking to the transponder. Some air traffic control systems also blend in some primary radar, which uses a simple echo. But primary radar signals fade faster than secondary ones, meaning even a residual blip would have vanished for controllers and even military radar may have found it difficult to identify the 777 from other ghostly blips, said radar expert Hans Weber. “Turning off the transponder indicates this person was highly trained,” said Weber, of consultancy TECOP International.

Students from the Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino High School walk on a mural depicting the missing Malaysia Airlines plane Tuesday, March 18, at their campus at Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines. Officials revealed a new timeline Monday suggesting the final voice transmission from the cockpit of the missing Malaysian plane may have occurred before any of its communications systems were disabled, adding more uncertainty about who aboard might have been to blame. The search for Flight 370, which vanished early March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, has now been expanded deep into the northern and southern hemispheres. (AP Photo)

Boeing 777. The radio call does not prove it was the co-pilot who turned off the transponder. Pilots say the usual practice is that the pilot not in control of the plane talks on the radio.

Police have searched the premises of both the captain and co-pilot and are checking the backgrounds of all passengers. But who-

ever turned the transponder to “off,” did so at a vulnerable point between two airspace sectors when Malaysian and Vietnamese controllers could easily assume the airplane was each others’ responsibility.

“The predictable effect was to delay the raising of the alarm by either party,” David Learmount, operations

Excess TV, video games Eat oats for bad for kids’ mental growth better heart health

LONdON, MARch 18 (IANs): Is your kid hooked to watching TV or playing electronic games? It may affect his/her well-being in early childhood - including mental health factors like risk for developing emotional problems - a study warns.

Moreover, less monitoring of a child’s media use has been linked with a higher body mass index (BMI) in the child at age 7.

Monitoring children’s electronic media use may help mitigate some of the adverse outcomes later in life, it suggests.

For girls, each additional hour spent playing video games or using a computer on weekdays at age 4 was linked with a two-fold increase in the risk of emotional problems at age 6, the study noted. And for both boys and girls, each additional hour of weekday TV watching was linked with an increase in the risk of poor family functioning.

If children are allowed to watch TV, parents should try to watch with them to make sure the content is appropriate for the child’s age. The study looked at information from more than 3,600 European children ages 2 to 6 years old.

Parents answered questions about their child’s well-being, including queries about the child’s self-esteem, social networks and emotional problems. The interventions aimed at parental supervision and control of child media exposure may promote healthy child weight development during middle childhood, said the study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

and safety editor at Flight International, wrote in an industry blog.

That mirrors delays in noticing something was wrong when an Air France jet disappeared over the Atlantic in 2009 with 228 people on board, a gap blamed on confusion between controllers. Yet whereas the Rio-Paris disaster was later

New YORK, MARch 18 (IANs): A key morning breakfast food has just got better.

The soluble fibre in oats helps lower total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol but scientists now say that the cardiovascular health benefits of oats goes beyond fibre.

The phenolic compound avenanthramide (AVE) - found only in oats - may possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-itch and anti-cancer properties. It suggests that oat AVEs may play an important role in protecting the heart. Eating whole grains is consistently associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease.

“Our studies reveal that the heart health benefit of eating oats may go beyond fibre,” said Shengmin Sang from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

The soluble fibre beta-glucan found in oats has been recognised for its ability to lower both total and LDL cholesterol.

According to Mohsen Meydani from the Vascular Biology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging at Tufts University, oat AVEs suppress the production of inflammatory cytokines associated with fatty streak formation in the arteries. In addition, oat AVEs appear to repress the process associated with the development of atherosclerosis.

Eleven top scientists from around the globe presented the latest findings at the 247th Annual Conference of the American Chemical Society in Dallas, Texas, recently.

NOT IN THE MANUAL The overnight flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur is packed year-round with business people, Chinese tourists and students, attracted in part by code-sharing deals, regular travellers say. The lockdown of MH370 may have begun as early as 40 minutes into the flight at a point when meals are being hurriedly served in time to get trays cleared and lights dimmed for the night.

“It was a red-eye flight.

Most people - the passengers and the crew - just want to rest,” a Malaysia Airlines stewardess said. “Unless there was a reason to panic, if

someone had taken control of the aircraft, they would not have noticed anything.”

At some point between 1.07 a.m. and 1.37 a.m., investigators believe someone switched off another system called ACARS designed to transmit maintenance data back to the ground.

The explanation of the timing has shifted after Malaysian officials initially said it was turned off before the pilot last spoke at 1:19 a.m.

But it could have been done later as well, although before 1:37 a.m., when the system was to make another transmission, which it did not.

By itself, switching off ACARS was unusual but would not necessarily have raised alarms at the airline and the passengers would not have known something was amiss, said some of the six pilots contacted by Reuters, none of whom agreed to be named.

“Occasionally, there are gaps in the communications systems and the guys in ground operations may not think much of it initially. It would be a while before they try to find out what was wrong,” said one captain with an Asian carrier.

Cutting the datalink would not have been easy.

Instructions are not in the Flight Crew Operating Manual, one pilot said. Circuit-breakers used to disable the system are in a bay reached through a hatch in the floor next to the lefthand front exit, close to a galley used to prepare meals. Most pilots said it would be impossible to turn off ACARS from inside the cockpit, although two

people did not rule it out.

HIDING IN FULL VIEW? After the transponder was turned off, the northeast-bound jet took a northwestern route from the sea off Kota Bahru in eastern Malaysia to Penang Island.

It was last detected on military radar around 200 miles northwest of Penang. Even that act of going off course may not have caused alarm at first if it was handled gradually, pilots said.

“Nobody pays attention to these things unless they are aware of the direction that the aircraft was heading in,” said one first officer who has flown with Malaysia Airlines. The airline said it had reconstructed the event in a simulator to try to figure out how the jet vanished and kept flying for what may have been more than 7 hours.

Pilots say whoever was then in control may have kept the radio on in silent mode to hear what was going on around him, but would have avoided restarting the transponder at all costs. “That would immediately make the aircraft visible ... like a bright light.

Your registration, height, altitude and speed would all become visible,” said an airline captain.

After casting off its identity, the aircraft set investigators a puzzle that has yet to be solved. It veered either northwards or southwards, within an hour’s flying time of arcs stretching from the Caspian to the southern Indian Ocean. The best way to avoid the attention of military radars would have been to fly at a fixed alti-

tude, on a recognised flight path and at cruising speed without changing course, pilots say. Malaysian officials dismissed as speculation reports that the jet may have flown at low altitude to avoid detection.

But pilots said the best chance of feeling its way through the well-defended northern route would have been to hide in full view of military radar inside commercial lanes - raising awkward questions over security in several parts of the Asia-Pacific. “The military radar controllers would have seen him moving on a fixed line, figured that it was a commercial aircraft at a high altitude, and not really a danger especially if he was on a recognised flight path,” said one pilot.

“Some countries would ask you to identify yourself, but you are flying through the night and that is the time when the least attention is being paid to unidentified aircraft. As long as the aircraft is not flying towards a military target or point, they may not bother with you.”

Although investigators refused on Monday to be drawn into theories, few in the industry believe a 250-tonne passenger jet could run amok without expert skills or preparation.

“Whoever did this must have had lots of aircraft knowledge, would have deliberately planned this, had nerves of steel to be confident enough to get through primary radar without being detected and been confident enough to control an aircraft full of people,” a veteran airline captain told Reuters.

thailand government lifts state of emergency

BANGKOK, MARch 18 (AP): Thailand’s government on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas after violence related to the country’s latest political crisis eased.

The Cabinet had decided to revoke the emergency decree, which expanded the power of security forces, after security agencies said the violence had “significantly decreased,” said Department of Special Investigation Tharit Phengdit.

The Cabinet said that from Wednesday, the state of emer-

gency will be replaced with the Internal Security Act, a security law with more limited powers.

The act will be in place until April 30. The decision “will also have a good impact on the country’s image in terms of investment, business, tourism, as well as the daily lives of the general public,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said the move will improve Thailand’s international image after the sometimes violent political conflict left 23 dead and more than 700

were wounded since November.

“What the government has to do is ... to get rid of the military bunkers on the streets, which make the areas look like war zones,” Surapong told reporters on Tuesday.

The government imposed the state of emergency became in the Bangkok area on Jan. 22 after antigovernment protesters threatened to shut down the capital by blocking intersections and occupying government offices. Under it, security forces could issue orders, and search, arrest and detain people

without court approval and with limited parliamentary oversight.

Last month, a Thai court struck down several provisions of the decree, leaving beleaguered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra with fewer options in dealing with the protesters, who had camped out for a month with virtual impunity in major intersections across the capital to press for her resignation. It noted that Thailand’s Constitutional Court earlier ruled that the protesters were rallying peacefully.

suicide bomber kills 15 people in afghanistan

KABUL, MARch 18 (AP): A suicide bomber riding a rickshaw blew himself up outside a checkpoint near a market in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least 15 civilians, officials said, in the latest attack in the countdown to next month’s presidential elections.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the capital of Faryab province, but it happened in an area where the Taliban and allied militant groups are active. The Taliban have threatened a campaign of violence to disrupt the April 5 vote, which will choose a new president to lead the country as foreign troops prepare to end their combat mission by the end of the year.

The attacker was approaching a checkpoint where cars were being searched on a road leading to the governor’s compound in Maymana, the Faryab provincial capital, when he detonat-

ed his explosives hidden in the rickshaw, the officials said.

However, most of the victims were vendors peddling fresh bread and other people at the busy roadside market area. Deputy Governor Abdul Satar Barez said 15 people were killed and 46 people were wounded — 27 of them seriously — in the explosion that struck some 200 meters (yards) away from the governor’s compound. Women, children and employees of the nearby electricity department were among the casualties, Barez said but he couldn’t provide an immediate breakdown.

“They killed innocent people in a place where locals were just trying to earn 10 Afghanis (about 20 cents) to buy a piece of bread. Most of the casualties were either selling bread or buying it,” he said. The Taliban have staged numerous attacks in Faryab, which lies far from their traditional strongholds in southern and eastern

Afghanistan. In October 2012, a suicide bomber struck a mosque packed with senior regional officials in Maymana, killing 41 people. Afghan civilians are frequently caught up in the violence as insurgents battle Afghan and international troops. The United Nations said 2,959 civilians were killed and 5,656 wounded last year, a 14% increase from the previous year.

The Taliban deny that they target civilians, but the U.N. report blamed 74% of all civilian casualties last year on insurgents. The winner of the April 5 vote will replace President Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term. On Tuesday, Karzai nominated Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, a well-known ethnic Tajik politician as his new first vice president. If approved by parliament, Qanooni will replace Mohammed Qasim Fahim, who died on March 9.

Putin signs treaty, adds CriMea to MaP of russia

MOscOw, MARch 18 (AP): With a sweep of his pen, President Vladimir Putin added Crimea to the map of Russia on Tuesday, describing the move as correcting past injustice and responding to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia’s vital interests.

In an emotional 40-minute speech televised live from the Kremlin, Putin said “in people’s hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia.” He dismissed Western criticism of Sunday’s Crimean referendum — in which residents of the strategic Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed breaking off from Ukraine and joining Russia — as a manifestation of the West’s double standards.

But the Russian leader insisted his nation has no intention to invade other regions of Ukraine, saying “we don’t want a division of Ukraine, we don’t need that.” Putin referred to Ukraine as a state born out of an illegal secession from the Soviet Union.

He also argued that today’s Ukraine includes “regions of Russia’s historic south” and was created on a whim by the Bolsheviks.

The statement sounded as a clear warning to both the new Ukrainian government in Kiev and to the West to respect Russia’s interests. In response, Ukraine’s new government called Pu-

tin a threat to the whole world and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. and Europe will impose further sanctions against Moscow.

“The world has seen through Russia’s actions and has rejected the flawed logic,” Biden said, meeting Tuesday with anxious European leaders in Poland. “Today’s statement by Putin showed in high relief what a real threat Russia is for the civilized world and international security,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Evhen Perebinis said on Twitter. “(The annexation) has nothing to do with law or with democracy or sensible thinking.”

Thousands of Russian troops have been massed along Ukraine’s eastern border for the last few weeks — Russia says that was for military training while the U.S. and Europe view the troops as an intimidation tactic. Putin argued that the months of protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev which prompted President Viktor Yanukovych to flee to Russia had been instigated by the West in order to weaken Russia. He cast the new Ukrainian government as illegitimate, driven by radical “nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites.”

With strong emotion, Putin accused the West of cheating Russia and ignoring its interests in the years that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse. “They have constantly tried to

drive us into a corner for our independent stance, for defending it, for calling things their proper names and not being hypocritical,” Putin said.

“But there are limits. And in the case of Ukraine, our Western partners have crossed a line. They behaved rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.”

Following the speech before lawmakers and top officials, Putin and Crimean officials signed a treaty for the region to join Russia. The treaty will have to be endorsed by Russia’s Constitutional Court and ratified by both houses of parliament, but Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of upper house of Russian parliament, said the procedure could be completed by the end of the week. Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and Crimea’s majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult.

In his speech at the Kremlin’s white-and-gold St. George hall, which was often interrupted by applause, Putin said the rights of ethnic Russians in Ukraine had been abused by the new Ukrainian government. He insisted that Crimea’s vote Sunday to join Russia was in line with international law and reflected its right for self-determination. To back that claim, Putin pointed to Kosovo’s independence

Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the hall to address the Federal Assembly in the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, March 18. President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia, describing the move as the restoration of historic injustice and a necessary response to what he called the Western encroachment on Russia’s vital interests. (AP Photo)

bid from Serbia — supported by the West and opposed by Russia — and said Crimea’s secession from Ukraine repeats Ukraine’s own secession from the Soviet Union in 1991.

He denied Western accusations that Russia invaded Crimea prior to the referendum, saying Russian

troops were sent there in line with a treaty with Ukraine that allows Russia to have up to 25,000 troops at its Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea.

The hastily called Crimean vote was held just two weeks after Russian troops had overtaken the Black Sea peninsula, blockading Ukrainian

soldiers at their bases. The West and Ukraine described the referendum as illegitimate and being held at gunpoint, but residents on the peninsula voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.

Putin had previously warned that he would be ready to use “all means” to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, and Russia has built up its forces alongside the border between the two countries, raising fears of an invasion.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in a televised statement that Ukrainian law-enforcement agencies have gathered “convincing evidence of the participation of Russian special services in organizing unrest in the east of our country.”

The United States and the European Union on Monday announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis.

President Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia didn’t stop interfering in Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Europe-1 radio leaders of the Group of Eight world powers “decided to suspend Russia’s participation.” The other seven members of the group had already suspended preparations for a G-8 summit that Russia is scheduled to host in June in Sochi.

10

Dimapur

SPORTS

Wednesday 19 March 2014

The Morung Express

Struggling India eye win against England

MIRPUR, MaRch 18 (PTI): Their already low morale further dented, a listless India would be desperate for a win when they take on England in their second and final warmup game in the ICC World Twenty20 Championships on Wednesday.

India will be playing their first group league match against Pakistan on Friday and a win against England is a necessity considering the team's continuing poor run. The Indians went down by five runs in the opening warm-up match against Sri Lanka on Monday. Although they didn't set the stage on fire, the two comeback men Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh had a decent outing with the bat, which makes their case even stronger.

Yuvraj scored 33 and Raina contributed 41 in a losing cause but both were out after they had got set.

That both can also roll their arms over on this slow track at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium makes young bats-

man Ajinkya Rahane's case a bit weaker. By getting out for nought having misread the flight of a Sachitra Senanayeke delivery, Rahane has done himself no good.

The batsmen who automatically select themselves are Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina.

While Raina batted at No. 3 on Monday, it was done with an aim of giving skipper's trusted lieutenant a chance to settle down and play more deliveries since Kohli's place is settled in the side. Yuvraj is a player who has got four man-of-thematch awards in India's last five official T20 internationals. The only place Rahane fits in is at the top of the order where both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been struggling of late.

Rahane has also successfully opened for Rajasthan Royals in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League.

It won't be surprising therefore if one among Rohit or Dhawan is dropped in

India's batsman Virat Kohli is bowled out during their ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup warm up match against Sri Lanka in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, March 17. (AP Photo)

order to accommodate Rahane. There remains a possibility of Dhawan making way for Rahane as Dhoni has backed Rohit in times

which were even worse than this. Rohit had a long streak of single digit scores but the skipper always showed enormous faith in his talent

and abilities. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be the two main spinners in the side.

Both being handy bowl-

ing all-rounders, they are much ahead in the pecking order than Amit Mishra, who has not done too badly in the limited opportunities

that he has got. Mohammed Shami is inarguably India's number one pacer currently and Varun Aaron looks better suited than Bhuvneshwar Kumar to become the second pacer of the side. Bhuvneshwar's 17 runs in the final over against Sri Lanka proved to be decisive in the final context of the match.

The young UP seamer is certainly under pressure as the wickets have dried up and the swing which made him such a lethal weapon in skipper Dhoni's armoury is long gone. While he was an unknown entity in the first season, the teams over passage of time in the last 12 months have started analysing his bowling. His lack of pace also makes him vulnerable in this format.

Mohit Sharma was the only player in the 15-member squad who was not fielded in the first warm-up game. He is certain to get a chance against England but it will be very difficult for him to break into the playing XI right away even if he

performs well.

Another interesting aspect will be to watch skipper Dhoni bat in a match situation after recovering from side strain. Prior to the practice match against Sri Lanka, Dhoni didn't bat in the nets. During the match, he kept wickets as the team doesn't have an option but he didn't come out to bat.

Even if it's a strategy, a defeat only dents the confidence and this Indian team has tasted more of it in recent times.

England, on the other hand, will be fighting a jetlag having taken a long flight from Barbados to Dhaka.

Skipper Stuart Broad is suffering from a dodgy knee while the team is not exactly rich in overall international experience save a few like Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan to support Broad. But they have a few explosive players including Alex Hales, who briefly held the number one rank in the ICC list for the T20 batsmen before Brendon McCullum snatched it from him.

1st RGS International Rating Chess Tournament 2014 BHSS’ Annual Sports

KOhIMa, MaRch 18 (MExN): The "1st RGS International Rating Chess Tournament 2014 (below 2200)" is all set to begin from 23rd March at the Royal Global School Indoor Hall, Guwahati The event with a total Prize fund of Rs 5,01,500/- is the biggest ever International Rating event in the north east in terms of Prize money. Also going by the current trend with over 200 participants already registered, it stands to become the biggest ever chess event in terms of total number of participants.

Altogether 10 rounds will be played over 6 days in swiss league format.

The event is open to all players with

Players practicing in a city centre for the event.

rating of 2200 or below. The organizers are also allowing unrated players to participate in this event so that they get an opportunity to gain International Rating.

Apart from the Indian players, a few players from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh are also participating in this mega event. International Arbiter Debashish Barua of West Bengal is appointed as Chief Arbiter of the event. The organizers will receive entry from local players up to 22nd March 2014. Players may contact the organizers on 8876147226 or 9854283123 for further details. The event will end on 28th March 2014.

Week concludes

5TH SILVER CUP T-20 CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Unicorn Cricket Club defeated Flinging CC by 63 runs. Bating first they scored 129 runs losing 8 wickets in 20 overs with Benato scoring 34 runs. However, chasing the marginal target, Flinging were all out in 12.5 overs scoring 66 runs.

Bongmai of Unicorn was adjudged man of the match for his 20 runs supported by a wicket and maiden over.

Flinging bowler Barast created the record of claiming 5 wickets in a single match and received the ball.

(LEFT) Eleven Weavers Man of the match Enan receiving the award from Umpire Onen Jamir. (RIGHT) Unicorn man of the The awards were handmatch receiving the award from GSUK vice president Ankur Rai. ed over by Vice president of the 5th Silver Cup T-20 Weavers set a huge target with Tulsi scoring highest of Gorkha Students’ Union Cricket Tournament organ- of 179 runs losing 6 wickets 27 runs. Manjeet claimed Kohima, Ankur Rai. ised by Youth Department in complete 20 overs. Enan 4 wickets while Rahul of Nepali Baptist Church contributed highest 61 runs claimed 3 wickets for Eleven MATCHES FOR MARCH 19: Ist Match: Deenix CC, Kohima under the theme while Uppender scored 36. Weavers.

Our Correspondent Enan was adjudged the Mon vs Kohima Capitals @ ‘Peace and Unity through Silver White bowler Kiran Kohima | March 18 Cricket’.

Sunar claimed 3 rival wick- man of the match for his 61 7:00 am 2nd Match: Bayavü ‘A’ vs Playing the first match, ets. runs. He received the troEleven Weavers and UniChasing the target, Sil- phy and citation from Um- Lhomithi SC @ 10:30 am corn, both from Kohima Eleven Weavers defeated 3rd Match: Sparks CC vs registered win against their Silver White by 92 runs. ver White were knocked pire Onen Jamir.

In the second match, Electrical Star @ 2:00 pm rivals on the second day Taking the bat first, Eleven out for 86 runs in 16.3 overs

Eleven Weavers and Unicorn register win

DIMaPUR, MaRch 18 (MExN): The 20th Annual Sports Week of Bethesda Higher Secondary School, Walford, held at the new school complex concluded on March 18, with Nungshila Sohe, District Education Officer (DEO), Dimapur, as the chief guest. The event saw March Past from senior students and NCC cadets, peace contingents from little children and drill display from students of different houses, besides sport events. Freestyle dance and colourful choreography added attraction to the function.

The chief guest in her speech appreciated the school management’s efforts to organise physical activities like games and sports. Saying that games and sports help to keep one healthy and fit, the DEO upheld that the most important objective of sports is achieving a common goal with team spirit and cooperativeness. Also mentioning about values like leadership, goodwill, competitiveness, friendship, character building etc. which are developed during physical activities like sports and games, the DEO

brought to attention the lofty aims of education, i.e., all round development of the personality, and hence the importance of including such physical activities in the school. She further added that only a sound body can have a sound mind.

Earlier, Lalita Roy, Headmistress, chaired the program. Rev Moses Murry, Chairman, Bethesda Ministries, invoked God’s blessings. Principal, M K Money, delivered the welcome address, and, Esther Murry, Administrator, delivered the vote of thanks and also pronounced the closing prayer.

Thunder too strong for Bulls Ronaldo and Romario go at it again in Brazil

chIcaGO, MaRch 18 (aP): The individual accomplishments are all well and good to Kevin Durant.

This means more. The Thunder shook off their worst loss, then stood their ground when the Bulls came charging at them.

Durant finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Chicago 97-85 on Monday night.

Russell Westbrook added 17 points after sitting out the previous day to rest his surgically repaired knee, and the Thunder rebounded from their most lopsided loss of the season. They went on a 13-point run after the Bulls scored eight straight early in the fourth to cut the lead to one and pulled this one out after falling by 23 at home to Dallas on Sunday. Durant ran his streak of games with 25 or more points to 32, the longest in the NBA since Michael Jordan did it in 40 in a row during the 1986-87 season. He also chipped in with five assists.

"I just go out there and … play to win," Durant said. "If all that stuff comes with it, then that's cool." What's most impressive about the streak is the sheer consistency, the lack of a true off game. That and the fact Durant just shrugs it off stand out most to coach Scott Brooks. "I know when I had

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) dunks between Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) and Joakim Noah (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 17, 2014, in Chicago. The Thunder won the game 97-85. (AP Photo)

a three-game streak of four, I was worried about that fourth game," Brooks said. "I had to make my first shot. He's not worried about it. He's worried about playing hard and playing the correct way and finding ways to help his team win.

That's what he's done. He's an amazing leader and he's so consistent."

Westbrook had nine rebounds and nine assists, although he did struggle from the field. He was 5-of-14, and the Thunder shot 41.3% over-

all. They had the touch from long range, hitting 13-of-25 3-pointers — three each

by Durant, Westbrook and Caron Butler. The Bulls never found their rhythm, shooting 34.5% overall, and settled for a six-game split on a tough homestand that included wins over defending champion Miami and Houston.

"I would have liked it better if we won a couple more games, but 3-3 we'll take it," Joakim Noah said.

"We've just got to move for-

ward. I wish we could have this game back."

Noah, who's been hearing "MVP!" chants lately, had a rather quiet night, although he just missed his fourth triple-double of the season.

He shot just 2-of-8 but finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

Taj Gibson had 16 points and seven rebounds. Jimmy Butler scored 13, and Carlos Boozer chipped in with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bulls came up short.

SaO PaULO, MaRch 18 (aP): In the latest chapter of a spat between past Brazil football greats, Ronaldo is publicly criticizing former teammate Romario for making another attack on him, this time over an alleged broken promise to provide free tickets for people with disabilities during the World Cup. Romario, now an outspoken lawmaker, is blaming Ronaldo for making the promise and not coming through with it. Ronaldo, a member of the local World Cup organizing committee, says it was the Brazilian football federation that failed to fulfill their pledge. Ronaldo on Monday lamented another attack by his former teammate, saying it's not clear why Romario continues to take shots at him.

"It's lamentable to see Romario once again coming out to publicly say that I'm responsible for things that are out of my hands," Ronaldo said in a statement published on his social media accounts. "Opportunism or ignorance, I don't know. What I do know is that instead of wasting time and energy trying to disparage me, the congressman should dedicate himself to challenging the right peo-

Romario

ple/institutions. We would all benefit from that."

Ronaldo said the promise to donate 32,000 World Cup tickets to people with disabilities was made by the Brazilian football federation, not by him. "I'm not a politician, I don't represent (the federation), I don't promise what I can't fulfill," Ronaldo said, adding that he is sure that Romario knows the promise was made by the entity and not by him.

On Friday, Romario posted a photo where he is standing by Ronaldo after a press conference held to announce the free tickets at the federation's headquarters three years ago.

He wrote: "This photo was taken in 2011, when Ronaldo publicly promised the tickets for people with disabilities. So far, nothing!!!"

Ronaldo

Ronaldo said he was there to support the cause, just like Romario. He said he also hopes that the federation comes through with its promise, and told Romario to go talk to federation officials to find out what happened.

"I'm anxiously waiting for answers, like everybody else," Ronaldo said. "If you need my support, please at least be more polite next time." Ronaldo added: "It doesn't make sense to insist publicly in this 'rivalry,' which doesn't exist from my side."

The Brazilian football federation could not be immediately contacted for comment. Romario has a daughter with a disability, and one of his main causes in Congress has been to try and improve conditions for Brazilians with disabilities.

He has been attacking World Cup organizers and

Brazilian authorities since he took office in 2010, criticizing FIFA's influence in Brazil and the costs of hosting the tournament. He always made it clear that he was not fond of Ronaldo's decision to join the local organizing committee.

Ronaldo reiterated on Monday that he is a volunteer on the organizing committee and is not being paid.

Former Brazil striker Bebeto is also a member of the local committee.

Romario, who has also been at odds with Brazil great Pele in the past, led Brazil to the World Cup title in 1994, when Ronaldo was a young reserve in the squad. Ronaldo played in three other World Cups after that, winning the title in 2002 and becoming the tournament's leading scorer with 15 goals.

Entertainment

The Morung Express

Designer L'Wren Scott's Untimely Death C Mick Jagger 'devastated' elebrated fashion designer L’Wren Scott was found dead in her apartment on Monday from an apparent suicide.

According to Reuters, the police officers, who were first to arrive on the scene, reported that a woman was found unconscious and unresponsive in an apartment building in the upscale Chelsea neighborhood. Fire officials, who responded to the call, reporting a cardiac

most influential New York fashion designers, catering to an aesthetic, which embodied both female power and sensuality. Her sleek designes were favored by Hollywood actresses like Amy Adams, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz and frequently graced red carpets.

Following her death, Vogue editor Anna Wintour issued a statement on the magazine’s website, saying:

by L'Wren Scott's death

S

ir Mick Jagger is ''completely shocked'' by the death of L'Wren Scott. The Rolling Stones singer was on tour with the band in Australia when he was informed his partner of 13 years has died of an apparent suicide to on 17.03.14. His spokesperson said ''He is completely shocked and devastated by the news.''

Fa s h i o n d e s i g n e r L'Wren was found hanging from a scarf on a doorknob in her home in Manhattan, New York, by

sponded and pronounced the aided DOA [Dead On Arrival] at the scene. The investigation is ongoing and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.'' New York Police have also said there is no suspicion of foul play connected to the death, but they are awaiting the examiner's formal report.

L'Wren - a former model, who stands at 6' 3'' - had met Mick on a photo shoot in 2001 when

her assistant at around 10 o'clock this morning. The assistant went to the apartment and let herself in after receiving instructions to do so by text message from L'Wren.

A New York police department spokesperson said ''At approximately 10.05 hours police reFILE - This Nov. 19, 2013 file photo shows fashion desponded to 200 11th avesigner L'Wren Scott at the Banana Republic L'Wren nue. ''Upon arrival, officers Scott Collection launch party at the Chateau Marmont discovered a 49-year-old in West Hollywood. (AP) female, unconscious and unresponsive. Emergency arrest, said the woman was “L'Wren was a total perfec- Medical Services also redead on their arrival. Scott's tionist, someone who abassistant was reportedly the solutely embodied everyOne of the many people first one to find her, hanging thing her marvelous clothes stood for: strength of char- mourning Scott’s untimely on a scarf.

Over the last decade, acter combined with a con- death is her boyfriend, Mick Scott became one of the fident and powerful style.” Jagger. The Rolling Stone

ing, but didn't appear together publicly until 2005, when they attended the Golden Globes ceremony.

In recent years they had divided their time between New York and London where she has a design studio - and also owned a flat in Paris together.

After years as a successful model and stylist, L'Wren launched her own brand in 2006, which became a favourite of many celebrities, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle

sophisticated when you are in one of her exquisite designs.''

L'Wren was born Luann Bambrough in Utah and raised by adoptive parents before moving to Paris while still a teenager to work as a model. Her fashion career also included designing costumes for films, including 1996's 'Diabolique', 'Ocean's Thirteen', 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'Shine a Light', a documentary about The Rolling Stones.

hasn’t commented, but a publicist for Jagger said a New York Post story about a split between the two "is 100

percent untrue" and "a horrible and inaccurate piece of gossip during this very tragic time for Mick."

Obama and Christina Hendricks. Her friend, actress Nicole Kidman, said of her clothing

stated'' a v e d d ked an er of 13 years c o h s y l mplete ott, his partn o c ' ' s i ''She knows what agger ren Sc aspects to accentuate in a Mick J death of L'W she was working woman, and is able to make by the as a stylist. They started dat- you feel incredibly sexy and

Dimapur

11

T

he 28-year-old singer - who recently made her pop comeback following a four-year hiatus - insists the women behind popular male artists never get recognised, but those who produced female artists always become known.

British VOGUE editor Alexandra Shulman, who was interviewed by Lily on Radio 2 during her takeover from presenter Dermot O'Leary, told her ''It's interesting that some of the biggest artists, if not most of them, are women.''

Lily added ''You'll also notice, of

ndrew Thong’s debut single 'Without You' which was released by indihut for free went viral and widely accepted by music lovers from Nagaland and beyond.

Andrew's love and passion for music was evident from a young age as he started learning guitar at the age of 7 and started performing in churches as early as 12 where he got his first experience as a performer. His aspiration to become an accomplished artist led him to discover his song writing skills when he turned 19. Andrew states, "I always wanted to take music classes which would nurture me, but I could not take the classes due to financial constraints."

Andrew is a self taught musician who spends hours listening and getting acquainted with the different genres thereby influencing his unique style and taste in music enabling him to write songs which are contemporary and setting standards for other artists in the region to achieve. Being a dedicated Christian, Andrew believes that his musical gift is a blessing which he

T

conversation which is bought up.

If you're Ed Sheeran nobody talks about who produced his music.''

Although Lily has strong female views, her new album 'Sheezus' is intended as a tribute to Kanye West, and she insists despite being a parody of his record 'Yeezus' it is nothing more than a sign of ''respect''.

N

worth.com. Jones was in Houston over the weekend where he spoke at World Harvest Outreach, a Seventh-Day Adventist congregation. He read from the Bible and also told parishioners why he embraced Christianity. “I really want to come into the light because I know that is where the healing is and I’ve seen God do amazing things,” said Jones.

“He really considers his relationship with God and what he’s putting out in the atmosphere to be a lot more important than his reputation in Hollywood,' World Harvest Outreach Church Pastor James R. Doggett Sr., told KHOU. 'Angus, I’m not sure really cares a whole lot about being an actor or being well known in that regard.' Although Jones has left acting for now, he says he may not be gone for long.

“There’s a few different productions that like do kind of Bible-based stories. Stuff like that,” Jones said.

C M Y K

Little Mix served raw chicken on tour

Bearded former Two and a Half Men child star opens up about his embrace of Christianity and why he left the $350,000-per-week windfall for Jesus

Men’; I don’t want to be on it. Please stop watching it.

Please stop filling your head with filth.'

Now sporting a scruffy beard and long hair, Jones, who lives in Colorado where he attends the University of Colorado in Boulder, has fully embraced Christianity, and he visits churches across the country, speaking about God and religion.

'It was difficult for me to be on the show and be part of something that was making light of topics in our world where there are really problems for a lot of people,' Jones told Houston,Texas, television station KHOU. “I was a paid hypocrite because I wasn’t OK with it and I was still doing it.

When he left the show, Jones walked away from a popular role that made him a rich teenger. At the time, he was making $350,000 per episode, or $8.4 million a season. His net worth is estimated at $15 million, according to CelebrityNet-

Andrew's brand new single 'Without You' can be downloaded for free using mobile phones and laptops from www.indihut.com

he Clueless star passed away in 2009 and her final project will debut on 4 April (14) at the Regal Theater in Eugene, Oregon, the city where the movie was filmed. Something Wicked is described as a hauntingly seductive thriller about obsession and young love gone wrong, and Murphy appeared opposite One Tree Hill's Shantel VanSanten and Lords of Dogtown actor John Robinson. The movie is slated to open in more theatres across the U.S. shortly after the premiere.

In 2011, Something Wicked producer and screenwriter Joe Colleran praised Murphy's final role, telling USA Today, Brittany pulled off one of the spookiest scenes in the movie. There's an important scene where her character is unravelling and she spent a long time getting ready and focused and went for it. Personally, I think it's one of the best scenes of her career. Murphy died at the age of 32 from pneumonia, anaemia and excessive use of prescription medications.

'I was a paid hypocrite'

early a year after leaving the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, actor Angus T Jones, known as on the show as Jake Harper, Charlie Sheen's nephew, has traded the bright lights of Hollywood sets for church pews.

Jones, 20, who in 2010 became the highest paid child actor in television history at 17 netting $300,000 per episode, left the show last year at the end of the tenth season after he made controversial comments that he had embraced Christianity and found the role he was playing didn't jive well with his religious values.

He made negative remarks about the series and said he wanted to exit.

In a video posted in November 2012 by The Forerunner Chronicles, Jones discussed why he decided to get closer to his Christian background. He also said, 'If you watch ‘Two and a Half Men,’ please stop watching [it]…I’m on ‘Two and a Half

would make the best use of by reaching out to the masses through his songs with the message of love, hope and faith in God.

Brittany Murphy's Final Film To Be Released

Lily Allen claims there is a man behind every successful woman in the music industry, such as Beyonce and Jay Z. those big, successful, female artists, there's always a man behind the woman-piece. ''Whether it 's Beyonce it's Jay Z, if it's Adele it's Paul Hepworth, with me it was Mark Ronson, same with Amy Winehouse. It's sort of like you never get that with men. ''You can't think of the man behind the man because it's never a

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'Without You' A

LiLy ALLen : Men behind women's success

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19 March 2014

Andrew Thong’s Fashion World Mourns goes viral

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Wednesday

Little Mix were stunned when they were served raw chicken while on tour in Japan last month because they're not used to eating uncooked meat.

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he 'Wings' hitmakers - Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards - were stunned when they were handed a plate of uncooked meat while on tour last month. Jade told The Sun newspaper ''We've

had sushi before, when the fish is raw, but we've never had raw chicken. ''It looks so disgusting - you can't get your head around it.''

Meanwhile, the girl group - who shot to fame on 'The X Factor' UK in 2011 - are currently stateside attempting

to crack the US, but they admit they're missing the English food while they're away.

When asked what they miss the most while on tour, Jade said recently ''The English banter and the food!'' Perrie - who is engaged to One Direction hunk Zayn Malik

- added ''My loved ones, my family and my dogs. And the food, too.''

However, despite admitting the food portions are a lot bigger in the US, the fivepiece insist they're on strict orders to eat healthily and are in the gym regularly in a

bid to keep their fitness up.

Jade explained previously ''The portions are massive but fortunately everything on the tour is healthy. Otherwise we'd be eating bagels and ice cream! ... We've all been exercising and going to the gym and stuff.''

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Pistorius trial: Defense alleges police errors Rockets end skid

PrETOrIa, MarcH 18 (aP): Police photographs of the blood-spattered scene where Oscar Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend indicate that evidence was moved around in violation of procedure during the investigation of the killing, the athlete's chief defense lawyer said Tuesday.

Warrant officer Bennie van Staden, a police photographer, took hundreds of photos of the scene, including of blood stains, bullet casings, a gun and a cricket bat found inside Pistorius' bathroom in the hours after the double-amputee Olympic runner shot girlfriend

Reeva Steenkamp before dawn on Feb. 14 last year.

Lawyer Barry Roux has challenged previous police witnesses, seeking to uncover contradictions and reported mishaps to support his argument that officers bungled the investigation, an allegation made by Pistorius at the start of the trial when he pleaded not guilty to murder in Steenkamp's killing.

In a sometimes painstaking process Tuesday, Roux minutely examined many photos taken by van Staden and another police officer and pointed out that objects at the crime

scene had been moved and were in different positions in photos. Roux also used time of day records on the images to show that the two policemen taking photographs were in the same room at points, even though van Staden testified he was working alone.

Roux compared photos of the bloody bathroom scene taken by van Staden with photos in the bathroom taken by another policeman, identified as a Col. Motha. Both were in the bathroom at that time, according to the times shown on the images.

"You did not see Col.

Motha?" Roux asked van Staden, who replied he did not. "How big is this bathroom?" Roux said.

Maybe missing the hint of sarcasm in Roux's question, van Staden said the bathroom was approximately four meters by four meters.Pistorius, 27, is charged with premeditated murder for killing Steenkamp, 29.

He denies murder and says he shot his girlfriend accidentally, thinking she was an intruder in a toilet cubicle in the bathroom, and says that he struck the toilet door with a cricket bat to get to Steenkamp after realizing what he had done.

Prosecutors charge that Pistorius killed Steenkamp after an argument.

Pistorius' lawyer also asked van Staden to explain differences in photographs of the 9 mm pistol that Pistorius used to shoot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door, and of a cricket bat that the Paralympian used to hit the door.

"It seems there was movement of the bat" in the interval between two photographs taken by van Staden, Roux said.

"It seems like that," van Staden conceded. The police photographer also acknowledged that two photographs of the gun indicated that a mat underneath it could have been shifted. Roux said one photo also differed from the other because it showed a wooden splinter on the gun handle.

Two other photos of objects on the bedroom floor next to Pistorius' bed showed tissues, what was identified as a CD or disc and a remote control were in different positions. Van Staden said he did not know who moved them, but he remembered the disc was previously under the bed.

"How does it happen that there's such a great disturbance of that scene?"

Roux asked.

Kevin Pietersen named Himachal, Assam women enter national hockey final Delhi Daredevils captain

NEW DELHI, MarcH 18 (PTI): Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday appointed swashbuckling England batsman Kevin Pietersen as their captain for the upcoming IPL with wicketkeeperbatsman Dinesh Karthik as his deputy.

"Kevin Pietersen will captain the all new look Delhi Daredevils during the seventh edition of the Pepsi Indian Premier League.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik would be the vice-captain," the Daredevils said in a statement.

The 33-year-old former England skipper was expected to take over as captain given his formidable reputation as a T20s batsman. He was named the 'Man of the Tournament' in the 2010 World T20 Championship for helping England bag their maiden crown.

Pietersen joined Delhi Daredevils in 2012 and made an impact with his eight-match outing amassing 305 runs with an average of 61. He was unavailable in 2013 due to an injury but made it a point to visit the team and spend valuable time with the youngsters in the squad. KP, as he is popularly known, was retained

by Daredevils through the 'Matching Card' option for Rs 9 crore during the players' auction. "I feel incredibly honoured to have been asked to captain the Delhi Daredevils in this year's IPL. I am very much looking forward to working alongside Gary Kirsten. We have a fantastic squad with a good blend of youth and experience and a brilliant coaching set up. We hope to bring our incredible fans a lot of happiness this season," Pi-

etersen said on his appointment as captain.

Meanwhile, Karthik will make his return to the Daredevils after having played with the franchise for the first three years. He was bought by the Daredevils for a mindboggling Rs 12 crore in the recently-concluded auction.

The wicket-keeper batsman has amassed 1741 runs in 92 IPL appearances. "I am really thankful and honoured on being appointed as the vice-captain of Delhi Daredevils cricket team. I also thank GMR Group and Delhi Daredevils for having the faith in me," Karthik said. "I am looking forward to working under legends like Kevin Pietersen and Gary Kirsten and show my full support and faith for the team. I will try and take the team to a newer level and achieve great things," he added.

BHOPaL, MarcH 18 (IaNS): Himachal Pradesh surpassed Delhi and Assam edged past Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals to enter the summit clash of the National Women's Hockey Championship (Division B) at the Aish Bagh Hockey Stadium here Tuesday.

Assam defeated Tamil Nadu 3-1. Tamil Nadu opened its account (fourth minute) through Karuppayee but Assam’s Seema Bharti’s (sixth) levelled the scores.

A penalty corner conversion

by Shikha Singh (15th) and a field goal by Pooja Choudhary (31st) helped Assam take a 3-1 lead at halftime.

With no goal being scored in the second half, Assam entered the final.

In the second semi-final Himachal Pradesh edged past Delhi 3-0 via penalty shoot-out. Delhi dominated the first half, bagging a 2-1

lead. Delhi opened (14th) when Pooja made no mistake in converting a penalty corner. Himachal Pradesh equalised (32nd) through a penalty corner converted by Pooja Devi. Three minutes later Delhi scored their second through Pooja.

The second half saw Himachal Pradesh putting pressure on the opponents and in the 44th minute, Rachana Jamalta successfully converted a penalty corner.

The two teams ended 2-2 after regulation time.

For Himachal Pradesh, Sonia Rani, Sonia and Rachana Jamalta scored in the shoot-outs and their goalkeeper Kanika Devi’s potent interception restricted Delhi from scoring any.

Semi-final results: Assam 3 beat Tamil Nadu 1; Himachal Pradesh 2 tied Delhi 2 -- Shoot-out: Himachal Pradesh 3 beat Delhi 0.

with win over Jazz

Utah Jazz's Gordon Hayward (20) pushes against Houston Rockets's Chandler Parsons in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 17, 2014, in Houston. (AP Photo)

HOUSTON, MarcH 18 (aP): Houston coach Kevin McHale worried that his team might come out flat Monday night against the struggling Utah Jazz after dropping a close game to the Heat in Miami a day before.

His fears were completely unwarranted. Terrence Jones scored 30 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid with their most lopsided victory of the season, a 124-86 win over the Jazz. "There's got to be an emphasis on how we play and improving," McHale said. "It's really important that we keep improving and getting better."

Dwight Howard was out with an ankle strain, leaving the Rockets without him for the first time this season.

But they still had no problem handling the Jazz, who have lost five in a row and have one of the worst records in the Western Conference. Houston was up by 19 at halftime and 13 points

by Jones in the third quarter helped push the lead to 9269 entering the fourth.

"We just wanted to be aggressive," Jones said.

"Coming off three tough ones we wanted to come out and have a lot of energy and just get back to playing ... the way we had

been playing." The big lead allowed an overworked James Harden, who had played more than 43 minutes in three of the previous four games, to rest a bit as he watched the fourth quarter from the bench. Harden finished with 15 points.

Houston used a 15-0 run starting midway through the fourth quarter with all their starters on the bench except for Jones to push the already lopsided game to a 40-point advantage. Jordan Hamilton had seven points for Houston during the run. Derrick Favors had 15 points for the Jazz a night after scoring a career-high 28.

"This is a lesson for the young guys," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. "They have to learn to get ready every night. Tonight, we just couldn't get it going. It was like we were running in mud and couldn't get ourselves out of it." It was unclear when Howard was injured, but the team announced the mild strain to his left ankle about 40 minutes before tipoff. He had been the only Rockets player to start every game this season before missing Monday's game. Omer Asik started in his place and finished with 12 points and 11

rebounds.

Houston got back on track after an 0-3 road trip for its first three-game losing streak of the season. The losses came at Oklahoma City, Chicago and Miami and followed a great stretch in which the Rockets won five straight over some of the Eastern Conference's best teams. "We've been playing well and we're confident in each and how we've been playing," Harden said. "The last three games have been a slip up, but overall I think we're in a good place."

Patrick Beverley scored 19 and Jeremy Lin had 17 for the Rockets, who are second to San Antonio in the Southwest Division. Jones opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and scored the first nine points of the second half for Houston to extend the lead to 69-47. Asik had a dunk for the Rockets before Jones added four more points to leave Houston up 75-51.

Favors made two free throws for the Jazz midway through the quarter before Beverley scored four points for the Rockets to stretch the lead to 26 points. Utah finally found some offense after, scoring eight straight points with the first six from Alec Burks to cut the lead to 79-61.

Barca deny Martino's departure rumors

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BarcELONa, MarcH 18 (IaNS): Barcelona have acted quickly to dismiss a story that coach Gerardo 'Tata' Martino would abandon the football club at the end of the season.

Catalan sports network Esport 3 said Monday that Martino would not be the Barca coach next season given that the Argentinean didn' t want to carry on at the club, a story which was quickly denied by Manel Arroyo, communication vice-president at Barcelona.

"We strongly deny that Tata Martino has announced to his technical staff not to anyone, his intention of leaving the club at the end of the season. It is false," said Arroyo.

"We have just spoken to him," said Arroyo, "The technical staff at the club are working on the planning as is their obligation."

"We see Martino as he should be, totally concentrated in the challenges that the team has ahead of it and neither of the two parties has the least intention to activate the clause which would allow either to end the contract."

Esport 3 published the original story in the wake of controversial declarations

made by Martino ahead of Sunday's 7-0 win at home to Osasuna in which he said that he had not taken part in any discussions to plan for next season and added that as far as he knew no discussions had taken place to plan for the 2014-2015 season, words which seem to contradict what Arroyo said.

Martino has been criticised for attempting to change Barca's style of play, adopting more long balls and surrendering some aspects of the passing game which is held as almost sacred at the club. His side has produced some poor displays such as the 0-1 defeat in Valladolid just over a week ago and a 1-3 thrashing away to Real Sociedad a fortnight earlier.

However, they are only four points behind Real Madrid, who they also meet in the final of the Copa del Rey and last week qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League after knocking out Manchester City. Barcelona have also suffered off the field with Sando Rosell forced to resign the club Presidency in January after accusations of tax avoidance linked to the signing of Brazilian striker Neymar.

CHARITY CAR WASH Raising money for the sweet little children of Mother‛s Hope - We‛re giving hope, one wash at the time! -.

We cordially invite you to the Charity event with

Mother’s Hope at

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Walford, near Don Bosco Statue Dimapu Nagaland.

Dimapur,

March 21 - 22 2014 9 a.m - 5 p.m Proceeds to be completely donated to Mother’s Hope

For details kindly contact: 9856229999/8974836695 9856110854

Published, Printed and Edited by Aküm Longchari on behalf of Morung for Indigenous Affairs and JustPeace from House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur at Themba Printers and Telecommunications, Padum Pukhuri Village, Dimapur, Nagaland.

RNI No : NAGENG /2005/15430. House No.4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur 797112, Nagaland. Phone: Dimapur -(03862) 236871, Fax: (03862) 235194, Kohima - (0370) 2291952

For news email: morung@gmail.com and for advertisements and circulation contact: (03862) 236871, Fax-235194 or email : morungad@yahoo.com

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