C M Y K
www.morungexpress.com
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 147
The Morung Express “
www.morungexpress.com
Multiple approaches required to control use of tobacco
Police arrests 3rd suspect in gang rape of 2 teens
By Sandemo Ngullie
[ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 12]
innocent civilians are now Modi abolishes all GoMs & eGoMs victims of ‘armed conflict’
FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2013 file photo, photojournalists, with black bands around their mouth, participate in a protest against the gang rape of a female photojournalist in Mumbai, in Gauhati, India. The World Health Organization has declared violence against women an epidemic, calculating that one in three women worldwide will experience sexual or physical violence, most often from their husband or male partner. (AP Photo)
Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your anSwer to 9862574165 Are you satisfied with the way state politics are being conducted in Nagaland? Yes
no
Others
Article 370 debate intended to change discourse: Malik
C M Y K
Srinagar, May 31 (ianS): JKLF chief Yasin Malik, claiming that the design behind the article 370 debate raked up by a union minister was to change the Kashmir discourse from independence to centrestate relations, Saturday said his party would soon start a “Quit Kashmir” movement. “There is a design behind the Indian junior minister’s statement that article 370 would be revoked. There is a storm of debate over this in India and also in Kashmir. Everywhere in Kashmir people are discussing the fate of article 370,” said the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman. “In the forefront of this debate are the pro-India political parties. (Chief Minister) Omar Abdullah has said Kashmir will cease to be a part of India if article 370 is scrapped,” he said. Malik contended that the Indian government or parliament does not have the legal power to revoke article 370. “This power lies with the state legislature and it has historically been this puppet legislature that has weakened article 370 and brought Indian laws and made them applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. “The new Indian government gave a questionnaire to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to improve his conduct and then floated the balloon of article 370 to change the discourse of the pro-freedom movement in Kashmir to state-centre relations”. The JKLF chief announced that his party would soon start a “Quit Kashmir” movement to revitalize the local struggle for freedom.
–Baruch Spinoza
[ PAGE 2]
no Sunday school today. I don’t know. But I’m guessing due to shortage of teachers.
The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn
Sunday, June 1, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
Halep cruises, Ivanovic ousted in Paris
Thai forces out to stifle unrest
[ PAGE 11]
[ PAGE 8]
reflections
”
There is no hope unmingled with fear, and no fear unmingled with hope
C M Y K
iMphal, May 31 (MExn): The North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) has sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India drawing attention to the rising commission of crimes against women and children in the State of Manipur. Almost every day, it stated, “violence including the killing of innocent citizens over ransom demand, child trafficking, brutal killings of women and girls after gang raped, cases of suicide of young married women due to agonizing torture by their husbands” are prevalent in Manipur. Quoting reports by the
NEDF writes to PM on rising crimes against women and children Women Action for Development, Imphal, coordinator of the NEDF, Soraisam Dhanabir, noted that the number of recorded incidents/cases of violence against women in Manipur between January 2005 and May 2014 stood at around 1256, with cases including rape, rape and murder, attempt to rape/molestation/ murder, burnt, physical assault/injury, kidnapping, threaten, missing/abduction, abandon, complaint
and human trafficking. The Charter of Demands urged the Government of India to “Establish a special court to deal with cases concerning crimes against humanity and violence against women and children in particular.” Stressing on the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, it asked for the establishment of a Legislative Forum on violence against women and children. Further, the NEDF
demanded the constitution of a “competent Advisory Committee to deal with prevailing situation of Manipur with due representation of prominent members from civil society organizations.” The NEDF maintained that today “innocent civilians” have become victims of armed conflict due to the proliferation of small arms and ammunitions in the State. All Armed Non-State Actors, it demanded, “should develop code of conduct to protect civilian population” and that proliferation of arms and ammunition in all the states of
North East India should be controlled. Political parties should incorporate in their stand “to protect innocent people from crimes and injustice as one of their election manifestoes.” A copy of the memorandum has been sent to the Home Minister, External Affairs Minister and DoNER minister of India. There are multiple cases of crimes committed against innocent citizens, particularly crime against women and children, unreported in the media or to the authority, it informed. However, the accused criminals/culprits involved in crimes have not been punished till date and “peoples’ rights for access to justice has been sabotaged.” The government’s efforts to take appropriate action against such “rampant crimes” are “not effective in spite of numerous legislations enacted by the State itself,” informed the NEDF. Citizens, it stated, are reluctant to approach existing courts of law as “Public Authorities” responsible for bringing justice are “corrupted.” “Above and all, effective measures and concrete policy of the government to protect the lives of innocents from crimes and injustices are not visible till date. If such heinous and nefarious crimes are not barricaded timely from its continuing pace, the prospect of our future generation will be fainted,” maintained the Forum, further highlighting that the failure of the existing criminal justice system in Manipur is “one of the causes that the citizens consider that they are not Indian.”
nEw DElhi, May 31 (ianS): Doing away with one of the relics of coalition politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday abolished all 30 ministerial groups to ensure that his colleagues heading various portfolios take faster decisions with more accountability. There were nine empowered groups of ministers (EGOMs) and 21 groups of ministers (GOMs) in operation. They were to take decisions on various matters -- and several of them on matters seen as tricky -- before coming up before the cabinet for consideration. “This (the decision taken Thursday) would expedite the process of decision making and usher in greater accountability in the system,” an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said. “The ministries and departments will now process the issues pending before the EGOMs and GOMs and take appropriate decisions at the level of ministries and departments itself.” In a way, this decision also poses greater accountability on Modi himself as he will now have to adjudicate matters where there are differences among cabinet colleagues, rather than let a panel of colleagues deliberate on them first. The idea of such ministerial panels first cropped up and was implemented during the regime of National Democratic Alli-
ance (NDA) under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. More then were added under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s United Progressive (UPA) Alliance government. Since neither the Bharatiya Janata Pary (BJP) nor the Congress party had the numbers to form governments of their own and relied on their allies, these ministerial groups were to let coalition leaders deliberate key matters before bringing them to the cabinet. Pranab Mukherjee, now India’s president, P. Chidambaram and A.K. Antony of the Congress party and Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led the maximum of these ministerial groups -- that at one point had swelled to as many as 60. The EGOMs, in particular, were even bestowed with the authority to take decisions and a subsequent discussion and approval by any cabinet committee, presided over by the prime minister, was a mere formality. The subjects of the EGOMs included effective management of drought, pricing of natural gas and ultra mega power projects, while those of the GOMs included strategy for water management, national war memorial and administrative reforms. Many of them were dismantled after they served their purpose and new ones were added.
40 dead due to massive thunder storm, lightening Learning to Relearn with a Dyslexic Child
nEw DElhi, May 31 (pTi): At least 40 people were killed in north and eastern part of the country due to massive storm and lightning, while accompanying rains brought down mercury in most parts reeling under heat wave. The national capital witnessed pleasant morning as minimum temperature was recorded at 25 degrees celsius, three notches below the normal level, a day after the massive thunder storm. According to Meteorological department, the maximum temperature was 42.8 degrees celsius, 2 notches above normal. A massive thunder storm hit the national capi-
tal and several other states last evening and early Saturday morning. At least nine people were killed in Delhi and the NCR region in incidents of falling trees, collapse of walls and electrocution. In Uttar Pradesh, at least 14 people were killed due to thunderstorm which hit several parts of the state on Friday evening. Light rains also lashed several parts of the state leading to a drop in day temperature on Saturday. The highest temperature was 45.6 degrees celsius in Banda district. In Jharkhand, seven people were killed in a storm that raged across the state early this morn-
ing uprooting electricity poles and hundreds of trees. While in West Bengal, 10 people were killed and 28 others injured in lightning strike in three districts which experienced widespread pre-monsoon showers this morning, officials said. While five people died in Murshidabad district, three persons were killed in Purulia district and two others died in Burdwan district. Punjab and Haryana had no any respite from heat wave. Hisar in Haryana was the hottest place in both states as its maximum was 44.1 degrees celsius, Met department said here on Saturday.
Gariphema: Tobacco Free Village since 1993 Morung Express news Kohima | May 31
A first in the history of Nagaland, Gariphema village, a village in Northern Angami Region, commemorated the World No Tobacco Day by declaring Gariphema a Tobacco Free Village. The declaration which was organized by the Gariphema Village Students Union and sponsored by the Village Vision Cell was held on May 31 at the Village Council Hall. Dr. MC Longai, Deputy Director, NTCP was the resource person while R. Binchilo Thong, IAS, Principal Secretary, Irrigation & F. C, PHED, Government of Nagaland, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest . “We tend to take tobacco lightly because the effects of tobacco are a little slow but the consequences are heavy,” said
Dr. MC Longai, adding that 57 lakh people die every year because of the intake of tobacco. Dr. Longai also pointed out that the Government of Nagaland reimbursed Rs. 22 crore for cancer treatment alone in Nagaland, confined to people in the government services. For others in the informal sector, the cost of cancer treatment has to be borne by them, which often leads to bankruptcy and selling of one’s land. Dr. Longai pointed out how smoking is not just injurious to health but one’s property and family too goes up in smoke. Often the intake of tobacco starts with peer pressure among Naga youth, therefore Dr. Longai further encouraged students not to be afraid to make a difference even among their peers. Vibeilietuo Kets, Convenor Village Vision Cell, stated that
the banning of tobacco has had positive impact in the village. There are hardly any cases of people suffering from tobacco related diseases in Gariphema, he affirmed. R. Binchilo Thong said that the declaration was good news for Nagaland and that the initiative taken by Gariphema village is a first in Nagaland and most probably in India too. This achievement, according to Thong, is an outcome of the united efforts of the people of Gariphema, known for the harmonious coexistence between the Angamis and Semas, the “birthplace of the revival in Nagaland” and also rich in civic sense. It may be noted that the banning of tobacco and alcohol was resolved on 10 February 1993 by the Gariphema Village Council and the declaration is reaffirmation of the resolution.
Zanbeni Humtsoe Wokha | May 31
Mhathung is a 9th standard student, well-known among the students and teachers of his school for his playful spirit. Yet, many a time, this trait of his invites the ire of his teachers and parents alike. Since the first day he joined formal schooling, his parents have always been inundated with complaints from his schools. The nature of his teachers’ displeasure has always been the same - that he doesn’t pay attention in the classroom; that he is always fidgeting; that he is always disturbing the class by talking nonstop; that his academic performance is always poor despite being the first student to respond to questions asked in the classroom. His mother recollects being summoned to the Principal’s office at least thrice a year since his son started kindergarten. Mhathung’s parents were never told that their son had a learning disorder called Dyslexia. Perhaps, even the teachers and the school administrators themselves were unaware of Dyslexia in the first place. None of the three schools he has studied in so far ever mentioned about it to him or his parents. All they did was send frequent complaints. His parents, on the other hand, attributed his behavior to being given a fish as his first solid food (fishes being always on the move). In fact, very little is known about Dyslexia among school teachers in Nagaland. As a part of case study, a group of ten government middle school teachers (most of them graduates) were asked if they knew what Dyslexia
is. Only three replied in the affirmative, out of which one had adequate knowledge about it while the other two had just a vague idea. Of the seven who had no clue, one even asked how Dyslexia is spelled in the first place. Dyslexia is the most common reading and learning disorder, affecting 1 in 10 people worldwide. It is basically characterized by difficulty with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal intelligence. It consists of difficulty with spelling, phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds), and/or rapid visual-verbal responding. Individuals with dyslexia usually suffer from Attention DeficitHyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Auditory Processing Disorder (Listening Disability). In a two-hour informal test conducted on him, Mhathung exhibited almost all the symptoms associated with Dyslexia. The most obvious one was ADHD. He showed poor level of concentration when made to study an English poem. He was easily distracted by noises coming from outside. He constantly fidgeted, and often interjected his study with random conversations. When asked if he found it difficult to copy from the blackboard, he replied, “always”. His mother had even taken him once to an ophthalmologist to get him a pair of glasses. Turns out, he did not need one. He was made to copy a stanza from a poem in his English textbook. On the one hand, he missed out words/letters, while on the other, he added. He repeated similar omissions and additions when made to read the particular poem out loud. He
could not read a simple poem fluently. He omitted ending syllables as well, e.g. ‘bounty’ became ‘bount’. He showed difficulty associating letters and sounds. A whatsapp ‘conversation’ then became ‘conservations’. It is important to remember that Dyslexia is neither a disease nor is it linked with intelligence. Hence there is no ‘cure’ for Dyslexia. Early childhood intervention is the best time to start dealing with the issue. However this can only happen if the parents and teachers have informed knowledge about it and are willing to accept the challenges that come with it. It is necessary to get acquainted with the symptoms in the first place so as to be able to identify a child as dyslexic. A simple interventional method to improve the reading and writing skills of a dyslexic is by trying to increase his/her awareness of correspondences between graphemes (letters) and phonemes (sounds), and to relate these to reading and spelling by teaching him/her to blend the sounds into words. Dyslexic individuals tend to be highly creative, intuitive, and excel at three-dimensional problem solving and hands-on learning. Hence, it is more important for parents to encourage their dyslexic child to pursue his/her interests rather than imposing their own will. Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, George Washington, Anthony Hopkins, Stephen Spielberg, Marie Curie, Lewis Carroll, Agatha Christie, Andy Warhol, are just names of few famous people born with dyslexia.
C M Y K