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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 171
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www.morungexpress.com
Tuesday, June 24, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
It’s very important in a leadership role not to judge everything in relationship to how your ego is fed India & Switzerland deny sharing ‘black money’ details [ PAGE 8]
2014 FIFA World Cup
‘Use internet the right way’
Freida Pinto goes to rehab for her next role
[ PAGE 2]
Gordon Brown enters the battle for Scotland [ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 11]
Imti Longchar Henpu/Kingphu |June 23
24th June - 09:30 PM Italy vs Uruguay 24th June - 09:30 PM Costa Rica vs England
reflections
naga girl allegedly molested in Delhi
DIMAPUR, JUNE 23 (MExN): A nineteen year old Naga girl was allegedly molested in New Delhi on the morning of June 23, Monday. Sources informed that the girl was on her way to class, when a man approached her and started to inappropriately touch her. The victim raised a hue, alerting nearby pedestrians, who managed to get hold of the culprit. The accused was taken to the police station, where a case has been registered under 354 IPC section 3 (1) and under SC/ST POA, informed sources. The accused has been identified as a 17 year old student in the 12th standard. It was further reported that investigations are underway to determine whether the accused is really a juvenile.
Admissions to DU put on hold
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NEw DElhI, JUNE 23 (IANS): Principals of various Delhi University colleges Monday ordered the admission process to undergraduate programmes to be deferred “due to lack of clarity and conflicting guidelines” about the term of these courses. “Since there is a conflict between the two sets of guidelines, the admission process is unclear. We defer the admissions to Delhi University till the competent authority issues unambiguous guidelines,” said S.K. Garg, president of the DU Principals Association. Related news on page 8
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–Ruth J. Simmons
Portugal stay in hunt with draw vs US [ PAGE 10]
BETWEEN BORDERS: Naga villages in Myanmar eye peace & education
For the first time in decades, there is a semblance of peace in the Naga inhabited villages in Myanmar. With Myanmar undergoing a transition to de25th June - 12:30 AM mocracy, and with the the NSCN/GPRN (Khaplang) Japan vs Colombia having signed a ceasefire 25th June - 1:30 AM agreement with the MyanGreece vs Ivory Coast mar Government, Naga villages here are shedding fears and inhibitions as they gear up for a peaceful By Sandemo Ngullie chapter in their otherwise tumultuous lives. While full-fledged development is yet to enter this part of the world, located within treacherous and ravenous terrain, a recently dug motorable road connecting International Trade Centre, Dan at Pangsha (last of Naga villages) in Nagaland State to Henpo (one of the first Naga villages) in Myanmar suggests the beginning of the benign relation between India and Myanmar. Loh . . . Like our politician all Leaving behind disof my social media friends have defected to the Ger- turbing memories of churches being burnt or man side dismantled by the milijunta during operaThe Morung Express tary tions against Naga rebels, POLL QUESTIOn Henpo village now has Vote on www.morungexpress.com a concrete building for a SMS your anSwer to 9862574165 church, which maybe the first amongst the KhiamniDo you support Indian government’s ungan villages in Myanmar directive to use Hindi to rise up from the ashes of in all departments and bamboo thatched worship social media? places. The Monk’s quarter, Yes no Others which used to be the center
Children from Henpo, a naga village in Myanmar area studying in apt concentration during a subject class in one of the schools run by Myanmar government. (Imti Longchar)
of activities for propagating Buddhism in the village, now lies abandoned, one of the tell tale signs heralding the advent of democracy which now affords them the freedom to practice a preferred religion. Most Naga villages here have two identities, or names—one in Burmese and the other in Khiamniungam dialect. For instance, once inside Myanmar, Henpu is called Penyu, Shiu is Solou and Shiphu goes by Chonkhao. The medium of education continues to be Burmese, restricting the children studying in these schools to a future only in Myanmar. The single subject of English in the curriculum is not enough to
enable the students to hold even a basic conversation in the language. A class VIII student from the village, when asked whether she understood English, could only shake her head and smile in discomfiture. Henpo has a Burmese language medium high school up to class VIII, with one of the highest enrollments in the area of around 170 students, which comes from a conglomeration of surrounding villages. High enrollment is one indication that parents are now devoting their time to the education of their children and taking control of their future instead of worrying about when the military junta would raid their village, harass them and force
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them as coolies to carry provisions till the next village. The system of education in many families is divided into two groups; one group is made to study in Myanmar schools and the other half sent across the border to study in English medium schools in India (Nagaland). A father of seven, Khunyu, from Kingphu, another village in the Naga areas of Myanmar, has four children studying at ITC Dan and Pangsha under India and another in Myanmar. “I am putting the fate of my children in English medium schools instead of Burmese schools because I am told that there is better future in English education nowa-
days,” explains Khunyu. This also means double responsibility for the parent—looking after the school going children who put up at a makeshift house near the school at ITC Dan, located kilometers away, and then tending the fields and managing the household chores back in the village. Many however feel that when it comes to employment prospects of their children, a future with the Myanmar government appears brighter. “If you are a matriculate, you can at least get a job as a teacher, nurse or a clerk in the office in Lahe or Khamti town. But in India, being a matriculate is nothing,” Khunyu says. According to Imna, a teacher at Straightway Mission School at ITC Dan bordering Myanmar, where a number of children from Myanmar villages are enrolled, the advent of democracy and ceasefire have begun to open a lot of opportunities for the otherwise deprived people. “The opportunity to send children to two countries divided by an imaginary line is an added advantage which can only be availed by such dual citizenry,” says Imna. “Myanmar government has assured jobs for Myanmar Naga students if they can at least get through 10th standard,” maintains Pusho, pastor at Kinphu village whose children are studying at the Burmese primary
school in the village. Despite this rhetoric, there are only a handful of Nagas from Myanmar who have secured respectable jobs while many prefer to join the Myanmar military force which does not require much educational qualification. And getting to 10th standard or college in this part of Myanmar is easier said than done. High school till 10th standard is only at Lahe and Khamti town which remains inaccessible for many villages. For college, one has to travel all the way to Mandalay, which is practically impossible due to poverty and transport problems. On the other hand, matriculation or college degrees obtained from India may not help Naga students from Myanmar much, says Pusho. “Even if you did college in India, it is highly unlikely to get a job here in Myanmar unless you are proficient in the Burmese language.” However, schools in many of the 167 Khiamniungam Naga villages under Myanmar are confined to primary level. Apart from Henpo village, Lahe and Khamti town, most villages have classes only up to standard four. Beyond Lahe, many villages still exist in wilderness. Despite this, there is undoubtedly a sense of hope among the people of the two worlds that better days are yet to come.
Governors of West Bengal, Nagaland to quit? NEw DElhI, JUNE 23 (PTI): Two governors are believed to have conveyed to the Centre their willingness to step down from their posts following the NDA government’s pressure on some of them to quit. Nagaland Governor Ashwini Kumar is said to have conveyed to the Home Ministry his desire to quit the post soon, sources said. 63-year-old Kumar, a retired IPS officer, had served as director of CBI. West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan is learnt to have sought some time to take a decision on his resignation and conveyed to the government that no pressure should be brought on him during this period. Narayanan, too, is a former IPS officer who had served as director of Intelligence Bureau. Before being appointed as governor of West Bengal, 80-year-old Narayanan was the National Security Advisor during the previous Manmohan Singh government. There have been reports that the government was toying with the idea of allowing CBI to question incumbents Narayanan and Goa Governor B V Wanchoo as witness in the investigations into the Augusta Westland helicopter deal. The Nagaland governor last week had said he had not received any communication from the Centre but was ready to put in his papers if asked to do so. “No one has asked me. But if any order comes, I will follow it,” he said here after a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
MLA wants CBI probe into politician-militant nexus
ShIlloNg, JUNE 23 (IANS): Saleng Sangma, a Garo legislator in Meghalaya, Monday asked Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to initiate a CBI probe into the politicianmilitant nexus in the insurgency-ravaged districts of Garo hills. The Independent legislator, who has survived several attempts on his life by militants, informed Rajnath Singh through a letter that Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has also said there was evidence to prove the links between politicians and militant groups.
But no action has been taken so far, he said. Saleng told the home minister that a militant who revealed the names of some politicians allegedly maintaining links with militant groups was killed the very next day. He said threats were issued to some legislators, including himself, in 2011, to support a particular political leader or otherwise be barred from entering the Garo Hills. Saleng, in his letter said the law and order situation, “arising out of the growing militancy problem, has affected the daily lives of citizens
residing in the five districts of Garo Hills”. “I feel that your kind and immediate intervention is the need of the hour to ensure peace and normalcy. These activities have largely affected the socio-economic activities in the region,” he told Rajnath Singh. The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) is fighting for a separate Garoland to be carved out of Meghalaya. GNLA rebels, who number around 100, have killed over 100 people, including security personnel, in the last five years.
Writing, an empowering tool Morung Express news Kohima | June 22
“What you see is not the truth. What you hear is not the truth. What underlies is the truth,” says G Aloysius, author of Nationalism without a Nation in India, who also believes that there is a need to write what underlies in the society or a community and that such writing can only emerge through people who have experienced the truth. He stated this to a group of 28 women from the North East participating at the monograph and writing skill workshop held for North East women in Paro, Bhutan from June 16 to 21. The event was organized by the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI). “Even though women in the North East played a major role in conflict resolution and peace-building they are not given enough space to share their experiences. Most of the time, it is the men folk who take the limelight,” says Robinson
‘You are the field, you are the data. You have memories and struggles’
from the Henry Martyn, Institute who further asserted that people at the grassroots have the ability to write and there is a need for women to write their experiences. Taking the example of the Naga struggle, Aloysius stated that the people from the North East have rich yet painful stories that need to be shared. “You are the field, you are the data. You have memories and struggles,” added Aloysius who regrets over the fact that the North East has always been represented by other people and that despite many years of struggle, people in the North East themselves do not know what has actually happened in their own region. The North East experience is deep and wide, which includes stories of struggles, but also comprises memories of joy. And this needs to be learnt and
understood by the younger generations who are further migrating towards metropolitan cities and getting accustomed to other cultures and histories. There is a danger that if experiences are not written and shared, they could be forgotten. The Naga Women’s Union (NWU) of Manipur, which is currently working on a book titled ‘Contemporary Naga Women in Manipur’ where women representatives of each tribe will document the present and past status of women in each of the 16 Naga tribes in Manipur, also participated at the workshop. The upcoming NWU book aims to improvise the condition of women through writing. LM Tabitha Trumy, President NWU said, “Through this book, we want each tribe to under-
stand the situation of women so that they are able to emancipate women and include them in the decision making process.” Aloysius expressed the need to create a new genre of writing that breaks through academic or value-neutral requirements and instead focus on writing based on experience, memories, feelings and emotions. He also pointed out that one needs to systematize what one knows already and that the process of articulation is the process of clarification. “You may have rivalries and antagonism inside your state, but the writings of your experiences goes much deeper to a bigger audience,” asserted Aloysius. He further encouraged the participants to rework all assumptions which have been accepted, whether it is discrimination of women through subtle forms of patriarchy, or militarization, which has become naturalized situations in certain parts of the North East.
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