26th February 2014

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Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 54

The Morung Express “

www.morungexpress.com

Good Robin healthcare sign Thicke of a developed and Wife country: Paula Patton President Separate [ PAGE 8]

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

”

Knowledge will give you power, but character respect

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4 –Bruce Lee

ZHRC new Pediatrics and Gynecology Unit launched [ PAGE 2]

Ukraine: No new government before Thursday [ PAGE 9]

[ PAGE 11]

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Parts of Pistorius trial to be broadcast live [ PAGE 12]

Blockade on nagaland begins ‘Fostering unity and oneness’ Sekrenyi festival to strengthen ties between peoples Chizokho Vero Kohima | February 25

Roads, Hospital, School?

Wow! I must be an amazing speaker they actually took my election promises seriously.

The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn

Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your answer to 9862574165 Is Naga society doing enough to create, develop and strengthen its democratic culture?

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FNR meeting on February 27 DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): A meeting of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation with leaders of all Naga tribe organizations and apex Church organizations will be held on February 27 from 11:00 am at the Niathu Resort, Chumukedima, Dimapur and not at the Agri Expo as communicated earlier. A press note from the FNR has reminded all the Naga tribe organizations and churches of various denominations, who were invited, to send delegations consisting of 2 male and 1 female each. FNR stated that the meeting is being organized to update leaders of the Naga public about the “processes and progresses of the Naga reconciliation – A Journey of Common Hope, for a shared Naga Future in keeping with the wishes and desire of the Naga People as a whole, based on the Historical and Political rights of the Nagas.” It further notified that no organization or individuals other than those invited will be allowed to attend the meeting.

‘Don’t entertain bogus teachers’

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DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Chakhesang Students’ Union has reiterated its stand to not entertain bogus teachers in all schools within its jurisdiction. A press note from the CSU President and General Secretary stated that all teachers must have the required genuine educational qualifications and strongly urged upon the concerned department to further scrutinise the documents of teachers posted in schools within Chakhesang jurisdiction.

It further acknowledged the latest notification from the Directorate of School Education dated February 19, whereby, Kesonyu Yhome, Principal Director terminated the services of 65 government teachers possessing fake educational certificates.

Volunteers of Karbi based organizations take part in the indefinite blockade against Nagaland state. The blockade, affecting nH 29 and 36, is against alleged land encroachment by nagaland in KA, Assam.

Morung Express news

it of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, which began yesterDimapur | February 25 day evening will continue till An indefinite road block- 5:00 pm of February 26. ade on Nagaland state began today with National Nagaland govt says ‘status Highways 29 and 36 com- quo’ should be maintained ing to a standstill.

Nagaland government The blockade which stated that “status quo” took effect from 5:00 am, should be maintained as February 25 has been the contentious border called by Karbi Anglong dispute between the two (KA) based organizations states is sub judice. Comin protest against the al- missioner Nagaland, in leged land encroachment charge of Border Affairs,

by Nagaland along the Temjen Toy said on TuesDimapur-Karbi-Anglong day evening that the govborder region. The block- ernment is looking into the ade has been jointly orga- problem, stating, “We’re in nized by Karbi Students touch with the Assam govand Youth Council, All Di- ernment.” masa Students’ Union, All Assam Gurkha Students’ Economic Blockade Union, and Karbi Unem- ‘uncalled for’ ployed Youth Association.

Meanwhile, reacting to Concurrently, on NH the imposition of an eco29, the All-Assam bandh nomic blockade and promenforced by the AASAA, de- ulgation of 144 CrPC in the manding scheduled tribe Dimapur and Karbi Anglong status and protesting the vis- border, the action commit-

tee (Rangapahar sub-urb, Zhimomi colony and Sangtamtilla), has expressed displeasure at “such a random action”, which it said was “totally uncalled…”

A press note, jointly issued by Elders’ Committee Rangapahar Crossing, S Hukavi Zhimomi Colony and Sangtamtilla stated that the core issue of the problem is a “lack of sincerity or commitment of the Assam government and utter negligence on the part of the Nagaland government.”

It further alleged that the Assam government has failed to protect the forest tract (under its custody) in the disputed area. Permanent structures are not to be permitted in the area; however, RCC constructions, electrification, water supply, black topping etc have been undertaken from the Assam side.

It said that villages have

been established by “outsiders and illegal immigrants holding Assam Patta (which is questionable for a disputed land).” The committee also questioned the “involvement of the All Assam Gurkha Students Union in the imposition of a ‘bandh’ against Nagaland.”

The committee asserted that the matter will ultimately be settled at the government level or through court ordinances.

It however iterated that the states of Nagaland and Manipur “have had enough of ‘bandh cultures’ adopted by KA…” and pointed out that the place “breeds a number of outfits which impose heavy taxation on especially goods vehicles.”

As such, it called upon the governments of Nagaland and Manipur to approach the center for alternative roadway and railway that will not cross KA.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand today attended the Angami Naga festival Sekrenyi at the Naga Heritage Village Kisama in commemoration with 50 years of Nagaland’s statehood. The event was hosted by the Southern Angami Public Organization (SAPO), under the theme, ‘Fostering unity and oneness.’

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio in his address said that the presence of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn would bring closer cooperation between the Nagas and Thais. He cited the semblance of physical features, food, culture and tradition between the Thais and Nagas and expressed hope for closer ties between the two peoples. The Princess, along with the rest of the gathering, witnessed cultural activities, including traditional fire making, cultural performances, youth medley, Phreda and Sei Bagei, top spinning, war cry, high jump and grease pole climbing.

A Naga unity dance, wrestling exhibition, Sekrenyi chef competition, Agri expo at Bamboo Pavilion, flower exhibition at Hortiscape and exhibition cum sale at Bamboo Pavilion were also held as part of the festival. Earlier, the Sekrenyi blessing was pronounced by Neisa Thol.

Sekrenyi is celebrated by the Angami Nagas in the month of ‘Keno’ (February)

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand receiving a gift from the Chief Minister of nagaland, neiphiu Rio at the Sekrenyi festival held in naga Heritage Village, Kisama on February 25. (Morung Photo)

after the full moon, every year. It is observed to ensure the good health of the community for the coming year; in soul and body and hence is also regarded as ‘Phousanyi’ (the feast of Ablution). Sekrenyi therefore, consists of two phases; the ritual and the feast, of five days each.

The Sekrenyi rituals commence with ‘Dzuseva’ (the pre-dawn cleansing bath) by all males at the sanctified virgin spring well. Simultaneously, the women perform ‘Kizie’ (the house dedication). On return from the symbolic ablution, an unblemished sacrificial ‘cock of omen,’

for every male person, is strangulated. The tenacity and position of its legs and the fullness of its innards are observed for interpretation of the corresponding individual’s vitality and prosperity.

Thence, the male and female folk maintain segregation in living and in hearth; the male hearth is ignited only through “Süguo Mi (Stick and rope friction fire). Strict chastity is adhered to for three days till ‘Krupo (the adjournment ritual). The ‘Thekrane’ (feast) phase subsequently follows for five days and Sekrenyi is concluded.

NCP yet to decide on support to Rio Ultimatum to Zunheboto Dc revoked

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Nagaland state unit of the Nationalist Congress Party today refuted the statement published in local dailies on February 15, which had claimed that the party was extending support to DAN consensus candidate, Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.

A press note from NCP Nagaland Vice President TL Samdok informed that state officials of the NCP had conducted a meeting, where matters concerning the LS polls were discussed and later forwarded the issue to the central office for further con-

sultation. “It is not a question of NCP supporting or not supporting a non NCP candidate but since the party is in consultation, the party is yet to arrive to a final decision,” stated the NCP press note.

It further directed that “no party member or functionary shall have any authoritative initiative personally to approach the media or issue any press releases without the consent or knowledge of the state NCP office.” It decreed that “any member/ functionary failing to adhere to the given directive shall have to undergo disciplinary actions as deemed fit.”

‘India is free but not equal’

KolKATA, FEBRUARY 25 (IANS): Observing India was “free but not equal”, legendary civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Tuesday regretted illiteracy among children in the country which excels in exporting talent across the world.

“Some countries export oil, some other agricultural products but India exports brains. So it is such a sin to have so many children illiterate and locked out of school. Talent is India’s number one product.

“Strong minds and scientific minds from here can make contribution and save India and the world,” said Jackson here. Jackson, who ran for US Presidency and is a disciple of Martin Luther King, is on a trip to the city. He met school children and visited the Netaji Bhavan - the ancestral house of Subhas Chandra Bose now turned into a museum.

“India is a leader in exporting talent around the

world, the economies of Britain and US are driven in greater measures by Indian talents, be it Microsoft or the Citibank or the Silicon Valley Indians brains are at the forefront,” said Jackson.

Hailing Mahatma Gandhi and Bose for their contribution to India’s freedom, Jackson said the fight was unfinished because of existence of inequality. “India is free but not equal. India and the US are the biggest democracies, but the gap between the surplus culture and deficit culture is much too great. Too few have too much and too many have nothing. Until we democratize the economy, the fight will remain unfinished.

“Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. It kills in mass, saps the spirit, weakens the body, ends resolves and destroys dreams. Poverty breeds terrorism, it breeds fear. That is why focus should be on ending poverty,” added Jackson.

ZUNHEBoTo, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The villages and towns of Zunheboto district (under Sumi jurisdiction), from Kilomi Village to Zunheboto town, which have been affected by the 2 laning NH project, have decided to revoke an earlier resolution and ultimatum served to the Zunheboto Deputy Commissioner. The affected landowners in a meeting on February 24 learnt that the delay in payment of compensation is due to technical problems and not

the Zunheboto DC. As such, the affected villages, in a press note, “apologized” to the DC and his administrative colleagues for publishing the issue in the media. The note informed that despite technical problems, the DC had completed the payment of the first phase of compensation to all affected property owners on February 19 and 20.

The affected landowners further requested the Zunheboto DC to speed up the necessary formalities at the earliest

(on/before March 8, 2014), to be included in the second phase of compensation list, “particularly for Zunheboto town and other landowners who were genuinely excluded/left out in the 1st phase of compensation.”

It cautioned that if the Ministry of Road Transport & National Highway (MoRTH), New Delhi fails to comply with this demand, “the whole responsibility (Affected Sumis) would be borne by the district administration and the SubCommittee on Compensation,

which includes Sumi NGO’s, including the President of Sumi Hoho; Vice-President, All Nagaland GB’s Federation; Sumi Kukami Hoho and so on.”

The Signatories of the resolutions in the said meeting included Kilomi Village Council, Kilo Old Village Council, Satakha Town Chairman, Zhekiye Village Council, Aghuyito Town Chairman, Shoixe Village Council, Yemishe Village Council, Sukhalu Village Council, and Zunheboto Town Property Owners.

rahul reaches out to north east

DIPHU, FEBRUARY 25 (PTI): Amid demand for enacting an anti-racism law to protect rights of people from the northeast, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the Centre is working towards giving certain minimum rights and security to people of the region all over India.

“You should not only be having these rights in places you belong to like Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam but in the whole of India,” Gandhi said as he interacted with tribal leaders in Diphu.

The interaction also saw the participants raising the issue of the death of Arunachal Pradesh youth Nido Tania after being allegedly beaten up by some shopkeepers in the national capital some time back. Acknowledging that there is a discrimination against students from northeast, Gandhi said, “We, at the Centre, are working towards giving certain minimum rights and security to people that one should have in the whole of India. You should not only be having these rights in the places you belong to like Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam but in the whole of India.”

During the interaction, Gandhi talked at length on the issue of cor-

Promises ‘Power’ to PeoPle

India’s ruling Congress party Vice President Rahul Gandhi wearing a traditional Assamese hat, Japi, greets the audience during a public rally in Guwahati on February 25. The general elections are scheduled to be held later this year. (AP Photo)

ruption and made a strong pitch for opening up the processes in the political system as a solution to it.

The Congress vice president reiterated his resolve to replicate the primary system of choosing candidates with the collective decision

of party workers in a particular region if the pilot project of holding it in 15-16 parliamentary seats this election bore fruit.

“Opposition talks about corruption but the most powerful and historical instrument against it in

form of RTI was given by our government. What was done in closed doors by bureaucrats can be known by any common citizen by filing RTI. “When people talk about corruption it is because only a few people have power centralized in them. We want to open this decision making process,” he said. Gandhi said decision-making is confined to few and at best it is the 4500 MLAs and 800 MPs, who enact all laws.

He noted that there has been a complaint for a long time that one family or one individual keeps getting tickets. “This is the situation which you feel bad about... Decision making about ticket distribution is highly centralized as very few people take decisions on distribution of tickets. Power is centralized. In future we will not give one person or one family the ticket but we will ask you to distribute tickets.

“We are holding primaries. We have held it now in 15-16 places but we want to take it in all constituencies and this is something, which no other party is doing.....With this (primaries), all party workers would be involved in candidate selection and you will feel that it is your candidate,” Gandhi said.

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Wednesday 26 February 2014

ZHRC new Pediatrics and Gynecology Unit launched

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): Zion Hospital and Research Centre, Dimapur today opened its Pediatric and Gynecology unit, with Former Chief Secretary, Alemtemshi Jamir as the Chief Guest. The new wing was created by funds sanctioned through the North East Council under the DONER. The former Chief Secretary termed healthcare, along with education, as major avenues to boost the state’s economy. Citing the North East Council’s (under DONER) policy to extend support to private health care facilities, he hoped for more modernization and industrialization of the healthcare industry in the state.

He encouraged ZHRC to lead the way in developing the state’s healthcare industry into an “export commodity,” where patients can choose Nagaland as a destination to receive quality

Former Chief Secretary, Alemtemshi Jamir inaugurating the new pediatrics and gynecology wing at Zion Hospital and Research Centre on February 25. (Morung Photo)

healthcare. He added that the hospital has served not only the state but the entire North East region as well.

The Chief Guest applauded the vision and hardwork of

everyone involved in the hospital and expressed optimism that it would reach even greater heights. “I have seen the hospital grow from strength to strength

and recognize the troubles encountered while beginning,” stated the former Chief Secretary.

On the government’s concern for healthcare, he

stated that “on paper, almost all parts are covered.”

However, he conceded that there have been lapses as well. As such, he hoped that the private healthcare industry would act as a guide to the public sector as well.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Dr Tali Longkumer, who expressed gratitude to the NEC secretaries, for their help in getting the grants sanctioned; the building committee members and the staff and workers involved in building this new unit. The event concluded with the former Chief Secretary’s mother, Yashila, pronouncing the benediction prayer.

Earlier, Dr Mhabemo Ovung, Director of ZHRC informed that the hospital had observed its eight year anniversary on February 11. He stated that the hospital has developed from strength to strength and assured that it would be scaling up to provide better and quality healthcare.

The Morung Express C

NTTU responds to Dimapur DFO’s clarification as 'feeble attempt'

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Nagaland Timber Traders Union has termed the clarification issued by then DFO Dimapur, Kocha Meyase on the former’s press statement as a “feeble attempt to cover up the corruption and malpractices of the Forest Minister and the DFO concerned.”

NTTU, in a press note, issued by its President and Treasurer stated that the DFO’s statement “is trying to confuse the public” by “going into detail technicalities involved in allotment of tree felling wagons” and “instead of addressing the core issue as pointed out by NTTU.” The DFO had clarified that the Forest department “allotted some wagons to some of the members of the NTTU, however the allottees failed to meet the required criteria thereby resulting in lapse of such allotted wagons and causing a loss to government revenue.”

In response to this, the

NTTU informed that thirty five wagons are allotted every three months under tree felling scheme to tree farmers and registered transporters and for each wagon and that the Forest department gets revenue of Rs. 1.21 lakhs. However, it questioned about the “extra Rs. 3 lakh per and Rs. 10,000 per wagon, which the Forest minister and Kocha got respectively for selling the wagons.”

“Quarterly, the commission of the Forest minister alone comes to a whopping Rs. 1.05 crores (Rs. 1 crore 5 lakhs),” it added.

Acknowledging that the Forest department had allotted two wagons to NTTU members, it however clarified that the union rejected the offer “because the Forest minister demanded Rs. 3 lakh per wagon from NTTU members too.”

A 3-member NTTU delegation met the Forest minister in September 2013 at his official residence where the Forest minister verbally said to us that he will not

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make a concession of even Rs. 1 from his Rs. 3 lakh commission per wagon, alleged the NTTU. “This we are ready to testify in any Naga customary court,” it added.

It further questioned the basis on which “the NTTU is causing loss to government revenue by rejecting to buy the wagons.” “Is the Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 10,000 respectively per wagon going to the government coffer?” It queried.

NTTU further cited the Forest Minister’s statement on July 23, 2013, where he stated “I am entrusting NTTU to oversee the loading of train wagons of teak, moulded beat and W/S for its smooth functioning.”

The union added that the NTTU is prepared to “approach any Naga customary court to swear by what we say.” “If the Forest minister and Kocha deny that they are not selling the wagons and taking money, we request them to also get ready to swear the same the Naga traditional way,” it said.

‘Need to remove imbalance in our customary laws’ Water & sanitation campaign

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WoKhA, FEBRUARY 25 (DIPR): Seminar on legal rights of women on ‘Marriage, Divorce & Inheritance’ & ‘Health EducationHIV/AIDS’ was held on February 25 at LTC Hall. The seminar was organised by Nagaland State Commission for Women in collaboration for Women, New Delhi.

Chairperson, NSCW, Dr. Temsula Ao while giving the introductory remark felt the need to look at our present social set-up and explore ways and means to bring in some changes so that the inequalities inherent in our traditional system regarding social and economic status of our girls and women can be removed.

Through these advocacy programmes we realize that mere information about women’s legal rights is not enough if we do not discuss the most basic and crucial issue of customary laws and practices regarding women’s rights especially on marriage, divorce and inheritance, she maintained. Stating that it was not the intention to contest, confront or quarrel about the existing customary laws governing the various Naga tribes, she requested the Kyong men folks in incorporating amendments into the existing laws to remove the disadvantages and ensure their interest. She also appealed to all Kyong leaders to put their heads together and find a just

solution to remove the imbalance in our customary laws which are still stacked against the interests of girls and women because these girls and women are our own and living in the same society.

This is your chance to become the pioneers of an enlightened Naga Society where men and women can work and live together as equals in all respects, she exhorted. Take this step and lead the other tribes also towards this new Naga society and empower us in the Commission to carry your message to the rest of the Naga tribes in the various districts, she added.

President Lotha Gazetted Officer Union Ramongo Jami

concludes successfully

(IAS) who also spoke during the function, urged the gathering to change their mindset to cope with the changing world and to bring about reformation in the society.

Pointing out that men are women are equal he called upon the men folk to respect the rights of women reiterating that women are equally responsible and contributes for the progress of the society.

Customs and traditions will always remain with us but with the change of time modification should come to adapt with the changing world said President Kyong Hoho Yansathung Jami. He also called upon the women folk to come out openly and fight for their

rights. Usage of customary laws and practices cannot be avoided but need modification in certain areas which ever in not relevant in the present society and acceptable to the society for better coexistence, added Jami.

Short speeches were also delivered by V/President, DVB’s Union Wokha, President GB’s Union and General Secretary Kyong Students Union. In the second session Dr.Yanren Gynaecologist highlighted on ‘Legal Rights of Women on Health & HIV/AIDS. The function was chaired by Kakheli Jakhalu, Member NSCW while vote of Ponthungo Odyuo of class-X from Mezhür Higher secondary thanks was proposed by Asangla school receiving award from Er.K.G Sumi, Director WSSO, PHED. Cholong, Member, NSCW. KohIMA, FEBRUARY invocation by Chuba Lam, 25 (MExN): The Nagaland Youth Director KBC Kohima Public Health Engineering and Azenuo Zumvü preDepartment (PHED) under sented special number.

Altogether, 24 schools the incentive of Water and Sanitation Support Organ- and 70 students participatisation (WSSO) PHED to- ed the essay competition A brief talk on the life of day concluded with Er. KG under the topic ‘ConserKohIMA, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): National Sci- C.V. Raman, the great Indian Sumi, Director WSSO,PHED vation of Water and Good ence Day 2014 on the theme Scientist whose birth anni- as the chief guest at Con- Sanitary Practices.’ Pont“Fostering Scientific Tem- versary is celebrated on Feb- clave Hall, LCS Building, hungo Odyuo of class-X from per” will be celebrated at Lit- ruary 28 as National Science Kohima after a weeklong Mezhür Higher secondary tle Flower Higher Secondary Day every year will be deliv- awareness of National Ru- school was awarded 1st poSchool, Kohima on February ered by Dr. Sanjay Sharma, ral Drinking Water & Sani- sition, Dolly Quinger of class28. The Department of Sci- Assistant Professor, Kohima IX from Dainty Buds school ence & Technology, Govern- Science College, Jotsoma and tation Week in Nagaland. and Jyoti of class-X from BapAddressing the function, ment of Nagaland and the a prominent Scientist Dr. K. tist High Mission Compound K.G Sumi said that the GOI Ruckmani, Director, CenDistrict Education Officer, Kohima have jointly orga- tre for Excellence in Nano- had taken up the awareness were awarded 2nd and 3rd nizes the programme. Short- bio Translational Research camping for a weeklong, position respectively. The listed school will participate (Centre), Prof. & Head, De- which concluded toady. Na- Department also awarded in an open category gen- partment of Pharmaceutical galand had covers 90 per- the ten selected consolaeral ‘Science Quiz’ covering Technology, Anna University, cent and above of the rural tion winners from various course area of classes 1(one) Bharathidasan Institute of areas of each household schools. The vote of thanks to 11(eleven) by sending one Technology, Tiruchirappalli through awareness, IEC was delivered by Thepfülie student as competitor and will deliver a talk on Nano- camping and media cover- Thünuo, Consultant Sanitaat least 10 (ten) students as tachnology. Dr. Zavei Hiese, age. He also added that stu- tion & Hygiene, PHED, the Senior Scientific Officer, Di- dents should concentrate Department also thanks all spectators.

The competition event rectorate of Science & Tech- on their study, respect their NGOs and who supports and will start at 9:30 am while nology will chair the Celebrathe celebration event will tion Event and Senthang, teachers, and become a na- take parts the awareness commence at 12:00 Noon District Education Officer tion leader with high aim so weeklong from February 20 with Tovihoto Ayemi, Par- Kohima will offer the vote of he or she can make any pro- to 25 in the entire districts of Nagaland state after the offiliamentary, Science & Tech- thanks. This was stated in gram a success.

Er.P.Jakpou Khiamni- cial launching by minister for nology, IT& C, TE& Taxes, a press release issued by Government of Nagaland District Education Officer, ungan, EE Kohima (Rural) PHED Noke Wangnao from PHED, chaired the program, state capital Kohima.

Kohima Senthang. as the chief guest.

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National Level Vendor Development Prog in Mkg underway Nagaland to observe

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MoKoKchUNg, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The three-day National Level Vendor Development Programme cum Exhibition (Buyers and Sellers Meet) at Mokokchung got underway here today with Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung, Murohu Chotso as the chief guest.

The programme, a first of its kind in Mokokchung, is being organized by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India in association with the District Industries Centre, Mokokchung and the Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI). The event

DC of Mokokchung, Murohu Chotso visiting the exhibition stalls at the MSME Pavilion at the Multi Purpose Hall, Imkongmeren Sports Complex, Mokokchung, February 25.

is being held at the Multi Purpose Hall, Imkongmeren Sports Complex from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

About thirty micro, small

and medium entrepreneurs and SHGs are showcasing their products and services at the expo. Meanwhile, a seminar for the vendors

is being scheduled for Wednesday beginning 10:30 am at the same venue.

The programme is being organized with the objective of showcasing the competencies of MSMEs as well as to offer interfacing between the MSMEs potential corporate, private and public sectors. It also aims to create a platform for interaction among buyers and sellers, to provide opportunity for diversification and development of new products by entrepreneurs and enhancing opportunities for marketing and outsourcing. The event is being held from February 25 to 27.

Kiphire rallies for clean sanitation and water

People in Kiphire district participate in the ‘National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness week’ rally on February 25. (Morung Photo)

KIPhIRE, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): Kiphire district held a rally with students, women, ward chairmen and NGOs from public ground till traffic point Kiphire with banners

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and placards with slogans based on ‘National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness week.’

Dr Tinojungshi Chang SDO (C), addressing the gathering stressed

on the importance of water and said that the quality of water determines the quality of life. He asked the gathering to make judicious use of water. Encouraging the gathering to take care of water, the SDO © said, “Water carries many diseases and if we do not take care we will all become victim of it.”

Dr Tino also added that maintaining proper sanitation will help us to avoid outbreak of sickness and said, “It is responsibility of each citizens to take care of our environment and keep the surrounding clean so that we enjoy quality life.”

Er Subongyanger, EE PHED welcomed the gathering, while chemist Tetseo, and IEC consultant Chorise spoke on clean sanitation practices, water and its importance.

National Science Day

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Amway hold Spa workshop at Kohima

KohIMA, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): Amway India, the leading health and Beauty Company of the country organized a “Spring Amway Beauty Spa Workshop” on Tuesday at Hotel Japfu , Kohima for the distributors and customers.

Conducting the training, Janbeni Awomi, Nagaland State Training Officer Amway India Limited said that the Amway Beauty Spa is a wonderful journey that blends relaxation techniques of Spa experience with a comprehensive skincare regimen.

The workshop conducted by the beauty trainers of Amway India recreates the soothing and rejuvenating Spa effect on the skin with the array of skincare products from Artistry, One of the world’s top 5 largest selling prestige brands of facial skincare and colour cosmetics.

The Café focuses on the varied aspects of inner and outer beauty of a person and comprehensive skincare regimen, required to make the skin, the largest organ of our body, radiant, youthful and vibrant.

The workshop also em-

Janbeni Awomi, Nagaland State Training Officer Amway India Limited conducting the Amway Spa workshop.

phasizes the importance of inner health & beauty in maintaining outer beauty.

The Beauty Spa took the audience down a beautiful café experience as the trainer emphasized the effect of an array of Artistry products in maintaining the skin that serve as a feast for the skin. The workshop started with relaxation exercise including deep breathing in a relaxed position- the right kind of Spa Ambience that rejuvenates

the body, soul and mind.

Amway Beauty Spa witnessed participation of over 45 people who experienced Amway’s Artistry Skin Care range such as CTM, Polishing Scrub, Creamy Massage, Moisture Intense Masque, Artistry Youth Extend Range.

In his message Diptarag Bhattacharjee, Vice President (East), Amway India, said, “Women of Kohima flaunt beautiful skin by birth and Amway Beauty Spa pro-

vides a unique brand experience to the consumers and distributors coupled with a comprehensive skincare regimen. He said that series of Artistry Beauty Spa Workshops was aim at increasing awareness about the importance and usage of specialized skincare products from the stable of Artistry among contemporary women in Eastern Region, adding that beauty being the fastest growing category of Amway India.

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REgional

The Morung Express

Wednesday

26 February 2014

Dimapur

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‘Congress needs to change, process has begun’ Guwahati, February 25 (Pti): Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said there was a need to bring a change in the Congress and the process has begun.

"There is a need to bring change in the party and we will do it fast. The first step in this direction is to make the selection of candidates from among the people," Gandhi said in a rally at the Assam Veterinary Field here.

The Congress vicepresident said the party has initiated the selection of candidates through primaries in some constituencies of the country with Guwahati being one of them.

"Soon the process would be extended to more and more constituencies. In future, I want all candidates of the party to be elected through elections.

"Anybody can aspire to contest the elections within the party and so people from all sections can be part of the selection process," Gandhi said.

He stressed that the party needs to give more power to the people, particularly to women.

Modi is looking for a post, Rahul wants to empower people: Gogoi

Activists of All Adivasi Students Association of Assam burn effigies of Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Assam Labour & Employment Minister Prithvi Mhaji at Sarihajan, Bokajan sub-division, NH 29 on February 25 as part of the protest against Gandhi’s Assam visit. The AASAA had called a 48-hour Assam bandh beginning 5:00 pm, February 24 to 5:00 pm of February 26 in protest against the non-fulfilment of the Adivasi’s demand for ST status in Assam. (Morung Photo)

"I want to empower women. Here at the rally, I am seeing more men than women but in future, I want to see more or equal women in future. In the next five years, we will strive for 50 per cent representation for

women in Parliament and all assemblies," he said.

As supporters raised slogans of "BJP murdabad", he said, "Do not use the word murdabad, unhe gussa karne dijiye, Congress pyar ka party hai (Let

dreds of students of schools in the vicinity and Maram College who go for classes daily on foot, and also local residents, are exposed to health hazard because of the thick columns of dust they have to inhale, MKS stated.

MKS urged the department concerned to issue proper directives to the concerned contractor/firm for execution of the work at the earliest or issue termination letter of the contract work if the negligence continues.

MKS dismayed at NH-37 condition

DimaPur, February (mexN): The Maram Karalimei Swijoikang (MKS) or the Maram Students’ Union has expressed dismay at the deplorable road condition of NH-37. The delay in the completion of repairing works at National Highway MaramStretch has infuriated the Maram Students’ Union, stated a press release from Pungdi P. Celestine, President, MKS. With no sign of any tangible work progress, the stretch has become a road of sorrow, the note stated.

MKS expressed failure to understand why the execution of work for the road stretch has been delayed when the amount has been reliably learnt to be sanctioned. The total negligence of this NH stretch has posed a serious problem as hun-

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them be angry, Congress is a party of love).

"Congress sirf ek party nahi hai, ek soch hai (Congress is not merely a party, but a thought). It is like a vase where there is place for everybody," he said.

The Congress believed that it was the people and not the leaders who were taking the country toward progress and development for the last 70 years and would continue to do so in the future, Gandhi added.

Guwahati, February 25 (Pti): Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today attacked BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying that he was "number one" in giving misinformation. "Modi is number one in giving misinformation.

We are number one in work.

When NDA ruled at the Centre and AGP was in power in Assam, there was no smile on peoples' faces. It was darkness everywhere. We have brought back smiles," Gogoi said at a public rally here.

"Rahul (Gandhi) is not looking for any post, but (Narendra) Modi is looking

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for it. Rahul only wants to empower the people," Gogoi said. While Modi was helping big industrialists, Congress was working for uplift of the poor, tribal people, women, students and other people of the society, he said. Gogoi alleged that Modi was with RSS, which did not contribute to the independence movement and had killed Mahatma Gandhi.

"Modi is saying that a storm

has come and Congress will be uprooted. Nobody can uproot us as our roots are very deep," he added. "A renaissance is happening in India under Rahul's leadership. Farmers, weavers, students, women, Hindus, Muslims -- everyone is helping in this renaissance," he added. Gogoi said Congress wanted to build a united Assam, unlike the NDA which tried to divide the state.

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RNPC on indefinite economic blockade on Nagaland

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he indefinite economic blockade on Nagaland imposed by Karbi Students and Youth Council (KSYC), All Dimasa Students’ Union (ADSU), All Assam Gurkha Students’ Union (AAGSU) and Karbi Unemployed Youth Association (KUYA) since 25th Feb is condemnable and treacherous, irrational and misguided. It is condemnable because the various Karbi unions including student bodies, youth organisations, etc., are claiming that Nagas are encroaching Karbi land in Assam whereas it is a recorded fact that there are no Karbi lands in Assam except Hamren Sub-division, a point which has been pointed out by Assam CM Tarun Gogoi himself too. On the other hand, it is a recorded fact that the rest of the so-called Karbi Anglong falls under Rengma Hills or Rengma Naga jurisdiction comprising of 8724 sq kms in area, including capital Diphu which is part of East Rengma Mouza. Therefore, calling the Nagas encroachers is a case of the pot calling the kettle black since the Karbis from Jaintia Hills are the original encroachers of Rengma lands. The present border controversy falls

(ADSU) and All Assam Gurkha Students’ Union (AAGSU) should not be beguiled by Karbi agenda and propaganda which will only harm the interest of these communities in the long run. The Rengma community appeals to its minority brethrens in Rengma Hills to desist from supporting Karbiagenda driven indefinite economic blockade of Nagaland.

The Dimapur district administration is requested to view the border controversy not from the narrow lens of law and order. This episode should be viewed from a wider spectrum since it involves history, life and the future of Rengma Nagas of Assam. The Dimapur district administration should not take decisions that may be used as spanners against the Rengma quest for political identity in Assam. The Rengma Naga People’s Council (RNPC) has no personal issues with SDO (C) Dimapur, but it defies logic that the Dimapur district administration could find only some junior officer to lead the delegation when the Assam side was represented

by Additional DGP, Assam. Not only are the SDO (C) and SDPO junior in rank, but they are also not well versed with the his-

under East Rengma Mouza, Rengma Hills and if at all encroachment is taking place, it is upon Rengma land not Karbi’s and therefore, such shameless and baseless allegation is condemned by Rengma Naga People’s Council (RNPC) and consigned to dustbin.

The bandh is a treacherous act because it comes right after the Karbi Anglong Peace Forum (KAPF) made its ‘peace trip’ to Nagaland soon after the killings in pachaspura, Dimapur, where the KAPF stressed on the need for Karbis and Nagas to maintain ‘brotherly hood’ and ‘peace’- in the presence of Naga civil society, student organisations and tribal hohos. The hollowness of Karbi peace is exposed to all the Nagas today as the state of Nagaland reels under Karbi sponsored bandh. The one remarkable feature of every tribal society, including Nagas is the premium placed on verbal promises for which the individual is prepared to give up even his life to honour such given promises. The Rengma Nagas of Assam knows too well the premium Karbis place on promises. The bandh is irrational and misguided because the All Dimasa Students’ Union

tory of the border area which is inextricably linked with the Rengma aspirations of Assam.

However, the ineptitude of the Nagaland government should work well for Rengma interest and the Assam Government is urged to take this opportunity and make right the historical wrongs committed by it upon the true and rightful owners of the land, the Rengma Nagas of Assam. Notwithstanding Karbi claim on East Rengma Mouza founded under revenue proceedings in February 1861 under Section Nos.116& 118, the Assam Government is requested to take decisions act as per historical records, including British era records and accord justice to the Rengma Nagas of Assam. The Karbis of Assam and the Nagas of Nagaland neither have legitimacy over the lands under East Rengma Mouza or West Rengma Mouza but the Rengmas are the only true legitimate heirs of the land and therefore, the Assam and Indian government should solve the border controversy impartially keeping in mind the historical land ownership of the Rengmas.

Solomon Rengma Gen. Secretary, RNPC

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The Morung Express

LIFE BEYOND HIV/AIDS.....

he immense burden of stigma, and the resulting secrecy, shame and anxiety, will continue to block efforts to encourage people to be tested, disclose their status, prevent transmission of the virus, and access treatment.

“HIV/AIDS affects mind and soul. For some, they thought this was the end of their life. But having people encouraging them... it has made them start thinking of their children, start thinking of their dreams ...”

When the family and community around an individual are supportive, understanding and caring, people are more likely to protect themselves and others from transmission of HIV. They are more likely to access and adhere to ARV treatment. They are more likely to choose to disclose their status.

The fight against the epidemic needs to build up efforts to change the social environment that people live in along with other activities.

We can work with communities and families to transform their attitudes to HIV. We can empower women to protect themselves from contracting the virus, and to prevent transmission to their children. We can help individuals become more confident and make positive choices about

their health, and the health of those around them, and so live with hope and dignity.

Mr. Tia, a healthy young man On ART was one day hospitalised with no hope from family members that he would be a changed man someday. He was indeed a problem child for his family because he was affecting the economy of his family. One cloudy morning in 2006, he was detected positive all to find tears in his eyes recalling how he had lived his life. When he was tested HIV positive 8 years ago, the road map for how to die with this condition seemed clear. Creating own path has been challenging and rewarding. HIV has been a catalyst for personal growth, an inspiration to make changes he needed.

“Although I deal with fear all the time, I never really internalized the HIV/AIDS dogma. I instinctively believed that HIV was a co-factor and that I could manage my health successfully. I pursue an aggressive health management that includes nutrition and supplementation, exercises, ART adherence and appropriate rest.

Today, He runs a small business for the livelihood of his family and his service for the PLHIVs still continues being an active member of Network of Kiphire District People Living with HIV/

Do educated Nagas of today understand our own history and its present Mess?

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ay back in 1947 when our national flag was hoisted on 14th August declaring our Independence to the world, there were only a handful of graduates in Nagaland. Today, 67 years later, we have hundreds of thousands of graduates, post graduates and doctors in every branch of discipline. But do this generation of educated Nagas know the state of our political existence since 1954? Do they know that our country was invaded in 1954 and 1955 by over fifty three thousand Indian troops and that from that day to this day, the Indian flag, and not our own national flag, has been flying over our country for the past 67 years? Surely, if they had understood these facts, they should have fought against the occupational forces instead of taking a long 67 years political holiday pursuing their own economic benefits in active collaboration with those who have invaded our lands.

After all, only citizens of a country that are totally bereft of any self respect or honor would be collaborating with the enemy while their country lies beneath the boots and flag of that foreign country. Tell me, is there the story of a single nation in human history where the citizens of a country went for a long political holiday when their God apportioned lands were invaded

by another country? Did Poland or Czechoslovakia or France go for a Rip Van Winkle slumber when Germany invaded their countries in 1940? Shame on all Nagas who have gone on a political slumber for all these 67 years. Tell me, can a generation really sleep over an invasion of their lands? Yet we still dare to boast that we are a fierce martial nation of this heroic tribe and that heroic tribe! As for our opponents, I personally bear no grudge against any Indian soldier or officer who had been posted to Nagaland by their political bosses with the lie that Nagas are Indians and Nagaland is Indian Territory. But I would surely be most ashamed of them, if I did nothing to oppose their invasion of our lands.

Yesterday, lesser educated Nagas than WE – so called educated but boneless, spineless Nagas- fought the invasion forces with courage and honor. For decades, they were hunted like wild animals suffering all sorts of deprivations and dangers, but they never surrendered our lands to the enemy. Subsequently, but for their valor and resilience, today most of us educated Nagas would most probably be serving as clerks and some small officers under the Assam state of India.

After all that was where Nehru and the Congress party of India

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LEISURE

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SUDOKU Game Number # 2803

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tried to put us in. But instead of expressing gratitude and respect for the sacrifices of those who opposed Nehru and have kept the fire of resistance still burning, we hardly even so much as give them a glance when we pass them in our streets. Many of them are still alive and are often seen in our streets walking on foot with their walking sticks while we drive past them in our glittering Boleros and Scorpios. No, we never give then even a back glance.

For a change, just stop once and talk to these forgotten heroes of yesteryear about their past lives. They will not tell you what prestigious school or college their parents sent them to in order to get their education.

They will instead tell you their stories of how at the tender age of ten, they saw their own mothers shot to death right in front of their eyes by the invading enemy. They will recount how their father’s legs were amputated due to bullet injuries. They will also tell you of how a most handsome elder brother never came back to camp after going off in search of food to feed the starving family. (This true story from Khonoma is but one out of thousands that I have heard). Mentally and physically torn asunder at such tender ages, they had joined the Naga army at

the age of 12. At 14 years of age, they had already marched to China to procure arms to carry on the battle for our freedom. Many of them survived and are still there with us. But now they are fighting a more desperate battle of how to sponsor the education of their numerous children so that their children would not experience what their father’s generation had suffered. Their stories you will discover, are worlds apart from that of our own. These fellow Nagas have the same faces as ours. They have also lived their lives in the same Nagaland as us. But our stories and their stories are from two different world’s altogether.

On top of this apathy, what else do we say of them? Yes we say: These Naga political groups (NPGs) have been” wandering in the wilderness without any sense of direction…with their vision… critically impaired by self seeking priorities and greed as the sole agenda in the hearts of all the NPGs.” We also accuse them of committing the Shillong Accord suicide and brand them as the Shillong Accordist. In my research work, I have interviewed many of these people from their camps. And what I have noticed many times inside their kitchens is that in most cases, there is not even a piece of dried meat hang-

ing above their hearths. They are simply surviving by eating dal and rice that are bought with the paltry money sent by villagers as annual taxes. In this context, I would like to ask some questions to our present so called intellectual critics who are today being portrayed as the hope and leaders of Nagaland’s tomorrow. The question is: Where were you sir, when some last pathetically starving national workers were finally cornered and taken to Shillong to sign the Shillong accord? As senior Indian Government officers, would your fellow Nagas have expected too much from you, if you had raised your objections to your guardian Government and resigned on the grounds that that government had gone too far in coercing some of your fellow Nagas to sign the Shillong Accord under such duress? Would such a protest resignation on your part be too great a sacrifice for you to make for your nation? After all, all along your careers, you too had always boasted about your glorious proud Naga ancestry and heritage?

Therefore, in my parting conclusion, both the wrath of God and man are upon us today because we have slept irresponsibly for all 67 years of our lives in total INDIFFERENCE. Kaka D Iralu

DAILY CROSS WORD

CROSSWORD # 2814

Answer Number # 2802

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1. Range 6. Chime 10. Cushions or mats 14. Clan emblem 15. Region 16. River of Spain 17. French farewell 18. Weight to be borne 19. Genuine 20. In a foolhardy manner 22. Docile 23. Genus of macaws 24. Andean animal 26. Layers 30. 58 in Roman numerals 32. Not tight 33. Reducing the strength 37. Twin sister of Ares 38. Compacted 39. Bright thought 40. Trace 42. Sound of contempt 43. Parisian subway 44. Bilingual 45. Earlier in time 47. Babe 48. Blue-green 49. Swear in 56. Murres 57. Spinning toys

58. Lubricated 59. Clenched hand 60. Applications 61. Flip over 62. Run away 63. Alluring 64. Squalid

DOWN 1. Sun 2. Cypher 3. Ear-related 4. Glance 5. Imitate 6. Light wood 7. God of love 8. Loyal (archaic) 9. Feminine 10. Being relevant to 11. Perpendicular to the keel 12. Literary genre 13. Only 21. Historic period 25. Get prone 26. Sleigh 27. Ripped 28. Agitate 29. Acculturate 30. Slowly, in music 31. Flower holder 33. Don

34. False god 35. Roman emperor 36. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 38. Waste 41. Prefix meaning “Modern” 42. Curved 44. Man’s best friend 45. Risk 46. Lift 47. Impudent girl 48. Hard volcanic rock 50. Schnozzola 51. Pinnacle 52. Fully developed 53. Away from the wind 54. Care for 55. Countercurrent

Ans to CrossWord 2813

AIDS (KpNP+). He recalls how Hokishe Chophy (DIS, DAPCU Zunheboto) and Naomi Semy, President NNP+ took hardships and efforts in shaping his life during the time when there was no such facilities as of todays.

Currently the KpNP+ runs Helpdesk (a Project of Vihaan Programme funded by the GFATM IV, RCC Phase II) with Alliance India and NNP+ as Principal Recipient and Sub Recipient respectively.

Though Fear of Stigma and Discrimination continue still to be the twin handicaps to all the work being done to halt the spread of HIV, the KpNP+ has been pushing and intensifying their efforts in the fight against the epidemic, The overall goal of Vihaan (Dawns’ first Light in Sanskrit) Programme is to improve the survival and quality of life of PLHIVs. As Sub Recipient of Vihaan Programme, NNP+ has 9 SSRs, out of which there are 3 CSCs run by KNP+ Kohima, Chavara Home Dimapur & NTDP+ Tuensang. The remaining 6 are Helpdesks run by MNP+ Mokokchung, KpNP+ Kiphire, PNP+ Phek, NZP+ Zunheboto, WNP+ Wokha and NPDP+ Peren.

Lithsa M&E O NNP+ Secretariat, Kohima

The price of being an Indian from NE Region

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llow us to dream the same dream of freedom that India won from the British Colonial rule on the eve of 14th August 1947. Inspire us to sing with love the same patriotic national song without the feeling of being unwanted and alienated from the rest of India. Let the same Tri-Color National Flag be our passion and adorn us without reservation for every deed of ours that brings laurel to the Nation. Let the message of Gandhi’s Peace fill and bloom the heart of every proud Indian.

Just as every individual tribal or non-tribal alike feel safe and secure in Arunachal Pradesh and NER we expect the same warmth and hospitality when we are in someone else’s land. Unlike north east, the national capital and many other metropolitan cities in mainland India is not a safe place for people from North East Region. We are discriminated and ill treated everywhere in public places, in the work place, by landlord, by shop keepers, educational institutes and even by the security personal and police. Our brothers and sisters are abused, humiliated, raped and murdered; Is this the price we have to pay for being an Indian from NER? In this part of the region, it is rare to hear tribal boys molest or rape non tribal girls. It doesn’t really bother us by the color of the skin, the looks or the language they speak etc. We don’t carry around that sense of eccentricity that gets pleasure by torturing others by mocking or making racial insults just because they happened to be from another racial group. That way everyone feels secure and roam freely in every nook and corner of the city and even to the farthest villages. However, wild and uncultured we may be, we have learned how to live and behave with people from other communities. Visitors from other parts of the country have always held in high esteem the hospitality and the sense of security in all states of the North East.

Unlike the illegal immigrants, who are a nuisance and are employed in all kinds of low-grade jobs, people from North East Region venture out to mainland India in pursue of higher studies, for better exposure and job opportunities. But as many cases in the recent past have shown, we are met with abhorrence, intolerance and treated as third class citizens. What did our brother Nido Tania do to pay with his dear life in Delhi? He only wanted some directions. He expected elhi to be a place where he can roam freely without fear and shame. Nido Tania is so dear to us, he is the beloved son of Arunachal, a brother, a friend and most of all he is someone’s sweet and precious child. The pain in our heart for the loss of our brother still remains.

The fear and anxiety for the safety and wellbeing of students from NER who lives in different cities in main land India has become more real than ever before.

Let it be known to the rest of India that North East Region (NER) is not only the home of the so called wild and primitive tribal’s, but also a home of many hundreds and thousands of mainland Indians who are engaged in thriving business professions, office-going, performing different types of professional and non professional jobs.

They are also engaged in all types of skilled work (for instance, a job like haircutting) which the tribal population does not care to learn. Above all uncountable numbers of young people from mainland India pursue their studies in schools and colleges in this region.

Mere assurance of safety and protection for NE people will not solve the problem unless the indifferent and prejudicial attitudes against the people are done away with.

This can materialize only with the enactment of a strong anti-racial law.

Having said this, can we also ask ourselves how we northeasterners treat other persons from neighbouring states or the Indian mainland who have come to our beautiful region for business, or official, or as construction labourers and/or other manual works. For instance, let us take our own state, Arunachal. Where do we stand on this issue?

Wherever we stand, the NE region has been highly regarded by many as a region where people are extremely hospitable, warm, kind, helpful and simple and straightforward.

We think, we must live up to the reputation that is the real Arunachal. Let good will and understanding for a stronger fraternity prevail among the different peoples. We should not give place to a few unscrupulous elements to poison the mosaic beauty of India’s own ‘Land of the Rising Sun’.

From concerned citizens Joram Rima Yab Kuli Nabum Tania D. Hriipuni Maheo S.Lohrii Pfoze (Ware House Staff) IGNOU Regional Centre Horn Bill complex, Naharlagun Arunachal Pradesh.

S. Lohrii (on behalf of the group)

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.

LOCAL Extortionist caught by Naharbari residents Policies to empower youth, promote sports The Morung Express

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The residents of Naharbari in Dimapur on Monday evening caught one extortionist while he was extorting money from the consumers in the locality. The accused Ngumuhe Angami, 35, son of Meuduhe Angami of Lengrijan Village is employed by one company contracted with the power department to take consumer survey.

According to the Naharbari Village Council, Ngumuhe Angami has been collecting from the residents for more than a week. "Though not authorised to collect the power bills he has been sneak-

ily collecting bills from the consumers only in the evening. Since the department has sensitized the GBs and the village councils about checking procedures of meter box and collection of power bills whereby the village authority has to notify before carrying out the said work, we got suspicious and tried to get hold of him. He was also carrying the accessories that is used by the power department to seal the meter boxes" said Naharbari Village Council Chairperson Tokheli Kikon.

Ngumuhe Angami has collected more than rupees 21,000 from around 30 households in the area.

What shocked the people is that he was illegally collecting money from the people with the help of his son who is hardly 12 years old. According to the residents one of his modus operandi was to disconnect the wire from the meter box inconspicuously and later accuse the consumer for the fault and collect money from them. "He made his son to look out for people while he was disconnecting the wire from the meter boxes," said the residents.

The Naharbari Village Council has handed over Ngumuhe Angami to the East Police Station. The council will also return the seized money to the residents.

PhEK, FEBRUARY 25 (DIPR): Under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India the Nehru Yuva Kendra Phek launched National Youth Policy 2014 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan at the DPDB hall, Phek on February 24 with Deepali Masirkar, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Phek and Tsuktimar, SDO (Civil) as Chief Guest and Chairman respectively.

In his keynote address Y. Laksman Singh, District Youth-Coordinator mentioned that the youth policy is a holistic vision for the youth of the country. The Policy will empower the youth to achieve their full potential and through them it will enable India find a rightful place in the community of Nations. All persons from 15-27 years which is 27.5% of the total population of the country will be benefited under the National Youth Policy. The policy

will have a crucial role in creating: creating a productive workforce, develop a strong and healthy lifestyle, instill social values, facilitate participation and civic engagement with the active participation in politics and Governance and Support youth at risk and equitable opportunity for all.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan is an attempt to promote sports by developing 6,500 sports complexes in every rural Blocks of the country, funds to provide for conducting competition at Block, District, State and National levels.

In her address to the youths, Deepali pointed out that India is going through a remarkable stage. Each one of us will get benefit out of the youth policy.

There is a clear cut budget for sports infrastructure and competitive items will be there at the Block, District, State and National levels. There will be self-de-

fense training for women.

The Nagaland youths are very talented in music and sport. Let us hope and pray that the policy will encourage our youth in all round development of their personality and promoting in social values.

Earlier, a youth rally was organized by NYK in Phek town where Longdiba L. Sangtam, EAC flagged off the rally with the officials of NYK. The youth club leaders, student leaders of Chakhesang Students Union, Mentor youth club leaders, NYCs and officials took part in the launching function.

Liasu Dukru, Accountant thanked all the officials and the youths for participating and joining in the launching function. She further sought the cooperation from the District Administration and all the stakeholders for successful implementation of the schemes in Phek district, Nagaland.

of believers who, after seeing many of our youth indulge in drugs and satanic worship, took up the task of being ‘watchmen’ for the society. The Watchmen Fellowship, with the mission to raise praying men and women in the community, the city, the state, to stand in the ‘gap’ and the goal to see the land transformed, is based on the Bible verse Ezekiel 22:30 – “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land...”

KohIMA, FEBRUARY 25 (DIPR): The Department of Science & Technology Nagaland, has been extending support and facilitating research scholars in their various project works concerning on subject of interests for the people of the State.

A seminar was organized on February 24 at the Conference Hall of Science & Technology where senior research fellow of the State, Thechano Merry highlighted on her research work focusing on the importance of medicinal plants. Thech-

ano Merry is working on the plant Pogostemon Amaranthoids that is believed to have medicinal values for diabetes. Talking about her research work, Thechano said that the main objective of her research was to understand the use of herbal medicines and also to study and understand the chemical component while also identifying the particular compound. She further said that her research work also focus to study the antimicrobial activity.

Senior scientific officer, Dr. Zavie highlighted

on the need for scientific study by identifying the plant and experimenting it scientifically. Pointing out North East as a bio-diversity, Dr. Zavie stressed on the need for converting the hot spot of that wealth to benefit the farmers.

Although there are many medicinal plants in Nagaland, yet nobody has done research scientifically to validate the claims, he observed. Many research scholars attended the seminar widening their knowledge through the interactive session.

KohIMA, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Nagaland State Headquarter Bharat Scouts & Guides and the Kohima District Bharat Scouts & Guides observed World Thinking Day with the rest of the World on February 22 at the State Headquarters Conference Hall, Bayavü Hills Kohima.

Khyomo Lotha ex MP State Chief Commissioner was the chief guest.

The programme was chaired by Achong Hq Commr (Guides), invocation prayer was pronounced

by Thepfusatuo District

Organizing Commissioner (Scouts) Kohima, significance of the day was delivered by Om Prakash Gupta Hq Commr (Cubs) and a special item were presented by St. Joseph School Guides Company Kohima.

He stressed upon the needs to think beyond our physical and personal securities, and urge the individuals to have a security with God who can provide us anything anytime anywhere.

He said that Bharat Scouts and Guides Association is the only movement

in India recognized by the World Organization of Scouts Movement (WOSM) and World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). He challenged the Scouts and Guides to think more than normal i.e., to think actively and innovatively so that they can bring about many positive changes in the society, state as well as the Country.

State Training Commissioner (Scouts) Albert R. Solo also spoke on the occasion and emphasize on the meaning of the World Thinking Day. Imlisunep

Scoutmaster Alpine Open Troop Kohima gave the Vote of Thanks to conclude the Programme.

Altogether 110 Scouts/ Guides, Rovers/Rangers, District Officials, Adult Leaders and State Headquarter Officials from Baptist Hr. Sec. School Kohima, Mezhür Hr. Sec. School Kohima, Christ King Hr. Sec. School Kohima, Coraggio School Kohima, St. Joseph School Kohima, Alpine Open Troop Kohima and Kigwema Baptist Ranger Team attended the programme.

District Health Society Phek conducts VHND

PhEK, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): District Health Society Phek conducted Village Health Nutrition Day (VHND) with medical camp, awareness programs on different health issues and immunization in the villages of Kizari, Kutisu and Tuzatsu.

The team comprised of Chief medical Officer Phek Dr. Kevichusa Medikhru, Dy. CMO Phek Dr. Ritu Thurr, District Program Officer Phek (NVBDCP) Dr. Neisakho along with the School Health Program (SHP)

Phek, Mobile Medical Unit (MMU), RNTCP and DAPCU Phek.

Altogether 289 patients were treated and given free medicines. Ante –Natal Check up (ANC) were done during the programme. Blood test for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and sputum test for TB was carried out during the camp.

A press note added that these villages are difficult to reach and accessible only in dry season with hardly motorable roads.

Science & Technology Department Watchmen Prayer Conference underway facilitates research scholars

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Watchmen Prayer Conference with the theme “Standing in the gap” is underway.

The three day Watchmen conference is based on the biblical verse, Is 62.6 – “I have set watchmen upon thy wall.” Pastor Jean Lim, Senior Minister, Semarak Revival Centre, Malaysia, and founder Glory Prayer Place, is the speaker for the event. The event is being held at IMC Hall, Dimapur.

The speaker dwelled on the power of the word of God and prayer. God is looking for intercessors and worshippers, Pastor Lim stated and added, “They that worship God must worship Him in truth and in Spirit.”

Also, highlighting the importance of faith, Pastor Lim extracted a passage from Hebrews 11:6 where it says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Stressing on the importance of listening to the word of God, Pastor Lim stated “Before you pray, you must believe that you will receive. You must have faith.

Faith comes by hearing the

word of God (Rom 10:17).”

Further seeking to highlight ‘godlessness’, Pastor Lim extracted passages from 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, where is it written, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” God is looking for his people who will humble themselves and pray; who will turn from their sins, Pastor Lim stated.

Speaking on ‘prayerlessness’, Pastor Lim stated, “If you don’t spend time in prayer, if you don’t spend time with the word of God, repent. A person who does not pray is in darkness because he is disconnected from God,” she stated and adds, “When you pray, you have light, because God is light, and you are connected to God in prayer.”

The Watchmen Fellowship is an association of believers from different denominations. It was started in July 6, 2013, at Burma Camp, by a handful

Scouts & Guides bring ‘World Thinking Day’ to Nagaland

Public SPace A need for rethinking in Nagaland Assembly

T

Jonas Yanthan

here is adequate fund for development of Nagaland and as much as necessary food for everyone’s human need though not enough for everyone’s greed. Technology improves by the minute to achieve this sufficiency and the Centre gives enough funds for developmental projects but the requisite to reach out to the targeted needy can be achieved only through good policies and accountable administration. This truth is known to everyone but in performance it seems to be an alien thought for the reason that in Nagaland there seems to be ‘no Ministers for Nagaland’ and correctly so the general public tend to ascribe to Ministers as Lotha minister, Sema minister, Chakhesang minister, Konyak minister etc and worse still ministers also tend to think and work as if they are ministers of their Districts, Constituencies or of their villages only.

Developments of the State, as a whole, are not seen because there seems to be no Ministers ‘for Nagaland’ except ‘of Nagaland’.

In addition to this is the lack of blue print State level

road-map of development Departments which gives rise to implementation of all projects in piece-meal.

The immediate effect of this is we find a Minister of one portfolio running to another Minister to request for a scheme or project and vice versa. As for the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the MLAs, with no portfolios, are seen running to all the Ministers to beg for various development projects and schemes for their constituencies. This should not be but is happening because of absence of common development policy for the State in the form of a comprehensive and inclusive time bound road-maps for various Departments.

In point of fact, there should be no question of requesting or begging from any Minister because in a welfare State it is the bounden constitutional job of all concern Ministers to see to it that he or she designs and works on commonly felt need for the whole State and failure to perform should be reprimanded or replaced, if need be, by the Leader of the House to create competitive attitude among the Ministers and elected

members on development issues. This is authentic Democracy and without this in place development processes in Nagaland will always remain chaotic resulting in acute disparities among the Districts and the end result is demand for separate State as being voiced by ENPO. And at this rate, sooner or later, autonomous District demand will erupt from various quarters if left unchecked.

In equal measure of vain phenomenon, we find elected members vying for portfolios like Medical, PHE, RD, PWD and Education Department etc not because one has the commitment or vision to bring in innovative ideas to improve the functioning of the department in the best interest of the people but merely because these departments have money in them. Aren’t these cheap mentalities? Indeed they are and the glaring effect is the fifty years of Statehood with no tangible common development of the State except development of few interest areas or Districts.

Who or which party is to be blamed for today’s underdevelopment of the State?

No party is to be blamed

but the leaders because yesterday’s congressmen are today’s NPF men and vice versa. Even otherwise, in Nagaland there is no real party politics except for very few because majorities are opportunists in mentality than hardcore.

The actual root cause of imbalanced development in the State is due to petty tribalism, jealousy, suspicion, nepotism, dishonesty, greed for money and lack of quality leadership with a vision for common good.

Poor leadership is exhibited time and again through their hypocrisy.

Leaders vehemently deliver speeches on equality, honesty, and concern for all the Tribes but in actual application we find completely opposite decisions and actions to what is proclaimed. The classical instance of duplicity can be exemplified in the oil issue. On one hand, leaders rightly stress that the right of ownership of land and resources in Nagaland, as per Article 371(A), rests with the people but on the other the Government had fixed the share of the owners without even caring to take into confidence the legitimate owners. This is

a blatant negation to our Customary Land Ownership Rights that not only demands outright condemnation but also raises questions as to whether DAN ministry is truly for the people or working for their vested interests.

The rethinking, therefore, that is paramount today in governance of the State is honesty and to envision development of common interests and not exclusive or ‘commission’ interests based schemes and projects.

SC Jamir ministry’s project of ‘Modern Traffic Signal System’ at Dimapur which was constructed despite pointing out that it is not only unsustainable but also the sacrifice of more pressing needs is now in total wreck and waste as was forewarned and the recent ideas like Railways and Airport in Kohima are unfortunately not immediate ‘common interest’ and will meet similar fate. What is urgently needed is to concentrate on good road connectivity of all the villages in the State along with permanent water supply and proper health care services at the grass-root areas.

The above off-track visioning of the government can best be summarized in

what the Governor of Nagaland, Dr. Ashwani Kumar in his address to the KSU conference at Lakhuti village, pertinently described that “now I understand, what is being talked about and decided in Delhi and Kohima are irrelevant for the people living in the villages”.

The observation is vividly a Gospel truth. Our elected members need to shift their attention from superstructure ideas and programmes churned out from their comfortable homes and office tables to that of projects that are village and grassroot based; a planning and infrastructure that are indispensable to base the people’s economic growth. And for this to happen in a revolutionary mode the State Assembly requires a Chief Minister who is tough in dealing with his MLAs and Ministers on development issues and one who is visionary, selfless, pragmatic, humble and one who is beyond his Tribe and District as well as critical of oneself.

The day Nagaland has this Chief Minister it will be the day Heaven come down to earth. Hopefully, the next CM is of this caliber and definitely it will be a benchmark for later leaders to emulate.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Dimapur

5

MEx FILE ENGOA meeting on Feb 27 DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): A meeting of the ENGOA executive has been convened on February 27 at DUDA Guest House, Kohima at 4.00 Pm. All Kohima based ENGOA officials are informed to attend the meeting positively.

Dimapur Press Club elects new team

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): A team of new office-bearers took over the management of the Dimapur Press Club (DPC) for the tenure 2014-16. The elections were held at a general body meeting on Tuesday, February 25 at Breeze Restaurant, Dimapur. The list of new office bearers are as follows: President-Moa Longkumer; Vice president-Akangjungla; General Secretary- Paudi Renta, Games & Sports Secretary-Imrong; Treasurer-Dilip Sharma; Finance Secretary- Temjen Anichar; Information & Publicity Secretary-Akangchila Longchar. Election commissioner, Dhiren, conducted the election process. The audit report for the previous tenure (2012-2014) was also presented and unanimously approved by the house.

DC Zbto informs

ZUNhEBoto, FEBRUARY 25 (DIPR): The 1st round of polling training for presiding officer and 1st polling officer in connection with the conduct of Parliament Election 2014 will be held at Town Hall Zunheboto on February 28 at 10:00 am. In view of this, Deputy Commissioner directs all Officers and Officials who performed Election Duty as Presiding Officer and 1st Polling Officers during the last Assembly Election 2013 under Zunheboto to attend the training positively.

RSU to inspect government Schools

KohIMA, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): Razeba Students’ Union (RSU) executives had a meeting on February 23 at the president’s resident and resolved to carry out inspection drive to all the government Schools within the Razeba jurisdiction. RSU in a press release stated that the Union delegates its power to all the affiliated units to exercise inspection drive within its own unit and report to RSU office once in a month.

The Union urges all the teachers to keep good noble beginning with their noble job and render sincere service towards building the future of the students. RSU further warns that if any teacher fails to discharge his/ her duty and found irregular will be questioned as the students’ future will not be compromised under any circumstances. Therefore, the Union directs all the erring teachers to be in respective stations and be sincere in their duties. The defaulters will be will be strongly dealt as per the Union’s meeting resolution.

Social work in Pfütsero town

PhEK, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Chakhesang Women Welfare Society in collaboration with the Public Health Education Department, Phek organized a mass gathering followed by mass social work on February 22 in Pfütsero town in view of National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness Week. The EAC of Pfütsero graced the occasion as the chief guest.

The program saw the gathering of the different schools, leaders of various capacities, organizations and government departments. Social work was conducted in all the 11 colonies of Pfütsero town in the earlier hours of the day which was followed by another social work which was done by the students of various educational institutions. The program saw a very successful outcome with sincere cooperation from the students, teachers and lecturers of the educational institutions and many other noble individuals.

Fire destroys house

PhEK, FEBRUARY 25 (DIPR): A fire broke out at Phek Basa village on February 24 at around 5:45 PM. One house was completely destroyed/gutted and another house was partially burnt. However there was no report of any human casualty. The villagers assisted in extinguishing the fire from further destruction. Dist. Administration & Red Cross Society Phek extended immediate relief in cash and material to the fire victims. Cause of fire was not known till the time of filling this report.

AR apprehend 3 cadres

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The 29 Assam Rifles have apprehended one NSCN (IM) and two NSCN (K) cadres in two separate operations. A press note from the PRO, Assam Rifles informed that one cadre was apprehended in the general Walford area found to be in possession of one 7.65 mm pistol along with magazine recovered from him. The person has been arrested as Lt Threchem Sangtam of the NSCK (IM). In a separate operation AR personnel apprehended two NSCN (K) cadres on February 23 in the general Golaghat police point area.

The note informed that the two cadres were in possession of one 9mm Beretta pistol along with magazine, seven live rounds 9mm and a Santro Xing. The apprehended have been identified as one Imti Ao and Mete Jamir and were handed over to East Police Station, Dimapur.

LAGC Sewak Road conducts social work

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Lotha Assembly of God Church, Sewak Road, gate II Dimapur successfully a conducted mass social work on February 22 on the public road measuring approximately 500 to 600 meters starting from Dobhinala auto parking to Sewak gate II. A press note from the Associate Pastor, Lotha A.G.Church Sewak Road Gate –II Dimapur informed that the road had been neglected for many days and was in a deplorable condition. The church board took the initiative to volunteer and repair the road, funded from its church treasury. Almost all the church members attended the event. It is reported that eight truckloads of sand stone bolters were purchased and one road roller engine and one JCB was hired for the work. The social work began with a prayer by Rev Moses Murry, Senior Pastor.

CGBU meeting held

DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 25 (MExN): The Chakroma Gaon Burah’s Union held its general meeting on February 22, wherein the new office bearers for the year 201416 were elected. The CGBU also passed a resolution supporting the ACAUT and its efforts “in striving for the unity of the Nagas.” The meeting further resolved that the Karbi Anglong border issues need to be settled with the knowledge and consent of the rightful traditional landowners and that “any settlement without doing so would be detrimental and counterproductive.”

The Morung Express is introducing “Public Space” as part of our intention to provide deliberate space for the opinions of the people to be expressed and heard through this newspaper. Nonetheless, The Morung Express points out that the opinions expressed in the contents published in the “Public Space” do not reflect the views and position of the newspaper or the editor.

6

IN-FOCUS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express WEDnEsDAy 26 FEbruAry 2014 volumE IX IssuE 54

Compassion as a Political Act

A

rchbishop Tutu remarks that a nation divided during a repressive regime does not emerge suddenly or spontaneously united when the time of repression is passed … neither can anyone have the power to say ‘Let bygones be bygones.’ After all, a commonly shared traumatic or violent experience indicates that the past, far from disappearing or being forgotten, is embarrassingly persistent and will return unless it has been addressed with adequately.

Absolutely Nagas need to address their legacy of conflict and create space where the hurts can be acknowledged so that the healing process can begin. As Nancy Good Sider put it, in order to forget one must first remember. It is imperative to address the legacy and scars of protracted conflict – and especially armed conflict in a meaningful and appropriate manner.

We have all contributed to this condition at various levels by complicity, inaction, apathy or by direct involvement.

In the course of protracted struggle people have come to experience both roles as a victim and offender or perpetrator. This raises how the questions of acknowledgement and forgiveness can be addressed in individual and collective terms. In situations of protracted conflict where an entire society has been affected, in order for an inclusive reconciliation to take place, having a sense of collective responsibility, collective acknowledgement and collective forgiveness have to be included.

Recognizing that one is capable of doing the same things that their opponents or oppressors have committed, it is important to first reconcile within oneself. Indeed forgiveness is not reasonable – it needs something more than reason to evoke it – it needs grace that comes from the Creator of all life.

Walter Brueggemann indicates that the compassion of Jesus is to be understood not simply as a personal emotional reaction, but as a public criticism in which he dares to act upon his concern against the entire numbness of his social context.

He continues to say that compassion constitutes a radical form of criticism, for it announces that the hurt is to be taken seriously, that the hurt is not to be accepted as normal and natural, but is an abnormal and unacceptable condition for humanness. The compassionate person also is able to have empathy and genuine feelings for the ‘other.’

For the sake of the future, a process must be initiated where hurts and wrongs committed by Naga people on Naga people in the name of the Naga people can be addressed in a meaningful and restorative way. This would be a significant step in an ongoing process to address political hurts within the Naga socio-political fiber so that collective healing can take place.

Similarly, economic justice and poverty has to be addressed.

Those who have wrongfully profited from the conflict need be held accountable, and the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ needs to be narrowed in order for the healthy growth of a just Naga society. Both victor’s justice and victims’ justice are rooted in the Naga struggle for self-determination and can emerge from the people with survivors’ justice that only liberates the both the oppressed and the oppressors. This is possible through engaging with sincerity, compassion and empathy.

lEfT wiNg |

Jaideep Sarin IANS

Punjab's favorite protest venue, the water tank!

P

rotests by various groups and organizations in Punjab are going sky high - literally, that is! People are now clambering up water tanks to hold protest.

In recent years, tower-type community water tanks have become the newest, and sometimes deadliest, protest points in the state - something akin to what actor Dharmendra did in the 1975 blockbuster movie "Sholay". Dharmendra, incidentally, hails from Punjab.

Be it unemployed teachers, women, employees or other protesting groups, community water tanks have become a rallying point for many of them in recent years. The protestors just climb up the water tanks, some of them as high as 100 feet, and perch themselves there for the protest. In recent months, protestors have climbed water tanks in Bathinda, Kapurthala and other places. "You can say that the inspiration for the water tank protests came from the Dharmendra act in `Sholay'. But the protests being carried out in Punjab are not acting but genuine ones for a valid cause. In certain cases, people have lost their lives while some have been injured," Swaranjit Kaur from Ludhiana, who participated in one such protest atop a tank in Kapurthala town in 2007, told IANS. In June 2010, two unemployed women teachers were seriously injured when they jumped from the top of a 90foot water tank near Bathinda town, 250 km from state capital Chandigarh.

Nearly 10 teachers, including women, had perched themselves atop the water tank and were threatening to immolate themselves if the state government did not agree to their demands, including giving them jobs.

A woman teacher, Kiranjit Kaur of Faridkot, had set herself on fire in Kapurthala town, 200 km from Chandigarh, in February 2010 after the state government failed to honour a promise to fulfil the demands of education guarantee scheme (EGS) teachers. She was one of the four protesting EGS women teachers who had climbed on the tower-type water tank at the civil hospital complex in Kapurthala. Having got 90 percent burns, she later succumbed to her injuries in hospital in Ludhiana.

A police official was accused by the protestors of instigating and challenging her to carry out the self-immolation threat.

Within seconds, Kaur sprinkled kerosene on herself and was engulfed in fire. Some of her fellow women teachers fainted on seeing her burn. Others could hardly do anything to save her.

"When the protestors climb on water tanks, we try all means to persuade them to come down. Some of them refuse to budge and keep sitting there for some days. The protests on water tanks can be dangerous and even fatal," police officer Gurdeep Singh told IANS. In September 2007, nine teachers in Punjab, including five women, did the water tank stunt in Kapurthala town and threatened to jump if their arrested colleagues were not released. Caught unawares, the authorities roped in a local unit of the army to spread nets under the tank to save the teachers if they actually jumped. The authorities had to order the release of 150 teachers arrested earlier. "We know that such protests on water tanks are dangerous. But the government does not seem to listen when the protests are carried out on the streets. This is our way of bringing our issues to the notice of the government," unemployed youth Balwinder Singh said.

While most protests are for a genuine cause like getting jobs, others do it even for trivial issues.

In March 2012, undertrial prisoner Lakhwinder Pal climbed up the water tank inside the Gurdaspur Central Jail to show his protest. He was upset at not being allowed to smoke and demanded a cigarette.

THE EDIT PAGE

C O M M E N T A R Y

Ellen Barry NYT

After Farmers Commit Suicide, Debts Fall on Families in India

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atha Reddy Musukula was making tea on a recent morning when she spotted the money lenders walking down the dirt path toward her house. They came in a phalanx of 15 men, by her estimate. She knew their faces, because they had walked down the path before.

After each visit, her husband, a farmer named Veera Reddy, sank deeper into silence, frozen by some terror he would not explain. Three times he cut his wrists. He tied a noose to a tree, relenting when the family surrounded him, weeping. In the end he waited until Ms. Musukula stepped out, and then he hanged himself from a pipe supporting their roof, leaving a careful list of each debt he owed to each money lender. She learned the full sum then: 400,000 rupees, or $6,430.

A current of dread runs through this farmland, where women in jewel-colored saris bend their backs over watery terraces of rice. In Andhra Pradesh, the southern state where Ms. Musukula lives, the suicide rate among farmers is nearly three times the national average; since 1995, the number of suicides by India’s farmers has passed 290,000, according to the national crime records bureau, though the statistics do not specify the reason for the act.

India’s small farmers, once the country’s economic backbone and most reliable vote bank, are increasingly being left behind. With global competition and rising costs cutting into their lean profits, their ranks are dwindling, as is their contribution to the gross domestic product. If rural voters once made their plight into front-page news around election time, this year the large parties are jockeying for the votes of the urban middle class, and the farmers’ voices are all but silent.

Even death is a stopgap solution, when farmers like Mr. Reddy take their own lives, their debts pass from husband to widow, from father to children. Ms. Musukula is now trying to scrape a living from the four acres that defeated her husband. Around her she sees a country transformed by economic growth, full of opportunities to break out of poverty, if only her son or daughter could grasp one.

But the trap that closed on her husband is tightening around her. Like nearly every one of her neighbors, she is locked into a bond with village money lenders — an intimate bond, and sometimes a menacing one. No sooner did they cut her husband’s body down than one of them was in her house, threatening to block the cremation unless she paid.

Her appeals to officials for help have been met with indifference. Lately, her fear has been getting the better of her.

“Sure, they will pay, otherwise it would be as if someone has broken into our house and stolen our money,” said Sudhakar Ravula, a slight man who lives in a village about two miles away. He introduces himself as a fisherman, but, under questioning, fishes out a pair of gold-rimmed reading glasses and unfolds a promissory note signed by Veera Reddy.

Four years ago, he said, he used borrowed money to lend Mr. Reddy $800, at an annual interest rate of 24 percent. Reminded of Mr. Reddy’s suicide, Mr. Ravula looked impatient. “I always feel sad for the man,” he said, “but committing suicide is not the right way to go about it.”

Stories of farmers committing suicide may prompt shudders in gatherings of sociologists, but the local officials have heard it all before. When market reforms were introduced in 1991, the state scaled down subsidies and import barriers fell, thrusting small farmers into an unforgiving global market.

Farmers took on new risks, switching to commercial crops and expensive, genetically modified seeds, paying more to educate their children in the hopes they would land government jobs.

They found themselves locked in a white-knuckle gamble, juggling ever-larger loans at exorbitant interest rates, always hoping a bumper harvest would allow them to clear their debts, so they could take out new ones. This pattern has left a trail of human wreckage.

On a recent afternoon, Ms. Musukula was one of 18 women waiting outside a pale-green government building. Nearly every woman carried a police report, identifying debt as the cause of a farmer’s sui-

T

he last session of the 15th Lok Sabha brings to an end one of the most disappointing periods in the short parliamentary history of India.

The numbers tell part of the story: this Lok Sabha saw over 800 hours, or almost 40 percent of its scheduled time lost to disruptions; the least number of bills were passed in a full term, and some important ones without any discussion; the budget was passed last year without discussing the expenditure allocation for ministries; over 40 percent of Question Hour was lost to disruptions, implying that ministers were not held accountable for their actions. The images include that of pepper spray, blackout of proceedings, and an important bill on creating a new state passed through a voice vote.

What is of even greater concern is that parliament continued to slide in the performance of some of its core roles. In a parliamentary democracy (and indeed, as per our constitution), the government is formed by the group of people (party or coalition of parties) who have the confidence of the majority of the members (in our case, the Lok Sabha).

This majority can be tested from time to time, by any group of MPs. Indeed, this is one of the fundamental roles of parliament - to confer legitimacy to the government. The last session of parliament saw an event when the legitimacy of the government was challenged but was not tested.

A number of MPs brought a notice for a no-confidence motion against the government. The rules of procedure

Anitha Amgoth, 27, grieved during her husband’s funeral, while her mother tried to comfort her. Ms. Amgoth’s husband, a cotton farmer, committed suicide after going into debt by about 90,000 rupees because of a failing crop. He also left behind two young boys. (Photo: NYT)

cide — a fact that should entitle them to a one-time payment of 150,000 rupees, to be split between the money lenders and the bereaved family, pledged by the state government around election time in 2004.

To receive it, they needed a designation from the district revenue officer. They had come to see one of the officer’s subordinates, a local revenue officer who might act as a gatekeeper.

They crowded into the back of his office and took a good look at him: P. Bhiksham, a middle-aged man in rimless glasses, a green towel tucked behind his back to soak up sweat. Mr. Bhiksham listened to two women recite the details of their husbands’ deaths, and then began to speak. The real problem, he said, was that their husbands drank too much.

“In India we have a lot of problems, and we have to live with them,” he replied. “You have problems, and you have to live with them. Drinking is a major problem for most of the families. One has to learn to run the family with whatever resources one has.”

He went on to say that he had never in his career encountered a genuine case of farmer suicide. “We all have freedom to choose our own livelihoods,” he said, primly, “and the land here is fertile.”

The women listened silently and filed out. They were disappointed by what Mr. Bhiksham had said, but not surprised. Many local officials blame farmers for mismanaging their finances.

“The family will always tell you it’s a farmer suicide,” said G. Satyanarayana, the chief inspector at the precinct that had registered Veera Reddy’s suicide in 2012. After glancing through the case file, he said Mr. Reddy had been undone by “his bad habits,” by which he meant drinking. The real problem, he said, was that local farmers were overspending on their children’s education.

“Some of the farmers are getting unreasonably aspirational,” he said. “These are small farmers from villages, but they don’t send their kids to government schools, but to private schools. They are going for false prestige, they don’t really take note of their own financial status. The mother, instead of going out to the fields at 5 a.m., she is waiting for the school bus at 9 a.m.”

As for money lenders harassing widows after a suicide, he said the police had never received any reports of this happening, so were powerless to take any action. Probably, he said, villagers do not go to police about money lenders because they are afraid they will need a loan in the future.

“Nobody approaches the police,” he said. “You always wish they would come and complain.”

Latha Musukula is beginning to be undone by fear. On the morning when the money lenders had come to her doorstep, she tried to do what her husband had always done — chitchat, put them off for a month or two. But then one of the money lenders described the house he planned to build on Ms. Musukula’s land, and addressed her as “whore.”

Ms. Musukula was so thrown off balance that she repeated the words the money lender asked her to say, promising to repay the whole amount by April.

She had no idea how she was going to do it.

Selling the farmland, as Mr. Ravula is urging, would leave the family without a source of income, and force her to return penniless to her brother’s household.

Because they cannot repay their loans, Ms. Musukula said, only one family in the village is willing to talk to them.

Fingers of fear climb up her neck as she walks to her cornfields in the morning. The corn is shriveling for lack of water, she can see that, and one of the farm’s two generators was just disconnected for nonpayment. When she went to the doctor the other day, she said, he “told me that my nerves may break soon.”

Something similar happened in the months before her husband killed himself, when he suddenly seemed frightened to leave the house. Always a drinker and an expansive host, he seemed to retreat into himself.

“He told me, ‘I am going to die, I don’t know how you are going to take care of the loans, because I am going to die,’ ” she recalled. A week before he killed himself, he said, “How will you manage things if I die?

Will you cry a lot? You’ll be harassed by everyone.”

We’ll scrape by, she told him then. A couple of good harvests and we can pay them all off.

These days it is she who disappears into silences, and her son and daughter who watch from a distance, uncertain of the exact amount that the family owes. Ms. Musukula tries to shield them from this information, telling them to focus on their studies, but Srilekha is 18, and she knows.

“Mommy hopes to delay the loans and repay what we make from the farm, but we suffer losses almost every year,” she said. “My brother and I wish that the money lenders would wait until we finish school and get a job, but it is not possible.”

She added: “The money lenders will not stop.

What has to happen, will happen.”

How to make our parliament more accountable M.R. Madhavan IANS

state that a minimum of 50 MPs are required to move a no-confidence motion -- this will ensure that frivolous attempts are thwarted.

Also, the no-confidence motion takes priority over all other business because the government's legitimacy has to be established before it proposes policies or undertakes any executive action. The Speaker counts the number of MPs to ensure that there are indeed at least 50 of them who want to move the action. Though the motion was sought to be moved in mid-December, the Speaker was unable to take the count for over three weeks of sittings, as the house was not in order and MPs were not in their seats.

Another important role of parliament is as a body that holds the government accountable for its actions.

This is done in three main ways: asking questions in the Question Hour, through parliamentary committees, and through debate on key issues on the floor of the house. On all three counts, there could have been a much better performance. Over 40 percent of the time of Question Hour was lost

to disruptions. Rajya Sabha experimented for one session with a change in the time of Question Hour to the afternoon but was not successful in reducing disruptions.

Parliamentary committees were also not very effective in bringing clarity and fixing accountability after allegations of wrongdoing -- we still do not have clarity on issues such as the 2G telecom spectrum allocation or the allocation of coal mining leases -- despite reports of the CAG pointing out lapses. As for deliberation in the house, one can count the few debates in which MPs brought out divergent perspectives and had a constructive debate.

Parliament is the only body that can make national laws. This parliament did pass some laws with far- reaching implications. These include the Right to Education Act, the new Companies Act, the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, amendments to the IPC and CrPC to protect women against sexual violence, the Pension Act, the Land Acquisition Act, the Food Safety Act, the Lokpal Bill, and the Whistleblower Act. However, several

wRiTE-wiNg

important bills were not passed and will either lapse or will be in the pending list of the next parliament.

These include the women's reservation bill, the mining bill, a set of bills related to higher education, another set related to corruption, the insurance bill, the forward contracts amendment bill, the micro-finance bill and the seeds bill.

Are there any lessons to be learnt and corrective action taken? Parliament must start reasserting its position as that of the body that holds the executive accountable, and not be subservient to the wishes of the executive.

Perhaps, the most important step that needs to be taken is to repeal the antidefection law. Though the original purpose of the law was to reduce the instability of governments, it has ended up being a tool for party bosses to determine the way MPs vote on each issue.

Thus, it has the perverse effect of stemming dissent and debate on key national issues. The government needs only to discuss issues with opposition leaders, and can avoid making a case to all MPs, and through them to the nation, for its legislative and policy agenda.

As we approach the elections for the next parliament, citizens and the media can ask prospective candidates on what they will do to strengthen the institution of parliament. After all, this is one of the key institutions that protects our freedoms and can enable us to achieve our aspirations. Asking the right questions and pushing for institutional reforms can help us move towards a more deliberative and constructive democracy.

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.

7

WEDNEsDAy

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

26 February 2014

PERSPECTIVE NEWS ANALYSIS, FEATURE AND DISCOURSE

The Newspaper with an Opinion The Morung Express

India fluent in the language of violence samir Nazareth

F

asia Times Online

reedom is a prerequisite of any democratic, secular and pluralistic society. Freedom has many connotations to it, including everything from the right to voice one's opinions to the right to ignore opinions and carry on unperturbed – all without fear.

There is also the freedom to access socially sanctioned systems to improve one's life. All these are enshrined in the rules and constitution of a society and country.

To make the most of these freedoms, without hindering others, opportunities are constantly being created. This process has manifold benefits, with just two being the improvement of the self and the creation of employment by those providing these opportunities.

Language as freedom and a tool of democracy I recently visited the New Delhi World Book Fair being held at Pragati Maidan. In one of the stalls there was a man selling a book on the English language.

On a white board he was detailing the many wonders of this book to a group of potential buyers. He was giving example of the simplified way to differentiate between tenses, which was something that the book dealt with. While explaining this he mentioned that English skills were key to careers.

Besides being viewed as the key to unlock one's future, there is little doubt that many see English as a language of economic and social progress.

Although the language is not endemic to this land, it is becoming part of its socio-economic and cultural ethos. Many would say that this language is part of a colonial hangover and prevents vernacular speakers from moving up, but English is creating a new level playing field by not only making its use a desired skill but also by opening avenues to newer thoughts to be read, argued, accepted and ignored.

A key aspect for democracy is the generation and dissemination of ideas. Acquisition and use of language hastens and strengthens the democratic process. Thus one could say for a democracy to flourish, there is need to learn more than one language so that the exchange of ideas is not hampered by a lack of comprehension.

Language therefore not only becomes the fertile soil on which democracy flourishes, it is also the tool of democracy. It is the tool of debate, argument, conversation, sharing, of spreading of views and ideas and most importantly of countering them.

Using other means that forces one's view down the throat of others is gaining currency because the language of force and violence, though not used by everyone, can be easily comprehended by all. One wonders how this can be justified in a country which achieved its freedom through non-violent means, and where people are taught from childhood the value of democracy, freedom and respect for other views.

It is in this context that one needs to look at recent shocking incidents that will have far reaching consequences for India as a secular, pluralistic, democratic country. The first being the withdrawal of Wendy Doniger's book The Hindus: An Alternative History, by Penguin, its publisher.

The second being a member of parliament bringing a knife into Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian parliament) and another using pepper spray on other members there. In both cases it was not language as commonly understood that made its presence felt, in the former, it is argued that the covert language of threat of violence lead to the withdrawal of the book and in the latter it was blatant thuggery that spoke loud and clear.

Workers of Anganwadi, or government-sponsored childcare and mother care, tussle with police who tried to detain them during a protest in Hyderabad, India on Monday, February 24, 2014. The workers were demanding better wages and retirement benefits. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

constantly being threatened. Being taken for granted has many aspects to it, it could range from the feeling of being disrespected to the need to rectify notions of history and to force and coerce assimilation.

Others assume that their identity is being lost, disrespected or subsumed. In the context of India, one could argue that pluralism gives birth to fragile sensibilities. People are quick to take umbrage and then resort to violence, which they deem to be a justified language of response.

It is in such an environment that books get banned. The banning of books is to assuage these feelings, which if left unattended can lead to violence committed by those who feel targeted by the book as a remedy to regain their "hurt pride" or sometimes to force a ban. The banning of books is based on assumptions of irrational emotions and the language used to communicate it - violence.

As these bans can only be decreed by the government the bans always have political connotations, which are understood as pleasing a particular community or person. The books that have been banned by the Indian government range in topics from religion to political and business icons. But it is not only the government that prevents ideas from being disseminated by the banning of books due to a suggestion of violence, universities have been forced to remove books from curriculum for similar reasons.

Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey, short-listed for the Booker prize, was removed from the English syllabus of Mumbai University after threats by Shiv Sena, Mumbai's very own right-wing Hindu fundamentalist group. Essays by A K Ramanujan were removed from the syllabus of Delhi University after identical threats were made by the the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the student wing of the right-wing Hindu political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Though we as a society have not yet reached that stage, it does bring to mind Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 and the "Sauberung" a literary cleansing of unGerman books in the Nazi years. There is much to be learnt from the German-Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine, Diversity, but not in thought who said "Wherever books are burned, human beIndia is a country where the cuisine and lan- ings are destined to be burned too." guage change every few hundred kilometers, where the major religions have many sects within them, Brute physical force as parliamentary language and where there are many different permutations The inability to use language to put forth a counter and combinations of social stratification. For a point and share ideas in society is mirrored in the Incountry that is as diverse as India is it should come dian parliament. For the last few years the violence that as a surprise that diverse thoughts are not accepted. has permeated into the hallowed portals of parliament There is a reason for this. is a reflection of the paucity of verbal and intellectual Being a pluralistic society does not naturally con- command in society to counter opposing view points. note an acceptance of different ideas. In India, with Members of parliament have shouted slogans, vandalpluralism comes an inherent feeling of insecurity ized their place of work and now brought a knife and within some sections of this country. used pepper spray in this edifice of democracy.

Some sections in India think that they have been Within the parliament there seems to be a sense taken for granted, while others assume that they are of desperation which is best served by violence. Vi-

R

ahim Ali’s son Saddiq is a brilliant student. A well- mannered lad, he made us all proud a few years ago, when he stood sixth in the Senior Secondary examination of our State. Currently pursuing his further studies in Delhi, he has two sisters - one elder to him - and the other younger.

Last week, Rahim Ali - who’s like my elder brother, gave me a distress call!

“Have you reached home from office?”

“Yes dada.”

“Good, I am coming over to your place right now with Saddiq.”

Sensing an urgency in his tone, I asked my wife to make two extra cups of tea.

“My son has applied for an education loan for his higher studies. He is refusing to take my money” disclosed an emotional father. “I have been saving for his higher studies since his childhood, and now he tells me he don’t want it!”

Meritorious Saddiq has clinched a seat in a premier institution of our country for his MBA. And now, he wants to take an education loan to pay for the same. But this has made his father uncomfortable.

“No, Abba, I have applied for the loan not because you can’t afford to pay for my education, but because I know I can repay it once I am out of the institution and armed with my MBA degree. And frankly speaking, this is what they do in West”, said a very composed and confident-looking Saddiq.

Although education loan is not a familiar term for most of us, many students and their parents are increasingly subscribing to it in India. In today’s world, higher education is not affordable any longer, especially if one aims for a premium institution or a foreign degree. To ease the burden, Govt had made education loans a priority lending. Repayment starts after a 'moratorium period' or 'repayment holiday', that is, one year after the end of one’s studies or six months after getting a job, whichever is earlier.

However, many banks relax this rule for meritorious

Financing Education Simplifying perSonal finance

Dipankar Jakharia

olence magnifies an issue vitiating the atmosphere to an extent where matters are put off to ensure the safety of members and to maintain some semblance of decorum of the house. The violence within this institution has increased by gradual degrees to culminate in the most recent mayhem.

In the last few years some of the incidents include members of parliament from the BJP bringing wads of currency for horse-trading, members shouting to drown out others, members running to the well of the house, members snatching papers from the speaker and from other members.

One of the reasons why these people get away with it is because they are not accountable for their actions and also because such acts are respected by many in Indian society who see violence as a viable, justifiable and proper response.

The rationale of violence as a language This form of language has less to do with putting forth a counter view and more to do with physically preventing something from happening. Violence, though anti-intellectual, is both visually and mentally effective. It imprints on the mind of everyone a desperation that results in the others being brutalized and victimized. It is the most cost-effective, fastest and complete way to quell dissent, prevent the formation and circulation of new ideas. This ultimately results in everybody falling in line.

The use of force as a language to communicate does not bode well for this country, because force implies segregating society in terms of the strong and weak, it suggests brute strength over knowledge and erudition and disrespect for those unable to match brute strength with brute strength. It implies a disrespect for the cerebral and an indication of the absence of it amongst the coercers.

More importantly it rejects pluralism as a frame work for society because the use of physical strength is about vanquishing and an indication of lack of patience to hear out the other side and respect another point of view to enable it to exist.

People understand that while ideas and views are not permanent and are generative, physical pain and death are permanent. It makes sense for people to forgo thought and the space for it than to find themselves in pain or dead. Interestingly the thought that violence will work is also generative and educative in the sense that more people will take to it when they see its efficacy, in some ways it is dishearteningly democratic in that anyone can employ it.

It is the adopting of this language of violence that prevents us from building a country where, as Rabindranath Tagore wrote: "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, By narrow domestic walls."

• • •

ed by colleges/universities approved by UGC/ AICTE/IMC/Govt. Etc Regular Degree/ Diploma Courses conducted by autonomous institutions like IIT, IIM etc Teacher training/ Nursing courses approved by Central government or the State Government Job oriented professional/ technical Graduation Degree courses/ Post Graduation Degree and Diploma courses like MCA, MBA, MS, etc offered by reputed universities in Foreign Nation.

Expenses considered for loan • Fees payable to college/hostel • Examination/Library/Laboratory fees • Purchase of Books/Equipment/Uniforms, Purchase of computers- essential for completion of the course • Caution Deposit/Building Fund/Refundable DepositTravel Expenses/Passage money for studies abroad • Any other expenses required to complete the course like study tours, project work etc.

In fect, in the interim budget for 2014-15 the Finance Minister announced a moratorium period for all the education loans that had been taken up to March 31, 2009, and outstanding as of March 31, 2013. He added that the government is set to take over the liability for outstanding interest as on Dec 31, 2013 but the borrower is required to pay the interest for the period after April 1, 2014.

With all this information, Rahimkai’s worries vanished within an hour. So much so, that he started praising his son’s move to apply for education loan.

“Abba, why don’t you and Amma go for a foreign trip with the money you had saved for my education? This will be a gift to me and my hard work” suggested a son.

students. Girls can seek a lower rate as students, because they are eligible for a 0.5 per cent concession.

Banks also have special schemes for economically weak and differently abled students.

Usually education loans have tenures of five to seven years. However, as per the guidelines, the tenure can be extended up to ten years for loans in the slab of Rs 7.5 lakh and 15 years above it. Before you apply your education loan, you must, however, know The writer is the Principal Financial Planner that loans are available for the following courses: at EconPenny. You can chat-twit-mail him at @ @d_jakharia | dipankar.

• Graduation, P.G. including regular technical and dipankar.jakharia | .com professional Degree/Diploma courses conduct- jakharia@

They say birds of a feather flock together. Each of us can be easily influenced by how much time we spend with our friends, peers and colleagues. It is usually more difficult to give time rather than donate cash or kind. When we give time to our children, our friends or studies than we make a difference in that person’s life and even our own.

Time Can Transform Lives Judy Dimhoikim, Head of Department of Education

M

ost fathers, if not all, when asked, ‘what grades their kids are in?’ have a fairly strong chance of getting it wrong, so much for “best dad in the world.” Statistics show that mothers fared relatively better off than fathers regarding their kid’s education. Probably biased but that is where the facts point to.

A teacher has many roles but if one were to single out the most important aspect, it would be- to transform lives, a rather daunting and challenging mission all at once. In school, the teacher’s task is made easier by the malleability and impressionable character of the child. Once the child graduates to higher classes, things could take a different turn- sometimes irreversibly for better or for worse. This crucial stage calls for a twin effort from both the teacher and the parents.

We live in a time when there are too many things that need to be done and too little time. With too many things literally screaming out for one’s attention, the important things are often drown out by the everyday din. Amidst all the chaos, parents should try and find the time to talk to their kids and ask them about their classes, curriculum, college, exams, and most importantly, their teachers. They might be hesitant at first but rest assured, they will eventually open up. Like teachers, parents play an equally vital role in the greater scheme of a child’s overall development.

Parent’s role cannot be only relegated to that of a financial provider; doling out huge sum of money for admissions, tuitions, stationeries and academic expenses they are much more than Automated Teller Machines. Just as everything worthwhile needs monitoring, so is your kid’s education. In fact, what else could be foremost than that. If it is not that important as one might suppose it to be, it defeats the very purpose of formal education.

The most valuable things in life are not things but people and relationships. Parents should spend more time in a healthy relationship with their kids, especially when they need it the most because it will go a long way in shaping their lives. Mothers ought to cut down their time following their favorite soaps and serials, at the same time, fathers should follow suit by reducing their time spent following matches and games as though their very life depended on it. For the really advanced parents, just as you ‘follow’ famous people on Twitter, do follow your kids too.

At first glance, this article runs the risk of being mistaken for better parenting tips. Parenting, still an uncharted territory for me; the less I talk about it, the less I could be wrong. At its very core, this article suggests a pressing concern on how to better transform lives. As a result, it creatively touches upon parenting skills, which though strictly academic in tone, is a very narrow aspect of parenting. It is not a reprehension of parents’ ‘parenting skills’. Teachers can best transform lives when parents throw their weight behind them, and play their part alongside the teachers.

Without that help, the attempt to affect lives is an uphill task at best, and a Sisyphean effort otherwise.

In his letter to his son’s teacher (Dear Teacher), Abraham Lincoln requests him to inculcate in his boy the qualities that he feels would be the best. His concern for his little fellow’s welfare is worth emulating in all its sincerity and spirit: “He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, and are not true…

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books. But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hillside.

In school, teach him it is far more honourable to fall than to cheat.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong. Teach him to be gentle with the gentle, and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the bandwagon. Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all that he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, If you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweeetness.

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidder, but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob and to stand if he thinks he is right.

Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage to be impatient; let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can. He is such a fine little fellow, my son!”

“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

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NATIONAL

Wednesday 26 February 2014

BJP ready to apologize for ‘mistakes’: Rajnath to Muslims

New Delhi, February 25 (Pti): Reaching out to Muslims ahead of Lok Sabha elections, BJP on Tuesday asked the community to give it a chance and not go by the “propaganda” spread by Congress while promising to stand for equality and apologize for any “mistake” or “shortcoming” in the past.

“Please note that whenever, wherever if there has been any mistake and shortcoming on our part, I assure you that we will apologise to you by bowing our heads,” said BJP Chief Rajnath Singh while addressing a gathering of Muslims here. Singh said BJP was not against Muslims and the community should not go by the propaganda against it. He asked them to vote for BJP this time for the sake of the nation.

“Try us once. We don’t come up to your expectations, don’t look at us ever again,” he said at the event “Modi for PM — Mission 272+ — role of Muslims” here.

The BJP chief asked the Muslim community not to vote for electing a government but for a strong nation where brotherhood and humanity shall prevail.

Good healthcare sign of a developed country: President

New Delhi, February 25 (iaNs): A healthcare system resting on the trinity of availability, quality and affordability is the sign of a developed country, President Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday.

“In India, extending the circumference of our country’s health coverage has been a long-drawn endeavour,” Mukherjee said at the foundation day celebrations of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) of the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here.

“In 2005, the National Rural Health Mission was started to take healthcare to the doorstep of the rural population through a network of sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres. Better infrastructure, trained manpower, effective drugs and modern equipments have improved service delivery. This mission has now been extended to the urban areas,” he said.

“A healthcare system resting on the essential trinity of availability, quality and affordability is a sine qua non of a developed country,” he said, but noted that in India, a world-class healthcare system eludes the common man.

“High medical expenses can cause a setback in the lives of poor people. Patients with economic difficulty should not stand denied of proper medical care. In this context, I want to underline the need for health insurance mechanism to work effectively to provide relief to people during medical emergencies,” he added.

The Morung Express

11 parties unite to counter Cong, BJP New Delhi, February 25 (Pti): Keeping the issue of prime ministerial candidate on the backburner, eleven parties from the Left and secular blocks on Tuesday declared that they will work together to present an alternative to the Congress and the BJP ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The 11-party combination also came out with a joint declaration which said “it is time for a change and to throw out the Congress from power… The BJP and the communal forces must be defeated and prevented from coming to power.”

Accusing Congress of have “a record of misrule, massive corruption, unprecedented price rise and creating glaring inequalities”, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said “we will work for the defeat of the Congress.”

On BJP, he said it was “no different from the Congress”. Their record for corruption in the Centre earlier and in states now was “as bad or worse than the Congress. On top of it, it poses a challenge to the very secular edifice of our state and society”. “It is a twin of Congress and the other side of the same coin,” he said.

Asked whether the combination would take Congress or BJP support if it failed to garner the 272seat mark needed to form government, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat, center, addresses a press conference attended by other Third Front party leaders in New Delhi, on Tuesday, February 25. The meeting was to chalk out a common strategy ahead of the general elections later this year. From left are seen, Bihar State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Janata Dal (Secular) party leader H.D. Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (United), a powerful group in eastern Bihar state, chief Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav. (AP Photo)

there was “no question, no chance” of taking support or supporting these two major parties. When a question was posed to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav about his support to Congress at “crucial” moments, he said “I have opposed Congress most of the times in Lok Sabha.”

He also said “these 11 parties may tomorrow become 15”, indicating that the combination may not require Congress support after elections. On the issue of prime ministerial candidate, the SP chief, Karat and Yadav said it would be decided only after the polls.

“Never ever in the past

have we fought on this issue …We have had Morarji Desai, V P Singh, H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral. All these names were decided unanimously after the elections,” asserted Yadav.

The meeting was also attended by Deve Gowda (JDS), veteran CPI leader A B Bardhan, M Thambidurai (AIADMK), T G Chandrachoodan (RSP), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), K C Tyagi (JD-U), S Sudhakara Reddy (CPI). However, representatives of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were conspicuous by their ab-

sence, though Karat said the chiefs of both these parties — Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik — had expressed support to the initiative.

To questions on seat sharing or alliances among these parties in the upcoming polls, Karat said, “Every party has strength in its own areas and states. We will pool our resources at the all-India level after the elections.” This does not necessarily mean that all these parties would enter into alliances or go for seat adjustments in all states for the upcoming general elections, he said.

New Delhi, February 25 (Pti): The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred the issue of legalising euthanasia in the country to a five-judge Constitution bench, saying there has been “inconsistent” opinion in its previous verdicts on withdrawing medical support to terminally ill patients. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said that it is extremely important to have a clear enunciation of law on this issue and referred the matter to a larger Constitution bench.

The court said that the Constitution bench will go into all aspects of the issue and take a final decision on framing guidelines. The Bench also comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and S K Singh passed the order on a PIL to allow a terminally ill person not to continue with artificial medical support. The Centre had vociferously opposed the plea terming it as “suicide” which could not be allowed in the country.

With Tuesday’s direction, the apex court’s earlier order, which had rejected

the plea for active euthanasia, will also be relooked into by the larger bench.

The PIL filed by NGO “Common Cause” had contended that when a medical expert opines that the person afflicted with terminal disease has reached a point of no return, then he should be given the right to refuse being put on life support system as otherwise it would only prolong his agony.

The petition was filed in 2008 when the apex court had issued notices to the Union Ministry of Health and Law and sought their

It is a positive development: NCP New Delhi, February 25 (Pti): NCP today hailed as a “positive development” the coming together of 11 Left and secular parties claiming to be an alternative and vowing to defeat both Congress and BJP. “We welcome the move. It is a positive development”, NCP spokesman DP Tripathi said when his reaction was sought on the meeting here of the leaders of JD(U), Samajwadi Party, AIADMK, JD(S),Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and four Left parties.

The 11-party combination also came out with a joint declaration which said “it is time for a change and to throw out Congress from power... BJP and the communal forces must be defeated and prevented from coming to power.” NCP had participated in the convention against communalism here organised by the Left parties in October last year that had started the process of coming together of these parties. It had, however, stayed away from an 11-party block formed in parliament subsequently.

Panic in Meerut with leopard on the prowl SC refers euthanasia plea to constitution bench

In this Sunday, February 23, 2014 photo, an Indian man moves out of the way of a leopard in the northern Indian city of Meerut, India. Forestry officials and police armed with tranquilizer darts searched for a leopard that injured six people in the northern Indian city, creating panic and driving people indoors, police said Tuesday. (AP Photo)

Meerut, February 25 (aP): Forestry officials and police armed with tranquilizer darts searched for a leopard that injured six people in a northern Indian city, creating panic and driving people indoors, police said Tuesday.

The leopard has wandered through a hospitalanda crowded market inMeerut city, setting off a minor stampede in which two more people were hurt, said police superintendent Abhiskek Singh. Authorities ordered schools and colleges closed on Monday and asked people to stay indoors as police teams scoured the city. Shopkeepers lowered their shutters and the city streets emptied out.

Soldiers also joined the hunt. Singh said the leopard was first spotted in the army hospital Sunday afternoon. “We cordoned off the area and waited. It emerged some hours later and jumped, injuring a police inspector,” he said. The animal leaped over the roofs of single-storied homes and disappeared.

Since then groups of wildlife officials wearing helmets and carrying tranquilizer guns and volunteers armed with sticks have been searching a wide swathe around the hospital. At one point, forestry officials closed in on the leopard in a warehouse, but it leaped through a concrete grill, breaking it and escaping.

“It’s a fully grown male ... a big animal with enormous strength, which is what has panicked residents,” Singh said. “We were afraid to go out of the house. There was a lot of panic and fear,” Pooja Mahajan, a homemaker, said Tuesday. “But no one has spotted the leopard since yesterday, so today things are back to normal.”

Singh said schools and colleges reopened Tuesday. Wildlife officials were on alert but it was likely the animal had fled to nearby forests, he said. Leopards are protected in India, though more are straying into cities and villages to search for food as their habitats shrink.

tension over the recent arrest and strip search of a female diplomat in New York suspected of visa fraud. On Wednesday, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) - which represents about 50 U.S. business groups - asked the USTR to designate India a Priority Foreign Country in its 2014 report.

“This designation appropriately would rank India among the very worst violators of intellectual property rights and establish a process leading to concrete solutions,” NAM said in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. The USTR is holding public hearings for its annual report due in April.

The report will provide details on nations denying protection of IP rights or

fair market access to U.S. firms.

India is widely perceived in Washington as a serial trade offender, with U.S. firms unhappy about imports of everything from shrimp to steel pipes they say threaten jobs, as well as a lack of fair access to the Indian market for its goods.

WTO CASES This month, Washington said it was filing its second case at the WTO over domestic content requirements in India’s solar programme, which aims to ease energy shortages in Asia’s third-largest economy. There are 14 past or current WTO cases between India and the United States, whose bilateral trade in goods measured $63.7 billion last year, not including the latest case.

a state of terminal illness or permanent vegetative state, are deprived of their right to refuse cruel and unwanted medical treatment, like feeding through hydration tubes, being kept on ventilator and other life supporting machines in order to artificially prolong their natural life span”.

The petitioner had contended that a person whose life was ebbing out should be allowed to die as the continuance of the life with the support system was an unnatural extension of the natural life span.

Italian marines will still be tried in India: Foreign ministry

New Delhi, February 25 (reuters): Two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen will still be tried in India, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, a day after the government dropped a plan to prosecute the men under a tough anti-piracy law. The decision underscored that the twoyear-old case that has frayed ties between the two countries was far from over -- despite Monday’s move to drop the more serious charges.

“They will still be tried in India, under Indian law,” foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told Reuters. “It is not a bilateral issue. It is about trying to ensure that those who are charged with crimes against Indian nationals will be held accountable under Indian law.” Charges have yet to

be filed in the case, not unusual in India’s notoriously slow legal system, which spurred Italy to approach the Supreme Court last month demanding a ruling for the marines to return home. Italy also recalled its ambassador to New Delhi last week in protest at the delays.

The sailors, part of a military security team protecting a privately owned cargo ship, say they mistook the fishermen for pirates and fired warning shots into the water during the incident in February 2012, off the coast of Kerala.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone do not admit to killing anyone. They are on bail, but cannot leave India. There is wide public support for the marines in Italy, while in India, protesters have marched through city streets to

demand harsh penalties.

Indians in Italy, and the Indian embassy, have received hundreds of threats demanding the return of the marines. Dozens have poured in by post and email in the last few weeks, the foreign ministry said.

The embassy says it found a bullet in its mailbox in recent days.

INVESTIGATION AGENCY Attorney General Ghoolam Vahanvati told the Supreme Court on Monday the prosecution would not proceed against the marines under the anti-piracy section of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts. He gave no reason. The two men can still be tried under India’s criminal laws, but the punishment in case of a conviction is ordinarily less stringent than under the piracy law.

India will still argue that the

India to block US trade probes, ready for fight at WTO

New Delhi, February 25 (reuters): India has decided to block investigations by the United States into its trade policies and patent laws, and prepare for a battle at the World Trade Organization (WTO), a move that could escalate already-strained tension between the two countries. New Delhi is furious about a threat of trade sanctions made by the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office over its protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), preference for domestic producers and non-trade barriers.

Ahead of a general election, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government does not want to be seen as bowing to U.S. pressure, amid lingering

response on the issue. The petitioner’s plea was earlier opposed by Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra who had submitted that euthanasia cannot be permitted in Indian society and it would be against the law and medical ethics.

He had said prayer made in the PIL was not tenable in law and it cannot be allowed through judicial exercise. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, had contended that those “at the end of their natural life span and likely to go into

India has since hardened its stance, instructing officials not to entertain any request from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) - a quasi-judicial federal agency - to examine its trade practices. India’s trade ministry has also “advised” U.S Deputy Trade Representative Wendy Cutler to put off a visit to India that had been scheduled for late March due to the parliamentary election due in April or May, a senior official told Reuters.

The official said India had asked for alternative dates for the visit, possibly after the elections, adding that the decision was not linked with the trade tension.

WORST OFFENDERS The USTR listed in a

February 12 report markets in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad as being among the worst offenders globally for the sale of pirated software and counterfeit goods. A visit by the USITC delegation to meet officials from the Indian commerce, industry, health, telecom and finance ministries has also been put on hold.

A USITC spokeswoman confirmed the delay, saying they were looking for “other windows” for a visit, but declined to comment on the reasons for the delay. Newly appointed Trade Secretary Rajeev Kher, who pushed India’s stand on food security issues at a WTO meeting in Bali, as chief WTO negotiator, has told his officials to tackle bilateral trade disputes

preferably through multilateral forums.

India has also urged President Barack Obama’s administration not to fall prey to special interest groups and consider trade issues in the context of the wider economic and strategic relationship between the two countries. Officials say any move towards putting India on a priority foreign countries list would hurt bilateral relations.

“There are clear stresses in the India-US trade, economic relations,” said another government official who, like others who spoke to Reuters, declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. “If it is a strategic relationship, they should be looking at the larger picture.”

National Investigation Agency, which handles cases related to national security, should investigate the fishermen’s deaths. Italy will likely ask for the agency to be taken off the case, according to a member or the attorney general’s team. The Supreme Court is due hold its next hearing on the matter in March.

Italy’s new Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, made it clear on Monday that the issue remained a priority, promising the Italian Senate his “personal effort” in the “absurd and infuriating affair”.

The shooting was one of the most high-profile maritime incidents in recent years in India. It highlighted the loosely regulated, and growing, practice of placing private and military armed guards on ships as protection against pirates.

Nitish Kumar conspired to split RJD: Lalu Prasad

PatNa, February 25 (iaNs): Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Tuesday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had conspired to split his party to save his government, which is in a minority. After 16 of the 22 RJD legislators attended a meeting of its legislature party here Tuesday afternoon at the official residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad announced that he would expose the conspiracy to split his party by Nitish Kumar.

According to RJD leaders close to Lalu Prasad, four rebel legislators did not attend the legislature party meeting and two failed to turn up as they were in their constituencies.

Lalu Prasad alongwith legislators took to the streets after the legislature party meeting to protest the alleged role of Bihar assembly Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary in the bid to split the RJD. He will also stage a sit-in at Raj Bhavan.

A day after reports of a split in the RJD in Bihar, Lalu Prasad, who arrived here from Delhi, accused Nitish Kumar of offering lucrative posts to his party legislators to create fissures. “Nitish Kumar is eyeing RJD legislators and offering them lucrative posts to split the party,” Lalu Prasad told media persons.

He also accused the speaker of being involved in the conspiracy to split the RJD. However, the RJD chief claimed that nine of his 13 legislators had returned to the party fold and denied any split. In events that unfolded Monday, the RJD looked headed for a split after 13 legislators said they were no longer with the party.

InternatIonal

the Morung express

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Dimapur

9

Ukraine: No new government before Thursday

KIEV, FEbruary 25 (aP): The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday delayed the formation of a new government, reflecting political tensions and economic challenges following the ouster of the Russia-backed president.

Parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, who was named Ukraine’s interim leader after President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital, said that a new government should be in place

by Thursday, instead of Tuesday, as he had earlier indicated. Turchinov is now nominally in charge of this strategic country of 46 million whose ailing economy faces the risk of default and whose loyalties are sharply torn between Europe and longtime ruler Russia.

Law enforcement agencies have issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovych over the killing of 82 people, mainly protesters — the bloodiest violence in Ukraine’s post-Soviet history — that precipitated him fleeing the capital on Friday after signing a deal with opposition leaders to end months of violent clashes between protesters and police.

For months, thousands of people have been protesting against Yanukovych’s decision to ditch an agreement for closer ties

An anti-Yanukovych protester cries near a memorial for the people killed in clashes with the police at Kiev’s Independence Square, the epicenter of the country’s current unrest, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday delayed the formation of a new government, reflecting political tensions and economic challenges following the ouster of the Russia-backed president. Parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, who was named Ukraine’s interim leader after President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital, said that a new government should be in place by Thursday, instead of Tuesday, as he had earlier indicated. (AP Photo

with the European Union and turn to Russia instead.

The parliament sacked some of Yanukovych’s lieutenants and named their replacement, but it has yet to appoint the new premier and fill all remaining government posts. Yanukovych’s whereabouts

are unknown. He was last reportedly seen in the Crimea, a pro-Russia area.

The European Union’s top foreign policy official urged Ukraine’s new government to work out a reform program so that the West could consider financial aid to the country’s bat-

tered economy.

Catherine Ashton spoke on Tuesday after meeting with the leaders of Ukraine’s interim authorities formed after President Viktor Yanukvoych fled the capital.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a top figure in the protests, suggested that Yanuk-

voych should be tried in the Hague, Netherlands.

Protesters, meanwhile, removed a Soviet star from the top of the Ukrainian parliament building, the Verkhovna Rada. “The star on top of the Verkhovna Rada is no longer there,” said Oleh Tyahnybok, head

WashIngton, FEbruary 25 (Ians): Your tummy’s girth could indicate health risks, courtesy a new method developed by scientists to quantify the risk specifically associated with abdominal obesity.

In 2012, Nir Krakauer, an assistant professor of civil engineering in City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering, and his father, Jesse Krakauer, MD, developed a new method to quantify the risk specifically associated with abdominal obesity.

A follow-up study, published Feb 20 by the online journal PLOS ONE, supports their contention that the technique, known as A Body Shape Index (ABSI) is a more effective predictor of mortality than body mass index, the most common measure used to define obesity. The results tracked closely with the earlier study, which used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted in the US between 1999 and 2004.

This provides stronger evidence that ABSI is a valid indicator of the risk of premature death across different populations. Further, they showed that ABSI outperformed commonly used measures of abdominal obesity, including waist circumference, waist-hip and height ratio. Also, because the data came from two surveys seven years apart, the researchers were able to assess the effect of change in ABSI on mortality.

They found an increase in ABSI correlated with increased risk of death, and that the more recent ABSI measurement was a more reliable predictor. Noting this, the researchers contend that more investigation is warranted into whether lifestyle or other interventions could reduce ABSI and help people live longer.

rejected a call by U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes committed during the country’s civil war on Tuesday, saying it reflects a “preconceived, politicized and prejudicial agenda” against the island nation.

Pillay’s recommendation “gives scant or no regard to the domestic process” in Sri Lanka, the government’s statement said in response to a draft report that precedes the release next month of a U.N. Human Rights Council review of Sri Lanka’s progress in investigating alleged war crimes.

Pillay’s draft report, posted on the website of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, comes as Sri Lanka is facing mounting international criticism for failing to investigate allegations of war crimes.

It recommended an “independent, credible crimi-

international assistance, into all alleged violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including recently discovered mass graves. Pillay has also suggested a truth-seeking process be established, more steps taken to demilitarize the former war zone and that perpetrators of attacks on minorities, media and human rights defenders be arrested and punished.

However, the Sri Lankan government categorically rejected the conclusions and recommendations, saying Pillay’s report is biased and “tantamount to an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”

The report also came as United States is preparing to sponsor a third resolution at the UNHCR over Sri Lanka’s failure to properly investigate alleged atrocities and war crimes committed during the civil war against minority Tamil rebels. The

Lanka to conduct its own investigation into war crimes allegations against both government troops and the separatist Tamil rebels.

Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, after the government troops crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels who fought for a separate state for the ethnic minority Tamils in the island north and east.

While Sri Lanka has enjoyed relative peace since then, it hasn’t satisfied concerns, principally from Western nations, over the fate of tens thousands of Tamil civilians in the final months of the war in 2009, when government forces were closing in on cornered Tamil Tiger rebels.

A U.N. report previously said as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians died, mostly in government attacks, but Sri Lanka denies such a high toll and has repeatedly denied it deliberately targeted civilians.

of the nationalist Svoboda party, which has been a strong force in the protest movement.

Meanwhile, a campaign for May 25 presidential elections was launched Tuesday, with Yanukovych’s archrival former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko widely seen as a top contender for the post.

She was freed from prison on Saturday after spending 2 ½ years there. Her lawyer said, however, that she hasn’t yet declared whether to run.

Turchinov moved quickly to open a dialogue with the West, saying at a meeting with Ashton on Monday that the course toward closer integration with Europe and financial assistance from the EU were “key factors of stable and democratic development of Ukraine.”

Turchinov told Ashton on Monday that Ukraine and the EU should immediately revisit the closer ties that Yanukovych abandoned in November in favor of a $15 billion bailout loan from Russia that set off a wave of protests. Within weeks, the protests expanded to include outrage over corruption and human rights abuses, leading to calls for Yanukovych’s resignation.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has strongly condemned the

‘Tummy fat could Sri Lanka rejects probe call by UN rights chief FEbru- nal and forensic” investi- U.S. has successfully carried For two years after the signal health risks’ CoLoMbo, ary 25 (aP): Sri Lanka gation be conducted, with two resolutions urging Sri war, Sri Lanka’s govern-

Divided Thailand faces warnings of civil war

bangKoK, FEbruary 25 (aFP): Thailand risks sliding into civil war after a wave of political violence that has claimed 21 lives including several children, top security and army officials warned Tuesday.

Near-daily gun and grenade attacks in protest-hit Bangkok have raised concerns that a nearly fourmonth-old political crisis is entering a dangerous new phase with both sides refusing to back down.

More than 700 people have been wounded since demonstrators took to the streets for rolling rallies aimed at ousting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and ending the political dominance of her billionaire family. The head of Thailand’s equivalent of the FBI warned Tuesday that the situation may “escalate into civil war”. Department of Special Investigation chief Tarit Pengdith urged “restraint and patience” on both sides of the political divide, during a televised address by officials handling the security response to the crisis.

His comments echoed a similar warning from the head of the coup-prone army. “Absolutely, there will be civil war if all sides do not respect rules,” General Prayut Chan-O-Cha wrote in an SMS to AFP. “The military will do everything for the country and the peo-

An anti-government protester raises his clenched fists as he listens to a speech by antigovernment protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban in Bangkok,on February 20. (AP Photo)

ple... not for a particular side,” he added.

Protest and government leaders bear “responsibility for the losses”, Prayut wrote, a day after warning in a rare televised speech that the country risks “collapse” unless it pulls back from the brink. Government supporters have accused opposition demonstrators of trying to incite the military to seize power, in a country which has seen 18 successful or attempted coups since 1932, but so far the army has remained largely above the fray.

Thailand has been bitterly divided since a bloodless coup by the military in 2006 ousted Yingluck’s elder brother, Thaksin Shi-

nawatra, as prime minister, unleashing years of political instability. The latest unrest is the deadliest since more than 90 people died during protests by pro-Thaksin “Red Shirts” in 2010 that sparked street clashes and a bloody military crackdown.

Concerns are mounting that the Red Shirts could return to the streets of Bangkok to defend the government, bringing the risk of clashes between rival protesters. Gunfire rang out early Tuesday near a rally camp in a Bangkok park occupied by demonstrators.

Two people were slightly wounded, officials said. A rally spokesman said that gunmen had attacked the

camp but it was not possible to verify his account.

Reds to mobilise The Red Shirts, mainly drawn from the rural north and northeastern provinces, have held back from demonstrations in the capital since November when several people died after clashes broke out near one of their rallies at a stadium in Bangkok. They have stepped up their rhetoric in recent days as Yingluck comes under growing pressure.

“We must be ready to come to Bangkok within 24 hours for one purpose... to protect democracy,” senior Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar said at a press confer-

ence Tuesday. The Reds will stage rallies over the coming weekends in the northeast as a show of strength, he added. Yingluck has been summoned by an anti-corruption panel to hear neglect of duty charges on Thursday that could lead to her removal from office, although it is unclear if she will personally attend the hearing.

The opposition says the Shinawatra family and its allies, who have won every election for more than a decade, have fostered widespread corruption and used taxpayers’ money to buy the loyalty of rural voters. The demonstrators accuse Thaksin of running the country by proxy while living in selfexile to avoid jail for a corruption conviction. Protest leaders want to install an unelected “people’s council” to reform the country before new elections are held in around a year to 18 months.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for a series of violent incidents, sometimes involving shadowy gunmen armed with semiautomatic weapons. The authorities and the protesters blame each other for the attacks. A four-year-old boy and his sister, 6, were killed Sunday by a grenade at a protest site in an upscale Bangkok shopping district, a day after a five-year-old girl was shot dead at a rally in eastern Thailand.

ment insisted that not a single civilian was killed. But later in 2011 it acknowledged some civilian deaths and announced a census of the war dead but its results were vague.

Government troops were accused of deliberately shelling civilians, hospitals and blocking food and medical aid to hundreds of thousands of people boxed inside a tiny strip of land as the rebels mounted their last stand.

The rebels were accused of holding civilians as human shields, killing those who escaped their control and recruiting child soldiers.

new authorities, saying Monday they came to power as a result of an “armed mutiny” and their legitimacy is causing “big doubts.” ‘’If you consider Kalashnikovtoting people in black masks who are roaming Kiev to be the government, then it will be hard for us to work with that government,” Medvedev said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the West for turning a blind eye to what Moscow described as the opposition reneging on an agreement signed Friday to form a unity government and aiming to “suppress dissent in various regions of Ukraine with dictatorial and, sometimes, even terrorist methods.”

Although Russia has questioned the interim authorities’ legitimacy, European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly referred to Turchinov as the “interim president.” NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, Gen. Philip Breedlove, discussed Ukraine with Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, on Monday and they agreed to keep each other informed about developments in the country.

Tensions, meanwhile, have been mounting in Crimea in southern Ukraine.

Russia maintains a large naval base in Sevastopol that

has strained relations between the countries for two decades. Pro-Russian protesters gathered in front of city hall in the port of Sevastopol on Monday chanting “Russia! Russia!”

The head of the city administration in Sevastopol quit Monday amid the turmoil, and protesters replaced a Ukrainian flag near the city hall building with a Russian flag. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position on the turmoil in Ukraine will be crucial to the future of Crimea and Ukraine. In recent days, Putin has spoken to President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders to discuss the Ukrainian crisis.

On Tuesday, Putin summoned top security officials to discuss the situation in Ukraine, but no details of the meeting were released by the Kremlin.

The current protest movement in Ukraine has been in large part a fight for the country’s economic future.

Ukraine has a large potential consumer market, an educated workforce, a significant industrial base and good natural resources, in particular rich farmland. Yet its economy is in tatters due to corruption, bad government and short-sighted reliance on cheap gas from Russia.

CIHSR announces FACIAL AESTHETICS CAMP with Expert from ALLERGAN,Bangalore DATE : 11th MARCH 2014 TIME : 9AM onwards

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For booking please contact : 03862- 242555/242530/531/532/533 GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER OFFICE PWD (NATIONAL HIGHWAYS) NAGALAND: KOHIMA

NO. CE/NH/NIT/2013-14/

SHORT TENDER NOTICE

Dated Kohima the 25th Feb 2014.

(National competitive Bidding through e-Tendering mode only)

The Chief Engineer, PWD (NH) Nagaland, Kohima on behalf of the Governor of Nagaland, invites bids for the consultancy services for the works detailed as below from the empanelled consultants of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRT&H), New Delhi: Sl. Bid Security in Period of Name of Work No. Rs. In Lakhs Completion 1 2 3 4 1. Consultancy services for detailed feasibility study, framing up of proposals and 2.00 3 (three preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for extension of Maram-Peren months) road to NH-39 in Dimapur (2-Lane NH standard road) in the State of Nagaland The detailed tender document can be viewed/downloaded from the website www.Nagalandtenders.gov.in from 25.2.2014 to 04.3.2014 (upto 1700 Hrs). The last date & Time for On-line submission of the bidding document is 4.3.2014 upto 1700Hrs (IST).

Amendments/Corrigendum, if any will be hosted on the above website.

Other details can be viewed from bidding document.

Sd/Chief Engineer PWD (NH) Nagaland: Kohima.

TRINITY THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE (Affiliated to the Senate of Serampore) Sponsored by Sumi Baptist Convention

BD Admission process Open for 2014-2015 1. BD : Eligibility

: Graduate of any recognized university Or B.Th. upgraders 2. BD Orientation : Eligibility completed +2 and 18 Years of Age (1 year qualifying +4 years BD course)

Interested candidates may contact:

Admission Office, Trinity Theological College, Post Box: 168, Thahekhu: Dimapur.

Phone: 03862-245386/245215 Office timings: Monday to Friday, 09:00 AM – 03:30 PM Or Download admission forms from ttc.edu.org

Request for Expression of Interest CIHSR invites expression of interest from reputed building contractors who have completed at least one single project of value of 10 crores in 18 months for bidding for the contract to construct proposed Regional Institute of Paramedical Sciences at Dimapur (RIPMS), Nagaland.

Format for submitting details for prequalification may be obtained from the Directors office - CIHSR or email directorcihsr@gmail. com before 8th March 2014(Sundays holiday) Contact no 03862-242555/531/532/533

10

Dimapur

SPORTS

Wednesday 26 February 2014

The Morung Express

SL beat Pakistan by 12 runs in Asia Cup

NEW dELHI, FEBRUARY 25 (TNN): Spirited performances by Lahiru Thirimanne (102) and Lasith Malinga (5/52) helped Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the first match of the Asia Cup in Fatullah. Chasing a 297-run target, Pakistan seemed to lose the plot right at end at Sri Lanka bounced back with quick wickets to choke them in the opener.

Pakistan were given some respite by skipper Misbah-ul-Haq when he slammed a gritty fifty; however, he fell victim to Malinga soon after. Misbah, who reached his half-century in 62 balls with the help of 4 boundaries and a single six, also put up a steady 121-run stand with Umar Akmal. Akmal (74) too reached his 18th ODI halfcentury in the 41st over to take the partnership pass 100 runs before being dismissed by pacer Suranga Lakmal.

Misbah and Akmal helped revive Pakistan's run chase after they got off to a bad start as they

lost their top order cheaply against Sri Lanka. The wickets started falling when Lakmal gave Sri Lanka the first breakthrough when he dismissed opener Sharjeel Khan (26).

Sharjeel was caught comfortably at mid-on by skipper Angelo Mathews after the Pakistan opener mis-timed a short of length delivery. Pakistan then tried to get its run chase back on track courtesy a steady stand between Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez when the duo stitched a crucial 49run partnership for the second wicket.

However, Chaturanga De Silva and Mathews struck in consecutive overs to send Shehzad (28) and Hafeez (18) back to the pavilion. Spinner Sachithra Senanayake then joined the wicket taking party when he scalped Sohaib Maqsood (17) by getting him caught at deep mid-wicket.

Earlier, opener Lahiru Thirimanne notched up his second ODI hundred to power Sri Lanka to a chal-

lenging 296 for six against Pakistan. Thirimanne hit 11 fours and a six in his 110-ball 102-run innings and starred in a 161-run

stand with Kumar Sangakkara (67) for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a huge score at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

(56) picked up two wickets each, while Saeed Ajmal (1/50) took one.

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka made a watchful start before opener Kusal Perera (14) edged an Umar Gul delivery straight to Umar Akmal behind the stumps in the eighth over to slip to 28 for one. However, Thirimanne continued his good run and notched up his fifty off 56 balls in the 20th over, his first half-century since last July. He and firstdown batsman Sangakkara ensured Sri Lanka suffer no more damage as the two left-handed batsmen amassed runs at good pace and took Sri Lanka to the 100-mark in the 20th over.

The duo then changed gears, piling up 68 runs in the next 10 overs. Sangakkara, who has been in redhot form, brought up his 84th fifty in as many balls in the 27th over when he blasted Mohammad Hafeez for a boundary through the midwicket area. In the 31st over, Thirimanne picked up Hafeez for special treatment as he sent him over

deep midwicket to bring up the first six of the match and move into the 90s.

However, Pakistan came back into the match with Gul dismissing Sangakkara in the 32nd over when his miscued pull landed in the hands of Ahmed Shehzad. Thirimanne brought up his hundred with a cover drive off Gul, but the Lankan opener could not stay longer as off-spinner Ajmal disturbed his off stump in the 36th over. Skipper Matthews, who had come to bat after Sangakkara's dismissal, plundered a four and six in consecutive balls off Ajmal in the 38th over. But Sri Lanka suffered another blow in the next over when Shahid Afridi deceived Mahela Jayawardene and induced a thick edge from his bat which disturbed the offstump. Afridi then picked up the wicket of Thisara Perera in the 43rd over when the spinner had him caught at deep midwicket as Sri Lanka slipped to 245 for five.

Grand Prix weekend."

Wolff, who raced for seven years in the German Touring Car (DTM) championship, took part in an official Formula One test for Williams last year and has conducted straight line aerodynamic tests. She has little chance of actually racing, with 21-year-old Brazilian Felipe Nasr the team's official test and reserve driver.

Brazil's Felipe Massa and Finland's Valtteri Bottas are the two main drivers for the team this season.

Williams' chief technical officer Pat Symonds said she had "demonstrated a natural talent for developing a car and providing strong feedback". The last woman to take part in any stage of a grand prix weekend was Italian Giovanna Amati, who tried and failed to qualify with Brabham in 1992.

However women are involved at all levels in the paddock, from mechanics and engineers to team boss.

Monisha Kaltenborn is the principal of Sauber while Claire Williams is deputy principal at the team founded by her father Frank. Sauber this month appointed 25-year-old Swiss Simona de Silvestro, who has competed for four years in the US-based IndyCar series, as an affiliated driver with the aim of her racing in 2015.

NEW ORLEANS, FEBRUARY 25 (AP): The Los Angeles Clippers extended their impressive run of form with a 123-110 win at New Orleans on Monday, maintaining a threegame lead atop the NBA Pacific Division, thanks chiefly to Jamal Crawford's 7 3-pointers. The Clippers retained the three-game buffer ahead of Golden State, which put in a strong second-half defensive performance to win at Detroit, while the day's other key game saw Dallas edge New York when Dirk Nowitzki's buzzer-beater bounced off the rim then fell in.

Los Angeles's Crawford had 24 points and picked up where he left off in Oklahoma City the previous day, when he made five 3-pointers and finished with 36 points in the impressive victory.

Chris Paul had 19 points and 13 assists for the Clippers in his latest return to New Orleans, and all five L.A. starters and two reserves scored in double figures. Anthony Davis had 26 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans.

Golden State beat Detroit for the sixth-straight time, winning 104-96.

Stephen Curry had 19 Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) dunks the ball over New Orleans Pelicans's points, nine assists and Eric Gordon (10), Greg Stiemsma (34), Al-Farouq Aminu (0) and Anthony Davis (23) in the eight rebounds, while first half of an NBA basketball in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 24. (AP Photo)

Klay Thompson scored 19 points for the Warriors, who were again without an ill David Lee but welcomed back Andrew Bogut from a shoulder injury.

Greg Monroe had 23 points for the Pistons, who were held to only 33 points in the second half after 63 in the first.

Golden State's reserves outscored Detroit's 42-15.

Dallas took a 110-108 win at New York, as Nowitzki's 19-foot jumper hit the backboard, then the front of the rim, bounced up and then fell in as time expired.

Vince Carter scored 23 points and Monta Ellis had 22 for the Mavericks, who blew an eight-point lead in the final 90 seconds but still escaped with a victory.

Carmelo Anthony had 44 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost six of seven and are a season-worst 15 games below .500.

Milwaukee had seven players in double figures — led by O.J. Mayo's seven 3-pointers and 25 points — in beating Philadelphia 130-110 and sending the 76ers to their 11th straight loss. Utah ended a run of six-successive defeats at the hands of Boston by beating the Celtics 110-98, with Alec Burks scoring 21 points.

Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Thirimanne, right, plays a shot, as Pakistan’s wicketkeeper Umar Akmal watches during the opening match of the Asia Cup one-day international cricket tournament between them in Fatullah, near Dhaka on Feb. 25. (AP Photo)

Susie Wolff to drive in F1 practice sessions

Susie Wolff. (AP File Photo)

LONdON, FEBRUARY 25 (REUTERS): Susie Wolff will become the first woman driver in 22 years to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix weekend this season after Williams said the Scot would be on track for them in two free practice sessions later this year.

The team said on Monday the 31-year-old wife of Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff, a former Williams executive director, would remain their development driver in an expanded role that will in-

clude two Friday outings.

Williams did not say which race weekends Wolff would be appearing at. "I'm grateful for the support and belief Williams continue to show in me and 2014 promises to be a very important milestone in my career," Wolff said in a statement.

"Competing in two FP1 (first free practice) sessions, alongside an additional full test day this season will be a big step and I am looking forward to the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the FW36 on a

Pakistan tried to make a comeback in the middle overs as they picked up a few wickets, before skipper Angelo Matthews provided

the late charge, cracking a 50-ball 55, to take Sri Lanka close to the 300-mark.

For Pakistan, Umar Gul (38) and Shahid Afridi

Clippers extend winning run

Fiorentina snatches draw at Parma Barca pays 13.5M MILAN, FEBRUARY 25 (AP): Matias Fernandez's stunning free kick saw Champions League-chasing Fiorentina snatch a 2-2 draw at Parma in a thrilling Serie A match which also featured three red cards on Monday. Fiorentina remained six points behind third-place Napoli after an equally magnificent free kick from on-loan Napoli forward Emanuele Calaio rescued a 1-1 draw for Genoa against his parent club.

"We could have managed the game better, especially in the first half," Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella said. "We played well against a difficult opponent even when we were a man down but the two sendings off are a pity. "We had a great first half, but we weren't clinical. We conceded in our best period and then we got nervous, but we managed to rescue the match with our tenacity and strength." Antonio Cassano fired Parma in front six minutes from halftime after Amauri's pull-back was deflected into his path.

Fiorentina drew level two minutes later when Juan Cuadrado slid in at the back post, slotting home Alessandro Matri's cross.

Former Fiorentina forward Amauri restored Parma's lead six minutes after the break with a penalty after

Parma’s Carvalho Amauri scores on a penalty against Fiorentina during their Serie A soccer match at Parma's Tardini stadium, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24. (AP Photo)

Nenad Tomovic fouled Jonathan Biabiany.

Fiorentina's hopes of getting something from the match appeared to evaporate when Modibo Diakite was sent off for a second booking two minutes later.

However, Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto kept his side in the game with fine saves, including a fantastic double stop to deny first Marco

Cassani and then Amauri from point-blank range.

And substitute Fernandez struck a stunning 30-meter free kick into the top far corner five minutes from time. Gianni Munari and Borja Valero were sent off following a stoppagetime brawl. After extending its club record run of unbeaten matches to 13, Parma was seventh, three

points behind fifth-place Inter Milan in the race for a Europa League spot.

"I'm disappointed to draw because we were justified in expecting all three points," Parma coach Roberto Donandoni said. "But you have to give credit to the quality of your opponents, like Matia Fernandez's goal which was an extraordinary free kick.

"We made a bit too many mistakes at the beginning, but then the lads did well against a great team." Fiorentina lost no ground in the race for a Champions League spot after Napoli was also held in the late match. Napoli appeared to be heading for all three points after Gonzalo Higuain gave it the lead in the 18th minute. The Argentina forward timed his run to perfection and chipped a delightful through ball from Marek Hamsik over Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin for his 13th league goal of the season. However, Calaio curled a free kick into the top right corner six minutes from time. He apologized to the home fans. "I'm sorry to have scored a goal against Napoli itself. I had important spells there," Calaio said. "When the manager gives me the opportunity I try to give my all for this shirt, our fans deserve it. I dedicate the goal to my family and my son. "It's the third goal in my career I've scored from a free kick, I'm sorry to have scored at the San Paolo, but that's my job and I hope to score in the next games too." Napoli is six points behind second-place Roma and 15 behind leader Juventus. It plays both in upcoming home matches, either side of a crucial clash with Fiorentina.

Euros over Neymar

BARCELONA, FEBRUARY 25 (AP): Barcelona paid 13.55 million euros ($18.6 million) to Spanish tax authorities on Monday to cover any potential irregularities in its signing of Neymar, all the while maintaining its innocence of the fraud charges levied against it.

The Spanish champion said in a statement it paid the "complimentary" amount to cover any "eventual interpretations that could come out of the contracts signed relating to the transfer of Neymar. Meanwhile we are convinced of the legality of our initial fulfilment relating to our tax obligations."

Barcelona's actions take the price of Neymar's transfer to more than 100 million euros ($138 million) after the Catalan club initially said it paid 57.1 million euros ($74 million) for the Brazil forward.

That sum does not include bonus payments made by Barcelona or the 22-year-old's salary, meaning his total cost likely exceeds the record-breaking 100 million euros-plus spent by rival Real Madrid on Gareth Bale last summer. Spanish tax authori-

ties charged Barcelona with fraud on Thursday, alleging it swindled the state of 9.1 million euros ($12.5 million) through payments to varying companies and false contracts. Of the initial transfer fee, Brazilian club Santos received 17.1 million euros ($23 million) while Neymar's father, who also goes by Neymar, earned 40 million euros ($55 million).

The tax authorities considered the amount paid to Neymar's father as a salary, the club explained. Barcelona said it "scrupulously" met its financial obligations in signing the player from Brazilian club Santos and it would continue to work with the state authority in

the matter.

Neymar's signing forced the resignation of Sandro Rosell as president last month, after one club member's petition to learn more about the intricate details of what has become a club-record signing was kept in the dark. President Josep Bartomeu, who replaced Rosell, said Monday's figures were the final, transparent sums associated to the deal, despite having said such words previously about the initial 57.1 million euros it paid out.

"We did everything we could to bring Neymar to Barca. We're very confident about our dealings, everything has been transparent," Bartomeu said.

Entertainment

The Morung Express

Robin Thicke and Wife Paula Patton Separate

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obin Thicke and his actress wife Paula Patton, who met during high school, end their marriage on amicable terms as they both state, we will always love each other and be best friends. The 36 year-old has split from his actress wife Paula Patton after being married for eight years. The celebrity couple released a joint statement via People which read, We will always love each other and be best friends, however, we have mutually decided to separate at this time.

The 'Blurred Lines' singer met the '2 Guns' actress when he was just 14 years-old and they quickly became high school sweethearts, eventually the pair tied the knot nearly nine years ago in June 2005. Patton and Thicke are also parents to a three year-old son called Julian Fuego Thicke. The duo were last seen together attending this year's Grammy Awards just weeks ago, Thicke performed last summer's hit track 'Blurred Lines', while Patton wore a figure hugging zebra-striped dress.

Their marriage has been subject to rumors of infidelity and been on the rocks ever since Thicke's infamous performance at last summer's MTV VMA awards, in which Robin let Miley Cyrus grind inappropriately on his crotch area. But despite all the speculation, they always gushed about how strong their relationship was. I don't know if I would still be alive in some ways if it wasn't for Paula, Thicke told Prestige magazine in its September issue. She's been my rock, my muse, my inspiration and I love her. The whole way.

In the same interview Paula added, I've been there for his down moments and he's been there for mine. Life is full of peaks and valleys. She continued, Robin has always been a great person to remind me to celebrate now. Even when it looks like I've got a role but don't know for sure, he's like, 'Let's celebrate!'

Hugh Jackman apes PM Manmohan Singh

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ollywood heart throb Hugh Jackman surprised fans when he posted a picture of himself donning a turban on micro blogging site Twitter. The Wolverine actor was seen wearing a blue turban and comparisons were instantly drawn to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

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the hit Brit-Asian TV series, Kumars. The actor took to his twitter handle and posted, A little taste of the cameo I did w my mate @TVSanjeev tonight at 10pm on SKY on #Kumars! Fans were in a tizzy seeing Jackman in this Indianised look and this has been the topic of discussion on social networking sites.

ld r o w t r a e th g in k c a r C

hen life gives you potholes, make pictures appears to be the theory of one enterprising New York photographer. Davide Luciano created a series of conceptual photographs with a surreal edge using the holes and crevasses in streets from Toronto to Los Angeles.

From Alice chasing the White Rabbit down a pothole into 'Wonderland' to a Pamela Anderson lookalike saving a 'drowning man' from one particularly deep crack, the images are both highly inventive and incredibly bizarre.

Luciano’s art has appeared in galleries across the U.S. and Canada along with picture spreads in numerous publications.

The artist and film-maker, who graduated from the Toronto Film School, received an excellence award from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Luciano collaborates on his projects with his wife and creative partner Claudia Ficca, a professional food stylist and photographer.

The couple's latest off-the-wall project is called Gourmet Mouse Traps - where mini cheese platters are set on top of the traps.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

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‘Lego Movie’ ranks No. 1 at box office

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he Lego Movie' has ranked top most spot in its third weekend at the box office. According to studio estimates, the 3-D hit film featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Morgan Freeman has earned 31.5 million dollars, Fox News reported. The Warner Bros. animated film beat Relativity Media''s '3 Days to Kill' and Sony''s 'Pompeii' on their opening weekends.

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Will Ferrell turns

human in 'Lego Movie'

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depicted in the film.

"It's the poignancy of that. The fact you have been in this animated world for so long and all of a sudden you are live action and you see what you've truly been watching," says Ferrell, who publicly discusses the live scenes for the first time. "I thought it was so well done."

Writer-directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord had planned the human entry into the film as they developed the movie's story and kept the ending from being reported to keep the surprise in the early box office.

"We did want to do something at the end you were not expecting," says Miller. "And ction se live-a someri rp u s in the ell stars Lego Movie." s. Pictures) t h i n g rr e F l il e W h ro ce in "T hoto: Warner B t h a t sequen (P would sort of tie everything together. tions of the film. And we wanted to show In a major twist to the there's a real family story ending, Ferrell is actually at the heart of the movie the father in the household that you only realize at the and owner of an extensive end. It's what it all really Lego set. He finds that his means."

Lord jokingly goes a little son, Finn (Jadon Sand), has been messing with his deeper explaining the huprized creations, imagin- mans in the animated film.

"We were trying to get ing the entire Lego world t turns out The Lego Movie is not entirely Lego bricks.

Will Ferrell makes a surprise live-action appearance at the end of the hit animated film; photos of the scenes are being publicly released for the first time in USA TODAY. Ferrell, who voices President and Lord Business in The Lego Movie, appears in the live-action sequence playing "The Man Upstairs."

This "Man Upstairs" is referred to as an all-powerful deity throughout the animation por-

existential. We were trying to make Prometheus for children," says Lord, invoking the 2012 Ridley Scott film about the search for the creator of the universe.

Ferrell says he can relate to the control-freak father who is clearly the inspiration behind his animated characters in The Lego Movie — villains President Business and Lord Business.

“I have had moments where I have sat down to help my son build the Millennium Falcon and have literally told him to leave the room because I have to finish this one part. He can join me later. And I literally build it like for an hour,” says Ferrell. “But then it’s like, ‘My

God, what am I doing?’ “ Ferrell admits to having a split Lego personality.

“There is a part of me that wants to re-create the picture we see on the box of whatever we bought.

There’s a certain feeling of accomplishment to build the perfect Eiffel Tower,” says Ferrell. “And yet smashing that thing to the ground and starting from scratch, that should be supported, as well.”

The Lego Movie has been the smash success story at the box office, leading all films for three weekends in a row for a grand total of $183 million. Warner Bros. announced last week that a new Lego film will be released May 26, 2017.

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disowns movie about her life

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ate South African President Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Monday dissociated herself with an upcoming movie about her life, Xinhua reported.

The movie Winnie Mandela, which portrays the personal and political life of the activist and ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, is scheduled to be released in South Africa's theaters, according to the country's National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

Mandela said that she had approached the movie producers to voice her concern but it fell on deaf ears. In my life's struggle I have seen and heard many things said about me. I understand that my story, alongside that of my people is one that will continue to be told for many generations, read a statement that Mandela issued Monday.

In an attempt to ensure that my truth was reflected, I reached out to the film makers of 'Winnie Mandela' -- my advances were rejected. I imagine the basis was to allow the creative process to occur organically-- a concept I try to understand. I respect all creative efforts to make this story one that would appeal to a global audience as well as yield commercial gains for all those who invested in it, she added her statement.

She further said that she would like her story to be told truthfully and correctly, denying some media

reports that she is against the cast of the movie about her because it's done by international artists.

Unlike 'Long Walk To Freedom', this film is based on an unauthorised biography whose producers did not deem it fit to consult me or my family. My family and I are therefore not associ-

ated with this production, she said.

Starring Academy Award winner US Actor Jennifer Hudson in the title role and Terrence Howard as Nelson Mandela, the film tells the story of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's experiences during the turbulent decades of her husband's imprisonment.

It was directed by South African award-winning filmmaker Darrell Roodt.

The screenplay was cowritten by Roodt and An-

Jane Fonda: I

S dre Pieterse. It is based on the book, Winnie Mandela A Life, by Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob, a former journalist.

The film was shot over 13 weeks on locations in Johannesburg, Cape Town, the Transkei (Winnie's place of birth), and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in incarceration, before he became South Africa's first democratically elected president, said the NFVF.

he may not look anywhere near her 76 years but Jane Fonda says she is well aware of her age. The Hollywood legend – who has made her career in an industry which isn't exactly kind to aging actresses - admits she has been brought to tears on more than one occasion recently as she comes to terms with her own mortality.

In a thoughtful blog post entitled 'Crying', which has since been removed, Jane wrote: '[I've been thinking], how come my tears are so close to the surface? And I’ve come to feel it has to do with age. I have become so wonderfully, terribly aware of time, of how little of it I have left; how much of it is behind me, and everything becomes so precious (sic).'

Despite Jane worrying about her mortality, she believes getting older has its advantages, namely allowing her to appreciate the beauty in the world. She said: 'With age, I am able to appreciate the beauty in small things more than when I was younger per-

haps because I pay attention more. 'I feel myself becoming part of everything.

I seem to be super sensitive to people's joy and pain.

I ache for unwanted children in the world, for polars bears, and elephants, and Monarch butterflies, and dolphins, gorillas and chimpanzees (sic).'

Most recently Jane found herself becoming emotional at her friend Kerry Washington’s baby shower on Sunday. She wrote: 'Today I was at Kerry Washington’s baby shower.

She's 7 months pregnant and looking radiant. 'It was a wonderful party with guests being asked to go into a photo booth and take 6 different poses that were then mounted on a black paper where we could write a message; signing a diaper (I wrote "I hope everything comes out alright!"), putting signed thumb prints onto a drawing of a tree - I had no idea there could be so many nice ways to commemorate the up-coming event and leave loving memories for mom and baby.

'I hadn't seen Kerry

have so little time left!

since she was pregnant and as soon as I saw her with her gorgeous belly I starting crying. 'Then Kerry's mother spoke, giving words of wisdom to Kerry and the rest of us about how to raise a baby to be a happy, fully realized, person. I started crying again (and it wasn’t because I wanted to go back and do my own raising of my own kids all over again with more wisdom, though that did press in on me) . . . it was because her words moved me (sic).

'I've listed sad things but what startles me even more is how I get emotional about nice things, like Kerry Washington’s belly and her mother’s words of wisdom and Elizabeth Lesser telling me about the new book she’s writing. Maybe because I'm older my heart is wider open, like a net that wants to catch all the things that matter (sic).'

The thrice-married prolific blogger, who has three children, also joked she is becoming so weepy these days that she can 'only wear waterproof mascara from now on'.

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New-look middle-order for India’s new captain

FAtUllAh, FEBRUARY 25 (AgEncIEs): Running through the teams for India’s clash against Bangladesh in what will be both sides’ tournament opener in the Asia Cup will immediately bring home one stark fact: the lack of several familiar big-name players. Of the trio who added powerful finishing muscle to India not too long ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is injured, while Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh have been overlooked. The situation for Bangladesh is similar given the absences of the injured Tamim Iqbal and the suspended Shakib Al Hasan.

Expectedly enough, ahead of their encounter at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah on Wednesday (February 25), both sides downplayed missing out on experienced players, and focussed instead on the opportunity that opened up for others.

While no man can quite fill Dhoni’s boots in limited-overs cricket in the subcontinent, India have had a good back-up option to callup in the form of Dinesh Karthik. Moreover, while

Start time

February 26 13:30 Pm Bangladesh Vs india, 2nd match, Fatullah TEAM

Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey. the initial appearance of the middle order may seem unsettling, India are going to be without Raina and Yuvraj by choice. Bangladesh would have much preferred both Tamim and Shakib being in the XI, but will have to make do without them.

The immediate focus may be the Asia Cup, but on the horizon, the 2015 World Cup draws ever closer, and India’s squad selection is probably a pointer to that, especially the inclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara, who might be needed up top for the World Cup down under. Who amongst Pujara, Ambati Rayudu and Ajinkya Rahane slot into the final XI should be interesting. Each one brings a

different skill-set, but of the three, at most two can play, unless the opening pairing of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma is broken up.

Karthik, who said he was “used to being called up so many times”, will definitely play as the specialist wicketkeeper, but he offered no illumination on what the middle order would look like. “I’m sure we will have a few discussions going into the game, tomorrow. I will have a better idea tomorrow,” he said, adding that even without the regular names, there was plenty of experience in the team. “Quite a few guys have played 100 games which is a lot of experience now. They have been playing now for a year or two.

They have been given a good run.”

As intriguing as the composition of the middle order, if not more so, will be how Virat Kohli handles the side. Among Kohli’s captaincy assignments, the Asia Cup is his toughest challenge given the oppositions and the recent worrying form India have brought into the tournament with them, with no wins in their last eight ODIs. Will Kohli’s captaincy be reflective of his batting – brash and aggressive? Will he implement the Dhoni method of preferring to strangle rather than knock the opposition out?

Or will he tread altogether new ground? Whatever he does is sure to be followed and dissected.

While India haven’t been too hot in the past few months, Bangladesh haven’t fared much better, with a winless home series against Sri Lanka their most recent outing, and they will know that India’s form in subcontinent conditions has been spectacular in the past 12 months, as Mashrafe Mortaza, the vet- Jason Day, of Australia, right, his wife, Ellie, and son Dash, pose with the trophy after winning his championship match eran pacer, acknowledged. against Victor Dubuisson, of France, during the Match Play Championship golf tournament in Marana, Ariz. (AP Photo)

Parts of Pistorius trial Federer wins to be broadcast live opener in Dubai

JOhAnnEsBURg, FEBRUARY 25 (AP): Parts of Oscar Pistorius' murder trial can be broadcast live on television by three remote-controlled cameras, a judge ruled Tuesday, but testimony given by the double-amputee athlete can't be shown. High Court Judge Dunstan Mlambo granted permission to South African media houses to install the cameras in "unobtrusive" locations to show much of Pistorius' blockbuster trial, which could now be watched by millions in South Africa and around the world.

Pistorius' defense lawyers had opposed any part of the trial being broadcast, saying it would harm his chances of receiving a fair trial. "Court proceedings are in fact public and this objective must be recognized," Mlambo said before delivering his ruling. Brian Webber, a lawyer for Pistorius, declined to initially comment on the ruling saying he had to study it. Opening arguments by the prosecution and the defense can be shown live, Mlambo said, along with the presiding judge's decision and sentencing, should double-amputee Olympian Pistorius be convicted of murder for the shooting An exhibition wrestling match at the Angami Naga Sekrenyi festival held at Naga Heritage, Kisama death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. on February 25. (Morung Photo) Expert witnesses' testimony can be

shown but not that of Pistorius or "his witnesses," the judge said. Restrictions could also be placed on other witness testimony if they object to their time in court being shown on TV, Mlambo said.

The court would then consider showing such testimonies from behind the witness or obscuring their face.

No parts of confidential discussions between Pistorius and his lawyers can be broadcast in any way, he said in his judgment from a court in South Africa's capital, Pretoria. The judge also gave permission for two still cameras to be set up to take photographs inside the court, but ruled that no camera, television or still, will be allowed to record an "extreme" close up image of anyone in the court. He also said no lighting or flashes would be allowed for any of the recordings.

A live audio feed of the proceedings will be permitted through the trial, with restrictions placed if witnesses also object 24 hours in advance to their testimony being heard. Mlambo said South African democracy was still relatively young, and acknowledged a view that "the justice system is still perceived as treating the rich and famous with kid gloves whilst being harsh on the poor and vulnerable."

Burks, Favors lead Jazz to win over Celtics

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sAlt lAKE cItY, FEBRUARY 25 (AP): Alec Burks scored 21 points, Derrick Favors had 20 in his return from a hip injury and the Utah Jazz beat the Boston Celtics 110-98 on Monday night. Marvin Williams added 19i points on 8-for-10 shooting to help the Jazz break a three-game losing streak and end a sixgame skid to the Celtics.

Favors, who missed the previous three games with a sprain he re-aggravated in the opening moments against Philadelphia on Feb. 12, established himself early with four baskets and bolstered Utah's leaky defense in the middle.

Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk each had 21 points for Boston, which dropped all four games on its road trip and extended its losing streak to five games.

The Jazz shot 55 percent and led by as many 18 points as six players scored in double figures and featured quick ball movement against the weary Celtics.

The Jazz are 0-9 when Favors is out with injury and the center's presence forced the Celtics outside the lane. Favors had three blocked shots and Jeremy Evans had a career-high four but the Celtics made 20 of 21 free throws to stay

DUBAI, FEBRUARY 25 (AP): Roger Federer began his campaign for a record sixth Dubai Championships title with a 6-1, 6-4, win over Benjamin Becker of Germany on Monday.

"I'm extremely happy with today's match," Federer said. "Coming out and playing free tennis like that right off the bat is a good feeling." The eighth-ranked Federer has never dropped a set to the 93rd-ranked Becker in four matches. Federer and top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who will play his first match on Tuesday, have won nine of the last 11 titles here in Dubai.

Federer won the trophy in 2003, '04, '05, '07 and '12. Djokovic, the defending champion, won four times, with Rafael Nadal winning in 2006 and Andy Roddick in 2008. Federer raced through the first set against Becker in 22 minutes. "Things can

run away very quickly here," Federer said. "If you look at the winner list from here, it's guys who play well on (fast) grass courts.

"It's worth it to go for your shots and you feel like risky tennis will be rewarded." In the second set, Becker challenged better by playing himself into points. Federer faced a break point in the final game, which went to deuce twice, but managed to close it out. Seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany won his opening match 6-3, 6-3 over Dutch qualifier Thiemo De Bakker. Kohlscreiber led 6-3, 5-0 when he lost three game in a row before serving out.

Eighth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over 101stranked qualifier Lukas Lacko of Slovakia. Andreas Seppi of Italy beat Florian Mayer of Germany 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 from 4-1 down in the third set.

Utah Jazz's Trey Burke (3) goes to the basket as Boston Celtics' Brandon Bass, right, defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014, in Salt Lake City. The Jazz won 110-98. (AP Photo)

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in the game.

Despite a strong game from Rajon Rondo, who had 18 points and 10 assists, the Celtics dropped to 4-22 against teams from the Western Conference and 0-13 on the road. Boston has dropped 18 consecutive road games versus Western Conference opponents since a 110-107 overtime win over Utah last Feb. 25.

Burks, who had averaged nearly 17 points in a reserve role in the last games was instant offense for the Jazz, who finally shook the Celtics' mastery over Utah. No current member of the Jazz roster was on the team was on the team when Utah last defeated Boston, 110-97 on March 10, 2010.

The Celtics, who shot less than 40 percent on

the road trip, missed regular starters Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley as the Boston offense broke down early and often. Sullinger is following the league's protocol after suffering a mild concussion Friday, while Bradley has missed 12 of 15 games with an ankle injury.

Rondo passed to Kris Humphries for a jumper and then made one of his

own to pull the Celtics to 59-50 to begin the second half. But Williams and Richard Jefferson countered with baskets and the Celtics couldn't again trim the lead to single digits until Jerryd Bayless made a layup to make it 103-94 with 3:18 to play. The Jazz clinched the game with a three-point play by Favors and Williams' fast-break layup with 1:08 to play.

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