April 17th, 2017

C M Y K

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MonDAY • April 17 • 2017

DIMAPUR • Vol. XII • Issue 103 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear

P o W e R

pAGE 08

T R u T H

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Smile Train Shija Cleft Project- Nagaland Mission

Telangana assembly passes bill to hike Muslim quota

o F

Mumbai beat Gujarat by 6 wickets in IPL tie

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nagaland tourism: cAG advises robust project monitoring Despite increasing tourist inflow, state government yet to formulate ‘Tourism Master Plan’ Morung Express News Dimapur | April 16

Despite the Nagaland State Government’s often touted emphasis on the tourism potential of Nagaland state, the recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (GAG) of India has drawn attention to the areas that need to be focused on to turn the government’s rhetoric into reality.

This would serve well, as according to departmental figures, the inflow of domestic and foreign tourists have shown a steady increase during the last five years. (See table) In its performance audit of the Nagaland State Tourism Department, the CAG particularly focused on the need to develop a larger tourism policy for the state and also censured the discrepancies in implementation of projects.

The CAG, in its report for the year ending March 31, 2016, stated that the Nagaland State Government is yet to formulate a Tourism Master Plan or Perspec-

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

it’s a new day, it’s a new life! i hope our government... yawn didn’t break up when we were having a wonderful Easter holiday.

tive Plan of prioritizing action and the vision for holistic development of tourism in the state.

It lamented that the state government had not prepared the aforementioned plan which was envisaged in the Nagaland Tourism Policy 2001. In the absence of a tourism plan, it reported that the assets were created in an ad hoc manner. There were also “numerous instances of irregularities in the execution of projects,” the CAG said.

Regarding the execution of projects, the CAG noted that the department took up 62 projects during 2011-16 at a total cost of Rs 299.34 Crores. Further there were nine spill over projects at an approved cost of Rs 41.66 Crores.

Detailed examination of 23 selected projects (including two spilled over projects) and joint physical verification found several discrepancies.

The CAG reported that as of September 2016, out of 62 projects sanctioned during 2011-16, 49 were scheduled for completion by March 2016.

However, only 18 projects were actually completed. The CAG meanwhile noticed that all nine spill over projects sanctioned prior to 2011-12 had now been completed.

It also found that 65 components of works in 14 projects of which payment of Rs 8.85 Crore

Source: Departmental Figures

was made were not actually executed. Thus, the department paid an amount of Rs 8.85 Crore without execution of work.

Further, 16 components of work in eight projects at a cost of Rs 1.83 Crores was short executed by compromising the plinth area and the facilities of the approved item, the CAG said. It also stated that 44 components of work in nine projects at a cost of Rs 9.52 Crores were executed in other locations/villages than was originally planned.

It meanwhile also informed that in the “absence of proper safeguard,” 16 infrastructure projects developed by the Tourism Department through funding from the Government of India were “illegally occupied by

private individuals without executing deed of agreement with the department.”

The CAG also pointed specifically to two projects—the Mega Destination Dimapur and Tourism Destination at Chesezu—which it stated were abandoned after incurring a total expenditure of Rs 15.95 Crores.

With reference to the Mega Destination Dimapur project, the CAG informed that the Government of India had accorded sanction of Rs 23.70 Crores in January 2012 and released 11.85 Crores as of March 2016.

Out of this, Rs 11.85 Crores was incurred as expenditure.

The project was to be completed within 36 months from the date of sanction (December

2014). However as per the Utilisation Certificates submitted by the Department to the government, the CAG informed that physical progress reported was 80 %.

It was also observed during the joint physical verification that construction works had stopped since April 2013. The CAG further informed that artificial thatch procured at a cost of Rs 40 Lakh for use in the project could not be utilized and was dumped in the store room of the tourist lodge Dimapur.

The department, while accepting the facts, however stated in November 2016 that only 50 percent of the sanctioned amount was released and the same was utilized.

The CAG however reasoned

that the funds were not released by the GoI as the department did not fulfill the terms and conditions of the sanction of submitting completion/commissioning certificates as per the original plan, drawing etc approved by the central government.

Regarding the Tourist Destination at Chesezu project, the CAG said that proposal for this was approved in September 2011 and the GoI had released Rs 4 Crores. While expenditure of Rs 4.10 Crores had been incurred, the CAG however observed during the joint physical verification that the workd had since been abandoned after completion of 80 percent physical progress as of July 2013.

The department, in its reply, stated that 20 percent of the project cost is yet to be received and hence work has been kept in abeyance.

The CAG also highlighted other examples of irregularities. It stated that the department paid Rs 19.30 Crores for unexecuted items of work. Further, the State Institute of Hotel Management, Dimapur was yet to be functional even after nine years and investment of Rs 17.69 Crores. The convention centre at Dimapyr, constructed at a cost of Rs 4.57 Crores and reported to be complete in March 2-013, wasl also lying idle as all facilities

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CAG recommends: In light of its findings, the CAG recommended that the government give emphasis to planning and preparing the short and long term action plans for prioritizing activities for a holistic development and growth of the tourism sector in the state.

It advised that the department should also make effort to review all completed projects lying idle and take necessary steps to utilize the tourist infrastructure for the purpose it was created.

Further the CAG called upon the department to put in place robust financial controls in order to prevent persistent financial irregularities such as diversion of funds, excessive payments, payment without execution of works etc.

Meanwhile it urged that the monitoring mechanism for various infrastructure projects should be strengthened in order to ensure the timely completion and utilization of the completed projects.

Petrol, diesel prices hiked Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai on hijack alert, security up

NEw DELHI, APRIL 16 (PTI): The price of petrol was hiked by Rs1.39 per litre and diesel by Rs1.04 a litre in sync with firming international rates. The hike comes on the back of a Rs4.85 per litre reduction in rates of petrol and Rs3.41 a litre in diesel effected from 1 April.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer, said price of petrol is being increased

by Rs1.39 per litre, excluding state levies, and that of diesel by Rs1.04 (excluding state levies) with effect from Saturday midnight.

Actual increase in price will be more after taking into account local value added tax (VAT). Petrol in Delhi currently costs Rs66.29 a litre while a litre of diesel is priced

at Rs55.61.

“The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and INR-USD exchange rate warrant increase in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” IOC said in a statement.

The movement of prices in the international oil market and INRUSD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes, it said. IOC also said it intends to shortly start daily changes in price of petrol and diesel on pilot basis, in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Pondicherry, Chandigarh and Vizag.

NEw DELHI, APRIL 16 (IANS): Security has been beefed up at Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai airports following an e-mail from a woman who warned of a possible hijack, a CISF official said on Sunday.

In the e-mail sent to Mumbai Police, the woman, who did not reveal her identity, said she heard six unidentified youths discuss hijacking three flights in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai on Sunday.

Mumbai Police got the email on Saturday and forwarded it to Mumbai Airport Security Group to go on high alert, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official told IANS

on the condition of anonymity.

The woman, whose email was in broken English, said she overheard the young men at a restaurant in Hyderabad over lunch. She claimed hearing the persons say that 23 people would split up from Hyderabad and board three flights in the three cities for hijacking.

Airport authorities, immigration and Mumbai Police held a meeting after getting the e-mail. The officials were briefed about anti-hijacking steps taken during Independence Day and Republic Day, said the CISF official.

Security was beefed up at the Hyderabad, Mumbai and

Chennai airports and security agencies were put on alert.

Officials said while it could be a fake alarm, they were not taking any chances. The Mumbai Police is trying to get in touch with the woman who sent the email. Police in the three cities beefed up security at the main entry points to the airports. All vehicles were thoroughly checked.

The CISF, responsible for security at 59 airports in the country, set up additional security measures and alerted its officials to be more vigilant in and around the terminals at Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad airports.

CISF Director General O.P. Singh

On Easter, Kohima prays for peace

Pope denounces “oppressive regimes” but urges restraint

The Morung Express POll QuESTiON

approved were not provided.

The CAG added that the department “did not maintain any records/register and therefore the detailed information of the assets created/ owned by the department could not be ascertained.”

People in Kohima who attended the Easter Sunrise Service on April 16. (Morung Photo)

Our Correspondent Kohima, April 16

A large gathering thronged the 2nd World War Cemetery in Kohima today and prayed for peace and tranquility in the state, as Kohima Easter Sunrise Service took place there under the aegis of Kohima Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship.

Delivering message, Rev. Zhabu Terhuja said “we have hope for Kohima, we have hope for our land because we have here so many witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord.”

He stated that the day is a “celebration of not only Christ’s victory, but also of our blessed hope of eternity. Therefore, it is an occasion that we come together as one and reaffirm our faith and trust in God. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ has risen from the dead.”

He emphasized how “many people simply think

that our identity ends with death.” “But in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we are made to know and believe that life does not cease with death,” he added.

Rev Terhuja further stressed on the essence of Christian teaching to love one another. “God’s people need to seriously think of sharing this love of God at any level of social relationship,” he said He further stated that the virtue of humility needs to be inculcated by one and all. “When we think of the world, people all over the world are protesting and fighting for their rights to the extent of causing great damage to their countries.

Laying aside his divine rights and privileges, he humbled himself to learn what obedience means.

He looked beyond his personal desires and was more concerned about the human world that is under the

load of sin,” he added.

Rev Terhuja stated that “as we once again acknowledge in gratitude what God has done for each of us, it is most appropriate also for us to have introspection.”

“Doesn’t God deserve something better than what we give him now? We do not sense real peace and contentment in our worship,” he lamented.

He called upon the people to “turn from theatrical performance” and work towards “real spiritual sacrifices.” Drawing reference from scripture, he said: “there are two ways to do that; one is, to crucify the flesh with all its desires, and, the other is, resolutely and purposefully sowing spiritual seed.”

The service was led by Pastor Nitoshe Zhimomi, Assistant Secretary, KBPF. Greeting was also shared

by Rev Asangba Longkumer, Advisor, KBPF.

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 16 (REUTERS): Pope Francis denounced “oppressive regimes” in his Easter message on Sunday but in an apparent call for restraint urged world leaders to prevent the spread of conflicts, as tensions rose in North Korea and Syria.

Francis, marking the fifth Easter season of his pontificate, said Mass before tens of thousands of people under exceptional security measures in St. Peter’s Square following recent vehicle attacks against pedestrians in London and Stockholm.

More police vans and army vehicles than usual were positioned at the entrances to the Vatican area and the faithful were stopped at several check points leading into the square, which was decorated with 35,000 flowers and trees.

In his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message, delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis spoke of a world lacerated by conflicts and laced with tensions.

From the same balcony from where he first appeared to the world on the night of his election in 2013, Francis spoke of God walking “beside all those forced to leave their homelands as a result of armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, famine and oppressive regimes”.

He did not name any specific governments.

“In the complex and often dramatic situations of today’s world, may the Risen Lord guide the steps of all those who work for justice and peace. May he grant the leaders of nations the courage they need to prevent the spread of conflicts and to put a halt to the arms trade,” he said.

Francis spoke hours after North Korea warned the United States to end its “military hysteria” or face retaliation as a U.S. aircraft carrier group steamed towards the region and the reclusive state marked the 105th birth anniversary of its founding father.

Concern has grown since the U.S. Navy fired 59 Tomahawkmissiles at a Syrian airfield last week in response to a deadlygas attack. That raised questions about U.S. President DonaldTrump’s plans for North Korea, which has conducted missile andnuclear tests in defiance of United Nations and unilateral sanctions.

Francis also condemned the bomb blast on a crowded Syrian bus convoy that killed at least 112 people outside Aleppo as an “ignoble” attack, asking God to bring healing and healing and comfort to civilian population in what he called the “beloved and martyred Syria”.

said passengers need not panic.

“There is no reason to panic as security measures have been put in place. All operations at these airports will be normal and passengers will not face any problem,” Singh told IANS. The CISF has enhanced baggage scanning, preembarkation checks and frisking of passengers. Other airports in thecountryhavebeenalertedtoo.

The force has called in sniffer dog squads and quick reaction teams.

The airlines were also told to be more vigilant. Airlines have advised passengers to report on time and avoid last-minute check-ins. Passengers have been told to cooperate with security personnel.

Dimapur Police condemns April 12 incident, suspends erring personnel DIMAPUR, APRIL 16 (MExN): Dimapur Police today issued a statement informing that the personnel involved in the April 12 incident at Dimapur stadium have been placed under suspension.

Clarifying that it does not subscribe to the actions displayed by certain personnel of the force who had had acted in a high handed manner towards a group of youth, a press note from the PRO, Dimapur Police said: “It was unfortunate that certain videos recorded by the personnel went viral in social media and as such, the act illegal.” It clarified that Dimapur Police “does not condone the action and equally condemns the act of individual high handedness of certain personnel.” Necessary disciplinary actions have been initiated and the personnel involved are being placed under suspension. It meanwhile assured citizens that the force would “continuously strive to conduct itself to ensure quality service to the people and any deviant behaviors or actions by its members will not be tolerated.”

PAPO demands fund release for reconstruction DIMAPUR, APRIL 16 (MExN): The Phek Area Public Organisation (PAPO) today expressed concern that fund for reconstruction works of structures damaged during the heavy rainfall and flash floods on July 22 and 23, 2015, have still not been released by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA). Following the calamity, the PAPO reminded that the public had submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner Phek on July 27, 2015 for forwarding the same to the government under the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA). The proposals with technical estimate were submitted to the NSDMA and they were sent to the NDMA. “Accordingly, the NDMA, New Delhi has accorded sanction vide office letter No 33-8/2015-NDM-1 dated March 9, 2016,” the PAPO informed. “However till now the amount has not been released by NSDMA,” it added. According to the PAPO the amount for the proposed works come to Rs 12,26,65,700.

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MOnDAY 17•04•2017

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Smile Train Shija Cleft Project- Nagaland Mission • Free treatment package for cleft lip & palate • About 3300 people living with cleft lip & palate • Appeal to propagate free treatment package Our Correspondent Kohima | April 16

Following the announcement of the next phase of Smile Train Shija Cleft Project- Nagaland Mission in collaboration with Oking Hospital Kohima, registration for availing free treatment for cleft lip and palate cases for the state of Nagaland is now opened.

Free surgical treatment is scheduled for April 29 to 30 at Oking Hospital, Kohima.

So far, Smile Train Shija Cleft

Project- Mission Nagaland rendered free surgery to over 600 persons living with cleft lip and palate since its introduction in 2007 at Oking Hospital.

Smile Train Shija Cleft Project- Nagaland Mission is designed to reach out to the people of Nagaland who are suffering from cleft lip and palate, said Dr. Kh. Palin, Smile Train Partner plastic surgeon of Shija Hospitals, Manipur.

From the population ratio, there are about 3300 people living with cleft lip and palate in Nagaland.

Many are unable to avail the treatment due to financial constraint and unaware of the free treatment facility. Per operation involved Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 in other institutions wherein Smile Train Shija Cleft

Project offers surgery absolutely free from the age of 6 months onwards.

Dr. Palin said that apart for free treatment, it would also extend free medicines including travelling allowance between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000.

He asked the patients to get register one or two day ahead of the operation for necessary examination. They have been asked to contact Dr. Vikethonyu Kesiezie, Naga Hospital, Kohima. He also made a fervent appeal to the politicians, teachers, health workers and social activists to propagate this free treatment package in their respective areas so that those suffering from cleft lip and palate

can come forward and avail free patient should be 6 months old – free training for doctors, free treatment and get a change to and for Cleft Palate the patient surgery for children and resmile and enjoy new life. should be 14 months old. search to find a cure. Since 2000, Smile Train has sponsored over About Smile Train 650,000 safe, quality surgeries Shija Cleft Project across India, totally free of cost.

Apart from Mission Nagaland, Smile Train About cleft lip and palate Shija Cleft Project also A cleft a separation or gap in reaches to the masses of the body structure. Clefts that north eastern part of In- occur in the oral –facial region dia including Myanmar. It often involve the lip, the roof of also undertakes Mission the mouth (hard palate) of soft Barak, Mission Ukhrul, tissue in the back of the mouth Mission Senapati, Mis- (Soft palate). Two major types sion Myanmar and Mis- of oral-facial clefts are cleft lip/ sion Churachandpur. palate and isolated cleft palate.

Dr. Vikethonyu Kesiezie Smile Train is an NGO Babies with cleft lip usually also made an earnest request launched in 1998 with the goal are accompanied by the cleft to one and all to refer the cleft to eradicate the global problem palate. In isolated cleft palate, patients for free treatment and of cleft lips and palates. the cleft palate occurs by itself, give them a new lease of life.

Smile Train Inc. headquar- without cleft lip or other malThe eligibility to undergo ter is based in New York, USA. It formations. the operation for cleft lip the has a comprehensive approach Clefts are a major problem

in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly, are not allowed to attend school or hold a job and face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache.

Cleft lip should be corrected at six months and palate at 14 months to offer the best result.

One in every 600 to 800 live birth is born with cleft and in India; over 35,000 children are born with cleft lips or palates every year.

“Most of them cannot afford treatment though the deformity is totally treatable. Money is the only deterrence that avoids a patient with cleft lip and palate to avail of the treatment facility,” a leaflet received here stated.

EASTER SUNDAY: CHRISTIANS ACROSS NAGALAND jOINS CELEBRATION

‘Easter is the foundation of Christian faith’

Kohima, april 16 (mExN): Christians in Nagaland joined the rest of the Christian world to celebrate the Easter Sunday. Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil presided over the vigil service at the Cathedral Church, and he was the main celebrant at Holy Cross, Dimapur for the Easter day mass.

The vigil service, which has four segments, began with the blessing and lighting of new fire, from which the Paschal candle was lit, symbolizing the divine life of Jesus which was not destroyed on the cross.

Bishop explained the meaning of the variety of symbols used in the liturgy.

The Paschal Candle represents also the body of Christ and the Greek letters of Alpha and Omega, together with the year 2017 show that Christ is the Lord of all things, of all times, of all peoples. The five grains inserted on to the candle symbolizes the five wounds of Christ.

The faithful, then, in procession proceeded to

Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil addresses as the main celebrant at Holy Cross, Dimapur for the Easter day.

the Church led by Bishop with the lighted Paschal Candle, showing Christ as the new leader to lead all people to God. The great Easter Proclamation was sung by Rev. Fr. Richard.

This was followed by three readings from the Old Tes-

tament and two from the New Testament. After the Old Testament readings, Gloria was sung, alter Candles was lit, the church bell rang symbolizing, Christ’s Resurrection. After the homily, the bishop blessed the water, sign of purifica-

tion and life, reminding us of our baptism and he administered the renewal of baptismal promises which was followed by baptism of the new members and the Eucharistic celebration.

Bishop speaking to the occasion said in the pre-

lude that ‘We have come here today to celebrate what one preacher called “Greatest Show on Earth” and “Easter is the foundation and the source and reason of Christian faith.”

The bishop in homily said that we must not seek Christ in the graves of the dead, not even among the great men covered with dust by the time, we call history. “At our baptism we accepted the New Life of Christ. Our washing was itself a symbol of dying to a dead world and rising to a new life,” the bishop said.

Rev. Fr. Carolus and Thomas PJ, the parish priests of the two respective parishes accorded the warm words of welcome to bishop in their respective parishes. The novices at Cathedral, youth choir in Dimapur sung melodiously in prayerfully. After the Holy Masses Easter eggs were shared.

This was stated in a press release issued by Fr. Thomas Toretkiu, Bishop’s Secretary, Kohima.

Youth from NE states attend Youth Pasch on Holy Week

dimapur, april 16 (mExN): Youth Pasch, a four day programme for the youth was conducted on Holy Week at DBIDL, Don Bosco School Campus, Dimapur with the theme “He is Risen” from April 13 to 16.

The programme started on Holy Thursday and ended on Easter Sunday and it was attended by around 230 youths from Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

On Holy Thursday, while commemorating the Lord’s Supper, during the Holy Eucharist, Fr. C. M Joseph, made the point that Jesus’ service is one which is inspired and propelled by love. Good Friday was observed with much devotion. The traditional practice of the Way of the Cross was acted out to relive Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. The solemn Passion Reading and veneration of the Cross too were profoundly observed.

The Easter Vigil, a popular Christian tradition, too was solemnly celebrated. Fr. Bosco Sdb, Vice Provincial of Salesian Province of Dimapur was the main celebrant.

On the Easter Sunday, during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, Fr. K. C Vincent Sdb said that Easter is the feast of Love. The day was also graced with the presence of Most A section of youths from Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland attending Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, Bishop of Kohima Diocese. The prothe Youth Pasch held at DBIDL, Don Bosco School Campus, Dimapur. gramme concluded with a cultural night.

CCTV set up at Khudei Police Assistance Booth Tuensang

TuENsaNg, april 16 (mExN): The Tuensang district administration led by the DC Alemjongshi and Superintendent of Police Tuensang, V. Ezung have set up CCTV at Khudei Police Assistance Booth Tuensang, which is one of the strategically location tri-junction in the district. The Tuensang District Truck, Mini Truck & Pick up Owners Union (TDTMT & PUOU) in a press release issued by its President N. Yemjong, stated that CCTV and its impact is necessitated and it would be a boon to the commuters and peoples in the area if the authority utilize in a proper way for the benefits of the peoples in the region. The Union stated that this check gate is also one of the main gateways to Myanmar and other part of Nagaland and setting up of such facilities will definitely tackle illegal activities easily in the near future. The Union has expressed gratitude to the DC, SP and DEF Tuensang for their initiative and tirelessly effort in setting up of CCTV especially for the commuters in the remote area.

UNTABA consultative meet on April 21

dimapur, april 16 (mExN): The United Naga Tribes Association on Border Areas (UNTABA) has convened a Consultative Public Meeting at Community Hall, Tzudikong on April 21. A press note from the UNTABA informed that the meeting will be hosted by the Tuli Area Joint Council Forum (TAJCF) “so as to evolve people’s consensus on the final policy approaches to be forwarded to the Government of Nagaland for effective implementation and to be tabled at the negotiating parties at appropriate times with all the stake-holders on board.” The scheduled meeting is also scheduled to deliberate on the policy approach on boundary settlement of the Naga traditional and historical boundary with Assam; and work towards evolving consensus opinion on the points of consultations with all the stake holders involved in the issue. The UNTABA has appealed to all the people’s representatives, civil and police administrations of border districts, border magistrates, official representatives of Naga tribes hohos, frontal organizations of Nagaland, village council members and GBs from all the border areas to attend the meeting.

Senior Fellowship praises God through special number during Easter Sunday Service at Chakhesang Baptist Church Kohima on April 16. Vezopa Rhakho and Rev. Dr. Kevekhalo Lasuh acted as speaker of the morning and evening services respectively. (Morung Photo)

ARTC&S observes Holy Week

dimapur, april 16 (mExN): The Assam Rifles Training Centre and School (ARTC&S) Church observed Holy Week with Rev. Dr. N. Khashito Aye, Senior Pastor and Missionary to Non-Nagas as main celebrant on Good Friday and Easter Sunday at church premises. Signifi-

cance of observing the Holy Week, symbolizing the divine life of Jesus according to the Bible was preached and also conducted Lord’s Supper. Pastor Asish Mahato said that Easter was God’s victory over sin and death, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Observing Easter celebration, members of the Youth Ministry of Dimapur Ao Baptist Church (DABA), distributed eggs between 4-8 AM on April 16 in various locations in Dimapur. Associated in many culture and religion as a symbol of creation, spring, and fertility, the usage of egg during Easter has added a new meaning to the symbolism of the egg signifying the emergence of new life and resurrection - just as the hard shell of the egg is broken, rock-hewn tomb of Jesus broken open when He rose from the dead on the third day.

An early morning jogger collects an egg and appends his Easter’s message on a board set up by the youth near ‘Funky Buddha’ restaurant, Duncan Basti.

St Xavier’s Church observes Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday

The Youth members giving away eggs to passengers and drivers of a passing auto.

Members of St Xavier’s Catholic Church, Kidima during the observation of Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday.

Kidima, april 16 (mExN): St Xavier’s Catholic Church Kidima observed Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday with rest of the world with Reverend Father Raymond D’Souza SJ, Director of Eden Garden and Children’s Home, Khuzama and Reverend Father Sojan, Chancellor of Diocese of Kohima cum Director of Nagaland Catholic Youth Movement (NCYM) as Main Celebrant on April 16.

Rev Father Raymond D’Souza SJ led the Easter Vigil procession started from Azalo (the traditional place of ox fighting competition of the Kidima village) to Church. Father D’ Souza SJ asked the faithful to rejoice for the risen Lord and make a new life with Christ. “Listen the word of God like Prophet Moses would receive a blessing through Easter procession, enchanting hymn, and holding Eas-

ter candle shows the happiness of God,” he added.

Rev Father Sojan addressing in the occasion Easter is the beautiful Sunday. “The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was the hope for all who believed in him,” he added. Father Sojan said the life on earth is a pilgrimage and must inherit eternal life.

P. Tepekrovi Kiso in a press release added that confession, making Easter fire, blessing of the holy water, sprinkle of holy water to faithful peoples, singing of Gloria and Alleluia, baptism to 12 members including infants, reception of Apostolic faith of Catholic church, renewal of baptism, special number presentation by Kidima Catholic Youth Association (KCYA) and Kenokhonu and friends followed by fellowship refreshments were the highlights of the sacred celebration.

Member of DABA Youth Ministry distributes eggs and share light moments with passerby at Dhobinala Junction Dimapur at the early hours of Easter Sunday.

MONDAY 17•04•2017

NORTH-EAST 3

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Mizoram ready to repatriate You’ve got mail, at 14,000 ft: Sikkim man delivers letters between lndia, China displaced Bru families Probir Pramanik

Newmai News Network Aizawl | April 16

Home Minister R. Lalzirliana said that the Mizoram government is ready to carry out repatriation of Bru families lodged at relief camps in Tripura any time.

Speaking to reporters here at a press conference yesterday, the Mizoram Home Minister said that the state government has completed all formalities which were supposed to be done in connection with the repatriation process.

“Formal decision would be taken on repa-

triation and accordingly dates will be fixed to begin the process as soon as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approves proposal for the proposed financial expenditure,” Lalzirliana said. He also said that the repatriated Bru families would be re-settled in 51 villages in Mamit district,10 in Kolasib district and 4 villages in Lunglei district.

Mizoram officials who conducted the identification in the Tripura relief camps during November 2 to November 23, 2016, had identified 32,857 people hailing from 5,413 families

for physical repatriation.

It can be noted here that the physical repatriation has been put on hold as the Supreme Court directed both the MHA and Mizoram government not to go ahead with the repatriation process following the 20 points demands raised by Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), an apex body of displaced Bru people staying in six refugee camps in Tripura.

The Bru body appealed to the Apex court to intervene in the repatriation process so that their de-

mands are fulfilled.

The Mizoram Home Minister said that the Supreme Court on March 28, 2017 clarified a status-quo on Bru repatriation that such of the Bru families, as were displaced to Tripura, who desire to return to Mizoram voluntarily, shall be allowed to do so on their own volition and volition and, as such, all the Bru families who desire to return to Mizoram will be provided with the necessary pre-requisites, as are extended to other Bru families, who were rehabilitated to Mizoram.

Buddhist university on Assam's old monk's agenda LEDO, APRIL 16 (PTI): Nonagenarian U Gunawantha Mahathera or Bhante Baba to his followers stands like the witness of time, spreading Lord Buddha's message ever since he came to this remote town from Myanmar over 50 years ago and bringing solace to the lives of those tormented and troubled.

And now Assam's old monk has one goal: to set up a Buddhist monastery which will cater to students from not only India but also from countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Bhante Baba and his aide Bhante Nyanaloka have begun preliminary discussions with local authorities.

"We would require around 80-100 bighas of land near the Margherita new colony for the university. We are in talks with authorities regarding this project," says Bhante Baba, who set up the Mounglang Khamti Buddhist Monastery and International Meditation Centre in this coal township and Northeast's last railway destination.

He is in constant touch

with the Maha Bodhi Society of Bengaluru in this regard.

"Besides education, we also plan to set up a nun training centre. Currently nearly 30 nuns are undergoing training in Arunachal Pradesh's Bordumsa," he told PTI. Born as Mong Chie Yen on November 14, 1923, he decided to lead an ascetic life at the age of 18. And then at the age of 30, he left for India with an aim to propagate the preaching s of Lord Buddha.

After Calcutta, he finally reached this town and set-

tled in the Khamti village.

Bhante Baba also bats for reopening of the Stillwell road saying it will help the cause of the university in a great way.

The 1,726-km Stilwell Road, built by the Allied Army under supervision of General Joseph Stilwell of the US Army during World War II, connects Ledo to Kunming in China through Myanmar but is now lying closed.

The Mounglang monastery also has a pagoda and accommodation and food facilities for visitors to the meditation centre.

Tripura chit fund director arrested AGARTALA, APRIL 16 (THE HINDU): The Tripura Police has arrested a top functionary of a chit fund company who was on the run after a case was registered against him 2013. In another development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State CID which is probing the Rose Valley chit fund scam is preparing to bring its owner Gautam Kundu from Kolkata this month for interrogation.

The SIT had earlier failed to get Kundu’s custody after his lawyers stalled two sanctions of transit remand citing his ailment. Rose Valley held

at least 80 per cent of deposits in non banking financial companies in Tripura, cheating thousands of people.

Police arrested Tanoy Das, local director of Rubistar, a chit fund company, in connection with a case registered with east Agartala police station in 2013.

He went into hiding after filling of the case.

Kundu is wanted in the State in reference to another case lodged in west Agartala police station in the same year. Besides Tripura, he is facing forgery and criminal conspiracy charges in West Bengal, As-

sam and Odisha where the CBI is conducting probe.

Absence of CBI in ponzi scam investigations in Tripura is a big political issue with opposition Trinamool Congress alleging a ‘CPI(M)- BJP’ nexus to keep the central agency at bay.

“CBI is completely silent in Tripura where chit fund companies collected hundreds of crores by cheating people with high interest rate and return”, TMC leader Sudip Roy Barman said.

SIT was constituted by the State government to enquire into financial scams committed by over one hun-

dred chit fund companies.

It has taken up probe into complaints registered with police under IPC Sections 420, 406, 34 and Section 3 of Tripura Protection of Interest of Depositors Act 2000.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) earlier issued notices against two ponzi fund companies - Charka Infrastructure Limited and the Suncity Infracon Corporation Limited which raised fund in Tripura. Entities in the notices are named as Bijoy Das and Apu Saha and were summoned to its office in Kolkata, but they failed to turn up.

M'laya celebrates Easter SHILLONG, APRIL 16 (IANS): Candlelight processions, baptism of newborns and coloured Easter eggs and buns were the hallmark of the day as Christians in Meghalaya on Sunday joined their brethren the world over in celebrating Easter.

Cathedrals and churches across this Christian-majority state were thronged by people for special mass and other celebratory events.

Archbishop of Shillong Dominic Jala presided over Easter mass at the St. Dominic Church in Mawlai Parish. Pascal commemoration in many parishes was marked by candlelight processions and baptism of newborn.

Chief Ministers of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, Biren Singh (L) and Pema Khandu (2L) along with Assam Finance Minister, Hemanta Biswa Sarma (R) and Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju (2R), paid a courtesy call to the Governor of Odisha, Dr SC Jamir at Raj Bhavan, Bhubaneswar today on April 16.

The leaders from North East are presently in Bhubaneswar for a two day national executive meeting of the BJP.

Easter Sunday celebrated in North-East A I Z AW L / KO H I M A , APRIL 16 (IANS): Christians in most parts of the northeast with traditional pomp and gaiety celebrated the Easter Sunday signifying Jesus Christ's victory over death after his crucifixion to redeem the world.

Accompanied by men, women and children dressed with vivid traditional attires, band parties of different corps of the Salvation Army woke the populace of several northeastern states by playing the hymn "He's arisen" to mark the beginning of the Easter Sunday.

Over 5.3 million Christians live in Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur while there are a significant number of Christians in the other northeastern states -- Tripura, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Sunrise services were organised by the youth wings of all local church-

es in their areas of the region.

Special prayers and worship were also held by the church members breaking their fast after Good Friday.

In Nagaland, thousands of people, including people from other religious faiths, both young and old, gathered at the World War II cemetery in Kohima to attend the Easter sunrise service on Sunday morning and prayed that with the power of resurrection, the people be free from fear, division, corruption and guilt.

Believers across Nagaland offered special prayer services, and participated in the Lord's Supper and thanksgiving feast.

Nagaland Governor P.B. Acharya and Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu extended warm greetings to the people of the state on the occasion of Easter.

Amidst a warm sky

and sunny temperature, the day was celebrated on Sunday with religious solemnity across Mizoram.

Mizoram Governor Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla greeted the people on the occasion of Easter.

Hindustan Times

Bhim Bahadur Tamang is a diminutive man who has been a postman for more than 25 years, an increasingly thankless job in a world of digital communication.

But for three minutes every Thursday morning, the 61-year-old acts as the bridge between India and China as he trudges through metres of snow at 14,000 feet to deliver mail across the mountainous border pass of Nathu La in Sikkim.

Dressed usually in a windcheater jacket with a cap protecting his ears and head in temperatures that drop to -20 degrees in winter, Tamang crosses the barbed wire fence marking the Indian border at 8:30am, and enters a shed on the Chinese side, not illegally, but with the official sanction of both nations.

As Indian and Chinese troops and their artillery are stationed eyeball-toeyeball outside, inside the shed mailbags are exchanged between Tamang and his Chinese counterpart without a word being spoken.

“It is a very short process,” Tamang, a postal departmental employee, tells Hindustan Times sitting at the Sherethang border post office ringed by snowcapped mountains on all sides.

“We just exchange bags, sign the mail manifest and leave the shed. There is no

GUWAHATI, APRIL 16 (PTI): Since ages, the Charhepis of Karbi Anglong in Assam have been singing songs of lament for the deceased and virtually guiding their last journey.

According to Karbi legend, without the wails of the Charhepis and their heart-rending songs, the souls of the dead cannot gain access to the "village of ancestors" or the "land of the dead".

The songs called Kecharhealun are lengthy narratives of the journey of the souls.

The Charhepi is the central figure in a death ritual and "performs the vital role of guiding the soul like a shaman, through predestined resting places to the land of the ancestors", writes Dharam Singh Teron in his article "Charhepi's song: Guiding the souls back to the land of the ancestors".

"The Charhepi narrates the entire sequence of the rituals performed after an occurrence of death till the cremation," he says.

Near West Police Station A visiting UROLOGIST available every 2nd and 4th Saturdays.

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SAVE THE DATES APRIL 20

Inside a Woman’s Heart ORGANISED BY WINGS OF SINAI MINISTRY NAGALAND

20-23 APRIL 2017

THE LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH DC COURT JUNCTION DIMAPUR

conversation whatsoever — I speak Nepali and Hindi, my Chinese friend follows neither.”

A n In d o - C h i n e s e agreement in 1992 formally recognised the exchange of mail through the famous Nathu La Pass border post, about 55 km from Sikkim’s capital Gangtok.

The mail exchange is never postponed or stopped, even at the height of tensions between the two Asian neighbours over festering border disputes, says Tamang who took over in 1991 from a predecessor who once carried the mail for Sikkim’s erstwhile monarchs, the Chogyal.

Tough to replace Nathu La grabbed national headlines after a skirmish between the Indian and Chinese troops during the Chinese aggression

on the border state in 1967.

Even today, the post is zealously guarded by the army.

Tamang lives in east Sikkim’s Sherathang village, about 7 km from the border. The weather here is fickle, and even in summer a thin film of freezing mist descends across the peaks, making it hard to see anything. Tamang’s village is one of the few that dot the area’s craggy landscape, a terrain so tough that not many people would like to take Tamang’s job.

Every week, Tamang treks the distance to the border and back.For his efforts, Tamang makes just Rs 13,000 a month, another reason why the postal department has struggled to find a successor for the ageing man.

But who does the unique mail exchange ben-

Kecharhealun: Songs for dead

DIMAPUR HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTRE

ANNUAL WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

Postman Bhim Bahadur Tamang at the Sherathang border post. Tamang trudges through snow once a week to deliver mail across the Nathu La pass in Sikkim.(Wang Chen)

efit? Mostly Tibetan refugees and people in the border villages write to their families across the border, says an official at the army’s 77 Field Post Office at Tadong in Gangtok.

Mails for Tibet are directed to the India Post’s Siliguri office, from where the letters are sent to the army’s 77 Field post office at Tadong, he says.

“The mail, mostly letters are vetted and then sealed in a bag and a manifest issued for the Chinese post office at Yathung in Tibet’s Chumbi Valley is sent to the India Post’s Gangtok head office, from where the sealed bag is collected by the Sherathang postman.”

“While the mail exchange on the Indian side of the border takes place every Sunday, the exchange on the Chinese side takes place every Thursday.”

An army officer says the volume of mail has decreased over the years and at times, only an empty bag is exchanged. “But the process is never stopped,” adds the officer.

In the age of e-mails, had it not been for the mail exchange, letters would take months to reach their destination on both sides, says Laga Tamang, Sherathang post office incharge who also fills in for Bhim Bahadur when he is indisposed.

“Come hail or snow, Bhim Bahadur trudges up the 7km stretch from the Sherathang to Nathula to exchange the mailbag,” he says.

3PM - 3:50PM - REGISTRATION 4:00PM - SESSION 1

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OFFICE OF THE

MEDZIPHEMA VILLAGE COUNCIL DIST. DIMAPUR: NAGALAND PIN-797106

Date: 16-04-2017

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With reference to the press statement dated Saturday the 25th of March, 2017 under “MVC alleges embezzlement in MGNREGA funds” that appeared in the daily newspapers this is to clarify that all the matters and issues relating with the Department of Rural Development has been clarified by the Department and the issue has been resolved and settled amicably.

Therefore, it is our earnest request to various individuals and organisations not to misinterpret the Press Statement made by the Medziphema Village Council and that any individuals or Organisations should henceforth not take up the issue relating to the village matters and the Department which has already been resolved as mentioned.

Neikhonyü Kuotsü Chairman, MVC

Khriengulie Kapo Secretary, MVC

Thihelie Nakhro GB

Pelesevi R. Kuotsu GB

Vizohieu Khro VDB Secy.

4

MondAY 17•04•2017

business

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Snapchat ratings drop to ‘one star’ on App Store Enraged Indians boycott Snapdeal instead of Snapchat

New Delhi, April 16 (iANS): A day after news broke out regarding Snapchat's CEO Evan Spiegel's disinterest in expanding the business to "poor countries" like India, the rating of the popular app dropped to a "single star" from an apparent "five star" on the App Store.

According to the app info on App Store, the "Customer Ratings" of the current version of the app was "single star" (based on 6,099 ratings) and all versions rating was "one and half star" (based on 9,527 ratings) as on Sunday morning.

The rating for the app on Android Play Store was "four star" (based on 11,932,996 ratings).

The bashing started when US-based news website Variety on Saturday quoted Snapchat's

ex-employee Anthony Pompliano as saying that company CEO Evan Spiegel in September 2015 told him that "the app is only for rich people. I don't want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain".

Indians did not take the comment lightly and took to social media to lash out at the statement from the CEO. As the ratings of the app dropped, the criticism of the CEO and the app increased.

"First of all, I didn't even want to give any freakin' star to this app. Evan (CEO of Snapchat) shows how stupid he is by saying this. I bet 3/4th of his company is run by Indian employees. If he didn't want to expand it to poor countries, then why is this app free? Why didn't he put any charges on it?" a user wrote on App Store, condemning the CEO.

Some users wrote, "Poor India & Spain need better than Snapchat", "Good bye, My Snapchat Account and Snap Inc. You'll be product of gone by era and derision", and "Poor Evan Spiegel".

The app was also trolled on Twitter. #boycottsnapchat became the most trending hashtag on Twitter overnight.

"I haven't seen any Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians etc Tweets yet. Thanks @Snapchat for Uniting us," a user tweeted.

"I was addicted to @ Snapchat but I love my country more than this app. Let's see how you earn without Indians. @ evanspiegel #boycottsnapchat," another user wrote on twitter.

Some users even flagged the app for hateful content and left a message,

New Delhi, April 16 (AGeNCieS): After a former Snapchat employee alleged that the social media company's CEO Evan Spiegel was disinterested to expand the business to "poor countries" like India, Indians took to social media in huge numbers to express their displeasure with these unverified comments. Very soon, #BoycottSnapchat became the top trending topic on Twitter.

People began to uninstall the app and give it poor ratings and reviews on the App Store. However, not everyone seems to have received the memo that the outrage has to be directed towards Snapchat - for many are uninstalling ecommerce website Snapdeal's app instead.

The massive blunder came to light after people took to Twitter to post screenshots of Snapdeal's App Store reviews.

This is not the first time that people are calling for a boycott of Snapdeal. In 2015, the company received flak on social media over comments made about growing intolerance in India by its brand ambassador Aamir Khan.

Snapchat, for its part, has rubbished the allegations made by its former employee. "The simple fact is that he (Pompliano) knows nothing about Snap's current metric," the company's attorneys reacted, according to Variety.

"Dear @snapchatsupport, flagged you for hateful content. #boycottsnapchat".

According to a report in Forbes on Thursday, Facebook's photo-sharing app Instagram surpassed Snapchat in daily active users of "Stories" feature, though the format was first launched by Snapchat in 2013.

Instagram's "Stories" feature was now used by more than 200 million people every day -- an increase of 50 million since January.

On the other hand, Snapchat who launched the "Stories" format in October 2013, had 161 million daily active users in February.

"Stories" feature is an ephemeral chain of photo and video clips with filters and special effects. More recently, Facebook and WhatsApp also introduced the feature, imitating Snapchat.

Snapchat has more than four million users in India.

Snapdeal chief, top executives summoned to court

New Delhi, April 16 (pTi): E-commerce major Snapdeal's CEO Kunal Bahl and two others have been summoned by a Delhi court on a criminal complaint of an entrepreneur who alleged that his idea of connecting sellers and buyers through an e-platform was unauthorisedly usurped by the firm and its officials.

Additional Sessions Judge R K Tripathi issued notice to Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl, COO Rohit Bansal and its former chief financial officer (CFO) Vijay Ajmera for allegedly cheating entrepreneur Gaurav Dua's concept of "noninventory holding marketplace

model for retail" in the garb of collaborating with him.

"Heard. Record perused. Issue notice of revision petition to respondents vide all prescribed modes returnable for May 17, 2017," the judge said. Dua had lodged a criminal complaint against the founders and the CFO under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, which was dismissed by a trial court earlier. He had then filed a revision petition before sessions court.

As per his complaint, Dua, an engineer and entrepreneur,

founded portals marketsdelhi. com in 1999 and indianretail.net in 2005 and brought the benefits of digital technology to the retail community.

He claimed in his petition that he was the brain behind the noninventory holding marketplace model for retail in India and alleged that the Snapdeal officials cheated him under the garb of raising funds for his business. "Snapdeal founders, who claimed to champion the approach which put them ahead of other e-commerce companies, cheated Dua in the garb of collaboration with him and raising venture

leisure

CROSSWORD # 3917

SUDOKU

Answer Number # 3913

New York, April 16 (iANS): Customers who need to replace their fourth generation iPad will now get a newer and more capable iPad Air 2 as a substitute from Apple Stores and authorised service providers, a media report said.

Apple is doing this because the company has no

ACROSS 1. Cursed 6. Church alcove 10. Newbie (slang) 14. Burdened 15. Z Z Z Z (American) 16. Therefore 17. Supplemented 18. Mining finds 19. Cunning 20. Bad luck 22. Views 23. Suffering 24. Cancels 26. Associated 30. Ill-gotten gains 32. Not square 33. Begrudging 37. Be compelled 38. Runs 39. Threesome 40. Balls 42. French for “Queen” 43. Lost cause 44. Equine animals 45. A sloping mass of loose rocks 47. Triangular sail 48. Stop for a horse 49. Formation of a leg clot 56. Awestruck 57. Swiped 58. Genus of heath 59. Backside 60. If not 61. Charges per unit 62. P P P P 63. Clairvoyant 64. Sleighs DOWN 1. Close violently 2. Dry riverbed 3. Probabilities 4. Coral barrier 5. Gifted 6. Nitrogen (archaic) 7. South American country

8. Observed 9. Colognes 10. An open letter 11. Bay window 12. Leers 13. Young males 21. 16 1/2 feet 25. A large vase 26. Not legs 27. French for “Wolf” 28. Verdant 29. Merges 30. Pariah 31. Applications 33. Part in a play 34. Colored part of an eye 35. 1 less than 10 36. “Comes and ____” 38. Anagram of “Unsettle” 41. Caviar 42. Thieves 44. Not her 45. Portion 46. Thicket 47. Wisecracker 48. Envelop 50. Puncture 51. Thorny flower 52. By mouth 53. Location 54. Frozen 55. Back talk

New Delhi, April 16 (iANS): Industry chamber Assocham on Sunday asked the government to clearly define the scope of e-commerce under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, as the current definition is wide enough to even cover commodity derivatives exchanges.

"E-commerce definition, as given in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) dispensation, has been left so wide that it could go well beyond Amazon or Flipkart marketplace platforms and may even cover the commodity exchanges," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said in a statement here.

"It covers all businesses where the supply of goods/ services is through a digital or electronic network," Assocham said.

"In our opinion such an interpretation will not

New Delhi, April 16 (iANS): The year 2017 will see change and consolidation in the telecom towers industry, according to a top official of the Towers and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA).

"The year 2017 will be the year of innovation, disruption and transformation. It will also witness mergers and acquisitions (M&As)," Tilak Raj Dua, Director General, TAIPA, told IANS in an interview.

Asked where the towers industry was headed, Dua said that rural telephony will see a fillip as an investment of $2 billion from USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) std code: 03862

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be in consonance with the object and intent of special provisions for the electronic commerce business.

There are distinguishing legal and operational factors between e-commerce operators and commodity exchanges."

"The commodities exchanges cannot be treated as electronic commerce operator in their legal capacity as well as in common parlance," it added.

The industry organisation said it fears futures and commodity exchanges may get treated as electronic marketplaces even though derivatives trading means no delivery of actual goods.

In a communication addressed to various ministries, Assocham has also sought clarity on treatment of goods and services under GST for exports, gems and jewellery, micro, small and medium (MSME) sector, banking and telecom.

"Assocham would like a seamless and flawless roll out of the GST to infuse a sense of confidence among the consumers, trade and industry. Eventually, the GST should become a showpiece of our reforms," Assocham Secretary General D.S. Rawat said in the statement.

The industry lobby noted that the Central GST law is silent on exemptions provided on interest on loans.

"The exemption under services tax, which exempts interest, should be replicated under GST," it said.

GST being a unification of multiple indirect taxes into a single law "it is presumed current exemption would be continued for banking and other financial institution, including nonbanking financial company, as these exemptions create the basic foundation for taxing services provided by them," it added.

would facilitate expansion into non-urban areas. "It will bridge the rural-urban digital divide," he said.

Investments in telecom infrastructure will see a rise, and expansion of public WiFi will take place, Dua added.

He said the development of robust telecom infrastructure with the proliferation of in-building coverage, ICT, 4G and public WiFi will lead to accessibility to affordable high-speed internet for the common man. "This is likely to transform society into a knowledge-led and a connected one," Dua said.

The expansion of 4G TaHaMZaM

networks, affordability, penetration of smartphones and surge in data demands have opened up new opportunities for the telecom tower industry.

"In the next few years, growth in data demands will pave the way for infrastructure providers to establish and maintain inbuilding solutions, small cells, public Wi-Fi and fiberisation of backhaul networks," Dua said.

All these opportunities for tower companies will play a significant role in reducing rental and energy costs besides many other advantages like savings in capital expenditure and faster rollouts.

std code: 03871

(formerly senapati)

Police station Fire Brigade

222246 222491

Civil Hospital

232224

emergency

229529 229474

MH Hospital

227930 231081

Fire Brigade

Faith Hospital

228846

naga Hospital

2222916

shamrock Hospital

228254

oking Hospital

2243339

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231864 224117 227337

Bethel nursing Home

2224202

northeast shuttles

08974997923

Police Control room

228400

Police Traffic Control

232106

east Police station

227607

west Police station

232181

CIHsr (referral Hospital)

242555 242533

dimapur Hospital

224041 248011

KOHiMa

std code: 0370 2222952

KoHIMA Ps/oCs Contact numbers north Ps

8575045501

Officer-in-Charge 8575045510 south Ps

8575045502

Officer-in-Charge 8575045520 Zubza Ps

8575045508

Officer-in-Charge 8575045518

railway

131/228404

Airport Indian Airlines

229366 242441 225212

Chiephobozou Ps 8575045506 Officer-in-Charge 8575045516 tseminyu Ps

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Officer-in-Charge 8575045517 Khuzama Ps

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Officer-in-Charge 8575045515

Chumukedima Fire Brigade 282777

W

option, and has 32GB and 128GB storage options while 16GB and 64GB models were discontinued.

For that reason, the users may receive a slight upgrade in storage when getting a replacement in addition to the device's newer and more powerful internals overall.

'Tower industry to see boost in M&As this year'

Apollo Hospital Info Centre 230695/ 9402435652

Answer to Crossword 3916

stock left of the aging and now discontinued fourth generation iPad, 9to5Mac website reported on Saturday.

Apple has also asked its staff to inform customers of the replacement unit's colour and capacity.

The iPad Air 2 introduced a new gold colour

‘E-commerce term too wide in GST’

DiMaPUR

Simple Rules - Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Game Number # 3914

funds for his validated business.

Instead, "under the garb of collaboration and funding, held extensive discussions over many months but instead duped him by deploying all criminal tactics to part with the insights and workings of his work done over 10 years," the complaint alleged.

He claimed that for two years, the Delhi Police failed to register an FIR on his complaint after which he knocked the door of the court. The trial court, however, dismissed his complaint, after which he filed a revision petition before the present judge.

Apple to replace iPad 4th gen with iPad Air 2

Kezocha Ps

8575045549

nikos Hospital and research Centre

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nagaland Multispecialty Health & research Centre

women Cell 248302, 09856006026

8575045509

eden Medical Centre

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S

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A

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Officer-in-Charge 8575045538 Officer-in-Charge 8575045519

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Control room

H

FiRE STaTiONS

KoHIMA soUtH: 0370-2222952/ 101 (O) 9402003086 (OC) KoHIMA nortH: 7085924114 (O) dIMAPUr: 03862-232201/ 101 (O) 9856156876 (OC) CHUMUKedIMA: 7085982102 (O) 8732810051 (OC) woKHA: 03860-242215/101 (O) 8974322879 (OC) MoKoKCHUnG: 0369-2226225/ 101 (O) 8415830232 (OC) PHeK: 8414853765 (O) 8413822476(OC) ZUnHeBoto: 03867-280304/ 101 (O) 9436422730 (OC) tUensAnG: 8414853766 (O) 9856163601 (OC) Mon: 03869-251222/ 101 (O) 9862130954 (OC) Kiphire: 8414853767 (O) 9436261577 (OC) Peren: 7085189932 (O) 9856311205 (OC) LonGLenG: 7085924113 (O) 9862414264 (OC) we4 woMen HeLPLIne 08822911011 WOMEN HeLPLIne 181 CHiLD weLFAre CoMMIttee Toll free No. 1098 childline

MOKOKCHUNG

std code: 0369

Police station 1 Police station 2 Police station Kobulong Police station tuli Police station Changtongya Police station Mangkolemba Civil Hospital

9485232688 9485232689 9485232690 9485232693 9485232694 9485232695 2226216

woodland nursing Home

2226263

Hotel Metsüpen (tourist Lodge) 2226373/ 2229343

CURRENCY NOTES BUY (rs) seLL (rs)

Us dollars sterling Pound Hong Kong dollar Australian dollar singapore dollar Canadian dollar Japanese Yen euro thai Baht Korean won UAe dirham (Aed) Chinese Yuan

63.18 78.61 7.87 47.66 45.01 46.96 56.66 67.3 1.77 0.054 16.64 8.87

66.05 82.42 8.77 50.00 47.23 49.28 59.88 70.56 1.97 0.0601 18.55 9.87

monday 17•04•2017

NAGALAND

Razaphe village gets new Church NSlSa conduct 71 lok adalat sittings across state Total settlement amount at Rs. 6,26,15,298 Our Correspondent Kohima | April 16

The Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) has conducted both National Lok Adalat (Peoples Court) and Lok Adalat (exclusively by district legal services authority) across the state reliving the pendency of cases on the judiciary.

71 Lok Adalat sittings were held across the state during the calendar year 2016 on various subjects viz, recovery suits, criminal com-

poundable matters, traffic, MACT, petty matters and municipal matters, bank recovery cases (pre-litigative & pending) including mobile Lok Adalat, according to the Annual Administrative Report 2016-17 of the Department of Justice & Law tabled in the recently concluded assembly session.

The total cases taken up stands at 3,358 with 1,853 cases disposed. The total settlement amounts to Rs. 6,26,15,298 (Six crore twenty six lakhs fifteen thousand two hundred ninety eight).

Further, the total number of legal aid clinic and legal service functional in

the state stands at 163. Altogether 2,750 applications received in various legal aid clinic and frontal offices.

A total of 8650 persons assisted, benefited by legal services and provided free legal service including provision of legal aid counsels belonging to various groups viz., women, children, ST/SC, under trial prisoners, convicts, victims of disaster.

The total number of beneficiaries of legal literacy and awareness programmes (Person attending awareness programme) stands at 6460.

The NSLSA also visit-

ed a total of 43 homes and centres, like observation homes, orphanage homes, rehabilitation centres, juvenile homes etc.

Further, six beneficiaries were also recorded under Nagaland Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012 through recommendations from NSLSA and district legal services authority.

The beneficiaries include rape and destitute victims of Kohima, Dimapur and Mon who received compensation from home department (relief & rehabilitation establishment), Govt of Nagaland, the report added.

AR provides aids to Bumblebee Pre School

The faculty of Bumblebee School, Kohima with the AR officials during the interaction ceremony held on April 12.

Kohima, april 16 HQ IGAR (North) distrib- bee Pre School, Kohima (mExN): The 3 Assam uted Sensory Integrated on April 12. Bumblebee Rifles under the aegis of Learning Aids to Bumble- Pre School, Kohima (Na-

galand) is dedicated to the needs of special children and inspires them to lead a life of their own.

To add a little to the future of such special children, 3 (NH) Battalion Assam Rifles extended a helping hand by providing Bumblebee Pre School, Kohima with Sensory Integrated Learning Aids and one projector which would be extremely beneficial for the specially abled children to learn much more with ease.

A press note stated that the items were handed over to the Principal Bumblebee School, Kohima at the school in a small interaction ceremony.

Dimapur, april 16 (mExN): The newly built St. Paul Church, Razaphe was inaugurated by Ketsokhrie Thomas, Head GB, Razaphe and pioneer Catechist, on Sunday, April 16.

Bishop of Kohima, Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, blessed the church with eight priests concelebrating with the Bishop.

On the occasion, three children received the Sacrament of the first Holy Communion and 6 received the sacrament of Confirmation.

Bishop Thoppil while speaking on the occasion

thanked God for the blessings that the community received. He exhorted that the real Church, the liv-

ing Church that worships God in spirit and in truth are the believers. “Each one of us is the living tem-

ple of God and each of us must build this temple of our life every day. God must dwell within us,” he exhorted.

Bishop Thoppil further stated that God reveals to us primarily in four ways: in the community, the word of God (Bible), the sacraments, and the works of charity.

In the short felicitation programme Catechism Children, Razephe, Brothers from Good Shepherd Seminary, Women from non Catholic denominations, youth from Tenyiphe presented songs.

TSUD condemns actions of police personnel Dimapur, april 16 (mExN): The Tenyimi Students’ Union Dimapur (TSUD) has condemned the actions of police personnel involved in the video which went viral in social media involving some teenagers at Dimapur State Stadium “clearly

violating all the procedural norms”.

“While we acknowledge the services of Dimapur police, such abuse of power and authority is uncalled for,” TSUD President, Azo Wetsah and General Secretary A. Shyerhunlo Lorin stated in a press re-

lease while requesting the higher authorities to take action against those erring police personnel involved in the incident.

“Those police personnel have not only violated Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act but, also shown high handedness in enforc-

ing the law,” TSUD alleged.

The Union expressed hope that the higher authorities would leave no stone unturned in punishing those responsible and once again instill respect and admiration in the eyes of the public for Dimapur Police.

Purana Bazaar Ration Philimi-Tsungiki Card holders informed Doyang Union Dimapur, april 16 (mExN): All PHH Ration Card Holders of Purana Bazaar village have been informed that there will be distribution of PHH Rice on April 18 at the Council Hall Purana Bazaar. A press release in this regard has informed all the concerned card holders to collect the rice according to the timings mentioned below: 1. Model Colony – 7:00 am to

10:00 am 2. Jorapukhri – 10:00 am to 11:00 am 3. New Colony – 11:00 am to 12:00 noon 4. Mt View Colony – 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm 5. Middle Colony – 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm 6. High School Colony – 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

WoKha, april 16 (mExN): The PhilimiTsungiki Doyang Union is organizing the annual community fishing on April 21 at Doyang River. A press release from the Union in this regard has extended invitation to all those who are desirous of participating in the fishing. However, for the welfare of the Union, voluntary donation would be realized from those arriving for the event, the release stated. Intoxicants would be strictly prohibited and checking would be conducted by the volunteers, it added.

ZUF undertakes departmental reshuffle Oting Youth condemn AR action Dimapur, april 16 (mExN): The Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) held a general meeting on April 12 at the Council Headquarter, where the Central Executive Council (CEC) unanimously undertook a departmental reshuffle with the completion of the tenure i.e., 2015-2017.

A press note from the ZUF informed that the process of this reshuffle is a usual procedure after every two years for the vanguard

and smooth functioning of the Front’s administration.

In this change of guard, the Central Executive Council (CEC) has appointed the following persons with their respective portfolios given below: Dh Longmei as Home Secretary, A Dangmei as Finance Secretary, H Kamson as Information & Publicity Secretary, P Alfred Riamei as External Affairs Secretary and Abui Riame as Auditor General (AG)

The newly appointed officials will henceforth discharge their duty as Departmental Head of the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) for the coming session 2017-2019 with effect from April 12, the ZUF stated.

It meanwhile appealed to the public and the Zeliangrong community in particular to co-operate with the new officials to enable them in carrying forward the aspirations of the Zeliangrong and kin tribes.

moN, april 16 (mExN): A day after the Oting Village Council refuted allegations that two NSCN (K) cadres were arrested by the Assam Rifles, the Oting Youth Organisation (OYO) today strongly condemned the actions of the AR and instead accused the 35 AR of “high handedness and cruelty”.

The OYO in a statement insisted that the two were “innocent Oting villagers”.

The two – Nyanei Konyak and Lemnyei Konyak – were “tortured and held

captive” in their company camp at Tizit and later “branded” as NSCN 'K' cadres, the OYO stated.

Questioning whether the AR was for the protection of citizens or “to abduct and torture innocent civilians”, the youth body advised the AR to do away with the 'friends of the hill people' tag.

Further the OYO appealed to every right minded citizen to condemn the “reckless and inhuman act” so that such incidents are not repeated elsewhere.

One arrested for possession of Opium Kohima, april 16 (mExN): One person was arrested on Sunday afternoon by the Kohima Police for possession of 9 kgs (approx) of suspected opium.

The suspected opium in liquid form was found concealed inside an inverter box during routine checking at Khuzama Check Gate. The arrested individual, identified as Raj Kumar Das (52 years), was travelling in a Dimapur bound vehicle. The Jalukie circle fishery training on culture of Indian major carps and exotic corps was arrested person along with the held at Athibung town on April 11. The training was sponsored by the Department of Fisheries, Nagaland with DFO, DoryYanthan as the resource person. Fishery demon- seized items was later handed to Khuzama Police Station. stration was done by A. Merenjamir, Temjensoba and Haimia. (DIPR Photo)

The 15th Battalion, Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (N) constructed and handed over a new school building to the Government Primary School at Old Pangsha village, Tuensang District on April 15. Colonel Vineet Jaiswal, Commandant 15 AR inaugurated the project in presence of Chairmen Old Pangsha and New Pangsha village, teachers and students which was followed by a cultural programme.

5 AR conducts tailoring course for women the unemployed youths of Zunheboto district.

The programme was sponsored by SEDBI Bank, Dimapur in which 30 ladies from Zunheboto town and 10 ladies of Assam Rifles took part. The closing ceremony was graced by Neeru Suri, President 5 Assam Rifles, ARWWA. The aim of skill development programme was to empower women to lead an independent life and also become bread winners of their houses.

Participants of the tailoring course conducted by the 5 Assam Rifles.

In the closing ceremony, certifiZuNhEBoTo, april 16 by Green Club Zunheboto and 5 cates were distributed to all the (mExN): A four week training Assam Rifles in the Assam Rifles trainees followed by an informal course on Tailoring was organised camp from March 20 to April 15 for interaction.

Public SPace The consequences the Nagas suffer due to ignorance An Opinion on Mid Day Meal Liberal Democratic Party of Nagaland

F

or long enough we Nagas have suffered our lives at the hands of the ignorant forces under the guise of a patriotic or ‘true leader’ of the people as if we never had a choice to turn the tables for once. Therefore we for once have decided to do something unorthodox that could and have unfortunately confused a lot of the people but still our faith in the people that they would start thinking outside of the box have so far motivated our cause to change the society for good once and for all.

We have come to terms that all the problems brought upon by the few people were all the product of the ignorant irrational system that manipulated our decisions and perspective about life. The system has everyone under its control be it the rich, poor or the ignorant and the smart ones altogether. The only thing that could balance out our society it seems now is only rationality and knowledge and truth.

It was ignorance that com-

pelled the Ministers, MLAs and the bureaucrats to siphon off the funds for their own. Had they known or considered that we Nagas as a tiny race of humans needn’t always had to depend on others for technology, modernization and scientific discoveries etc. then maybe they would have diverted some if not all, specific amount of funds for the total completion of a project. It was ignorance that compelled the few invested women to pursue the legal 33% reservation in the ULB election which has now compromised Art. 371(A) because who in their right mind would jeopardize the financial stand (liberty) of the public at the cost of acquiring posts in the civic bodies regardless of their motives being for personal or social glory. It was ignorance that made some invested authorities of the various NPGs to extort huge amount of money beyond the profit margin and the capital itself in some cases upon fellow Naga entrepreneurs which is another factor why we lack private jobs.

The LDPN being the pioneer of rationality in the Naga society (not necessarily), we have comprehended that although every corruptors were at fault but still being a Naga living in the Naga society, knowing how it is, we can but only blame the irrational system we let exist and influence our society.

The western society had tried religion to dominate the society during the medieval times under the authority of the Roman Catholic Pope but seeing that it was anti-democracy and anti-liberalism (when this world was increasingly secular, nationalistic and antipapal) and after continuous revolutions, even the churches accepted the circumstances and the significance of ‘Human Rights’ and decided not to indulge in politics.

So in response to one Naga writer who wrote, “role of the churches in Nagaland” on 11th April 2017, it is advised to him or anyone to check all the facts, the “pros and cons” before presenting any idea for the society to accept or even review.

We Nagas just like every human on earth are but only chained to the rhythm. Some argue that even our ‘free will’ itself is determined by the system. Which is why we have to be more wiser than we ever were. No decision should go by without thorough scrutiny. We have blamed corruption for our misery and left it in the hands of the ‘karma police’ to give us justice during which many hypocrites have robbed us of our rights and privileges and has retired. This necessarily doesn’t need to happen to us for we deserve There is so much we Nagas are capable of instead of always being the victim of someone else’s misdoings. Thus we have to acknowledge the utility of reasoning/rationality and the implication of truth in our society if we want to attain the level of development and progress we all dream of, without which the Nagas have still a lot more perils to encounter because we have achieved the “height of corruption as well as ignorance”, the end of the road towards the doomful pit.

Hanso Chang

Joint Secretary Chang Students Union Tuensang Town

W

hen we hear this particular word 'meal' we all know what it is all about. Having a great time and filling your stomach to the fullest so that you can be a happy man on earth. Who doesn't like meal we all do but how often do we realize that some people starves for food even in this 21st century. I term poverty as one of the major factor responsible for this.

Anyways, coming back to our discussion that is about the Mid Day Meal, the Government of India launch the Mid Day Meal Scheme/ Programme to ensure the proper nutritional status among the school children. It was in the year 2001 the Supreme Court passed an order that a Mid Day Meal with a minimum content of 300 calories & 8-12 gms of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days should be the basic entitlement of every child in Govt. assisted or Govt. Primary Schools.

Later in the year 2015 as per the MDM Rules of 2015 under National Food Security Act, every child was entitled to get nu-

tritional standards of 450 calories and 12 gm of protein for primary and 700 calories and 20 gm protein for upper primary.

Now, my point of view is that are mid day meals properly implemented in Nagaland especially in the far flung areas? As per the MDM Rules of 2015 the sample of the food that is served to the children is to be taken to lab for testing to ensure the standard of the food. But in Nagaland having been known for shortage of equipments we don't go up to that extend I suppose.

I'm not of the view that the govt. schools are showing negligence to this particular programme or scheme. All I wanted to share is that it is the right of every children and responsibility of the Government schools to provide children the food with required amount of calories and proteins.

Simply cooking and feeding them is not what MDM is about, it’s about maintaining a nutritional balance among school children.

Therefore, keeping in mind the importance of education with good health the Govt. Sector needs to be more sincere while building a future for better tomorrow.

6

MONDAY 17•04•2017

IN FOCUS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

The Power of Truth

The Morung Express VOLUME XII ISSUE 103

By Moa Jamir

No ‘Anti-Romeo squads’ in Nagaland please

S

tate of affairs in Nagaland can be considered dystopian.

The latest such trait manifested when some police personnel in guise of curbing an ‘illegal activity’ and responding to ‘reports of public nuisance’ appallingly subjected some teenagers to action ‘beyond their mandate’ and circulated videos of the incident on social media. According to the Dimapur Police, the incident occurred on April 12 at the Dimapur Stadium.

The incident has expectedly caused huge outcry and complain of abuse of power and denigration by some over-enthusiast ‘moral guardians’ triumphantly broadcasting their pyrrhic victory to gain brownie points.

Restraining or arresting an apprehendee following Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) is certainly unquestionable, but this galling behavior, carried out with disregard for any rulebook, is certainly unprecedented. It is morally degrading, emotionally devastating and legally questionable.

Two things can be noted here. First, Nagaland is by law a ‘dry state’ which by default makes ‘illegal’ the possession, manufacture and consumption of alcohol. Beyond technicality, the practical application of such law is anybody’s guess.

Second, the State by law has authorised certain entities the power to execute the law. However, if the police are carrying out a legal mandate, it also means that they have to operate within the parameters of the same law within which they are justifying their action.

If one goes by the evidence provided by the video, prima facie no standard SoP were followed. Most importantly, if one peruses 'The Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989' thoroughly, nowhere in the act it is mentioned that a police officer or any enforcing agency has a right to “shoot” videos of offenders and share it on social media. It smacks of extreme impunity, and total disregard for individual rights and privacy.

In the present case, without a benefit of doubt, the police can be faulted in erring on the two counts; a charge the Dimapur Police has welcomingly conceded.

Another aspect of the issue doing the rounds is whether the highhandedness of police and circulation of the video is punishable under relevant Information Technology Act and Juvenile Justice Act. Again, if the police action leads to any detrimental consequences, can they be held responsible for ‘abetment’?

A preliminary analysis would frighteningly suggest a case of ‘Kangaroos Courts,’ often associated with fundamental entities. It is also eerily similar to the context of ‘moral policing’ – a term usually associated with vigilante groups which enforce a code of morality – often a personal or organizational interpretation which is uncodified and without any legal sanction.

It reminds one of the controversial ‘Anti-Romeo squads’ gaining momentum in some India States.

In the present case, the Dimapur Police has clarified that some of its personnel “acted in manners beyond their mandate” and the videos which went viral on social media are “illegal.” The police further said that necessary “disciplinary actions have being initiated and the personnel involved are being placed under suspension” and “any deviant behaviors or actions by its members will not be tolerated.”

Dimapur Police, which in recent years have been associated with instilling a sense of professionalism and various laudable initiatives, have a tendency to get engulfed in cauldrons of controversy suggesting disconnect between its intention and execution. This calls for more holistic sensitization as well an improved ‘policing’ of its personnel to link the ‘intention’ and the outcome.

Beyond the realm of the state machinery, however, many organisations are also inflicted with symptoms of high handed ‘vigilantism’ which often infringes upon personal freedom and legal sanction but implemented with regular impunity.

While Dimapur Police have responded positively to the current incident, who will ‘police’ them? While we ponder over this question, it may be noted that we don’t need any ‘moral policing’ nor Anti-Romeo Squads in Nagaland.

C O M M E N T A R Y

Humanity and Social Justice, a Must for the Future of Work

“T

he future of work must be inspired by considerations of humanity, of social justice and peace.

If it is not, we are going to a dark place, we are going to a dangerous place,” said the head of the leading world body specialised on labour issues.

With a forecful call to make social dialogue between governments and the social partners a key instrument for building a world of work that leaves no one behind, Guy Ryder, director general of the International Labour Organization (ILO) summed up a landmark event on the future of work.

“We now need to transform our thinking into results, into concrete outcomes,” Ryder added at the conclusion of the two-day (April 6-7) Global Dialogue: The Future of Work We Want.

“We need to address the concerns of that young person, wondering if there is a future of work for them.”

The event, which took place at ILO’s headquarters in Geneva, brought together leading economists, academics and representatives of governments and the social partners (employers’ and workers’ organisations) to discuss the profound changes sweeping the world of work.

More than 700 participants attended the event in Geneva with several hundreds joining and participating via the Internet and social media.

“We Can’t Leave It All to the Market” Among the participants was Lord Robert Skidelsky, from the University of Warwick in the UK, who as the keynote speaker at the event said that international solutions are needed to harmonise the process of adaptation to the future of work: “We can’t leave it all to the market. We can’t stop innovation but we can manage it.”

The Geneva meeting also featured a special session on how to shape the future of work for youth, with a particular focus on the transition from school to work, the organisation of the world of work and its regulation.

He reminded that the future of work was a global issue that merited a global response, but also one that requires “taking into consideration the diverse circumstances of our 187 member States” and the importance of sharing experiences among them.

The head of the ILO emphasised the need to promote innovation and development, at the same time as maintaining the Organization’s social objectives.

Work, Technologies, Climate Change, Migration…

The Global Dialogue was part of a broader ILO’s The Future of Work Centenary Initiative to investigate the future of work and better understand the

Rina Chandran Thomson Reuters Foundation

For faster growth in India, change the land acquisition law – official "You cannot wait five years for projects such as infrastructure and power"

I

ndia's benchmark land acquisition law must be amended to make it easier to buy land for defence and development projects in the fast-growing economy, while also ensuring the rights of farmers, a senior government official said.

A joint parliamentary committee is studying proposed changes to the 2013 law, which include allowing buyers to acquire land without the consent of local communities, and removing the need to carry out an assessment of the social impact of their plans.

"The biggest issue we are facing is the pace of land acquisitions - on average, it takes 59 months to acquire land under this law," said Hukum Singh Meena, a joint secretary of the department of land resources.

"But you cannot wait five years for projects such as infrastructure and power - at least in these cases, acquisitions need to be expedited," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Conflicts related to land and resources are the main reason behind stalled industrial and development projects in India, affecting millions of people and jeopardising billions of dollars of investment, a recent study showed.

Enacted by the previous government, the 2013 law aimed to protect poor farmers by making their consent in land deals mandatory. It also introduced a social impact assessment, support for those displaced by projects and compensation of up to four times the market value of their homes.

But within a year of the law coming into force, a new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to amend the legislation by removing the need for consent and a social impact assessment.

But the executive order failed to pass due to fierce opposition. Four states have since amended the law, with other states considering similar changes to speed up land deals. .

"States are amending the law because they want to expedite acquisitions. But if all the states want the same things, why not amend the central law?" Meena said.

A former minister who helped frame the landmark law, that replaced a colonial-era law, has said diluting the land acquisition law not only hurts farmers, but also risks more conflicts and legal challenges.

Meena said a compromise is essential to ensure growth and create jobs for India's 1.3 billion population.

"We do not want to take away the rights of farmers. We just want to expedite crucial projects," he said.

drivers of unprecedented change, including technological innovation, the organisation of work and production, globalisation, climate change, migration and demography, among others.

The initiative is seeking to broadly canvas the views of key actors in the world of work on all of these issues, says ILO. More than 167 countries have taken part in the ILO initiative so far, with 107 of them participating in national and regional dialogues that have been or are being held all around the world.

Their conclusions will help inform a High Level Global Commission on the Future of Work, to be established by the ILO later this year. The report of the Commission will feed into discussions on a Centenary Declaration at the 2019 International Labour Conference.

Around the world, profound changes in the nature of work are underway, ILO said, adding that the ongoing transformations in the world of labour are disrupting the connection between work, personal development and community participation.

The future of work gains special relevance now that it is estimated that over 600 million new jobs need to be created by 2030, just to keep pace with the growth of the global working age population. That’s around 40 million per year.

Meantime, there is a pressing need to improve conditions for the some 780 million women and men who are working but not earning enough to lift themselves and their families out of just 2 dollars a day poverty.

Major Issues On these major issues, which mainly affects the present and future of the youth, and in particular, the most vulnerable groups such as women, migrants,

rural communities, and indigenous peoples, the world leading specialised body, had, ahead of the meeting posed the following seven key questions: How will societies manage these changes? Will they bring together or pull apart developed, emerging and developed economies?; Where will the jobs of tomorrow come from and what will they look like?; What are the challenges and opportunities young people are facing as they make the transition into the world of work?; What do they see as the path forward to achieve sustainable inclusive growth for future generations?

Also: what are the new forms of the employment relationship and whether and to what extent that relationship will continue to be the locus for many of the protections now afforded to workers? And: what initiatives to revitalise existing norms and institutions and/or create new forms of regulation that may help to meet present and future governance challenges?

Around the world, in economies at all stages of development, profound changes in the nature of work are underway, the UN specialised body explained, adding that numerous and diverse drivers account for these: demographic shifts, climate change, technological innovation, shifting contours of poverty and prosperity, growing inequality, economic stagnation and the changing character of production and employment.

A Worrisome Picture “We are facing the twin challenge of repairing the damage caused by the global economic and social crisis and creating quality jobs for the tens of millions of new labour market entrants every year,” said Guy Ryder

ahead of the meeting.

Economic growth continues to disappoint and underperform – both in terms of levels and the degree of inclusion, he explained, adding, “This paints a worrisome picture for the global economy and its ability to generate enough jobs. Let alone quality jobs.”

According to ILO chief, persistent high levels of vulnerable forms of employment combined with clear lack of progress in job quality – even in countries where aggregate figures are improving – are “alarming.”

In fact, ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2017 shows that vulnerable forms of employment – i.e. contributing family workers and own account workers – are expected to stay above 42 per cent of total employment, accounting for 1.4 billion people worldwide in 2017.

Almost one in two workers in emerging countries are in vulnerable forms of employment, rising to more than four in five workers in developing countries, said Steven Tobin, ILO Senior Economist and lead author of the report.

As a result, the number of workers in vulnerable employment is projected to grow by 11 million per year, with Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected.

Meanwhile, the global unemployment rate is expected to rise modestly from 5.7 to 5.8 per cent in 2017 representing an increase of 3.4 million in the number of jobless people, a new ILO report shows.

The number of unemployed persons globally in 2017 is forecast to stand at just over 201 million – with an additional rise of 2.7 million expected in 2018 – as the pace of labour force growth outstrips job creation.

Britain’s secret wars

For any comment, drop a line to moajamir@live.com

LEFT WING |

Baher Kamal Inter Press Service

A new report on the use of Special Forces against ISIS opens a window onto Britain's changing military strategy in the Trump era

J

Paul Rogers

ared Kushner, son-in-law of President Trump and one of the most influential people in his administration, says the fight to retake Mosul from ISIS is nearing its end. This view looks dubious when set against reports, for example by Voice of America's Heather Mudock, that ISIS's most experienced paramilitaries are still entrenched in the core parts of the old city. Moreover, even apart from the military realities, the dire problems being faced by civilians augur badly for any quick resolution (see "Dark Times Ahead in Battle for Mosul", VOA, 4 April 2017).

But the United States-led coalition will eventually declare victory in Mosul. To that end, Trump is more than willing to allow far more intensive airstrikes whatever the cost to civilians, and to sanction the more direct involvement of regular US combat troops in fighting on the ground.

This strategy entails giving the military a much freer hand than Barack Obama ever did. The same change is on display in regard to Yemen, where there has been a marked rise in US operations against al-Qaida groups: last week alone saw more than twenty airstrikes, bringing the total for the year so far to seventy-five, close to double the average yearly total since Obama’s drone programme began in 2009.

As it continues to escalate, the Trump version of the "war on terror" will bring substantial questions for its closest allies – most especially Britain and France. The presidential election and its aftermath in France will determine reactions there, which might be more predisposed to highlight than to conceal the state's overseas military interventions. In Britain by contrast,

there is very little debate on its military place in the larger scheme of things.

A surprising aspect of the Westminster Bridge attack on 22 March was that it proved almost impossible for people to see any connection between that atrocity and Britain’s deep involvement against extreme Islamist paramilitary groups. This is remarkable given that the UK is part of a coalition led by the United States that has killed over 50,000 ISIS supporters since August 2014.

ISIS wants to bring this war back to the states of the “far enemy” – including France, Belgium, the UK and most recently Russia. So if we kill thousands of them, they would like to kill at least hundreds of us. That may be a very crude representation of what is happening. But it is still worth asking why there is so little discussion about the connection, virtually no parliamentary scrutiny, hardly any media coverage, and notably little dissension.

There are some ready explanations.

The main opposition parties, especially Labour, are reluctant to raise any defence-related issue, mainly for fear of being accused of being unpatriotic, with all the tabloid fervour that this will rouse. Also, there is very little reporting of the war, except in rare cases such as the assault on Mosul, where there are some western reporters in the vicinity.

Another factor is almost entirely missed, however: the level of secrecy the British government manages to maintain on some of the key aspects of the war, especially the use of special forces. Such deployments, which have wide implications for UK defence policy, are illuminated by a new report

from the Remote Control Group. It car- ing little stories into the tabloid press, ries a most appropriate title: All Quiet usually ones that make it look good. on the ISIS Front: British Secret WarThe authors of the new report, Emil Knowles and Abigail Watson, have fare in the Information Age. sidestepped much of the secrecy by Towards openness careful research supported by unusuThe Remote Control group, hosted ally wide-ranging references (over 400

by Oxford Research Group and funded are cited). Their analysis uses Open by the Network for Social Change, has Source Intelligence (OSI) with considworked for several years to bring to the erable skill and in the process does a fore the changing nature of the wars considerable service in facilitating sethat Britain and other western countries rious debate on this neglected issue. fight. The change has been from an emAt any time this would be desirphasis on tens of thousands of “boots able but right now it is essential. The on the ground”, albeit supported by co- unfolding Trump era already makes pious use of air-power, towards much plain that he is content with the prosgreater emphasis on “remote control”: pect of more war – a key way to “make the use of armed-drones, air-delivered America great again”. Britain, more stand-off weapons, privatised military than any other state, is at the greatest companies, and expanded use of spe- risk of being dragged into his brave cial forces. new world. Tony Blair took the counRemote Con- try into a disastrous war in Iraq, while trol has published Afghanistan persists as a failing state many s t u d i e s and Libya is reduced to chaos. Now, a which highlight dif- much expanded "war on terror" will be ferent aspects of remote warfare but fought far more remotely than before.

All Quiet on the ISIS Front is distin- At the very least, Britain should go into guished by its focus on Britain and it with its eyes open. All Quiet on the its mushrooming specialist contin- ISIS Front could do much to ensure the gents. Though much enhanced in debate that is so much needed. capability in recent years, the latter Paul Rogers is professor in the are almost entirely unaccountable to parliamentary scrutiny because of department of peace studies at Bradford University, northern England. the long-established refusal of successive governments to comment on He is openDemocracy's international security adviser, and has been writing their activities. a weekly column on global security The problem with this approach since 28 September 2001; he also is a distinct lack of decision-sharing writes a monthly briefing for the Oxor even debate, which becomes even more dangerous in the context of mili- ford Research Group. His latest book tary power and its destructive impacts. is Irregular War: ISIS and the New Threat from the Margins (IB Tauris, The British government may argue that 2016), which follows Why We’re Lossecrecy about military operations is ing the War on Terror (Polity, 2007), essential. But other western governand Losing Control: Global Security ments are far less secretive, and Britin the 21st Century (Pluto Press, 3rd ain's stance is in any case undermined edition, 2010). by the government’s practice of feed-

WRITE-WING

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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.

MonDAY 17•04•2017

PERSPECTIVE

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

7

Myanmar’s unique challenges

Nigel Gould-Davies

O

ne year after Aung San Suu Kyi took office, Myanmar’s transition to democracy remains incomplete, and the country faces serious challenges One year ago, a new chapter opened in Myanmar’s history. In April 2016, Aung Sang Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) took office following its sweeping election victory the previous November. This peaceful transition to democratic government was the culmination of a remarkable and largely unpredicted opening-up by the entrenched military regime that had ruled the country for five decades.

The NLD has begun tackling the hard challenges of reforming one of the poorest countries in the world.

Inevitably, the miracle narrative of Daw Suu’s ascent from political prisoner to State Counsellor (a bespoke position that makes her de facto President) has come under strain. These challenges are uniquely complex. We can understand why by comparing Myanmar with the distilled experience of the fifty or so countries that have made their own democratic transition over the past forty years. While each country is different, all transitions resemble one another. By studying them we can draw wider conclusions about their characteristic paths, dynamics and outcomes, and the ways that specific national experiences vary.

This casts light on the nature and scale of the challenges facing a new democracy. Transitions are not completed until a democracy is consolidated. This requires a broad consensus among all significant political forces that democracy is the only legitimate way to resolve disagreements, however severe they are. Meeting major early challenges successfully is critical: this provides wide reassurance that the new regime is resilient and effective.

Democracies almost always face a difficult birth. This is because serious problems – economic decline, social conflict, defeat in war – un-

dermined the previous authoritarian regime, causing it to open up.

Why else would it do so? Successful autocracies do not give up power.

Inevitably, then, the democracy that succeeds it inherits problems. In addition, many transitions are also “pacted”; that is, agreed between forces of the old and new regime.

While we often think of democratisations as “hero stories” of selfsacrificing struggle led by exceptional leaders, they are also, no less than this, “strategy stories”: careful and complex negotiations involving pressure, inducement and compromise. The Myanmar transition has been no exception.

All this means that new democratic leaders gain power not on their own terms, but on those negotiated with their predecessors. And within these constraints they must address the problems that led to the negotiations. Three sets of challenges can arise from this combination of problems-plus-constraints. They may be posed as questions. The first is: how does power work? This is the challenge of state design. The sec-

ond is: how does wealth work? This is the challenge of the economy. The third is: how does society work? This is the challenge of identity. Myanmar is unique in facing all three challenges on a significant scale.

First, how does power work? This question covers two issues: the constitutional design that defines how the country is governed, and the role of the military. In most democratic transitions the constitution is part of the bargaining process, or is promulgated by the new democratic regime as part of its ‘founding moment’. Either path confers democratic legitimacy on the constitution and ensures that it reflects the wishes of the new government. Unusually in Myanmar, the constitution was written by the military regime in 2008, before the transition began. The NLD has had no say in the design of the institutions through which it now governs. Nor can it obviously change them. The constitution is designed to remain amendment-proof without the consent of the military – not least by granting it 25% of legislative seats.

What does it take for activists to get your attention?

Brian Martin

F

Waging Nonviolence

or major protests today, it is standard to have a media strategy. For example, there can be individuals assigned to media liaison. The location and timing of an action can be chosen with an eye toward media schedules.

Some actions are designed specifically to attract media attention.

However, there are many factors that complicate activist efforts to reach the mass media. Major outlets choose what to report based on news values such as conflict, prominence and proximity. A politician will be quoted rather than an activist, and a scuffle at a rally will be reported rather than what the protest is actually about.

Activists can try to sidestep the mass media by using social media.

Another option is simply to not worry so much about media coverage and focus on making actions meaningful for participants. After all, protesters are part of the audience.

There is lots of practical advice on how to send the protest message, and it is definitely worth understanding media dynamics and taking them into account. However, protesters will nearly always be at a disadvantage when trying to compete with dominant groups. A useful perspective for understanding this challenge is provided by Tim Wu in his engaging book “The Attention Merchants.”

Capturing attention Wu tells the story of media in an original way, as a struggle to capture the attention of audiences. What you pay attention to is the foundation of your reality. It is what you think about, and it shapes your behavior. According to Wu, the history of media is an evolving effort by governments and corporations to capture the attention of audiences.

Wu starts with the first newspapers. They were sober, expensive and not widely read. Then a U.S. entrepreneur had the idea of running advertisements, lowering the price and increasing circulation by running stories of scandal. The result was hugely popular. More people read newspapers. Their attention was captured by lower quality reporting and then directed to ads.

This same pattern was repeated with each new media form. It’s hard to believe today that when radio was introduced in the United States in the 1920s, it was thought improper to broadcast ads that would be played in people’s homes, which were considered private domains.

But then a popular program, Amos ’n’ Andy, began airing ads, breaking the barrier of politeness.

Governments also used media to their ends. The British and U.S. governments pioneered the use of propaganda during World War I to promote patriotism and recruitment into the army. The Nazis in Germany learned from this when developing their own propaganda.

However, it wasn’t only governments that learned from the success of World War I propaganda. Advertisers adopted some of the same techniques.

Wu tells of wave after wave of new attention-gathering media, including television, desktop computers, video games and smartphones. In every case, advertisers have shaped content and use, with the trend being to degrade the content to attract audiences and reduce costs. For example, it is expensive to produce quality television, and some producers came up with the idea of having unpaid actors. Reality TV was born, and it was a great hit.

From the point of view of activists, the dilemma is that nearly every media form is captured by advertisers, who are highly sophisticated in designing ways to entice viewers. Today, they have invaded the most intimate parts of people’s lives via the smartphone. When you use Google or browse the web, the ads follow.

On many sites, there is “click-bait”: intriguing stories with headlines designed to increase the likelihood that you will click on them and read further, including the associated ads.

In this marketplace built around attention capture, activists operate at a severe disadvantage. They may be perceived as just one more group competing for attention, but without a multi-billion-dollar enterprise to back up their efforts. Media entrepreneurs and advertisers can hire the best psychology, media studies and marketing students to figure out ways to promote their interests. Their efforts are most effective when audiences are influenced without even thinking about it. Many ads are designed to sidestep rational assessment.

This picture would be relentlessly depressing except for one countervailing process. After a new media form captures widespread attention, usually there is a popular backlash as consumers instinctively resist the exploitation of their time and interest.

So, periodically, there have been efforts to push back against saturation advertising. In the 1800s, billboards and other public advertising took over cities such as Paris. This eventually led to protests and to laws re-

stricting such advertising.

Recent types of resistance are the use of ad blockers on smartphones and the popularity of Netflix, where viewers binge on several episodes or even entire series in marathon sittings without watching a single ad.

Activists are, for the most part, small players in the struggle for attention. They seldom can afford high-profile ads, and mass media coverage usually lacks an in-depth treatment of issues. Relying on social media means competing with vast numbers of other messages.

Another problem is that most people do not understand how they are influenced by media. They think ads influence other people, but not themselves.

What to do?

One response to this situation is to figure out ways for helping more people to become knowledgeable about the operation of the media and the activities of the attention merchants. Organizers could add segments on media dynamics to sessions on nonviolence training.

But more is needed, beyond the ranks of activists.

More broadly, to make a difference in the long run, we need campaigns to educate media consumers about how they are being manipulated and having their attention sold to advertisers. Fostering a movement to run such campaigns is a huge challenge.

In the meantime, individuals can try to resist attention merchants on their own. However, collective action is more promising.

Members of groups can support each other in turning off intrusive media inputs, installing blockers or refocusing attention on sources to achieve long-term goals.

How this might be done is a work in progress. So far, attention merchants have taken most of the initiatives, with audiences either welcoming or resisting their offerings. Activists usually try to compete for people’s attention, but do this at a severe disadvantage in skills and resources. This is why they should consider joining a struggle at the receiving end. The goal: developing people’s understanding of attention-capture techniques and building their capacity to resist and redirect their attention.

Brian Martin is professor of social sciences at the University of Wollongong, Australia and vice president of Whistleblowers Australia. He is the author of 14 books and hundreds of articles on dissent, nonviolence, scientific controversies, democracy and other topics.

The role of the military is critical in transition. Since it wields the biggest stick, it can stop a transition in its tracks or remove a democratic government if it feels its interests are under serious threat. When, as in Myanmar, the military was the old regime rather than merely a servant of it, transition presents a deeper cultural and organisational challenge. The military must not only transfer loyalty to a new government, but also accept subordination to civilian authority.

This sounds hard. Yet civil-military relations have generally been a success story in recent democratic transitions, and intervention to halt or threaten democratisation rare.

(Egypt is an exception). But the record in Myanmar is more complex and ambiguous. While the military allowed the NLD to take office and form a government, it appears determined to retain effective control over key areas of policy, especially security and home affairs. It remains a political actor that decides policies rather than merely advising on and implementing them. Myanmar

seems far from achieving “objective civilian control”, Samuel Huntington’s classic account of stable and effective civil-military relations in a democracy. To this extent, the transition remains incomplete.

Second, how does wealth work?

Economic failure is the most common cause of the performance and legitimacy crisis that forces an authoritarian regime to open up. In Myanmar’s case, chronic misrule (the country has been designated by the UN as a “least developed country” since 1987) was compounded by international isolation. This is a difficult point of departure for the new government: few countries as poor as Myanmar have undergone a successful transition, while the transition itself has generated rising popular expectations.

Economic development is now a priority. Reforms like the new Foreign Investment Law will encourage this. Military-linked ‘crony’ interests, who thrived under the previous regime, may need to be managed carefully. But a deeper structural challenge is to develop the country’s vast natural wealth in ways that avert the ‘resource curse’. Too often elsewhere, elite struggles for access to resource rents have stunted democratic development and severely distorted economic development.

Third, how does society work?

Recent experience shows that identity conflict can present the most severe challenge to the stability of a new democracy. In many emerging democracies new freedoms of speech and expression have allowed the celebration and revival of long-suppressed or discouraged national, religious and other bases of belonging. But this has a dark side: an immature information market, and ‘ethnic entrepreneurs’ seeking new bases of political support, can mobilise identities against one another, playing on historic distrust or past conflict. The ability to spread rumours and ‘fake news’, rapidly and on a mass scale, greatly magnifies this problem.

Tragically, Myanmar has experienced this and is likely to continue

doing so. With over 135 nationalities it is among the most multi-ethnic states in the world, and has suffered continuous conflict since independence. In particular the Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State suffer severe, widely-held prejudice and years of official persecution. The escalation of conflict and gross human rights abuses against them is the most alarming development in the country since the NLD took office.

Myanmar, then, faces all three of the major challenges that can beset a new democratic regime. In each case, it does so in especially acute forms. One bleak scenario sees assertive national groups demanding local control over resource wealth, pushing decentralising reforms further than intended. Since much of the country’s mineral wealth is located around its periphery, this could in turn prompt military intervention to forestall perceived threats to Myanmar’s territorial integrity. This is a perfect storm, and it illustrates how the challenges facing this new democracy must be considered together.

But none of this is a counsel of despair, nor does it absolve failure.

While Myanmar has a difficult hand to play, its policy choices will determine whether it plays this hand well or badly. There are proven (though not fullproof) ways of tackling each of the issues discussed above. The scale of these challenges makes it essential that the government invest in the capacity to play its difficult hand as wisely as possible. It is vital too, that the international community maintain its focus, ensure effective co-ordination, and provide high-quality advice and support.

Nigel Gould-Davies teaches at Mahidol University International College in Thailand and is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University, taught at Oxford University, and later served in the Foreign Office, including as Ambassador to Belarus. In 2014 he was a visiting professor for Johns Hopkins University in Yangon.

The Morung Express POLL RESULTS

Is Naga society open to talking about mental health issues? Why? of what "Mental health" means. cated and modern but we are Some of those who Naga society needs to be edustill very religiously superstivoted YES had this to say: cated on this topic. tious. Anyone with psychologi• Yes we are open to talking cal and mental issues are taken • No. Because of the stigma atmental health issues as long as tached and afraid of being to prayer centres and spiritual it refers to somebody else not judged and labelled. But yes, shamans. High time we should from within the family. Though time has come to educated our be able to differentiate between it is only as deep as "matha society on this issues and to those who need medical interthik nai kuise" or, "etu, ootu built a good network support vention and those who need kurise". It is more in the consystem. spiritual enlightenment. text of gossiping. Do we need to talk about mental health? • No because we tag them as • No, our society is not open at all to talking about mental health Mad crazy ... time for "so called" That is a total different quesissues. Most are not even aware mentally sound ppl to learn tion. The way we are evolving of what mental health issues so fast and getting conare. The lack of public awarefused in transition, the 77% ness makes it even difficult fast paced urbanisation, to freely talk about it. the wake to informa• Because they don't accept tion technologies, Yes we such disease is there. Simple need to talk about Menas that. tal Health. The cases of • Because many people suicide and alcoholism think that it's a curse inherseems to be on the raise.

14% ited from forefathers or posThe basic knowledge of 09% sessed by evil spirits of an inmental health has bedividual come a necessity so that professional help can be Some of those who accessed without feeling YES NO OTHERS voted OTHERS had this to stigmatized or discrimisay: nated.

• Instead of giving such stupid about Mental wellbeing.

• One of the greatest traits and questions, why dont MEX ask wealth of the Nagas is their • No! We are not open! But yes... 'grave' question like- should it is time we should talk! From openness. Some mental blocks Dimapurians bury their bodies the husband and wife complioccur among some and they or cremate their bodies? (due to cated marriage to unprepared are groping for greater knowllack of space in West Dimapur pregnant women; a child growedge objectively simply becemetery). ing into adulthood to the old cause they not informed of the • We are not ready but it is about age....everyone is in need of truth and facts. Overall, Nagas time we begin to talk about it help. We just don't know how are open. because depression and bipoto identify the group or person. lar for starter is turning into a Some of those who And it becomes too late when trend. voted NO had this to say: we see someone we want to • Actually, Nagaland State has • No, are you kidding me. Not help.. Mental health is one bano infrastructure in many ways at all. Public are in the dark sic health care service we are like industries, factories, multiabout health issues. Anything missing in the long chain. Time developments, or mega busiof this sort they will put the to talk about it! ness houses, pollutants, etc., to blame on black magic and • No, not open, and opinion #1 inflict the people with mental stuff like that. on this topic shows the gensickness. Nor do we have much • No we don't take it seriously eral lack of awareness. Leave social evils as compared to giving excuses attributed to the alone deal with it, it's not even other cities or countries. One divine or lack of character and acknowledged. Nagas are not or two people having or sufferwill power. Which is really sad a people comfortable with exing from mental sickness due because most mental problems pressing deep emotion and to heredity, drug or alcohol are curable or at the least confeeling. expression is paraabuse is their own making and trollable. mount and necessary for a personal problems. So, why in• No. For our society if its a menperson's emotional health and terfere in them and waste time tal health issue or even drug admental well being. But in a soand space? Even common usdictions, the answer is almost ciety like ours, with communiage of internet is too nominal always = prayer centre or keep cation of our feelings at a miniin Nagaland unlike other State praying, or he/she is possessed. mum even with one's parents or countries where, both chilIts really sad for the person sufor spouses or children, we tend dren and adults (due to excess fering from it. with this kinds of to live suppressed. Good emoexposure to internets) acquire answer we'll never find the real tional and mental well being begins at home. mental disease and are send solution to that problem • No. We seems to be very edu- • No, because people are unaware for therapies in special rehabs.

8

MonDAY 17•04•2017

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Telangana assembly passes bill to hike Muslim quota

Hyderabad, april 16 (iaNS): With all the five BJP members suspended for the day, the Telangana assembly on Sunday unanimously passed a bill to hike the reservation quota for backward Muslims and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) to 12 and 10 per cent respectively. Barring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which vehemently opposed the bill both inside and outside of the assembly, the entire Opposition supported the Backward Class, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Reservation Bill, 2017, which will be now debated and passed by the state legislative council on Sunday evening.

As soon as the day-long special session of the legislature began, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao moved the bill to raise from the existing four per cent to 12 per cent the quota for the socially and economically backward among the Muslims under the Backward Classes (E) category.

The reservations for the Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions and government jobs has been

increased from 6 per cent to 10 per cent.

After the state legislative council passes it by late Sunday evening, the bill will be sent for the President's assent with a request to include it in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution as was done in the case of Tamil Nadu.

Replying to debate on the bill, Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao said if the Centre refuses to accept Telengana's request, the state would approach the Supreme Court.

Rao said, "Tamil Nadu is implementing 69 per cent reservations for over two decades. Five to six states are providing more than 50 per cent reservation. How can you deny this to Telangana?"

The Supreme Court has put a cap of 50 per cent on all reservations both a the Centre and in the states.

The Chief Minister clarified that the reservations were being provided purely on the basis of socio-economic backwardness and not on the basis of religion or caste as some parties were project before

Deputy CM Mohammed Mahmood Ali and Waqf board chairman Mohammed Saleem along with party workers pour milk on a portrait of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for pushing reservation for Muslims to 12%, at Charminar in Hyderabad. (PTI Photo)

the people.

Terming it as a historic day, Rao said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had during the election campaigns promised that quota for the Backward Classes (E) and the Scheduled Tribes will be increased in proportion to their popula-

tion in the state.

He assured the Backward Classes that there will be no injustice to them because of increase in quota for the BC (E) and announced that the quota for the BCs too9 will be increased. The state government has directed the

Backward Classes Commission to submit a report within six months.

Rao also said that the reservation for the SCs, who constitute 16.3 per cent of the state's population, will be increased by one per cent. He said the government would soon constitute

an SC Commission.

The SCs are currently enjoying 15 per cent reservations while the BCs have a total quota of 25 per cent.

The legislation will increase the total reservations in the state to 62 per cent. The Chief Minister argued that there is no con-

stitutional bar on providing more than 50 per cent reservation.

Rao said with 90 per cent of Telangana's population comprising the Backward Classes, SCs, STs and minorities, the state definitely needed more than 50 per cent reservation, and pointed out that states like Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand were already providing more than 50 per cent quota.

The Telangana Chief Minister made it clear that he will not beg the Centre but will fight to get the new quotas included in the 9th Schedule.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said Telangana would raise this issue at the meeting of the Niti Aayog and in Parliament. He hoped that a debate on the issue will begin and consensus will build at the national level.

He defended the state's hike in quota for Muslims and hit back at the BJP for opposing it.

"Why can't we give them reservation? Why should they be denied reservation just because they

are Muslims? Are they not part of this country," asked Chandrasekhar Rao in the absence of all five members of the BJP, who were earlier suspended for the day by the Speaker for disrupting the proceedings.

He pointed out that India has the largest Muslim community in the world and even some of the socalled Islamic countries do not have such a large Muslim population.

KCR said the promise to increase the Muslim quota was part of the TRS manifesto and people approved this agenda by giving their mandate to the party.

The All India Majlise-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) suggested to the government to take steps to protect the existing four per cent reservation while increasing the quota by eight per cent. Its member Ahmed Pasha Khadri said a new category BC (F) be created for hiked quota.

The Chief Minister, however, said there was no need for any apprehensions as there will be no threat to the existing four percent reservations.

Justice should be done to Muslim BJP slams Congress for blocking OBC bill women, says PM Modi on triple talaq bHub aNeSwar, april 16 (ageNcieS): Raising the issue of ‘triple talaq’ at the BJP National Executive Meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that justice should be done to Muslim women, according to Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Modi also said that if there are social evils, the society should be woken up and efforts made to provide justice to the victims.

“He (Modi) talked about social justice. He said our Muslim sisters should also get justice. Injustice should not be done with them. Nobody should be exploited. We do not want that there is conflict within the Muslim community over this issue. What we have to do is that if there are any social evils, we have to wake up the society and make efforts to provide jus-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Aligarh on Sunday. The rally drew huge crowd with BJP workers pouring in from all sides. (PTI Photo)

tice to them (Muslim women). That was the Prime Minister’s spirit,” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said while briefing reporters.

Tearing into the Opposition for accusing BJP of tampering with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in recent polls, Modi said they

are trying to churn up rows particularly ahead of the MCD polls. “Opposition is concoction new issues in a factory of some kind. During Delhi Elections, Church attacks were the highlights and during the Bihar Polls ‘Award Wapasi’ was the issue. And right now it is the

India still to receive copy of Kulbhushan Jadhav judgment

New delHi, april 16 (iaNS): India is yet to receive copies of the Pakistani chargesheet against alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and the copy of the judgment sentencing him to death, informed sources said on Sunday. "We are yet to receive the chargesheet and the copy of the judgment on Jadhav's sentence," said a source in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale met Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in Islamabad with a request for consular access to Jadhav and also sought a copy of the chargesheet against him. The request for meeting Jadhav was

turned down. "We demanded a meeting (with Jadhav), but they denied," Bambawale told reporters after meeting Janjua.

India said it has sought consular access to Jadhav 13 times earlier, but the permission was refused each time. Jadhav, sentenced to death by Pakistan's military court on April 10, faced seven charges, including sponsoring IED attacks on important installations and attacks on Shias in Pakistan -- according to the list read out by the country's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz on Friday. As a fallout of the case, India on Saturday called off bilateral maritime security talks with Pakistan scheduled for April 17.

EVM,” the Prime Minister said during the meeting.

Modi also called on the BJP leaders to maintain caution while making statements and not get carried away with emotions and make untoward remarks. “If there are any complaints, then the matter should be passed on to the party leaders who will convey it to me,” he said.

The Prime Minister also called on the BJP to not get too excited over the recent State Assembly Elections victory and ensure they keep the momentum going. “The BJP will launch a special campaign for those 120 Lok Sabha seats which have been out of our reach,” he added. The Prime Minister also hailed the efforts of Party President Amit Shah saying that he was the ideal model of an able strategist.

bHubaNeSwar, april 16 (iaNS): Coming down heavily on the Congress and other opposition parties for blocking in the Rajya Sabha a bill to grant constitutional status to the OBC Commission, the BJP on Sunday accused them of depriving the poor of their benefits.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, at its two-day National Executive meeting here, passed a special resolution condemning the blocking and hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for granting constitutional status to the bill.

"Today, when the BJP government led by Modi has taken this step to bring in equality in the society, the Congress and other regional parties are disappointed and their frustration is obvious," Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar told the media.

"These parties have always suppressed the interests of the backward classes of the society and only given them false hopes."

He said the manner in which the bill was opposed in the Rajya Sabha exposed the real attitude towards backward classes.

"It is evident that despite being

in power for so long, the Congress did not initiate any concrete step towards fulfilling interests of backward classes. Now when the BJP has got the mandate to rule the country, the government has achieved the goals by handling these issues on priority," the minister added.

The resolution alleged that despite the suggestions of Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1950) and Mandal Commission (1979), the Congress governments did not take any action in this direction.

"It is known that the OBC Parliamentary Committee made a recommendation in this regard and the MPs from all parties had personally requested the Prime Minister to amend the Constitution in this regard. Considering these suggestions, the BJPled government took strong steps and was successful in bringing consensus on the issue in the Lok Sabha," the resolution read.

The resolution was moved by BJP's OBC MP Hukumdev Narayan Yadav and was seconded by Chief Ministers like Raghubar Das of Jharkhand and Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh.

Policy to promote tourism through rail connectivity

New delHi, apr 16 (pTi): The Railways is formulating a policy to promote tourism by connecting tourist spots across the country through trains.

The policy, a first-of-its-kind exercise by the Railways, aims at hassle-free and seamless movement of people across different tourist places. Seeking suggestions from stakeholders, the public and other bodies concerned, the public transporter has circulated a draft tourism policy. "Tourism will be one of the frontline activities with the railways and the scope will be increased by focusing on domestic and international tourists and by making value- addition to tourism products, especially designed for

this segment," the draft says. Since tourist trains have special fares, the Railways can position itself to generate substantial revenue focusing on international and domestic tourists by launching more such services.

The infrastructure on railways can be leveraged for launching a diverse range of products and services to ensure bright business prospects with adequate profitability.

The aim is to operate more trains connecting tourist destinations and also by providing special train services ranging from luxury to budget sections, a Railway Ministry official involved with tourism and catering said. Currently, many tourist spots have limited connectivity.

The Railways will offer Luxury Tourist Trains, Semi- Luxury Tourist Trains, Buddhist Special Train, Bharat Darshan Trains and Astha Circuit Trains, to attract domestic and international tourists.

It will also offer State Tirth Trains, Flexi-package Tourist Trains, Ordinary Tourist Trains, Hill Tourist Trains, Steam Tourist Trains, Value-added Tour package and a Foreign Tourist Quota.

IRCTC, the tourism arm of the Railways, will position itself as a onestop shop for all the requirements of both domestic and international tourists.

The draft tourism policy has been posted on the official website of the Indian Railways.

Javadekar, however, hoped that collective wisdom would prevail and the bill would be passed in the months to come.

"This issue is directly linked with the interests of backward classes, so it needs to be supported by every single political party."

The BJP also called on all party workers and every social institution to make people aware of the historic step and ensure equal opportunities to the people of backward classes.

"It is a noble step taken by Modi towards creating an egalitarian society. It is the duty of every leader of the party to reach this message to the remote parts of the country," the resolution said. "It is after 70 years of India's independence, a government has taken this historic decision aimed at fulfilling the interests of the poor who have been living in remote areas without any basic facilities.

"It is indeed a very important step forward that will help improve the living conditions of the poor and bring them in the mainstream. This is fulfilment of the long pending demand of providing social justice to the backward classes," it added.

President wishes for peace, prosperity in Syria

New delHi, april 16 (iaNS): President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said he looked forward to the success of a Syria-led political solution fulfilling the aspirations of the Syrian people. Extending greetings and felicitations to the people of Syria, Mukherjee in his message to President Bashar Al-Assad on the eve of the country's National Day said: "India and Syria have traditionally enjoyed warm and cordial relations." "The tragic loss of human lives and violence during the many years of conflict that have devastated Syria have greatly saddened us in India," the President said. Speaking on the political process to end the conflict, Mukherjee said: "We look forward to the success of the recently re-launched political process in achieving a comprehensive political solution through a Syrian-led, all inclusive effort, taking into consideration the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people." "We welcome all initiatives in this direction and remain hopeful of an early solution to the crisis in Syria," Mukherjee said. "I convey my best wishes for your health and wellbeing and for peace and prosperity in Syria," he technology for the nuclear island added. On April 17, 1946, Syria proclaimed full and does not want to undertake independence after the complete withdrawal any construction activity." This is a of French rule. complete reversal of the situation that prevailed before an agreement with the US in 2008 allowed India to engage in nuclear commerce and start importing uranium fuel again for its reactors.

Srinivasan said that in a world New delHi, april 16 (pTi): The email where multilateral financing is ab- address launched by the Finance Ministry for solutely scarce for nuclear projects, getting tips about black money received over which have long gestation periods, 38,000 emails, the CBDT said in a reply to an old allies Russia, whose state-run RTI query earlier this month. Jitendra Ghadge, Rosatom is constructing the Ku- a city-based Right To Information activist, had dankulam Nuclear Power Project asked for information about response to the in Tamil Nadu, provides a tried, email address 'blackmoneyinfo@incometax. tested and less expensive option.

Gov.In', launched last December. The Central "That is why we are going ahead Board of Direct Taxes said in its reply dated April with the Russians on more Ku- 7 that 38,068 emails were received, and 6,050 or dankulam units -- 3,4,5 and 6. The about 16 per cent of them were forwarded to the agreements with Russia also have respective Director Generals Of Income Tax (Inprovision for government financ- vestigation) for further inquiry. The remaining ing," he said.

32,018 emails were closed without any action, it Rosatom is currently in talks said. To Ghadge's query about number of "false" with the Indian government on the emails received, CBDT said this information site for a second project of six reactors. Russia has offered India a new was "subject to completion of investigation". range of reactor units -- the VVER "Over 84 per cent tip-offs have been closed Generation 3 pressurised water re- without any inquiry. This shows that either most actors of 1,200 MW capacity -- for emails were frivolous, or the authorities did not the third and fourth units of the Ku- take them seriously, or may be shortage of staff forced them to do so," Ghadge said. dankulam project.

India flirts with nuclear firms faced with financial ruin

New delHi, april 16 (iaNS): For long a pariah in the global nuclear technology market, Indian policymakers are pleasantly discovering how the boot is on the other foot as they are furiously courted by foreign firms themselves facing financial ruin.

American nuclear giant Westinghouse, which is in talks with the Indian government on a proposed project in Andhra Pradesh, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. A year ago, the French energy major Areva, which has offered to build reactors at a Maharashtra site, began a process of major restructuring following huge losses.

Westinghouse is proposing to build six reactors of 1,000 MW capacity each at Kovvada in coastal Andhra Pradesh. The government has indicated this site in place of the originally proposed Mithi Virdi in Gujarat, where the local population protested against plans to erect a nuclear plant in their area.

Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said in Parliament earlier this year that the land acquisition process at Kovvada had begun, while discussions had also started with Westinghouse on the

techno-commercial aspects of a project proposal.

"I don't understand why the government is so keen to talk to these nuclear power companies that are in major financial difficulty, unless it is to bail them out," former Union Power Secretary E.A.S. Sarma told IANS. "The inevitable fallout of Westinghouse being in a financially weak position will be delay in completing the project and resulting cost over-runs. In this scenario, our government is looking to bail out American companies... to create jobs in the US," he said.

"On the other hand, the government is going ahead with acquiring land, as if the opposition of locals at Kovvada is of no consequence as compared to the protests at Mithi Virdi," he added.

Sarma said there are also concerns about the fuel for the reactors to be supplied as per contractual practice, by a financially crippled Westinghouse.

"Westinghouse has sold its fuel fabrication facility to the Chinese and so our fuel will come from the latter, which is a cause for concern, and I have written to the government on this," the former Secretary

said.

The case of Areva, which is proposing six EPR-type 1,650 MW reactors at Jaitapur, is even more complex, with the French firm having signed the agreements with Larsen & Toubro and state-run Nuclear Power Corp during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's France visit in 2015. Soon after, Areva declared massive losses of 4.8 billion euros and the French government, which owns 87 per cent of the company, announced its nuclear power arm would be sold to another staterun firm, EDF. Sarma pointed out that Areva has struggled to complete two identical EPR reactors, one at Olkiluoto in Finland, which is still not operational despite over a decade-long delay and a trebling of costs, and the other in Flamanville, France, plagued by serious construction and security issues, delays and massive cost overruns. "The French nuclear security watchdog has issued a number of severe warnings to Areva on major security issues and manufacturing and construction flaws in the reactor being built in Flamanville," Sarma said.

Flamanville is one of four EPRs under construction worldwide, and its cost overrun -- from an estimated 3.3 billion euros to over 10 billion euros -- is at the heart of Areva's current problems. "Now with their current troubles, there is even more likelihood of Areva compromising on design safety features, on which they have such poor track record," Sarma said.

M.R. Srinivasan, a former Secretary to the Union government and ex-Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, is equally concerned about the time-delays and cost-escalations involved in closing the deals with these beleagured foreign companies.

"Both these proposals are facing great uncertainty. Toshiba (the Westinghouse parent) is in serious financial difficulty, while Areva is undergoing major restucturing," Srinivasan said.

"Some technical discussions are on, but the issue of financing will surely come up owing to concerns about cost-escalation," he said.

According to Sarma, in the changed situation, "Westinghouse itself says it can only supply the

Email id for black money info receives over 38,000 mails

MondAY 17•04•2017

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

World’s oldest person, last one of 19th century, dies in Italy at 117

Emma Morano, thought to be the world’s oldest person and the last to be born in the 1800s, is seen during her 117th birthday in her house in Verbania, northern Italy. (REUTERS/Files)

ROMe, ApRIL 16 (ReUTeRS): Emma Morano, who at 117 was believed to be the world’s oldest person and the last surviving child of the 19th century, died on Saturday, swearing to the end on her diet of two raw eggs a day.

“She reached an incredible finish line,” said Silvia Marchionini, mayor of the town of Verbania in northern Italy where Morano lived on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

Morano, who lived 117 years and 137 days, was born on Nov. 29, 1899, four years before the Wright brothers first took to the air. Her life spanned three centuries, two World Wars and more than 90 Italian governments.

“My life wasn’t so nice,” she told Reuters last November on her 117th birthday. “I worked in a factory until I was 65, then that was that,” she said as she sat in an armchair by her window, a white shawl over her shoulders. In an interview with La Stampa newspaper five years ago she said her fiance had died in World War One and that she had then been forced to marry a man she did not love.

“’Either you agree to marry me or I will kill you’,” Morano said, recalling his proposal. “I was 26. We got married.” It was not a happy marriage. They had a son in 1937, but the baby died after just six months and the following year Morano kicked out her abusive husband. “I separated from him in 1938. I think I was one of the first in Italy to do that.”

Morano outlived all her eight brothers and sisters, including one who died at 102. She thrived on an unorthodox, unbalanced diet.

“When I first knew her she used to eat three eggs a day. Two raw, and one fried. Today she has slowed down a bit, reducing the number to two some days because she says three can be too much,” her doctor, Carlo Bava, said last year. “She has never eaten much fruit or vegetables. Her characteristic is that she always eats the same thing, every day, every week, every month and every year.” Marchionini, the mayor of Verbania, told the Italian news agency AGI that her city has more than 20 people aged over 100.

9

Turks vote in historic referendum on expanding Erdogan’s power

ANKARA/ISTANBUL, ApRIL 16 (ReUTeRS): Turks cast their votes in a referendum on Sunday that would give sweeping new powers to President Tayyip Erdogan and herald the most radical change to the country’s political system in its modern history.

Opinion polls have shown a narrow lead for a “Yes” vote, which would replace Turkey’s parliamentary democracy with an all-powerful presidency and may see Erdogan in office until at least 2029.

The outcome will also shape Turkey’s strained relations with the European Union. The NATO member state has curbed the flow of migrants - mainly refugees from wars in Syria and Iraq - into the bloc but Erdogan says he may review the deal after the vote.

A crowd chanted “Recep Tayyip Erdogan” and applauded as the president shook hands and greeted people after voting in a school near his home in Istanbul.

His staff handed out toys for children in the crowd.

“God willing I believe our people will decide to open the path to much more rapid development,” Erdogan said in the polling station after casting his vote.

“I believe in my people’s democratic common sense.”

Some 55 million people are eligible to vote at 167,140 polling stations which opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) in the east and 8 a.m. in the rest of Turkey. Voting ends at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT). Turkish voters abroad have already cast their ballots.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a rally for the upcoming referendum in Istanbul, Turkey, April 15. (REUTERS)

the changes are needed to amend the current constitution, written by generals following a 1980 military coup, confront the security and political challenges Turkey faces, and avoid the fragile coalition governments of the past.

“This is our opportunity to take back control of our country,” said self-employed Bayram Seker, 42, after voting “Yes” in Istanbul.

“I don’t think one-man rule is such a scary thing.

Turkey has been ruled in the past by one man,” he said, referring to modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Opponents say it is a step towards greater authoritarianism in a country where some 47,000 people have DIVISIVE VOTE The referendum has bit- been jailed pending trial and terly divided the nation. Er- 120,000 sacked or suspenddogan and his supporters say ed from their jobs in a crack-

down following a failed coup last July, drawing criticism from Turkey’s Western allies and rights groups.

“I voted ‘No’ because I don’t want this whole country and its legislative, executive and judiciary ruled by one man. This would not make Turkey stronger or better as they claim. This would weaken our democracy,” said Hamit Yaz, 34, a ship’s captain, after voting in Istanbul.

Relations between Turkey and Europe hit a low during the referendum campaign when EU countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, barred Turkish ministers from holding rallies in support of the changes. Erdogan called the moves “Nazi acts” and said Turkey could reconsider ties with the European Union after many years of seeking EU membership.

GUARD KILLED Kurdish militants overnight killed a guard in an attack on a vehicle carrying a district official from Yildirim’s ruling AK Party in southeast Turkey’s Van province, security sources said.

They said Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants staged the attack in Van’s Muradiye district. A second of the AKP official’s guards was wounded and 17 people were detained over the attack, they added.

In the southeastern Diyarbakir province, two people were killed and one wounded in a gunfight in a village schoolyard which was being used as a polling station, other security sources said. The cause of the clash was not immediately clear.

On Saturday, Erdogan held four separate rallies in

Istanbul, urging supporters to turn out in large numbers and saying it “will be a turning point for Turkey’s political history”.

Erdogan and the AK Party have enjoyed a disproportionate share of media coverage in the buildup to the vote, overshadowing the secular main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and proKurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Erdogan has sought to ridicule CHP’s Kemal Kilicdaroglu, playing videos during rallies to illustrate what he describes as the opposition leader’s ineffectiveness, and has associated the “No” vote with support for terrorism.

Kilicdaroglu has accused Erdogan of seeking a “oneman regime”, and said the proposed changes would put the country in danger. “This is not about right or left... this is a national issue... We will make our choices with our children and future in mind,” he said during his final rally in the capital Ankara.

Proponents of the reform argue that it would end the current “two-headed system” in which both the president and parliament are directly elected, a situation they argue could lead to deadlock. Until 2014, presidents were chosen by parliament.

The government says Turkey, faced with conflict to the south in Syria and Iraq, and a security threat from Islamic State and PKK militants, needs strong and clear leadership to combat terrorism.

The package of 18 amendments would abolish the office of prime minister and give the president the authority to draft the budget, declare a state of emergency and issue decrees overseeing ministries without parliamentary approval.

Jakarta election exposes deep political, religious divide Death toll from Aleppo

JAKARTA, ApRIL 16 (ReUTeRS): Jakarta voters head to the polls on Wednesday to elect a governor for Indonesia’s teeming capital after a campaign that incited political and religious tensions in the world’s most-populous Muslim country.

Surveys have shown the race tightening to a statistical dead heat, with incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, closing in on rival Anies Baswedan, a former education minister.

Purnama is standing trial on blasphemy charges stemming from the divisive campaign that also featured mass rallies led by Islamist hardliners and alleged plots to overthrow President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi.

The Jakarta election is viewed as a larger choice ahead of a 2019 presidential poll between the secular policies Indonesia has practiced since its post-World War Two independence and a hardline political Islam that has strengthened in recent years.

“This is a test case for Indonesian pluralism, if it can withstand the pressure of the religious groups, the populists,” said Wimar Witoelar, a political analyst and an adviser to former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid.

“Indonesia is at a crossroads, and I mean Indonesia, not just Jakarta.” A survey conducted April 1214 by polling firm Indikator showed Anies with 48.2 percent support versus 47.4 percent for Purnama, with 4.4 percent undecided.

WORRIES ABOUT BACKLASH The business community is worried about a possible violent backlash from the losing side in the election, which could affect the investment climate and endanger Widodo’s fit-and-start economic reforms.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy grew 5.2 percent in 2016 and the government expects a repeat of that this year. Indonesian stocks are up 12.6 percent on the year, making the Jakarta market one of Asia’s best performers.

Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, chief

executive officer of the country’s largest state bank, Bank Mandiri, said in an interview that whoever won “we (should) make sure it doesn’t affect any of the long-term policies, especially on the openness and ... ease of doing business and attracting investment.”

Purnama, who replaced Widodo in 2014 as Jakarta governor after serving as his deputy, saw his popularity soar as he tackled decrepit infrastructure, chronic flooding and endemic corruption in the traffic-clogged city of over 10 million.

His support plunged after an edited video circulated last September suggesting Purnama had mocked a verse in the Koran used by his opponents to argue Muslims should not vote for a person holding different religious beliefs.

Amid two rallies last year that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters, Purnama was charged with blasphemy, forcing him to make regular appearances in court during the campaign.

The hardline Islamists behind the rallies - led by the Islamic

Defenders Front (FPI), a group known for attacks on religious minorities and extorting money from nightclubs - were cultivated by Purnama’s rivals. Baswedan was accused of betraying his moderate Islamic roots when he met and sang with FPI leader Habib Rizieq, who was twice imprisoned for inciting violence in 2003 and 2008.

Purnama recovered to win the first round on Feb. 15 with 43 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Baswedan and 17 percent for Agus Yudhoyono, son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who drew support from conservative Muslims.

CHINESE PLOTS The FPI was among groups circulating hoax news stories on social media during the campaign of a pending invasion of Chinese workers and Chinese plots to decimate Indonesia’s crops with contaminated chili The FPI has vowed to stage further protests and a “revolution” if Purnama wins, according

to flyers circulated by the group.

A senior government official said a victory for Purnama could reignite religious tensions and China-baiting at a time when the government is chasing Chinese investment for much-needed infrastructure.

“I worry that if a sizeable portion of the electorate feels cheated there could be a very serious backlash,” said the official, who asked for anonymity to speak freely about the political climate in Indonesia.

However, political analyst Tobias Basuki also saw risks for the national government and its reform agenda if Baswedan won, given plans by his political patron Prabowo Subianto to challenge Widodo in the 2019 presidential poll. Baswedan was Widodo’s campaign manager in the 2014 presidential election, when he beat Subianto. But Widodo sacked him as education minister last year.

“Anies and Prabowo controlling Jakarta would impede Jokowi every step of the way,” Basuki said.

bomb attack at least 112

BeIRUT, ApRIL 16 (ReUTeRS): The death toll from a bomb blast on a crowded Syrian bus convoy outside Aleppo reached at least 112 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Sunday. Syrian rescue workers the Civil Defence said that they had carted away at least 100 bodies from the site of Saturday’s blast, which hit buses carrying Shi’ite residents as they waited to cross from rebel into government territory in an evacuation deal between warring sides. The British-based Observatory said the number was expected to rise.

Those killed were mostly residents of the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, but included rebel fighters guarding the convoy, the Observatory said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which pro-Damascus media said was carried out by a suicide car bomber.

The convoy was carrying at least 5,000 people including civilians and several hundred pro-government fighters, who were granted safe passage out of the two Shi’ite villages which are besieged by rebels.

Under the evacuation deal, more than 2,000 people including rebel fighters were granted safe passage out of Madaya, a town near Damascus besieged by government forces and their allies.

That convoy was waiting at a bus garage in a government-held area on Aleppo’s outskirts, a few miles from where the attack took place. Madaya evacuees said they heard the blast.

North Korea missile test fails before Pence visit

SeOUL, ApRIL 16 (AFp): Visiting US Vice President Mike Pence described North Korea’s failed missile test Sunday as a “provocation” and assured South Korea of Washington’s full support against the threat from its volatile neighbour.

Pyongyang launched the missile hours before Pence arrived in Seoul for talks on curbing the North’s weapons programmes as fears grow that it is planning another nuclear test.

But US officials said the missile exploded seconds after it was fired. “This morning’s provocation from the North is just the latest reminder of the risks each one of you face each and every day in the defence of the freedom of the people of South Korea and the defence of America in this part of the world,” Pence told US military families at an Easter dinner.

Some 28,500 US troops are stationed in the South.

The latest launch came a day after the North held a defiant massive military parade in Pyongyang which showcased nearly 60 missiles -- including

a suspected new intercontinental ballistic missile. “The missile blew up almost immediately,” the US Defense Department said of Sunday’s early-morning launch from near Sinpo on the North’s east coast.

The type of missile was not clear.

The North has a habit of testfiring missiles to mark major dates such as Saturday’s 105th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s founder Kim Il-Sung, or as gestures of defiance when top US officials visit the region.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said that by conducting the latest test just a day after displaying a series of missiles, “North Korea has threatened the whole world”. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the latest test but had “no further comment”, while at the Easter dinner at Yongsan military base, Pence brought greetings for the troops from Trump.

“Let me assure you that under President Trump’s leadership our resolve has never been stronger, our commitment to this historic alliance with the

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visits the National Cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, April 16. (REUTERS)

courageous people of South Korea has never been stronger and with your help and God’s help freedom will ever prevail on this peninsula,” he said.

ed from Sinpo flew 500 kilometres (300 miles) towards Japan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un hailed that test as the “greatest success” and said it brought the US mainland Tough stance within range of a mobile deLast August a submarine- livery system. Pyongyang’s launched ballistic missile test- rogue atomic ambitions have

come into sharp focus in recent weeks, with Trump vowing a tough stance against the North and threatening unilateral action if China failed to help curb its neighbour’s nuclear programme. Trump has repeatedly said he will prevent Pyongyang from developing a nuclear-

tipped ballistic missile capable of reaching the mainland United States.

With speculation mounting that the North is preparing to conduct a sixth nuclear test, he sent an aircraft carrier-led strike group to the Korean peninsula.

But a White House foreign policy adviser travelling with Pence played down Sunday’s test, saying the missile -- probably a medium-range one -failed after about four to five seconds.

While Washington had a “wide array of tools” at the president’s disposal, “for this particular case, if they (North Korea) took the time and energy to launch a missile that failed, we don’t need to expend any resources against that.”

The North has reiterated its constant refrain that it is ready for war with the US, and its army Friday vowed a “merciless” response to any US provocation.

Recent satellite images suggest its main nuclear site is “primed and ready,” according to specialist US website 38North.

China, the North’s sole major ally, and Russia have both urged restraint.

China’s most senior diplomat Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson exchanged views on the situation on the Korean peninsula by phone on Sunday, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency said.

The White House adviser said Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping had discussed a number of steps at their summit this month and “we’ve seen the Chinese already take some initial steps towards that” -- citing the turning back of coal ships from North Korea.

The UN Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions against the North since 2006, when it staged the first of its five nuclear tests. All have failed to halt its drive for what it insists are defensive weapons.

On Monday Pence is scheduled to meet Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn for talks expected to focus on the North’s weapons programmes and a controversial US missile defence system known as THAAD.

MonDAY 17•04•2017

public discourse

10

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Beware of Assuming Disguises Er. A. Akaho Assumi Sughuna, Nagaland

W

hen we say we are a people we mean the Nagas; not the place wherever they are today. Let us know that we are not responsible for the divided house of this great and proud people, the Nagas. However, It is deeply demoralizing to know that selected few Nagas presume themselves as the genuine indigenous Nagas because they are economically better advantaged by political arrangement of outside peoples. ‘Nagaland’ state today is not ‘Nagas’ Land. It is a piece of ‘Nagas’ Land called Nagaland. Every Naga, pushing aside the seemingly endemic feeling of being one tribe or other tribes, there too is the strong sense of being Naga. This phenomenally elemental in every Naga born has collectively endured the brunt out of common inspiration: Naga’s refusal to be governed by other forces other than their own Village Republic tendency. When seriously scrutinized, the splintered state of Naga today steams from this imperishable aspiration. We are conked out and yet we have failed to fix the responsibility to the ones who tore us like this today.

Nagaland, it was, no doubt, created by few educated persons under a turbulent and entirely militarized situation under duress. The NNC Leadership then A.Z.Phizo strongly condemned the so called 16-point agreement saying, “Who are these people to enter into agreement with India.

We have come this far with bloodshed. Who mandated them?”

The Nagas had already suffered massive human tragedy as an outcome of determined decision with insight to upkeep Naga people’s emancipation as a free

Nation. Deliberate assumption of disguise and advocating statements such as “Nagaland state” is the best thing to have happened for the Naga people” is, therefore, no less infamous than the people who proclaimed this declaration.

Nagas all over are wondering as to why an answer to their tremendously unfortunate socioeconomic and political situations today be the brain child of the 16th point draft proposal to which they are least connected today, save other Nagas outside states!

This Indian state, Nagaland, is no longer the heart of the matter if Government ‘must’ set up and strengthen partnership with the Nagas. Government of India today has all the good reasons to be serious with India’s Naga case because another momentary fix this time round will intensely intrude with India’s much larger interests in South East Asia which are at the same range of concern unbelievably related with North East India now. The Nagas and India must foretaste the reward of shared future and collective responsibility to give rest, peace and progress to the peoples in the eastern side of the subcontinent by engaging them while keeping watch over and ‘ acting east’.

The Nagas when all of them are together can be very happy people. Our beloved Motherland endowed with incredible natural wealth, all that a free people or a nation can ever dream about, is also away from other calamities and unfortunate human catastrophe continuously besetting other peoples of the globe. They though far advanced in technology, amidst economic aplenty, progressive political institutions and tall establishments in all spheres of their lives; they have more reasons to worry. Above all, to be a people God cares so much and we know He does! A

wonderful life is promised only when ‘the Naga’ puts Him in the forefront. Today we fear ourselves more than we do fear our adversaries. This catch-22 onus lays on us. Some of us do apprehend that other tribes’ leadership will let others down. We do in advance fright that some of us will be uncomfortable under unfair and domineering mentality. The once proud and fearless Naga is now relegated to mystified and unstable people because we have been educated by adverse and destructive agents to use us, and we not realizing that even now. Today we are clearly observing the same reproachful instruments offensively attempting to pull down our solidarity bases to disclaim their rights to actively get involved in making decision that will impact our future course. It is therefore exceptionally shameful that so called freshly formed groups and noisy individuals who are all out to dismantle Naga mass-based establishments through its nasty methods of misgivings and indoctrinations in order to belittle what has been achieved by the Government of India and the Naga leaders in order to deliver common Naga aspiration by sealing the final deal. Their activities are seen as potential disturbance towards motivated and sustained quarrels of our own people. It is also offensively unfair to translate disagreement of opinions as enemies and promote hostility.

Those people abetting vicious turns of radicalizing disagreements among the Nagas must remember the truth that GoI clearly understands what it means to be in serious engagement with the Naga issue. In the days past, GoI might have erected stopgaps to stunt growth of Naga solidarity by insinuating few educated Nagas; they used to be in big trouble then. The sincere admittance of

The way ahead of us

M Imyu Longchar

Para-Medical Colony, Kohima

T

he journey of the Statehood of Nagaland is passing through a half of the century since the attainment of her Statehood. In the course of this journey, different political parties ruled the Government under different leadership.

During this journey, one of the greatest significant events is the recent mass public movement which can be better known as people’s movement by all the Tribal Hohos spearheaded by Joint Co-ordination Committee (JCC) and Nagaland Tribe Action Committee (NTAC) demanding the Chief Minister to step down, with some other demands.

Similarly, way back to 1986, there was an agitation called by NSF against some objectionable policies of the State Government at that point of time. However, the agitation was confined only to Kohima where two students lost their lives due to police firing eventually leading the Chief Minister to demit from his chair.

But the recent public movement, where two youth laid down their life and another succumbed to injury in such a prime age, and several others injured in police firing while protecting the rights of Nagas, was much greater affecting the entire State and it may go down to the history of Nagaland. Another consequences of the event was that the mob burned down several Government buildings/offices and properties.

The agitation was in protest against the 33% women reservation in the ULB election under Article 243T apprehensive to infringe the Article 371A. The immediate causes were due to the violation of the gentleman agreement by the Government on 31st January 2017. The issue of demand is not yet solved.

Though, a number of writers gave their views supporting the women reservation, majority of people has opposed it basing on the Article 371A of the Constitution.

The reason is that Nagas are different from the Indian mainland in terms of culture, custom, social practice, tradition etc and with the same way different with those of Schedule Tribe, Schedule caste and other backward classes in the mainland. The woman status has been never neglected in

the Naga Society. Some opined that woman status should bring into changes from the bondage of old custom and tradition. Yes, in our modern days women are equally enjoying the right with the men in many areas like in politics, public employment, education and many other fields.

The idea of women reservation is mainly to facilitate them to become a good quality leader in the decision making body. If we observe carefully, we can find out some defective on technical reason. Article 243T Para 1in the last sentence says, “Seat may be allotted by rotation basis to different ward”.

In this case, the women member has no chance to continue in the same ward/colony unless another ward offers her the sit for the next term. So it is well understood that there is less chances for women candidates to become a good capable and experienced leader.

Secondly, it is totally going against the Naga customary practices and usage, to share with women in decision making body.

The meaning of reservation is, “making a share of some portion or quantity or number’’. It distorts the principle of equality. But if the woman is elected after contesting the election, then, there will be no objection either opposing or arising the question of violating Article 371A. It is better to adhere to the Principle of equality where women and men can contest in the election of M.P, MLA and ULB with equal rights. This may be the best policy and should not mix up, twist or confuse the true meaning of the two words of equality and reservation. It is appealed to the Government to amend or pass a resolution especially for the Nagaland without delay.

Now, full implementation of Municipal Act bothers some more burdensome. The Municipal Act part IV chapter I section 120 provides to impose Taxes: Subject to the provision of this Act and the rules made there under, with previous sanction of the Government a municipality may in order to raise revenues for its duties and performing its function under this Act, levy within its limit of municipality the following taxes, fees and tolls or any of them: A tax on lands and buildings; an octoroi; Tool and fees; A scavenging tax; A tax on advertisement other than advertisement publish in newspapers; A show tax; A fire tax; A tax on the vehicle and

animal.

As per the provision, there may be more taxes than the existing one. The best example among them is that of the tax on building.

Then, who will pay the Tax? The owner may pay the Tax, which will enhance the rates of renting and in return the tenants will pay the rent at higher rate. In the same way the market price may go up, where the customers pay and definitely the life in urban areas becomes costlier.

While talking about the Tax, I always remember some events my father had narrated. As per his accounts, the youth movement started at Mokokchung Village in 1953. In 1954, the youth movement organised a rally at Mokokchung town and called the youth volunteers from every Ao village.

Hundreds of youth gathered and went on procession openly with a slogan “No Taxation”. The protest was not to pay the household tax to Government. When the crowds reached the SDO Civil office, the crowds confronted with the police forces, and they attacked the crowd with lathi charge most of them ran away. It was only 32 of them who bravely stayed back to face the police action. Police beat them black and blue and took them to Jorhat, Assam and imprisoned them for 7 months at the district jail, Jorhat.

One of them died at the Police custody. This record/list of the prisoners can be available at page-73, in the book title, “Unforgettable memories from Nagaland” by Rev. Dr. Mar Atsongchanger. Now it is learned that only four of them are alive, because of God’s grace my father who is also one of the victims is alive till date, but he still suffered from the injuries caused during that time.

Anyway, we are compelled to pay the household tax but exempted from the income Tax. It is due to the wisdom of our former dedicated leaders for our future.

However, it is time to change from the past. We have every right to pay the taxes but let us look at the present economic status of Nagaland. What are we producing and exporting? We are still facing problem for self reliance. Imagine, our economy is 9o percent depending on the imported goods like foods and other items from other states of India mainland. We have no success to run big factories and industries for large scale production, where the Government also can earn a huge amount of revenue

Indian Prime Ministers to the Naga case and the ‘situations’ under which the Nagas are living today does never refer to the current Nagaland state. The bulk of the issue is that unless GoI gets down to the matter of the fact, its vast geographical and political situations in the frontier regions to which the Naga case, as observed outstanding and significantly linked with much bigger issues, has now become a subject with more deeper sense of shared responsibility today. Leaders of both parties understand this seriousness as they had come very close together…….to understand and appreciate one another……. not the people who are cooking up conspiracy of sabotage. The idea to stabilize their individuals’ interests and highly narrowminded ideology at the expense of Nagas’ future by inciting hate and warpath by selected few need be denounced. Such ridiculous ambition of some individuals in current Nagaland state prevents upcoming generation from foretasting what they have too long deserved. Such narrow and primitive notion exhibits the very elements that thrive on destruction and bewilderment.

Let us learn from the lesson hate has taught us and withdraw our accusing fingers pointing at our own most revered and tall leaders who have given us promise of a free ‘Nagas’ Land by giving up their personal and sectarian opinions. Every human has his own shortfalls. Our God we proclaim, our religion we profess never sanctions hate campaign based upon wrongs of fellow humans. That is always violencedriven. We ought to reestablish with our God; we need atonement through understanding and recommitment focused on next generation as we solemnly transfer the future today to tomorrow.

Part 1 and provide more employment opportunities for both skilled and the un-skilled labourers and facilitate other related job opportunities for the public earning avenue. For example, Sugarmill at Dimapur along with large areas of farming land areas belonging to the Government vanished, Paper Mill at Tuli also could not be revived. The recent Cement factory at Wazehu is defunct. I hope that only a few people have seen at the time of running those industries and factories.

But now it is gone, what a great surprise! Today our economy solely depends on the Government job.

Then, how can we uplift our state economic status?

We need the all round development to uplift the economic status of our state, whereas the central Government neglected our economy in many ways. On the other hand, we are well understood that numbers of unavoidable Taxes within us, but our leaders should be well aware, if not, even the income tax may intrude into our pocket without delay and tax away its share.

Numbers of the intellectuals and the legal professional have written and explained about the Article 371A of the Indian Constitution. It is hope that many could understand it. The main contents are: “Not withstanding anything in the constitution: No act of Parliament in respect of: i) religious or social practises of the Nagas ii) Naga customary Law and Procedure. iii) Administrative of civil and criminal justice involving decision according to Naga Customary Law. iv) Ownership and transfer of land and its resources, shall apply to the State of Nagaland unless the members of the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decide.

Now, it is clearly understood that the Article 371A of the Constitution of India empowered the Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland to examine or ratify any Act passed by the Parliament pertaining to clause A (i-iv) which can not directly implemented but shall be decided by a resolution or by amendment of its applicability in the State of Nagaland.

That, this content is simple but the implication is too wide.

It is the outcome of the 16th Point Agreement Sl.No.7.

Subhas Bose’s Visit to Nagaland in 1944

A

Tapan Chattopadhyay

fter decades of state-sponsored indifference common people and historians have suddenly become interested now in the battle of Kohima and Imphal in the context of India’s freedom and the end of the British rule. The change of guard at the centre alone is not responsible for this change; there is rethinking on this issue in the west too. A contest organized by the National Army Museum In April 2013 in London voted this battle to be ‘Britain’s greatest battle’ over infinitely more celebrated battles like D-Day and Waterloo. Making the case for Kohima in a debate at the museum, historian Robert Lyman asserted that “Great things were at stake in a war with the toughest enemy any British army has had to fight” and ranked it with Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad as the main turning point battles of WW II. This is an interesting assessment in the face of every effort made by Nehru and his party to obliterate the contribution of the INA and Subhas Chandra Bose and re-write history.

In fact, the involvement of the Naga patriots who wanted to be free from British bondage in this freedom offensive was assiduously downplayed by both the British and the Congress government to propagate a lie that India was freed by the non-violent means and that the local tribes of Nagaland opposed the INA. Now when the Congress is bent over its back with excess baggage Nehru was so much concerned about, the INA’s lost cause is making a new meaning and there is a new interest in Bose.

During and after the war, the British officers like Archibald Wavell, Louis Mountbatten and W. J. Slim smugly created a myth that Gorkha soldiers and the Nagas were totally with them during the offensive when their secret reports and correspondences often told otherwise.

They sought to make people forget that it had taken Britain four decades and no less than forty-eight skirmishes to bring the Naga hills under its control and that in 1879 the first deputy commissioner of the newly created district, G. H. Damant, was killed with his entire escort party of thirty-five soldiers in broad daylight in Khonoma village soon after assuming office.

Bose knew history well and laid great store by the freedom-loving spirit of the Nagas and the Manipuris. He had a detailed discussion about how to take care of Naga problems and aspirations after independence with the nationalist leader A. Z. Phizo when the latter met him in Burma during the war; and Radha Binode Koijam, who became chief minister of Manipur a couple of decades after independence, was in his personal staff.

Soon after assuming leadership, Bose sent INA volunteers trained in the spy schools at Kanbe, Thingangyun (Burma), and Sandycroft (Malaya) by land routes and by parachutes to organize support bases among the tribes in Nagaland and Manipur. Activities of these volunteers created panic in the British administration as the classified British records now reveal. The paratroopers and land-based spies of the Thingangyun and Kanbe institutes infiltrated northeastern India in a large number in late 1943 and early 1944 and prepared the ground for the INA’s combined offensive.

A frontier intelligence outfit named ‘Nishi Kikan’ comprising Chins, Kumis and Kukis etc. was particularly outstanding and helped them much.

Among the most influenced Naga villages were Sangnyu, Nyasia, Nyakuyu, Sankhao, Sahpao, Hwekum, villages to the east of Mokokchung, Melauri, Ruzazho, Chesezu, Chazuba, Chakabama, etc. as available from British records.

The ang (chief of Konyak Naga tribe) of Sangnyu was particularly acting against the British and propagating in favour of Indian liberation. The British administration often used harsh methods including strafing and execution to subdue the patriotic Nagas. However, British deputy commissioner Charles Pawsey and his men were successful in keeping the majority of the Nagas with them by using various methods; and they came handy in tracking down the enemy.

Bose made it a point to make personal contact and friendship with the local leaders whenever he visited the fronts, which was quite often. In one such foray, he camped for a few days at Ruzazho village of now Phek district of Nagaland in the middle of April 1944, as Er. Vekho Swuro, a government engineer by profession, has claimed in his book Discovery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose – Delhi Chalo Last Camp in Nagaland. His claim is quite plausible because Bose had declared in a broadcast over Nankin Radio in China on 24 November 1943 that he would leave for his headquarters in Shonan

(Singapore) that day and would go from there to Burma and then to the Indo-Burmese border, as his position as commander-in-chief of the Indian National Army compelled him to be at the scene of battle.

After the INA crossed the Indian border in Manipur after capturing Tiddim on 18 March 1944, Bose issued a proclamation on 21 March ‘from an undisclosed quarter on the Front’. Again, on 21 June 1944 a Bengali broadcast from Berlin Radio quoted a press statement of Bose stating that he was at that time in India with his army. On the same day Radio Rangoon carried an interview of a Japanese war correspondent who met Bose in the Indian Territory. The radio broadcast (21 May 1944) said: “The Japanese correspondent says that Netaji moves freely amongst the men of the Indian National Army and lives the life of a common soldier, free from ostentation or luxury, and that so much of his time is devoted to supervising the organization of the camps that he often does not get even three hours sleep in the night.”

Shah Nawaz Khan, commander of the Subhas Brigade in Imphal sector, has also mentioned in his memoir The INA and Its Netaji that Bose inspected the front again in May and June 1944 and returned to Rangoon on 2 July 1944.

During this period the INA was engaged in battles in Nagaland and Manipur which extended to the contiguous backup regions of Burma. As the theatre of war then was Nagaland and Manipur, it would not be far-fetched to conjecture that Bose was moving in this area. From all reports and indications, he always liked to be close to the actual battle arena to study things close at hand. About a month after the start of the offensive – on 8 April 1944 – he shifted his headquarters to Maymyo which was close to both Manipur and Nagaland. Earlier on 9 February, about a month before the Kohima-Imphal offensive, he had visited the Arakan front and issued a special order of the day when an INA battalion had captured Buthidang after a spectacular fight.

When the present author was researching about the INA in 1993, he was told by an old Naga gentleman of Chakabama village that he had attended Bose as a boy when he had stayed two nights in the nearby guest house soon after Kohima was besieged. The time of his visit coincides with what Er. Vekho Swuro has mentioned in his book. These villages fell in the line of advance of the Japanese and INA troops from Jessami to Kohima; and the British administration lost its hold on the area till June 1944.

Bose’s own desire was that the INA should be allotted one particular sector of the front where he would lead the men on the battlefield. His own choice was the Arakan region close to East Bengal where he had a strong support base to start a partisan war. His idea was that while the Japanese 56th Division would keep a portion of the enemy troops engaged (as it actually did during the Imphal offensive), thirty thousand INA soldiers would advance into Chittagong district. The consequent partisan war would force the enemy to evacuate, first of all, the army personnel to safety, thus releasing their hold on Imphal. The drama of the fall of Singapore would then be re-enacted at Imphal with the Japanese forces besieging it and the abandoned Indian troops of the British army walking over to the INA as a result of patriotic propaganda. The Japanese military leadership rejected this plan on the ground that in the Arakan coastal areas the INA would be faced with simultaneous aerial and naval bombardment. The surmise of the Japanese military leaders was proved wrong by the later events when the Japanese 56th Division actually held the British forces encircled for a few months in the Arakan and a detachment of Shah Nawaz Khan’s regiment marched into Indian territory and kept its hold on Mowdak till September 1944 without facing the hazards of an attack from the sea side.

Most people in India have so long been led to believe that the INA offensive was no more than a propaganda bid and useful only as a bargaining chip against the British after its dismal failure. Bose was also projected to have been comfortably ensconced in Tokyo and Rangoon parleying with Japanese high-ups so much so that no one could seriously believe that he ever visited Nagaland or Manipur during the war. Researchers, preferably local scholars who know people and areas well, should do well to bring the facts to light. In the mean time, the effort of Vekho Swuro to draw attention to the matter must be lauded.

Dr. Tapan Chattopadhyay, Ph.D. and D.Litt. in history, is the author of The INA’s Secret Service in Southeast Asia – Its Background, Infrastructure, Resources and Activities During World War II (Readers Service, Kolkata, 2011, third reprint, January, 2014). He was joint director, SIB, Kohima, in 1993-1995.

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.

Monday 17•04•2017

EntErtainmEnt

BUTTER CHICKEN TO SHAH RUKH KHAN:

South Korean actor Baek Jin-hee’s India love

P

opular in South Korea, actor Baek Jin-hee is renowned for her role of a rebellious girl, who befriends a Bangladeshi migrant worker in an Indie film, Bandhobi (2009). Baek may not be fluent in English, but ask her about Indian films and she’s quick to say, “My favourite actor is Shah Rukh Khan.”

On her debut tour to India, the South Korean actor has been relishing butter chicken curry and can’t stop praising the Taj Mahal.

Baek is working with the NGO Plan India, for development of children around the world. She has been travelling to empower youth and says that the social cause has been close to her since childhood.

Her portrayal of characters in films such as Triangle (2009), Foxy Festival (2010) and Pride and Prejudice (2014) has been much appreciated. “I choose the character, if only it and the script appeals to me,” says Baek who is excited to be in the land of Shah Rukh Khan.

The conversation, without much effort, goes back to the Indian star and Baek says, “I have had the opportunity to watch few Bollywood films.

Although I don’t know the language, I think, the artists are very talented as far as acting, singing and dancing are concerned. And Chak de! India is my favourite Hindi film.”

Cars 3 pay tribute to veteran NASCAR Drivers

P

ixar's Cars series may be popular with kids, but there's plenty of car content that adults can appreciate.

Lead character Lightning McQueen will retrace the roots of stock car racing and meet four characters based on racing veterans of the real-life NASCAR series, as detailed by ESPN. New character River Scott voiced by Isiah Whitlock Jr., for example, is based on Wendell Scott, who is renowned for being the first, and so far, only, African-American driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race which inspired Pixar.

Junior "Midnight" Moon, on the other hand, will be

voiced by 85-year old Junior Johnson, who is the only living racing legend out of the four. Originally, an actor was going to voice the character.

In the movie, Johnson’s character will explain to McQueen how he learnt how to draft at Daytona. Meanwhile, Louise "Barnstormer" Nash was inspired by Louise Smith, a.k.a. “The First Lady of Racing.” Secretly, she entered her husband’s Ford Coupe into the 1947 Daytona Beach race, only to wreck the car. Her husband was none the wiser - until a photo of the ruined Ford was discovered in a local newspaper. Finally, the character of

Smokey voiced by Chris Cooper is based on the legendary race mechanic Smokey Yunick. Known for his expletive language, his character had to be toned down if the studio wanted to keep the movie’s

kid-friendly rating.

Cars 3 will be roaring into cinemas on June 16, in what promises to be a darker and more mature movie than its predecessors.

Source: CarBuzz

Source: Hindustan Times

Damage in 'Fast and Furious' movies cost over $500 mn

T

he eighth instalment in the "Fast and Furious" franchise hit cinemas on Friday. It is expected to pull in billions with its famous car racing scenes, featured by breathtaking car crashes and explosions.

Yet it remains to be unveiled how much it costs to destroy all those classic motors and modern super cars in the series.

C M Y K

InsuretheGap.com calculated the full damage in the first seven instalments, which adds up to $514 million, Xinhua news agency reported. The character responsible for the most damage goes to the villain Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), causing about $180 million worth of damage. In the first movie, there's less than $1 million damage. But by the time of the

fifth, damages went up to $100 million. In the seventh, almost $300 million of cars were destroyed, including one of the most expensive cars in the world. As for the upcoming episode, the damage is expected to go up, leaving audience to calculate the new cost of the movie after they sit in the cinema.

Source: IANS

Kabir Khan on Salman Khan’s Ekta Kapoor is not planning to Tubelight heroine Zhu Zhu ‘She is the heart of the film; people will love her’

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fter Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, director Kabir Khan is ready to give Salman Khan another blockbuster with the upcoming Tubelight.

Based during the Indo-China war, Salman Khan plays a soldier who is slow in his thought process, and is in search of his missing brother, played by Sohail Khan.

There is also a love story for his character where he romances the Chinese actress Zhu Zhu. Kabir Khan is actually quite excited to introduce Zhu Zhu to Indian audience, and is impressed by her performance. Speaking to Mid-Day, he said, “Its Salman’s most endearing character till date and, arguably, his best

performance too... He has brought soul to the film like never before. The teaser will be out by the monthend. The ball will start rolling thereafter. What every-

one is most excited about is us introducing Zhu Zhu (Chinese movie star). She is a fantastic actor and a beautiful person. I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. She brings depth to the film, and her performance gives a special touch to her character. She is the heart of the film; people will love her.”

Kabir Khan also spoke to the paper about the documentary series he will be making for Amazon Prime about the Indian National Army. He revealed, “I am feeling liberated. In mainstream cinema, you have too many restrictions imposed on you. When you are casting for a show like this, you cast for the character, not for the star.”

Source: Bollywoodlife

Flower exhibition cum competition at Kohima concludes

T

he closing function and prize distribution programme of the exhibition cum competition organised by the Nagaland Flower Grower’s Society was held on April 13 at the Heritage, Kohima with Retd. Director Horticulture, Watienla Jamir as the chief guest.

The results of the competition are as follows: Under the stall competition best grower went to Neikedunouo Dzuvichu, Ruuvotuo Mepfhu-o and Ruule-u Liezietsu and the second best grower went to Neihovono.

Category A, Ferns & Foliage: Asangla Imli Category B Cacti & Succulents: MeyievinoTheluo Category C indigenous foliage & flower: Pollen Heart society, Category D Bulb & Tubers: Suohienuo Keyho Catergory E Orchids Indigenous: Ruule u Liezietsu Category F Orchids hybrid: Komphun Category G Bonsai: Zakeilhouvinvo Category H Perennial: Keviyiepreau Pienyu CategoryI Annuals & Biennials: Suohienuo Keyho Category J Flower arrangement Fresh: Yatetinla Ozukum Category K Flower arrangement Dry: Ruule u Liezietsu.

DIPR News

replace Mouni Roy in Naagin

W

hile speculations have been rife since quite sometime now, it is clear that Mouni Roy won’t be replaced in the next season of Naagin. The actress has been having a fantastic run on the show as the protagonist and the makers have no plans of replacing her. Buzz was that Ekta Kapoor was scouring for new faces to play the lead in the show. But according to a Spotboye report, the actress will be a part of the next season of the fantasy fiction show. Mouni Roy recently made headlines when she won the Best Actress award in the recently concluded Golden Petal Awards for her role in Naagin 2. Given the fact that it was an award-winning performance, it is no wonder that all speculations have been nipped in the bud.

Naagin 2 is quite popular in tellyland. So much so, that the series has also inspired many series in the neighbouring countries as well. It was always a TRP-topper and understandably, the makers want to continue with it. The series will come to an end in June and the slot will be filled by another Ekta Kapoor show, Chandrakanta. Apparently the new show is also a finite series and will be replaced by the third season of Naagin. The show feartured Mouni Roy, Adaa Khan, Arjun Bijlani and Karanvir Bohra.

Source: Bollywoodlife

W

hile John Abraham is primarily known as an action star thanks to his involvement in movies like the Force franchise, Dhoom, Rocky Handsome, his productions doesn’t always involve action genre. Not just that, he always makes sure he has something interesting to offer when it comes to the movies he produces, like say Madras Cafe, and they don’t even need to star the actor, like Vicky Donor. Now he is all set to produce and star in a movie that will be based on Pokhran nuclear test that happened in 1998, under the supervision of the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He will be producing the movie with Arjun N Kapoor and Prernaa Arora who will be financing the movie under the banner KriArj Entertainment. They have earlier produced Rustom, for which Akshay Kumar won the National Award.

Abhishek Sharma, the director of Tere Bin Laden and its sequel as well as The Shaukeens, is directing this one based on three years of research.

The script will be written by Saiwyn Quadros and Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh, who earlier helped in writing in Neerja. Though the details of his role are not yet revealed, John Abraham is choosing the best crew for the movie.

Source: Bollywoodlife

John Abraham to play with nuclear weapons in his next production

12

Monday 17•04•2017

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

United beat Chelsea to reopen title race

Manchester, april 16 (reUters): Manchester United reopened the Premier League title race on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over leaders Chelsea that leaves second-placed Tottenham Hotspur just four points behind.

United manager Jose Mourinho started with top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench but delivered a tactical masterclass against his former club, largely nullifying the threat from Eden Hazard.

Old Trafford erupted in the seventh minute when Ander Herrera won the ball in midfield, possibly by using his hand, and delivered an inch-perfect pass into the path of Marcus Rashford, who outpaced Luiz and fired low into the far corner of the net.

Four minutes after halftime, the normally reliable N’Golo Kante was robbed inside the area by AshMarcus Rashford shoots at goal. (AFP Photo) ley Young who cleverly laid the ball back to Herrera whose well-struck Bromwich Albion on Sunday. but James Milner blazed a glorieffort deflected off Kurt Zouma West Brom created the best ous opportunity over the bar and and into the net to make it 2-0. chances in a largely uneventful Divock Origi had a goal ruled out first half before Firmino nodded for offside.

- Liverpool climb to third – home Lucas' flick on to register his Simon Mignolet made a crucial Liverpool reclaimed third spot 11th league goal of the season just late save to deny Matt Phillips but, in the Premier League after Rober- before the break. as West Brom piled on the pressure to Firmino's header sealed a hardThe visitors could have ex- in the closing stages, Alberto Morefought 1-0 victory against West tended their lead after halftime no missed an open goal after Ben

Foster had come up for a corner.

Liverpool have 66 points from 33 games, although they have played one more game than Manchester City who sit two points adrift in fourth. West Brom, meanwhile, lie eighth with 44 points.

"If you come away to West Brom you know what to expect and you must deal with it," Mignolet told Sky Sports.

"We are very pleased with the performance and the three points is massive today. You feel the pressure after you see the other teams and their results but we have to look at ourselves and do our jobs."

After Manchester City were impressive 3-0 victors against Southampton on Saturday, Liverpool needed to respond in kind against a West Brom side who are notoriously strong at home.

The hosts, however, had failed to score in their previous three league fixtures, but carved out a couple of promising chances through Hal Robson-Kanu and Nacer Chadli.

A goalless halftime beckoned at the end of a cagey first half before Firmino rushed in at the back post to convert Lucas' flick-on past goalkeeper Foster.

IPL: Mumbai beat Gujarat by 6 wickets

C M Y K

MUMBai, april 16 (ians): Extending their winning streak to four matches, Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat Lions by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Sunday.

Nitish Rana (53), Rohit Sharma (40 not out) and Kieron Pollard (39) were the major contributors to Mumbai's cause.

Chasing a challenging total of 177, Mumbai started off on a bad note as the home side lost opener Parthiv Patel (0) on the second ball of the first over.

Opener Jos Buttler (26) and incoming batsman Nitish Rana (53) then played sensible innings as both batsmen forged an 85-run partnership for the second wicket before the latter was sent packing in the 10th over with he scoreboard reading 85/2.

Middle-order batsmen Rohit and Pollard then thrashed Gujarat's bowlers all around the park and added 68 runs to give a crucial advantage to their side.

With 17 runs required in the last two overs, Pollard was dismissed by pacer Andrew Tye. The West Indian power-hitter, who hit two boundaries and three

Vettel holds off Hamilton to win Bahrain GP

saKhir, april 16 (ap): Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel held off a tremendous late charge from Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton to win the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday and take the overall lead in the Formula One title race.

Hamilton was catching the German on every lap but ultimately ran out of time and finished almost seven seconds behind.

Vettel and Hamilton were level with a win each heading into this race, but Vettel's second victory of the season and 44th of his career puts him in command.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas finished third after starting from pole posi-

tion for the first time in his career. It was his 11th podium. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fourth.

Bottas made a clean start but Hamilton was beaten for pace by Vettel, who overtook him heading into the first corner.

Hamilton's hopes were also hit when the British driver was given a five-second time penalty early into the race for driving too slowly in the pit lane and holding up Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was fifth.

“The pit lane was really my fault so apologies to my team for losing time there,” Hamilton said. “Ferrari did a great job today.”

FIATA Black Belt Dan promotion test DiMapUr, april 16 (Mexn): The Faith in Action Taekwondo Academy (FIATA) will be conducting its Kukkiwon Black Belt Dan promotion test on April 22 at Immanuel Hall. A press

release in this regard has asked all senior instructors and players intending to apply from 1st to 4th Dan test to attend the coaching camp which will begin from April 17 in its Headquarter

Immanuel Hall at Y. Zhimo Colony from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm daily. The release further informed that there will also be a selection trial for all the Black Belts under Faith in Action Tae-

kwondo Academy for the forthcoming 2017 World Hanmadang Taekwondo Championship which is scheduled to be held from July 29 to August 1 at Anyang City, South Korea.

PowerComm beat Silver White in Morning Premier League Our Correspondent Kohima | April 16

Rohit Sharma plays a shot. (BCCI Photo)

sixes, was caught by Ravindra Jadeja between backward point and short third man. New batsman Hardik Pandya (6) and Rohit then completed the proceeding to give the hosts a fourth consecutive victory in the cash-rich league.

For Gujarat, Andrew Tye took two wickets while Praveen and Munaf took one wicket each.

Earlier, put in to bat, Brendon McCullum and Dinesh Karthik's crafty knocks helped Gujarat Lions post 176/4.

McCullum played 44

balls and slammed six boundaries and three sixes to get his 64 runs while Karthik slammed 48 runs off 26 balls that helped Gujarat post a decent score.

It was a poor start by Gujarat as the visitors lost their first wicket on the second ball of the innings.

Incoming batsman Suresh Raina (28) along with McCullum then stabilised the innings as the two batsmen forged an 80-run partnership for the second wicket. With the scoreboard reading 99/3, middle order batsmen Ishan Kishan (11)

PowerComm defeated Silver White 8-1 on Saturday in the ongoing Morning Premier League 2017 Season 3 being held in Kohima.

Viposa of PowerComm got a hat-

trick scoring in the 3rd, 79th and 81st minutes. Teammate Gum scored a brace netting home in the 6th and 52nd minutes. Dili, Shatilo and Japu of PowerComm contributed a goal each in the 63rd, 69th and 83rd minutes respectively. The lone goal for Silver White came through the boots

of Ajay in the 22nd minute.

With this win, PowerComm has gone up in the league table while Silver White remain bottom.

Monday’s match Kohima Local Ground: 6:00 AM Morung United FC vs MRH FC

and Karthik then faced up to the challenge and scored 54 runs in four overs to help Gujarat get past the 150-run mark before Ishan was taken by McClenaghan in the 18th over.

The fall of the wicket brought in Jason Roy (14), who supported Karthik at the other end with some good strokes and thus Gujarat finished at 176/4 in their allotted 20 overs.

For Mumbai, McClenaghan scalped two wickets while Malinga and Harbhajan chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Double delight for Messi, Isco as Barca and Real bag nervy wins Lionel Messi, left, duels for the ball against Real Sociedad's Yuri Berchiche. (AP Photo)

BarcelOna, april 16 (reUters): Lionel Messi’s double strike helped Barcelona scrape a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who needed a brace from Isco to beat Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline.

A much-changed Madrid side snatched victory at El Molinon thanks to Isco's two goals, which included a 90th-minute winner, to stretch their lead over Barcelona before the Catalans closed the gap back down to three points

at the Nou Camp.

Messi scored twice and set up a third for Paco Alcacer as Barcelona saw off their Basque opponents, who pressed them until the end of a nervy encounter.

The win, however, kept the Catalans within touching distance of Los Blancos, having played one match more, ahead of next Sunday’s Clasico.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was relieved to put a difficult week behind him, after last weekend's 2-0 loss to Malaga and Tuesday's bruising 3-0 reverse against Juventus in

the Champions League.

Despite their recent jitters, he is confident that his side can do well in the reverse leg against the Italians and against Madrid in next weekend's crucial title showdown if they perform to their very best.

“It was a special week because of what happened before (defeats by Malaga and Juventus). We won a game against a difficult opponent. I’m more than happy with the performance. We deserved to win even though it was tricky.”

Madrid endured a ner-

vous game too, which was eventually settled by Isco at the death.

Sporting opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Mikel Vesga scooped a pass over Madrid's defence which Duje Cop slammed home, and then Isco equalised three minutes later with a brilliant individual goal.

Vesga looped a header over Kiko Casilla to put the hosts back in front after halftime, but Alvaro Morata equalised with a headed goal of his own, before Isco's late winner.

The Spain international said that fighting until the very end and snatching late victories are part of the club's fabric.

"This is the spirit of Madrid, we showed it and we did it," he said. "I had the luck of being the decisive one and I'm here to help my team mates."

Atletico Madrid missed two late penalties but still thrashed bottom of the table Osasuna 3-0 at home with a brace from Yannick Carrasco to stay third in the table.

In the battle to avoid the drop, Deportivo La Coruna beat Malaga 2-0 to move nine points clear of the relegation zone, with Sporting Gijon still 18th, on 22 points.

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