April 1st, 2016

C M Y K

www.morungexpress.com

FriDAY • APriL 01 • 2016

DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 88 • 12 PAGes • 5

T H e

ESTD. 2005

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet

P o W e R

PAGE 09

T R u T H

— Aristotle

‘Agriculture is largest employer of workforce in Nagaland’

Nuclear terrorism fears loom over atomic summit

o F

West Indies Men, Women enter World T20 finals

PAGE 02

PAGE 12

Kolkata flyover crash kills 21 Kohima preps up for

KolKata, March 31 (IaNS): Twenty-one people were killed when a flyover under construction crashed in a crowded market area here on Thursday, crushing scores of unsuspecting people and some vehicles, top officials and witnesses said.

“We had earlier given the death count as 18. Now police have seen three more bodies, which they will extricate,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said while on a visit to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital here.

The chief minister said of the 18 bodies kept in the hospitals, 15 have been identified. Twelve of them have been handed over to the family members.

Rescue efforts were still on and would continue through the night.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official put the number of injured around 100.

Hundreds of locals were the first to reach the site at Posta area in the city’s northern part to see how best they could rescue those buried in the heaps of debris before official rescue workers and police joined them.

Nearly 500 army men that included 10 military medical teams, ambulances, paramedics, rescue teams with sophisticated gas cutters and cranes, besides police, disaster response teams and fire brigade per-

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

2nd smart city list Chizokho Vero

Kohima | March 31

A general view of the collapsed flyover in Kolkata, March 31. (REUTERS)

sonnel transported the badly injured as well as nearly dying to hospitals and extricated corpses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed “shock” over the tragedy. “My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives,” he tweeted.

The accident spot represented a horrific site. Body parts were strewn in the debris. Blood was splattered on the streets.

A video of the disaster showed the Vivekananda Road Flyover -- whose foundation was laid in 2008 and

where work began in February 2009 -- suddenly crashing with a roar, giving no time for anyone under it to escape.

“There was a sudden thundering noise” as the flyover crashed, a witness said.

He said he saw the flyover collapse over taxis, auto-rickshaws and other vehicles besides people who were walking under it.

With the collapsed flyover covering the entire road, rescue operations were badly hampered as cranes found it difficult to reach the spot. Later, people

Banerjee formed two expert teams to look into the reasons for the mishap and suggest remedies.

Following her instructions, police filed an FIR against the implementing agency IVRCL Infrastructure, whose owner described the disaster as an “act of god”.

Experts from KharagpurIIT and Jadavpur University, however, told IANS that lack of proper planning, delays, lacunae in design and bad tendering could have triggered the collapse.

Related news 8

opment which means it would be over Rs 3000 crore worth project, he added.

Another positive sign is that over 30 departments in Nagaland have already signed MoU for convergence programme on Smart City mission, he said.

According to Dr Aier, the main vision of Kohima Smart City, if selected would have so much potential in terms of nature and cultural assets, geostrategic location, adding that Kohima can become a regional hub of tourism.

Earlier in the day, a consultation meeting with the various HODs and AHDOs along with consultants from Voyants Solutions Pvt. Ltd was held. The consultants for Kohima Smart City assured that they were trying to sort out all shortcomings, highlight the strength of Kohima and the uniqueness of the location, adding that they are looking at everything to strengthen the proposal for figuring Kohima in the next Smart City list.

A core issue now is to come up with concrete proposal on revenue enhancement and land aspects, the consultation meeting also decided.

MTLT criticizes School Education Nagas need to understand the ‘World refugee crises’ Visier Sanyü Dept for inadequate text books Dr. Meyasetsu cites

MoKoKchUNG, March 31 (MExN): The Mokokchung Town Lanur Telongjem (MTLT) has criticized the Nagaland State School Education Department for deficiencies in the distribution of textbooks and uniform to students, and release of grants to schools.

A press note from the MTLT informed that several government school students in Mokokchung are attending classes without adequate textbooks. “There are hundreds of students from different family backgrounds studying in the different Sorry there’s nothing for government schools. As such, the you ... now scat! students attending their classes without adequate textbooks are teetering on the brink as the first terminal examination is barely a month away,” it stated. The MTLT questioned how the students would fare in their examination “given this dire inadequacy.”

It further informed that schools have resorted to the “desperate measures” of photocopying the previous year’s textbooks in order to make up for this inadequacy. It however asked the School Education Department as to “how far such temporal arrangements will sustain.”

Ao Senden warns against social media ‘slanderers’

C M Y K

formed human chains to regulate the flow of soldiers.

Amid sights of despair and distress, angry locals vented their ire against the state government’s “feeble” attempts to rescue the injured, alleging that the state’s disaster management units “arrived late” and came virtually “empty-handed”.

The chief minister, who personally supervised the rescue efforts, announced a compensation of Rs.5 lakh to the families of the dead, Rs.2 lakh each for the critically injured and Rs.1 lakh for those who suffered minor injuries.

Kohima City has lost out to other Smart City contenders as it failed to meet the ambitious benchmark set by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India.

Government of India has already announced the list of 20 cities selected to be taken for development as smart cities in Phase 1 of the Smart City Project in which list, Kohima does not figure.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima, Parliamentary Secretary for Municipal Affairs and Economics & Statistics, R Tohanba announced the disappointing news albeit with renewed hope.

The Nagaland State capital is amongst another 23 smart cities provided with an opportunity to upgrade their proposals on fast track basis.

“A revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Kohima Smart City will be resubmitted to the Ministry of Urban Development, GoI, before April 15, 2016, and it is hoped that this time, Kohima will be selected for the Smart

City Project, Tohanba informed.

The Parliamentary Secretary said they have been holding consultations with various stakeholders to get Kohima qualified for the Smart City. A state level consultation will take place either on April 5 or 9 where Chief Minister TR Zeliang will also be present, he informed.

Optimistic that this time round Kohima will figure under the Smart City Mission, Tohanba said the municipal affairs department in close coordination with Kohima Municipal Council (KMC), consultants from Voyants Solutions Pvt. Ltd and stakeholders are doing its best to get Kohima qualified in the smart city list.

State Secretary Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, Dr Maongwati Aier, present at the press conference disclosed that Rs 1000 crore would be pumped in Kohima once it is declared for the Smart City Project.

He said that Smart City Project would be implemented on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

At least five firms have expressed their desire for the Kohima Smart City devel-

DIMaPUr, March 31 (MExN): Taking strong exception of certain groups, individuals ‘slandering’ the name of its office in social media, the Ao Senden, apex body of the Ao Nagas has asked all concerned to act responsibly in words and action while using the social media platform.

In a declaration, Ao Senden President Imolemba Jamir and General Secretary S Panger Ao on Thursday warned that any one found defaming and or trying to demean the name of “Ao Senden without any concrete reasons will not be forgiven.” It also declared that any individual or groups found in such deeds through social media networks will be “dealt with sternly as per the customs of the Aos.” While pointing out that the freedom of speech and expression enshrined in the constitution as well as net neutrality comes with a responsibility, it urged every right thinking citizens or groups to come to the table for clarification if any, without apprehension, so that misunderstanding (s) can be cleared without prejudice.

It asked “what has happened to the textbooks keeping in mind that some classes have received their textbooks whereas some have not.” “Are the textbooks under the SSA scheme meant only for some classes?”

The MTLT also lamented that the free uniform distribution scheme “ironically has no uniformity.” It informed that “there are many families finding it hard to afford the stitching cost, though the uniform cloth came for free. Hence, it’s a burden rather than a privilege to wear the uniforms.”

It then expressed concern that schools in the district have not been receiving their ‘school maintenance and repairing’ and ‘school grant.’ It demanded that the due grants be released in a timely manner for the smooth functioning of the schools.

Meanwhile, the MTLT welcomed the Nagaland State Governor’s move to order a probe into the Education Department, and reiterated the ACAUT’s demand for CBI probe into the whole issue. The MTLT alleged that “there are uncountable discrepancies in the Education Department which need to be rectified at the earliest.”

the foundation of human greed for the refugee crisis and cautions it would change history

JotSoMa, March 31 (MExN): The 3rd Annual Lecture 2016 organised by Sazolie College, Jotsoma was held on March 31 at the college auditorium with Dr. Visier Sanyü Meyasetsu speaking on the topic ‘World Refugee Crisis: Challenges and Responsibilities’.

The world refugee crisis, he stated, began with the “foundation of human greed,” and cautioned that this crisis would change history.

There are approximately 59.5 million people forcibly displaced in the world. This includes 19.5 million refugees, of which 5.1 million people are Palestinians.

The United Nation defines a refugee as a person who, “owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable to or owing to such fear is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

Dr Meyasetsu spoke about his experiences working for refugees, dating back to his Pre-University (PU) studies in Darjeeling, which was affected by Naxals, and when he volunteered in a refugee camp. He further spoke of his trip to the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand, and explained the lives of the 60,000 Burmese refugees sheltered inside the camp.

Quoting from the Bible, Dr. Meyasetsu stated that as Christians it is every believer’s responsibility to be responsible towards refugees.

In order to understand the

refugee crisis, he stated one needs to understand the personal history of the victims and have a realistic approach towards their situation. He further opined that the best way to tackle the refugee crisis is through education.

Dr Meyasetsu further noted the large number of Tibetan refugees in Nagaland, and stressed on the importance of how the Naga people treat refugees in our homeland. He also differentiated between illegal immigrants and economic migrants from refugees.

He stated that while illegal immigrants/economic migrants leave their hometown for employment and other economic opportunities, refugees are compelled to leave their country due to persecution in their own land.

During the Q&A session, Dr Meyasetsu highlighted homelessness, statelessness, financial crisis, depression and mental instability as the major issues faced by

refugees.

The Naga people, he said, have also experienced internal displacement, during the years before the ceasefire. This was a time he stated when the Indian armed forces burned down several Naga villages, leaving the people homeless.

On the issue of illegal immigration, Dr Meyasetsu said that while it is legal to send back illegal immigrants, he however cautioned that this must not be done by force. To tackle illegal immigration in the state, Dr Meyasetsu said the only solution is to tackle one’s own laziness. Nagas are a threat to themselves, he opined, and pointed to “laziness” as the main source.

He further lamented the Nagaland State Government’s inability to properly understand and tackle the issue of illegal immigration. For this to change, he advised the students in the conference to work hard, be vigilant, alert and mindful.

Part II: CAG Report on Nagaland State finances Our Correspondent Kohima | March 31

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Nagaland State Finances for the year ended 31 March 2015, which was tabled in the recently concluded State assembly session in Kohima, while referring to overview of funds transferred directly from the Government of India (GoI) to Nagaland State, noted that during 2014-15, an approximate amount of Rs. 122.99 crore was directly transferred by GoI to the State Implementing Agencies.

The report stated that as long as these funds remain outside the State budget, there is no single agency monitoring its use, and there is no readily available data on how much is actually spent in any particular year on important schemes which are being implemented by State implementing agencies but are funded directly by the GoI. Government investment The CAG found that the Nagaland

State Government had invested Rs. tions under revenue section, 51 ization by the Legislature under Ar278.44 crore in Statutory Corpora- grants under capital section offset ticle 205 of the Constitution of India.

The Report stated that a rush of tions, Rural Banks, Joint Stock Com- by excess of Rs. 17.37 crore in 5 grants panies and Cooperatives by the end under revenue section and 3 grants expenditure was noticed in 6 cases in of March 2015. The average returns under capital section and 1 appro- which expenditure exceeding Rs. 10 on this investment was nil during the priation (Public Debt- Repayment). crore or more than 50 per cent of the The report stated that during the total expenditure was incurred in the last five years, the report stated.

It recommended that the gov- year, though the overall saving was last quarter of 2014-15 and in some ernment should cases in the month of March 2015. ensure better value • No monitoring agency of funds that are The report stated that there of money in investwere 198 AC Bills involving Rs. outside the State budget 185.52 crore awaiting adjustment by identifying the companies/cor- • Nagaland State invested Rs. 278.44 crore ment due to non- submission of porations which are DCC Bills for long periods and with zero returns during last 5 years endowed with low therefore was fraught with the financial but high • Departmental inquiries suggested to risk of misappropriation.

“Budgetary controls should socio- economic rebring defaulters to book be strengthened in all the govturns and justify if high cost borrowing ernment departments, particuare worth being channelized there. Rs. 2892.61 crore only, the amount larly in the departments where savInitiatives may be taken to revive or surrendered was Rs. 2908.24 crore ings/excess persisted for last five close down or sell out the huge loss (100.54 per cent). There was also an years. A close and rigorous monimaking corporations/companies. excess expenditure of Rs. 38.78 crore toring mechanism should be put in in 9 grants during 2014-15. This ex- place by the DDOs to adjust the AbFinancial management cess expenditure together with an ex- stract Contingent Bills within sixty and budgetary control cess expenditure of Rs. 572.19 crore days from the date the amounts are There was saving of Rs. 2909.98 pertaining to 2000-01 and 2005-06, drawn,” the report stated. crore in 71 grants and 6 appropria- 2008-09 to 2013-14 require regularThe report stated that timely sub-

mission of utilization certificates is a major area of concern. At the end of March 2015, 104 UCs involving an aggregate amount of Rs. 217.65 crore were pending for submission even after a lapse of one to five years from various departments.

Though the accounts of the State autonomous bodies and departmental commercial undertakings were over due, these accounts were not submitted. Non-submission of accounts in time amounted to noncompliance with the financial rules, the report stated.

The report also stated that as on March 31, 2015, 34 cases of misappropriations, defalcation etc. involving Rs. 616. 31 crore in 15 departments were pending finalization.

The report further added that the accounts of autonomous bodies/ authorities and departmental commercial undertakings need to be finalized at the earliest, adding that “departmental inquiries in all fraud and misappropriation cases should be expedited to bring the defaulters to book.”

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friDAY 01•04•2016

NAGALAND

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

‘Agriculture is largest employer of workforce in Nagaland’ Our Correspondent Kohima | March 31

Agriculture is considered the backbone of the state economy. Nagaland is principally an agrarian economy making the single largest contribution to the state economy from agriculture and its allied sectors.

Rice being the staple crop of the state covers about 70 per cent of the net cultivated area registering a production of 4,54, 190 MT during 2015-15 and a targeted production of 4, 82, 080 MT in 2015-16.

This was stated in Nagaland Economic Survey 2015-16 brought out by state’s department of economics & statistics and tabled in the recent state assembly session here.

The other major crops include maize, linseed, potato, pulses, soyabean, sugarcane, jute, gram, cotton and castor. However, self sufficiency in foodgrain is yet to be achieved and the state is still dependent on imports.

Agriculture is the largest employer of the work-

force in the state. Although the working population has significantly declined from 96.5 per cent during 1950s to 60 per cent by 2013, it continues for form an indispensable source of livelihood for the people.

Shifting and terrace cultivation practices remain the dominant form of land use in the state.

Growth in agriculture Despite the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy and livelihood, the contribution of this sector to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) showed a downward trend from 31. 82 per cent in 201314 to 29.74 per cent in 201516. The annual growth rate during the same period is projecting inconsistent trend with 7.83 per cent during 2015-16 at constant prices (2011-12).

Production and productivity With the state population projected at 27, 98, 539 by 2025, emphasis on improving the production and productivity of agri-

culture is crucial to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of food grains. So far, appropriate technologies focusing on “Hill Agriculture” supported by use of quality

inputs, farm mechanization, infrastructure support, market linkages, value addition and extension services have been introduced in the state.

In addition to these ef-

forts, attention is required on resource management and sustainable agricultural practices to negate the adverse impact of climate change on the state’s agriculture.

In 2014-15, the area under foodgrain occupied 68.23 per cent of the total cropped area and 82.38 per cent of the net sown area. During the same period, the area under cere-

als increased by 2.16 per cent, area under pulses increased by 0.68 per cent and the total area under foodgrain increased by 1.98 per cent or by 6150 hectares over the preceding year.

The area under foodgrain is also anticipated to increased by 2.68 per cent to 324680 hectares in 201516.Similarly, the area under oilseeds and commercial crops also increased by 0.30 per cent and 1.53 per cent respectively in 201415 as against that of the preceding year. And likewise, area coverage under these crops are expected to increase by 0.92 per cent and 2.21 per cent which is 67920 hectares ad 39350 hectares respectively as against the area covered in 2014-15.

As other parts of the country, with limited irrigation facilities, agriculture production and productivity in the state is dependent on monsoons. As per the final estimates, the production of cereals and pulses increased to 608870 MT and 42400 MT respectively in 2014-15 against 583680 MT and 40,600 MT in 2013-

14. Similarly, production of oilseeds and commercial crops also increased to 69500 MT and 457000 MT respectively in 2014-15 as against 69300 MT and 448950 MT respectively in 2013-14. The total food grains production in the state is anticipated to increased by 4.64 per cent, total oilseeds by 0.89 per cent commercial crops by 3.36 per cent in 2015-16.

The Survey found that in the long run, on account of the limitations in expansion of cultivable land, achieving higher growth in agriculture will be determined by increase in yield.

“Focus should therefore be on increasing productivity through adaptation of suitable technology, use of inputs such as use of high yielding varieties of crops,” the Survey observed adding that with favorable monsoon prevailing during the last few years the productivity level of all the major crops showed a upward trend except for the oilseeds and commercial crops which declined marginally.

Rotary Rahat Medical Mission CAN Dimapur performs street play on adolescent health appeals public to donate blood Dimapur, march 31 (mExN): Street play was performed by CAN Dimapur under the aegis of the District Health Society at Doyapur on Adolescent Health on March 30.

The play was performed around the vicinity of St. George School and Gamadi Vidhy Bharati School at Dhansiripar.

The play was set against the life of a student studying away from home. The play focused on the ill effects of early/teen’s pregnancy and on young adolescent health in general.

The aim of the play was to create awareness on ARSH and also to urge the adolescents to avail services

Patients lining up in the registration counter at Dimapur District Hospital for registration to avail the free medical facilities at Rotary Rahat Mission on March 31. (DIPR Photo)

Dimapur, march 31 (Dipr): Thousands of patients across the state of Nagaland are availing the free medical facilities through the Rotary Rahat Medical Mission at District Hospital Dimapur where a team of 20 highly skilled doctors from outside are providing quality surgical intervention.

The Medical Mission which began on March 28 has till the 4th day registered more than 3000 plus OPD patients and the team of doctors has so far conducted around 120 operations including plastic surgery. More than 1200 patients are getting themselves registered daily with great rush in the registration counter. Chairman, Rotary Rahat Medical Mission, Rotarian Dr. Nitin Agarwal has informed that still 100 more surgeries are lined up for ortho, general surgery, urology cases, eye, gynecology etc and the

doctors are operating 6070 patients in a day.

Stating that more and more operation cases are coming up daily, Dr. Nitin appealed to the public for donating blood for a noble cause.

It may be mentioned that prior to the medical mission, the Rotarians organized a blood donation drive at Dimapur but since blood requirement per day comes to 20 plus units, Dr. Nitin felt the need for scaling up blood donation for conducting more surgeries as just around 70 units of blood is left in stock.

Anyone above 18years and willing to donate blood for a noble cause can come in the blood bank of District Hospital Dimapur, which will be open 24x7.

Dr. Nitin Agarwal further appealed to the patients specially from interior districts requiring surgery to come and avail

the free medical benefits and informed that routine blood test, ECG, X-rays, operations and various investigations are all provided free of cost.

Speaking to DPRO, Dr. Nitin expressed gratitude to the CMO, local doctors, nurses of Dimapur District Hospital and Referral hospital for extending support and cooperation since day one of the Medical Mission.

Observing the ongoing Rotary Medical Mission as the biggest mission, taking place in the North East, Dr. Nitin lauded the positive response extended by the Government of Nagaland, various NGOs, churches and the local people for assisting and guiding in every possible manner.

The Rotary Rahat Medical Mission will go on till April 5. The main objective of the mission is to provide quality health care catering to the mass population.

provided at Youth Friendly Clinic attached to District Hospital and ARSH Clinic at Dhansiripar CHC which are set up specially to address any issues related to the adolescence.

Jenpu, CAN Youth also shared his experiences to the students and also emphasized the importance of leading a healthy life for a brighter future. After the play, verbal feedbacks were taken from selected audience to assess the learning outcome of the message.

The youth also shared that through the play they have come to realize the importance of leading a healthy life style and choosing re- CAN Dimapur members under the aegis of the District Health Society perform street play on sponsible friends.

Adolescent Health at Doyapur on March 30.

Bajaj launches V15 in Nagaland ‘Part Motorbike, Part War hero’ Morung Express News Dimapur | March 31

A motorcycle that is dubbed as bearing a piece of Indian military history – the Bajaj V15 was launched in Nagaland today. Bajaj’s latest offering in the 150cc segment was introduced to customers today at the Indian two-wheeler giant’s dealership, SK Motors located at Clock Tower junction, Dimapur. The company had formally launched the V15 nationwide on March 23.

“It’s not just a bike. It’s an invincible symbol of strength and solidity. Containing the metal of INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier, V is a bike that truly epitomises its proud heritage…” proudly proclaims marketing pamphlets handed out by the company. How much of the V15 bears the INS Vikrant is

In Fond Memory

Lanula Hosea April 1, 2016 is the first anniversary of the passing away of our mother and grandmother Lanula Hosea.

Over the past 12 months we have missed you in so many ways and recall your gentle face and feel the warmth of your patient smile.

On this particular day we especially think of you. We are comforted by our memories and our spirits are lifted up even as we are strengthened by the fact that you are with God. We miss you and you will remain forever in our hearts YOUR LOVING CHILDREN, IN-LAWS, GRAND CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN

Bajaj V15

however left to imagination with reviewers hinting that part of the fuel tank bears a piece of the de-commissioned aircraft carrier.

The V15 has received much attention from bike enthusiasts since a teaser (video clip) of the V15 was released by the company in January 26. The unique look of the bike unlike any that has been produced in India has had reviewers almost lost for words to give

it a place in the motor-cycle family. While it bears resemblance to café racers with a removable cowl attached at the pillion seat, it gets the look of a muscular commuter and the feel of a cruiser with the cowl removed. From the front, the headlamp gets a robotic look.

Some reviewers have described it as a cross between a standard commuter and a café racer

with a retro touch yet a Bajaj technician during the launch today chose to differ describing it as a solid combination of the sporty, classic and premium segments.

Another unique feature of the bike is that the Bajaj insignia found normally on the sides of the fuel tank is missing replaced by a chrome-finish ‘V’ and the company relegated to the side of the clutch box.

For the average commuter though, the V15 is priced at around the same price as the Pulsar 150 at Rs. 70,493 in Dimapur. According to Bajaj, it will return a mileage of 55 kmpl on city roads. Not built for speed, according to reviews, the bike with wide wheel base handles well city roads and sharp turns and gives relatively good torque meaning it can negotiate hilly terrain strongly.

Chen Union Dimapur General Session on April 2 Dimapur, march 31 (mExN): The Chen Union Dimapur is all set to hold its 20th General Session at its Treasurer's residence on April 2. The session will also witness celebration of Aoleang Monyu. Minister for RD & REPA – CL John will be gracing the session. The Session has being organise with the theme – ‘Making Good Society’, in relevance to the need of the time for the all round betterment of the society. The Union also inform that every Chen individual(s) to clear the yearly membership fee of Rs.20/- per person. The new household can get registered in the union with onetime fee of Rs.500/-; the registration process shall be open during the session.

In the festival event, every member is asked to showcase traditional attires and items. The cultural troupes of both Men's and Women's are asked to perform with special focus on the cultural and traditional values.

DC Phek notifies on firing practice phEk, march 31 (Dipr): 46th AR Phek is conducting small arms day firing practice at firing range Bn HQ Phek from April 1 to 30 and the time fixed from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Therefore, all the Phek Town dwellers and nearby villagers have been warned not to go near the firing zone during the aforesaid period.

KPC to visit Dimapur Press Club kohima, march 31 (mExN): As part of its initiative to reach out to other Press Clubs in Nagaland to strengthen fraternal ties, the Kohima Press Club (KPC) will be visiting Dimapur on April 9, 2016 to interact with the Dimapur Press Club members. KPC General Secretary, Alice Yhoshü in a press release has requested all the members of KPC to participate in the proposed trip. Members are also informed to confirm their participation by submitting their names to any of the club’s executive members on or before April 7 so as to facilitate arrangement of logistics in advance.

RMSA selected candidates 2014 meeting kohima, march 31 (mExN): A meeting for all the RMSA selected candidates 2014 who have already submitted acceptance letter and has not yet received appointment will be held on April 7 at 10:00 am at Kohima local ground. Every district wise candidates are requested to attend the meeting without fail. For further details contact 8014657598

FriDAY 01•04•2016

NORTH-EAST

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Rahul slams Modi's 'Fair & Lovely' law Digboi/Moran/Tezpur, March 31 (ianS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to fulfill his promise to bring back black money from abroad, and his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley brought a new law through which black money can be turned into white, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday.

The Congress leader on Thursday addressed three back-to-back public rallies in the poll-bound Assam -- at Digboi, Moran and Tezpur.

"Modi ji had promised to bring back black money from foreign banks. Although he failed, the government brought a 'Fair and Lovely' law where those with black money can turn it into white by paying a minimum tax," he said.

Gandhi alleged that Vijay Mallya, who has a pending debt of around Rs.9,000 crore, met Arun Jaitley in parliament "before escap-

Unhappy with Modi govt as it took anti-Assam stand: AASU Tezpur, March 31 (pTi): All Assam Students' Union (AASU), the student movement in the 80s that gave birth to AGP, is unhappy with the BJP but is more worried about the emergence of AIUDF under Badruddin Ajmal, the face of Bengali Muslims, who has been gaining ground election after election.

The AASU that was in the vanguard of a bloody movement that ended with the Assam Accord in 1985 is miffed with the government at the Centre saying nothing has changed on the ground on the promised deportation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

It is equally cut up with the role of the Congress and is keen that AIUDF should not win in the coming Assembly elections.

"The NDA government at the ing" the country.

"Lalit Modi, who is the symbol of black money, is still outside the country and Modi ji never utters a single word on these is-

Centre has taken all anti-Assam policies in the last 22 months. BJP's stand is not satisfactory. Assam did not get any positive support in the last two years. In fact, anti-Assam policies are being taken by the Centre," AASU General Secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told PTI in an interview.

The AASU, which is directly not into politics but has some clout with the young voters and student population, has cut its umbilical cord with the AGP, which itself has lost a lot of sheen of late.

He acknowledged that AASU had officially asked for a change in the leadership in Delhi from the UPA regime during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but did not ask people to vote for a particular party.

"However, there was no change

sues," he said.

The Congress leader also slammed the central government for removing the special category status from Assam and slash-

on the ground. We wanted a change in many decisions related to Assam but nothing happened. BJP had promised change in policies on issues like hand-over of Assam's land to Bangladesh, detection and deportation of all infiltrators and stopping of big dam construction," Gogoi said.

On the other hand, the Centre has not fulfilled any promise made

by BJP before the Lok Sabha polls and has made U-turns on every issue, he complained.

When asked if AASU will advise people to vote for any particular party or candidate, Gogoi said, "We are not asking people to vote for any one party. Our appeal to people is that they should vote keeping in mind the Bangladeshi problem.

Infiltrators should not gain from this poll."

ing the amount of central funds to the state for various development schemes.

Stating that the Modi government also tried to curtail free rations for tea

garden workers, he said: "Modi ji lives in the company of his rich industrialist friends. He wears a suit worth Rs.15 lakh and tells you his 'Mann Ki Baat'. He

3

Church destoryed by squall in Mizoram

never listens to the 'Mann ki Baat' of these tea garden workers."

Gandhi said the RSS wants to impose its ideology across the country.

"Assam is a mini-India and there are people from different religions and cultures. If one ideology is imposed across the country, what will happen to the individual culture, religion, history and language?" he posed.

Gandhi promised to give jobs to 10 lakh youths in Assam if the Congress returns to power. He said the government will arrange for free coaching for at least 100 poor students in each district for competitive examinations.

"We will set up at least one cold storage in each block in Assam for the benefit of farmers. Free medical treatment will be provided to people whose annual income is below Rs.2.5 lakh," he said.

aizawl, March 31 (pTi): A church in central Mizoram's Serchhip district was completely destroyed by a pre-monsoon squall which hit early this morning.

None was, however, killed or injured in the incident that occured at Khawbel village. State Disaster Management and Rehabilitation department officials today said the squall also damaged some private houses in the village.

Power lines and telecommunication lines were destroyed in some places which led to frequent power supply disruptions even in the capital town.

PREPAK claims responsibility for Thoubal attack on AR iMphal, March 31 (ianS): Insurgent group People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack at an Assam Rifles post near the Manipur capital on Wednesday night. A press release issued by 'Captain' Achouba, leader of the outfit, on Thursday said they attacked the post of the Assam Rifles 40 Battalion located at Lilong in Thoubal district about 15 km away from the state capital, Imphal.

Assam Rifles sources told IANS that there was no casualty in the bomb blast at 8.40 p.m. on Wednesday. Though the security personnel fired at the insurgents, they managed to escape. Achouba said a "special force unit of the Red Army", the military wing of PREPAK, had carried out the attack as part of the ongoing "war" to reclaim "independence". Such attacks will continue, he said.

ONGC strikes gas in Mizoram: Minister 112stcrorepati candidates for 1 phase poll in Assam aizawl/agarTala, March 31 Pradesh.

(ianS): State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has struck gas in northern Mizoram and is continuing prospecting for more hydrocarbons, a minister said on Thursday.

"The ONGC has for the first time found gas in Assam-Mizoram bordering areas under Kolasib district," Mizoram's Industries Minister H. Rohluna told the assembly in Aizawl.

"The ONGC is now conducting tests on the gas found. The company has continued its drilling and hydro-fracturing to find out whether more deposits of hydrocarbons are available in the area," Rohluna said.

The company's Jorhat basin has been doing exploratory drilling in Kolasib district in northern Mizoram.

ONGC has already found large reserves of natural gas in Assam and Tripura, a company spokesperson said.

Oil India Ltd, another company Nagaland Chief Minister Tr Zeliang speaks during a campaign for BJP candidate for Bokajan Assembly Constituency dr Numal Momin at Bokajan town on March 31. Union Minister for Hrd smriti owned by the central government, has also found gas in Assam and Arunachal Irani was also present on the occasion.

ONGC, which has been present in Tripura since 1972, has so far drilled about 206 wells in the state half of which are gas bearing.

The ONGC spokesperson said the company has undertaken a Rs.5,050 crore ambitious plan to prospect for more gas in Tripura.

ONGC has also commissioned its first mega commercial power project in the state, run by the ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC).

The Rs.10,000 crore 726 MW capacity gas-based thermal power project (using both water and natural gas) at Palatana, 60 km from here, is ONGC's first commercial power project in India.

ONGC, in association with Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd and the Tripura government, would also set up a Rs.5,000 crore fertiliser plant in northern Tripura.

"The process is on to set up the fertiliser plant," said another ONGC official.

Assam polls: BJP woos Manipuris in Lakhipur iMphal, March 31 (ianS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is betting on Manipuris settled in Assam to win Lakhipur assembly constituency in Barak Valley which will vote on April 4.

The party has not only fielded a Manipuri candidate, Lairikyengbam Thoiba, in Lakhipur, but has also sent a team from its Manipur unit, led by legislator Khumukcham Joykishan, to canvass the voters in the Barak Valley.

"This is the defining moment. Thoiba is going to win this seat," Joykishan told IANS on Thursday over phone from Lakhipur.

Out of Lakhipur's 140,000 registered voters, about 50,000 are Mani-

puris, R.K. Shivachandra, the spokesman of the BJP's Manipur unit, told IANS. In the past, three Manipuris were elected in the Assam assembly from Lakhipur constituency, he said.

"That was 35 years ago.

This time Thoiba will win hands down. The way our party has given ticket to a Manipuri in Assam will go a long way in BJP's advance in not only Assam but also Manipur," Shivachandra said.

The BJP team from Manipur has been conducting house to house election campaign in the constituency, which represents one of the 15 seats in the Barak Valley in the 126-member Assam assembly.

The Barak Valley has three districts -- Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi -- with Silchar as its nerve centre.

Manipuris in Lakhipur, Sonai and Udharbond constituencies have given the visiting BJP team a warm welcome, said Joykishan, who has become the first lawmaker from Manipur visiting these parts in Assam for electioneering.

"I tell them (Manipuris) to preserve their culture and tradition. And they realise that the people in Manipur have not neglected them," Joykishan said.

After electioneering in the Barak Valley, the BJP team from Manipur will go the Brahmaputra Valley which is going to polls

Arunachal CM seeks more funds for toilets iTanagar, March 31 (pTi): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul has urged the Centre to enhance funds from the existing Rs.12,000 to Rs.40,000 per unit of Individual House Hold Latrine (IHHL).

While highlighting the border sensitiveness of the State and its difficult terrain, the Chief Minister made the plea during a meeting with Union Minister of State for Drinking Water & Sanitation Ram Kripal Yadav in his office here yesterday, an official release said here on Wednesday.

Pul informed the cost of construction materials is high in the State owing to difficult terrains and high cost of transportation.

He pressed for modification of the present halfconcrete structure to a fullconcrete one for longer durability and also to provide fund for a complete set of toilet with attached bathroom.

The Chief Minister assured the Union Minister

to achieve the target of cent per cent open defecation-free State by 2022 and sought the support from the Centre to provide special package for the North-east.

He also asked the Centre to provide funds from some other alternative means as progress of various developmental projects in the State is at stake due to non-materialisation of loan from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, BRICS etc.

The Centre has released an additional Rs.8.71 crore to the State under the Public Health Engineering & Water Supply department, the Union Minister informed.

Yadav appealed to the State government to make Arunachal Open Defecation-free by 2019, before the national target of 2022.

Satisfied with the achievements made by the State government in Drinking Water & Sanitation, he assured all possible support and help from

the Centre and asked the State government to send proposals for development. The Union Minister stressed on water supply connection along with the sanitation saying that without water supply, sanitation is incomplete.

on April 11, Shivachandra said.

"The team will first go to Hojai where there are a large number of Manipuris.

They will also go to Manipuri Basti in the Guwahati city and other Manipuri villages," he said.

Thounaojam Chaoba, president of the BJP's Manipur unit, said: "The Congress in Assam would be

rejected this time by the people. The outcome in Assam will have a direct bearing on the elections in Manipur in February next near."

Chaoba alluded to the opinion polls that suggest that the Congress, which has been in power in Assam for three consecutive terms, may be decimated this time.

AFFIDAVIT

CHANGE OF NAME

I, Thepfuzhato Balie Kirha, previously called Thepfuzhato Kirha and permanent resident of House No. CH. 112, New Ministers Hill, Kohima Nagaland, solemnly declare that I have abandoned the use of my former name Thepfuzhato Kirha, and affirm that I shall hereafter be known by my official name of Thepfuzhato Balie Kirha, vide Affidavit Regd. No. 390/16, Dated the 05.02.2016

new Delhi, March 31 (ianS): Nearly half the candidates contesting the first phase of the Assam assembly elections have not declared their income tax details, an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said here on Thursday. Forty seven percent or 255 of 539 candidates have not declared their income tax details, while 19 of these candidates have assets worth more than Rs.50 lakhs, said ADR. In all, 112 contesting candidates have their assets in crores of rupees. It said top of the chart is Jyoti Subba an Independent, standing from Sootea constituency of Tezpur district, who has assets worth Rs.288.1 crore. Naren Sonwal of Asom Gana Parishad, fighting polls from Naharkatia seat of Dibrugarh district, has assets worth Rs.33.9 crore. Rahul Roy of Congress ranks third with net worth of Rs.25 crore. He is contesting from Algapur assembly segment of Hailakandi district, said ADR in a statement.

It said 36 of the 65 candidates fielded by Congress have assets worth crores of rupees, in comparison to 23 out of 54 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates and seven of 11 AGP candidates. ADR said 26 Independents have declared assets worth more than Rs.1 crore. Two candidates, Jiten Tanti of CPI(ML)(L)from Teok constituency and Diganta Phukan, an Independent from Mariani constituency, have declared zero assets in their self sworn affidavits submitted to the Election Commission of India.

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03. The address and contacts should be clearly mentioned in the Application.

04. Candidates applying for the post code 01 to 03 should be an honours graduate in both the Bachelor and Master’s Degrees and, having a minimum of 55% at the postgraduate level.

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At Rs.8,990, Samsung Galaxy J3 smartphone to woo bikers in India New Delhi, March 31 (iaNS): In a bid to woo millions of two-wheeler riders in India, South Korean electronics giant Samsung on Thursday launched 5-inch Galaxy J3 smartphone with “S-bike Mode” for bikers that will enable them to ride uninterrupted every time it is turned on.

Targeting the midprice market and extending its portfolio of “J series” smartphones, the device is available for Rs.8,990 exclusively on Snapdeal from Thursday.

The “S-bike Mode” works in harmony with a NFC-enabled sticker that enables the device to automatically reply to callers informing them that they can “call again later time as

the person they are trying to reach is riding a bike”.

With this, riders can simply concentrate on their riding and stop worrying about checking notifications on their phones or answering phone calls while they are in the mid-

RBI to issue Rs 10 coins cheNNai, March 31 (aNi): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly put into circulation coins Rs 10 denomination to commemorate the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar.

The outer ring of the bi-metallic coin is composed of aluminum bronze alloy and the centre piece is made up of cupro nickel. The obverse face of the coin shall bear the Lion Capitol of the Ashoka Pillar in the centre with the legend ‘Sathymeva Jayathe’ inscribed below, flanked on the left periphery with the word ‘Bharat’ in Devnagri script and on the right periphery with the word ‘India’ in English and it shall also bear the Rupee symbol and denominational value ‘10’ in the international numerals below the Lion Capitol. The reverse face of the coin shall bear the portrait of Dr. BR Ambedkar in the centre with inscription - 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar in Devnagri script on upper periphery and the same wordings in English on the lower periphery respectively.

dle of the road.

“While studying the consumers’ phone-usage behaviour, we realised that incoming calls are a major distraction to bikers.

We are happy that we have come up with something that will benefit millions of

two-wheeler riders,” Asim Warsi, senior vice president, Samsung electronics, told reporters here.

To activate the mode, the user just needs to “tap” the Samsung J3 smartphone to the NFC-enabled tag which can stuck on the fuel tank or the helmet.

In case of urgent calls, the caller can press “1” to notify user about the urgency of the call and the rider will get the message of “urgent call” on device’s screen.

With this, the device activates a “motion lock” feature that restricts the rider to pick call while he is driving. As soon as the rider comes to a halt, the phone allows the user to take the call.

“The device has been

equipped with NFC hardware to activate the “Sbike Mode” with a single tap on the NFC-enabled tag that will be shipped with every unit. The technology is designed by the engineers in India,” Dipesh Shah, senior vice president, Samsung R&D Institute India, added.

The Samsung Galaxy J3 comes with a 5-inch touchscreen display and is powered by 1.2GHz quadcore processor assisted with 1.5GB of RAM. The phone packs 8GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card.

The dual-SIM (microSIM) phone is packed with an 8-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

SBI announces new lending rate structure, EMIs to fall MuMbai, March 31 (aGeNcieS): State Bank of India, the country’s biggest lender, on Thursday announced its marginal cost of fundsbased lending rates (MCLR), a new rate-setting structure which banks have to follow from April.

Under the new rate-setting method, MCLR - the minimum lending rate below which a bank can’t lend to customers - is calculated by using the cost incurred on incremental deposits, not average cost of deposits.

At SBI, MCLR for a loan with a reset period of one year will be at 9.20 per cent. A reset period means that the interest will remain fixed for that period for the borrower and will be revised after that period. The bank will add a margin (risk premium) to MCLR to decide the actual rate of borrowing for a consumer.

“Home loan with one-year reset will be available be at 9.45 per cent while earlier it was 9.55 per cent,” Rajnish Kumar, MD for national banking at State Bank of India, told NDTV Profit.

“This new rate will be applicable for all new loan disbursed from April 1.

Existing customers can opt for MCLR on mutually agreed terms and condi-

The Galaxy J3 runs on Android 5.1 and is powered by a 2,600mAh non removable battery. It measures 142.30 x 71.00 x 7.90 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 138.00 grams.

The device comes with a faux leather back panel and is available in black, white and gold colours.

The J3 will also have Ultra Data Saving (UDS) mode which was launched in September with other J series phones last year, for saving upto 50 percent of data over mobile network and wi-fi.

The company is also offering special offers for Vodafone users. They will get twice the data on select internet packs for a period of six months.

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Get your boarding pass via Facebook Messenger loNDoN, March 31 (iaNS): Facebook Messenger has announced a tie up with the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines where the air travellers will receive each and every information related to their travel on Messenger - including boarding pass.

Once you book ticket online and choose to receive info via Messenger on the KLM website, the airline will send you itinerary, boarding pass, check-in confirmation and flight status through the app, The Verge reported.

With digital boarding pass, passengers will be able to get through security and onto their flight. Passengers will also be able to chat with KLM support staff right inside the Messenger. “This is one that I’ve been personally eager to solve for a while - removing stress and complication from air travel,” David Marcus, who leads the Messenger team, was quoted as saying. KLM is Facebook’s “first airline partner,” and Facebook may go for more such partners, he added.

SUDOKU

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

Game Number # 3535

Answer Number # 3534

Dinosaur ALLOSAUR

TYRANNOSAURUS

CRYPTOCLIdUS

ANUROgNAThUS

LIOPLEUROdON

IBEROmESORNIS

TOROSAURUS

RhAmPhORhYNChUS

ANATOTITAN

BRAChIOSAURUS

dIPLOdOCUS

jURASSIC

ORNIThOLESTES

STEgOSAURUS

TRIASSIC

CRETACEOUS

ANkYLOSAURUS

kOOLASUChUS

EORAPTOR POLACANThUS

TAPjARA

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Daily Cross WorD leisure Sony launches Cyber-Shot CROSSWORD # 3549 RX10 III super-zoom camera New Delhi, March 31 (NDTV GaDGeT): It appears Sony is on a camera launch spree as after the recent announcement of the HX80 travel compact camera earlier this month, the company has now launched the Cyber-shot RX10 III super-zoom camera, which brings extended zoom capability to the RX series. Sony will put this camera on sale this May for about $1,500 (approximately Rs. 1 lakh).

The Sony Cyber-shot RX10 III features a 20.1-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor and is powered by Sony’s Bionz X image processor. The main highlight however is the new 24-600mm zoom lens (Vario-Sonnar T 24600mm F2.4 - F4) which provides 25x optical zoom. The extended zoom lens features a total of 8 ED glass elements to minimise chromatic aberration and enhance picture quality.

The ISO sensitivity range on the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 III is 64-12,800 while the burst mode tops out at 14fps. The latter is possible thanks to a speedy DRAM chip placed at the rear of the sensor which is able to process large amounts of data very quickly. Due to this, the RX10 III can shoot super slow-motion video footage at 240fps, 480fps, and an incredible 960fps.

The new camera also adds several improvements to the body compared to its predecessors. You now have triple lens rings for precise adjustment of the focus, zoom, and aperture. The hand-grip has also been modified for better stability and a dedicated button to lock the focus. You also get 4K video recording support, an Oled electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2.35 million dots, dust and water resistance, as well as wireless connectivity in the form of Wi-Fi and NFC.

New Delhi, March 31 (iaNS): Japan on Thursday committed an official development assistance (ODA) loan of 242.2 billion Japanese yen (around Rs.14,251 crore) to India, the finance ministry said.

“Japan has committed loan of an amount of 242.2 billion Japanese yen, at exchange rate of Re.1 equals 1.70 Japanese yen,” the finance ministry said in a release. It added that the latest ODA loan takes the total assistance to 390 billion Japanese yen in FY16, which is the highest amount committed in a year.

“The notes were exchanged on Thursday between department of economic affairs and ambassador of Japan to India,” the finance ministry said in a release. The assistance loan has been committed for strengthening transmission system project in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha integrated sanitation improvement project, a dedicated freight corridor project, northeast road network connectivity improvement project, and Jharkhand horticulture intensification project. “India and Japan have had mutually beneficial economic development cooperation since 1958. With general political consensus and popular support for the greater cooperation between Indian and Japan, the partnership is poised for a great future,” the statement said.

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tions,” added Mr Kumar.

SBI’s base rate (rate below which a bank can’t lend) is currently at 9.30 per cent. Under the base rate mechanism, it offers home loan at base rate plus a risk premium of 25 basis points (100 basis points is equal to one per cent) which comes to 9.55 per cent.

Banks will continue to review and publish base rate.

SBI has set MCLR for 2-year reset period at 9.30 per cent while for three years at 9.35 per cent. MLCRs for shorter reset periods are lower. For loans with a reset period of six months, SBI has set the new rate at 9.15 per cent while for three months at 9.10 per cent.

Banks will have to review and publish their MCLR of different maturities every month.

In December last year, the Reserve Bank of India laid out guidelines for banks to use marginal cost of lending methodology to calculate their lending rates. Under the earlier base rate regime, changes in lending rates happened slowly, making it difficult for lenders to transmit RBI’s rate cuts.

The Reserve Bank of India reduced the repo rate by 125 basis points last year but banks lowered rates by around 60-70 basis points.

Japan commits Rs.14,251 cr development aid to India

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FridAY 01•04•2016

NAGALAND

No Hindu rituals performed in Party MCCI endorses MMC’s tax proposal meeting: State BJP reject allegations DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): BJP Nagaland has issued a clarification on the open resignation letter of former chairman of BJP Political Affairs Committee (PAC) Dr Kakheto Zhimomi wherein he cited that NDA government’s failure to fulfill its promises, increase of intolerance in the country after it came to power, RSS influence and imposition of its ideology on the party were some reasons for his resignation.

The BJP Nagaland, in “rectification of certain aspects of the resignation letter, sought to clarify on the shortcomings noticed” through its general secretary, Jaangsillung Gonmei on Thursday.

In the first, BJP Nagaland said the thumping landslide victory of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi electoral victory

raised the expectations of the public manifold. People expected miracle-like quick solutions on the lines of Gujarat’s development just like he took the country by storm during the elections. Gujarat’s development did not take place in a term just like Rome was not built in a day. At the national level, the NDA has a bigger challenge to undo and rectify the system of decades of mis-governance.

As such, dismissing the promises of BJP as mere rhetoric is uncalled for, it stated.

The BJP Nagaland also expressed shock and out rightly rejected of being accused that Hindu rituals are performed before party meetings. In order to set record straight, it claimed that till now, it has been the practice of the BJP Nagaland to commence its meetings and

events with a prayer by any party member present or pastors and church leaders.

“If Dr Kakheto has seen pictures and idols of other gods in the vicinity of the party office anywhere; it does not imply that everyone is worshipping that idol,” the press statement read while asserting that BJP believes in secularism which means every citizen is free to practice any faith and worship any gods of personal choice. “…Therefore, we let our party colleagues worship their gods as we worship ours. So, if we say our prayers here in our state meetings along with our other non Christian colleagues, we sit through the religious rituals of other state’s party men before party meetings in their areas, out of our Christian respect and not for reasons of worshipping their gods,” it

substantiated.

On the RSS front, the BJP Nagaland said it is basically a nationalistic patriotic movement originating from the national freedom movement that is singly focused on nation building.

“Just because majority of its members consist of Hindus and therefore has gained a Hindu fervor, do not mean its purpose has been compromised. Its membership is not religion based and not restricted to Hindus or a condition for membership,” it argued.

The BJP Nagaland also maintained that the appointment of BJP presidents at various levels are not a deviation from the party’s constitution but a feature of a special provision of waiving the usual constitutional electoral process and eligibility criteria as and when applicable.

MoKoKCHUNg, MARCH 31 (MExN): The House of Executives of the Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) has unanimously decided to agree in favour of MMC’s proposal for enhancement of the annual Trade Permit and Sanitation Tax. The proposal called for enhancing the tax by ten rupees per month amounting to Rs.240/- per trader annually.

According to an MCCI press note issued through

its Vice-president Tsukti Longkumer and Information Secretary Limalenden Longkumer, the House was entrusted by the its general body at a meeting on March 29 to discuss the matter and the decision for the same was arrived at its meeting on March 30.

Further, the House also resolved to appeal the competent office of MMC not propose any further enhancement or impose any additional taxes for another three consecutive finan-

cial years i.e. March 2017 to March 2020 “for incontrovertible reasons MCCI knows best.”

In this regard, the MCCI leaders today had a “marathon but cordial meeting” with MMC authority, where the latter assured the former “there shall be no further enhancement of taxes for three years” as appealed by MCCI. Consequently, MMCI informed all the all traders to pay the enhanced taxes “without any revulsion” as

it is in the best interest of all concerned and MMC’s assurance for tax moratorium for three years.

Maintaining that traders are the only community who pays sanitation tax in Mokokchung and the same is utilized for solid waste management and garbage disposal in all the 18 wards of the town, the MCCI requested the traders to pay the same “in the interest of keeping the town clean and in the service of all the households” in the town.

Eastern Nagaland GBs Union constituted DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): Based on the ENPO notification and as per the resolution adopted during the joint consultative meeting of ENPO and Eastern Nagaland GBs and DBs on March 16 at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur, Eastern Nagaland GBs Union (ENGBU) has been formed.

The new union will be led by Dr. C. Thritongse Sangtam as president, Wanglang Konyak as vice president, Mennyei Phom as general secretary, S. Khumong Khiam as finance secretary, S. Makam Yimchunger and Litongse Sangtam as joint secretaries, Tochu Chang as infor-

mation secretary and Khoni Chang as treasurer.

The newly selected office bearers was formally inducted with thanksgiving prayer offered by Y.B. Angam Phom in presence of the advisors, president and colleagues of ENPO in Tuensang headquarters on March 29. The ENPO

and ENGBU have jointly affirmed to work for the larger interest and welfare of the people of Eastern Nagaland.

A press note further informed that the Eastern Nagaland DBs Union will be formally launched on or before April 10, 2016 at Tuensang Hq.

LSU seeks new fuel tank for IOC Wokha Two detained with forged vehicle documents

CM extends greetings on Aoleang, Monyu

DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): The Lotha Students’ Union (LSU) has appealed to the Indian oil Corporation (IOC) to take appropriate steps to ‘immediately’ install a new fuel tank at M/S P Ezung & Sons, IOC Ltd Wokha by replacing the existing fuel tank which, it said, is in deplorable condition.

In a representation addressed to the Assistant Manager (Retail Sales), IOC, Dimapur, Nagaland, LSU president Amos Odyuo said the existing fuel tank at M/S P Ezung & Sons, IOC was installed

KoHIMA, MARCH 31 (MExN): The Chief Minister of Nagaland TR Zeliang on Thursday extended his warm greetings on the festive occasion of Aoleang and Monyu celebrated by Konyak and Phom tribes respectively. I hoped that the weeklong celebration and blessings of the festival will bring communities together and help in preserving their unique and rich cultural heritage and traditions, Zeliang stated in a message released through the Media cell Chief Minister’s Office, Nagaland. Further stating that the festivals will not only strengthen the spirit of unity and oneness but herald a new era of peace, prosperity and happiness for all, the CM also wished both the communities a happy and peaceful celebration.

in 1969 and since then no technical assistance has been provided to clean-up the fuel tank, as a result of which consumers are not getting quality fuel.

It maintained that the above mentioned IOC, Wokha is the sole supplier of fuel to all government departments in the entire district and therefore, quality products and services is absolutely required not only from a business perspective but also to maintain the confidence of the consumer at large.

Further, the students’ union informed that there

has been a substantial increase in vehicles in Wokha district with good number of vehicles plying to other districts of Nagaland as well as Assam state through the National Highway.

It also appealed the IOC authorities to install Extra Premium Petrol/Diesel along with the new fuel tank, which the LSU pointed out is extremely necessary for the interest of the consumers.

The LSU said it will not remain silent if the legitimate grievances of the general public are not addressed with.

DIMAPUR, MARCH 31(MExN): Two person were detained by Kohima Police for allegedly travelling with forged vehicle documents in two separate incidents, a Kohima Police Official said today.

The Sub – Divisional Police Officer & PRO, Atu Zumvü NPS in a press note informed that the first arrest was made by combine team of Anti Vehicle Theft Squad (AVTS), D.I.B of DEF Kohima and A/10 NAP (IR) personnel during routine checking of vehicles at Tseisema Basa junction Kohima.

A Tata Sumo (Zonal Taxi Bearing Regd. No. NL 05T 0339) was intercepted on suspicion and during verification of the said vehicle, the chassis and engine number engraved in the vehicle and smart card (RC book) were not matching, it added.

The owner of the vehicle identified as one C Odyuo for was detained in this connection and the police had registered a regular case at Chiephobozou PS for conducting further investigation, the official added.

In another similar case, 1 (One) more Maruti Alto

Bearing (NL-01C-8693) was intercepted by the same team and during verification, the seized vehicle was plying with a fictitious Registration Card (smart card).

“As per the ownership details of the registration No.NL-01C-8693 was already allotted to a Maruti Omni Van by D.T.O Kohima and not to the seized Maruti Alto,” the police informed.

A regular case was also registered against the owner identified as one V.K John at Kohima Chiephobozou PS for conducting further investigation.

NSCN (R) welcomes ‘Home Comers’

DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): The NSCN (R) through its MIP today informed that it has welcomed several workers from different Naga Political Groups (NPGs) at its sub-office in Mon. According to a press release from MIP, NSCN (R), the new “Home Comers” includes N Anden, Dy. Kilonser (NSCN-U); Vitsu Robert Dy. Kilonser (NNC) Non Accordist; Capt. Alih (NSCN-U); and Lieut.

Langphong (NSCN-U) along with 1 AK 56 & Ammunitions. The New Home Comers stated that they have lost topic "Youth Challenge to confidence in the leadership of their respective NPGs and Global Leadership". Oth- decided to join the leadership of Y Wangtin Naga and Mr. er speakers included Rev. P. Tikhak, the MIP release further maintained.

Dr. P. Dozo who spoke on the topic "Crucial Relationship between Parents DLCC on tobacco control meeting & Children" and Rev. HM KoHIMA, MARCH 31 (DIPR): All the members of Gonmei who spoke on District Level Coordination Committee (DLCC) on Tothe topic. "Todays Youth bacco Control have been informed that there will be a Problems, The Parents quarterly consultative meeting on April 7 at 1:00 pm at Must Know". the conference hall of Deputy Commissioner Kohima.

The meeting will be held in connection with the violation of the main provisions of COTPA 2003 (Section 4&6). In this connection all the concerned members have been requested to attend the meeting positively.

This was informed by District Nodal Officer (NTCP) Kohima, Nagaland, Dr. Arenla Walling.

UPHC conducts health camps Students called to pursue quality education JAlUKIE, MARCH 31 (DIPR): The second day of Students’ Spiritual Conference Jalukie was graced by Parliamentary Secretary, Higher Education, Deo Nukhu as the special guest on March 31.

Deo Nukhu shared his life history where he narrated how he began his life

with the Church as a student. He called upon the students to pursue quality education with sincerity, honesty, commitment, moral character and hard working to become successful. It is the best time to build your life, he said and urged the students to be strong members in their

church.

Twenty three schools registered for the second day and 2900 students are attending the SSC Jalukie. Resource person Rev. Dirang Lungalang spoke on the topic "Enjoyment: Worldly & Spiritually" while Andrew Ahoto spoke on the

Huge haul of Opium, IMFL destroyed in Mon

People are seen availing services at medical camps conducted by UPHC, Burma Camp in Railway Bazaar Grace Colony and UNB-A' area in March.

DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): A total of 357 patients availed free health services and free medicines in two medical camps conducted by the Urban Primary Health Centre Burma Camp, Dimapur at Railway Bazaar Grace Colony area and United North Block (UNB) 'A', Burma Camp during the month of March.

According to a press note, the medical camps, conducted as a part of National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), was an initiative headed by the MO

i/c UPHC, Burma Camp with active support and participation from Urban Consultant, GNMs and ANMs of UPHC, Burma Camp and UPHC, Duncan Bosti and Urban ASHA. During the camps, counseling on health information, proper nutrition, timely ANC checkup etc were also provided by the nurses.

NUHM has a coverage of 23 Wards in Urban Dimapur and conducts 2 (two) free health camps monthly under its jurisdiction.

MoN, MARCH 31 (DIPR): Opium and IMFL worth around Rupees Three Lakh was destroyed at daily bazaar, Mon by KNSK the apex women’s organization of the Konyaks in the presences of the District Administration, Excise Department, Police, Assam Rifles, the Church leaders, the Konyak Union, the Students body (KSU) and its citizens on March 31.

Addressing the gathering at the short destruction programme the President of KNSK, Lomei Konyak informed that such apprehended illegal goods are usually destroyed at the spot but it was decided to destroy on the eve of ‘Aoleang festival’ in the public place is to disseminate strong message to both the users and the sellers and at

NAGC to be launched at TMHSS KoHIMA, MARCH 31 (DIPR): The Nagaland State Social Welfare Board will be launching the Nagaland Adolescent Girls Club (NAGC) at Thinuovicha Memorial Higher Secondary School, Kohima on April 4.

More BJP State office bearers appointed

the same time to create awareness to the masses and highlight the activities of the mothers’ organization. She thanked the NGOs partners, the district administration, Police, Excise department, the Churches and the good citizens for their participation in the destruction programme and

further seeks their cooperation and support in the future for transforming the society. She said that the seized opium and IMFL was apprehended from only two persons.

Short speeches were also proposed by the Vice President of Konyak Union, the Executive Secretary of KBBB, the Presi-

dent of Konyak Students Union and the EAC Sadar.

All the speakers thanked the mothers’ organization for their yeoman service to the society and assured to extend their cooperation and support to the KNSK. They felt the need to have a joint venture in the future to combat such anti social elements.

‘Human trafficking is the worst form of modern day exploitation’ DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): Human trafficking is the worse form of modern days exploitation and has became a major concern for the people of Nagaland, Wapanginla Kichu, a Lawyer said adding many young boys and girls are taken outside of the state under the pretext of education or job and end up being a victim of commercial sexual exploitation, street begging, prostitute, child labour, drug smuggling or even a victim of organ removal.

She was speaking as one of the Resource person of the Legal Awareness Programme on “Gender Sensitive Legal Measures for Students” at Government Higher Secondary Schools Pfutsero and Phek held on

Students in Pfutsero, Phek sensitised on online violence, human trafficking & gender equality

March 30-31 at the respective schools' premises.

The programme was organised by Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) in collaboration National Service Scheme (NSS).

Speaking on the topic “Human Trafficking and Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act,” Kichu further informed that students that human trafficking is the fastest growing transnational criminal organisation flourishing trade to the tune of 8 billion dollars in a year.

She also highlighted some of the important Legal provision under Immoral Trafficking (Preven-

tion) Act 1956 and urged the students to be watchful of what is happening around and stand up to fight the ‘heinous crime.’

Lawyer Akumla Longchari, another speaker at the programme dealt with the rising “Online violence and exploitation of women and children” through this medium.

While social media have really made lives interesting, fast and easy, there are also dangers that come along with it, be more vigilant using the same, she advised the students.

Longchari also cautioned the students about the menace of the online job offers and Social Engineer-

ing by using fake accounts, online gaming, hacking into someone’s account and Child Pornography.

She also noted that while men are also victims of Cyber Crime but Women and Children were more vulnerable.

Imparting the knowledge about “Basic Legal Rights,” Lawyer Neiteo Koza maintained that as a citizen of the country, one should at least be aware of the fundamental rights provided by its Constitution.

The fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution are inviolable and no law can be in derogation of these rights, she added ex-

plaining in details the rights and privileges and protection provided for the people.

Urging the students to respect and abide by the laws which can help in achieving peace and harmony in the society and progression in all aspects of life, Koza also stressed on the rights and duties of a consumers and Right to Information.

Other resource persons dealt with law regarding gender equality. While the Constitutional and legal provisions and other legal provisions of law regarding gender equality was presented by Mamang Singson, the social aspect on gender equality in Na-

galand was presented by Chitho Nyusou.

Do away with negative mentalities towards women and change mindset which can help achieve gender equality, Nyusou encouraged the students.

According to a press note, the programmes were chaired by Para Legal Volunteers Gyateh Marhu and Zukhovolu while welcome address was delivered by Vecukhoyi, Principal Pfutsero Higher Secondary School at Pfutsero Higher Secondary school and Y.P Singh, Principal Phek Government Higher Secondary School respectively.

Each session were followed with active interactions amongst the students, faculties and the resource persons, it added.

DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): The Nagaland State BJP President Visasolie Lhoungu has appointed more State office bearers. A press release from BJP Nagaland (Media) General Secretary Jaangsillung Gonmei informed that the office bearers who fail to attend the office bearers’ meeting consecutively for three times without prior information will automatically be replaced without any warning as per the provision of the party constitution.

This order will come into force with immediate effect from the date of the issue of President’s order dated March 17, 2016, it said. The newly office bearers are: Khiubandibo – General Secretary; Nyimathung Odyuo – State Secretary; K. Thong – State Secretary; T. Ombu Chang – State Secretary; Mhalo – State Secretary; Aienla – State Secretary; Chumbemo – State Secretary; Doodh Singh – Party Coordinator. Meanwhile, the BJP Nagaland has corrected that the name of one of its State executive members published recently in local press should be read as Kelhouzhatuo Nakhro and not Kelhousetuo Nakhro.

RMSA 2014 candidates' meeting DIMAPUR, MARCH 31 (MExN): A meeting for all the RMSA selected candidates 2014 who have already submitted ‘acceptance letter’ but ‘has not yet received appointment’ has been scheduled on April 7, 10 AM onward at Kohima Local Ground. Every district wise candidates are requested to attend the meeting without fail. For further details contact 8014657598

Urban Development implements 10% lumpsum scheme KoHIMA, MARCH 31 (DIPR): The Department of Urban Development during the year 2015-16 carried out the projects sanctioned under 10% lumpsum scheme under the Ministry of Urban Development. Out of the sanctioned projects, 36 projects have been successfully completed. The notable works executed under the scheme were the construction of road connecting Peren district, road to NH-39, infrastructure development works for Jalukie, infrastructure development and protection works in Pfutsero, improvement of circular roads in Mokokchung Town and construction of guest house/rest house at Chen town, Mon.

6

FriDAY 01•04•2016

IN FOCUS The Power of Truth

The Morung Express volume Xi issue 88

Failed Promises It is ironic that the politics of promises, as well as the politics of forgetting are so comfortably intertwined in the Naga context

A

common practice in politics is for elected officials and government servants to make promises that many times cannot be attained. The very words often represent nothing more than empty rhetoric, especially in relation to governments and political parties in the Nagaland state political scenario. Ironically, it is by making the issue-based promises that the political parties attempt to win the people’s confidence. Inevitably, it is the very same promises and assurances made by the same people and political parties that are broken time and time again by the many governments that have assumed political power.

The degree to which the State and its government deviates from their promises compromises democratic practices and values as it betrays a lack of sincerity, political will and commitment to truly serve the people they claim to represent.

Let us examine the citizen’s expectations after years of political struggle and living in an unhealthy environment where conditions are fluid and armed conflict is ever present. How does the habit of promises contradicting performance affect the Naga psyche, and what are its implications? Does it mean that once in power, politicians take the people for granted and the promises forgotten? Or, are the people fatigued and battleworn that they become indifferent to the abuse of trust and the arrogance of political power?

Another perspective takes into account the fluid nature of social, political and economic conditions which may have been different at the time when promises were made. Nonetheless, central to the promises made is whether the politicians and parties’ actual intentions are honorable and honest; and whether they are willing to be held accountable for any lapses when arises.

If the government is people-driven and people-centered, then the people’s basic needs are to be upheld and addressed.

After all there is nothing more important than safeguarding the lives of ordinary people and the environment in which they life. The public needs to ask whether the government and its workers – elected and appointed are upholding the public trust that ensures representative, participatory and inclusive democratic governance that are accountable to the people.

The politics of forgetting, or more specifically political amnesia, is a common trait amongst politicians and governments.

It is ironic that the politics of promises, as well as the politics of forgetting are so comfortably intertwined in the Naga context.

This implies the presence of a weak civil society that is unable to stand firmly on issues and demand greater accountability and participatory governance from successive governments. And at the core, it reveals a government that is not people centered and one that has become complacent by conditions that make corruption and the abuse of power seem normal.

Has the ordinary Naga become indifferent and been marginalized along the sidelines? Are politicians and government servants so caught up in themselves that they are immune to responding to the public?

Let’s be clear, present day politics in Nagaland State are appalling, corrupt and have institutionalized violence within the dominant State structures. This type of violence is hidden and invisible, but dramatically impacts the people and perpetuates unacceptable living conditions. This structural violence placed alongside the protracted armed conflict is threatening the moral and political future of the people.

The Naga public can no longer remain a spectator in this scenario and needs to critique the structural violence and recognize that true power lies with the people. The public needs to define and critically identify the form of healthy political environment and nurture leaders that would address the core issues and serve the greater common good of all.

This must begin with holding elected representatives and government officials accountable to the ideals of democratic governance.

lEfT WING |

Magdalena Mis Thomson Reuters Foundation

Atleast 400 UK churches to go green, switch to renewable energy-charities

M

ore than 400 churches in the United Kingdom plan to switch to clean energy providers for their light and heat, shifting spending of 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) to renewables from fossil fuels, two Christian charities said on March 30.

The move is part of the Big Church Switch, an initiative launched in February by charities Christian Aid and Tearfund, which urged UK churches and households to use clean sources of energy instead of carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

Their online platform connects those who sign up with energy experts, promising to find them the best renewable deal by negotiating with energy providers.

"As individuals and churches we have a choice in how we treat the earth, how we spend our money, how we power our homes and our buildings," David Walker, the Anglican bishop of Manchester, said in a statement.

"By creating technology which can turn wind and sunshine into clean and renewable energy, humans continue to benefit from the gift of creation. Making the most of this bountiful harvest is a common sense way for us to roll back the ravages of climate change and ensure we are taking an active role in being part of the solution."

Among the 424 churches that have registered with the Big Church Switch is the world's oldest Methodist chapel, The New Room in Bristol, built by John Wesley.

"We may be the oldest Methodist building in the world but that doesn't mean we have to use the polluting energy of the past," David Worthington, manager of The New Room, said in a statement.

"Switching our energy provider to clean sources of power is a simple thing we can do to help the global transition to a low carbon world. If we, in a building as old as ours, can embrace the idea of renewable energy, then anyone can."

Pope Francis, the leader of the 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church, has been outspoken about the need for reductions in carbon emissions to tackle climate change.

He heartened environmentalists around the world in June when he urged immediate action to save the planet from the effects of climate change, declaring that the use of "highly polluting fossil fuels needs to be progressively replaced without delay."

The Church of England has some 16,000 churches, while the Methodists have about 6,000 chapels.

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

C O M M E N T A R Y

Mohan J. Dutta OpenDemocracy

The chilling effect on India’s academic freedom

The language of antinationalism has worked to put forth a monolithic vision of the nation state, and simultaneously sought to erase diverse voices from the discursive space

Kanhaiya Kumar

S

ince 2014, Indian universities have been subject to the authoritarian impulse of the state, with the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Narendra Modi seeking to fundamentally transform the character of these universities, imposing unqualified administrators that are close to the party line, implicitly supporting party-affiliated student groups such as the ABVP, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) (translation: All Indian Student Council) to silence alternative voices, and deploying both violence and disproportionate punishment to silence student protest against the state’s authoritarian policies.

The ABVP has been reconfigured to establish the BJP agenda on university campuses, serving as both the mouthpiece of the BJP as well as an information source for surveilling over and controlling thought that is seen as critical of the BJP agenda dedicated to Hinduizing India. Moreover, the ABVP has been at the vortex of cooking up trouble and inciting violence across campuses in India.

These active measures of intervention into higher education taken by the Modi government have been orchestrated toward achieving the broader agenda of cleansing the universities of critical voices, instead reconfiguring universities to serve the right wing agendas of further privatization and saffronization of education. The education agenda is being reworked, and turned toward the teaching of Sanskrit, the discoveries of Vedic science, and the reformulation of teaching as practical skills-building.

At the epicenter of the recent stateled majoritarian attack on universities is the hallowed Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

On February 9, 2016, a small group of students at JNU had organized a poetry reading session titled ‘A Country without a Post Office’ to interrogate the unjudicial hanging of Mr. Afzal Guru, who was allegedly involved in the attacks on the Indian parliament in 2001.

Based on accusations that anti-India slogans were chanted at the event, the President of the JNU Student’s Union, Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested and charged with sedition for his alleged involvement in shouting anti-India slogans. Apparently, the Vice Chancellor

of the University had given permission to the Delhi Police to arrest the student and remove him from campus.

The arrest was made primarily on the basis of a video broadcast by a TV channel that now stands challenged, with evidence suggesting that the video was doctored up. TV channels such as Times Now, Zee News, and News X have played an instrumental role in fanning the flames of public outrage, recirculating grainy videos that are difficult to decipher on screen. The arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, who was later released on bail, was followed by the arrest of JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.

Even after the veracity of the videos had been questioned and subsequent investigations have revealed that the videos were doctored, the media houses did not issue an apology or correct the misinformation, instead feeding the media witch-hunt by stoking the charges of anti-nationalism.

The students had already been marked in media and public discourse, with a section of the public issuing violent threats to the students. In spite of the dubious nature of the evidence that was used to file the case initially, the charges of sedition have not been dropped. Two of the students, Umar and Anirban, continue to be in police custody although the emerging evidence not only questions the veracity of the tapes but also suggests that the JNU row was a concerted effort to discredit the university as a place of thought. For instance, later investigations suggest that Shilpi Tiwari, former aide of the Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani, played an instrumental role in planting and circulating the doctored videos. Similarly, the BJP spokesman Sambit Patra played the doctored video(s) on network television.

When Kanhaiya Kumar was presented at the Patiala Court in New Delhi, lawyers and BJP supporters attacked

the students and professors of JNU that had attended the event in solidarity with Mr. Kumar. They were chanting “Glory to Mother India,” and “Traitors leave India.” Professors and students at universities such as JNU have emerged as the targets of online-offline lynch mobs. The anti-national label has been drummed up to silence diverse voices across the country. The Indian media have been stoking the flames of mass hysteria, further orchestrating witch hunts when others speak up on their behalf. More recently, media houses such as Zee News have turned to attacking the noted JNU political scholar Nivedita Menon and the well-known Urdu poet and scientist Gauhar Raza.

Responding to the JNU events, Home Minister Rajnath Singh warned, “Anyone who raises anti-India slogans or tries to put a question mark on the nation’s unity and integrity will not be spared,” while Education Minister Smriti Irani said: “The nation can never tolerate any insult to mother India.” The BJP-affiliated politician Subramanian Swamy demanded a temporary closure of the university and a complete cleansing of the university. Such announcements point towards a concerted effort to delegitimize the university and to undermine spaces of thinking that interrogate the monolithic communal free market development narrative that the state seeks to pursue. But not only this.

Interrogating the role of the armed forces special powers act in what are termed ‘areas of disturbance’ such as Kashmir and the Northeast, the rapes by the army in Kashmir and the Northeast, or the development model of India can be quickly labeled as anti-national.

The anti-national propaganda campaign has been strategically directed at portraying students, professors, and their university as a threat to the nation, feeding into a national media and public frenzy to shut down debate, conversation, and difference. The

most recent attack on JNU is part of an ongoing campaign against universities, witnessed earlier in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Hyderabad Central University, and more recently, Allahabad University.

The case of Rohith Vemula The language of anti-nationalism has worked to put forth a monolithic vision of the nation state, and simultaneously sought to erase diverse voices from the discursive space. The JNU incident comes in the wake of the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit (meaning “oppressed” in South Asia, a broad category comprising the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other oppressed groups) student leader at the University of Hyderabad, who committed suicide after having been unjustly treated by a university administration held hostage to the BJP government at the Center.

Rohith was a member of the Ambedkar Students Association, a dalit student group that drew attention to various forms of injustices in Indian society, and was protesting the hanging of Yakub Memon, a convict in the 1993 Bombay bombings. At the event, a confrontation had broken out with activists of the ABVP. Because of the alleged intervention of the BJP leader from the region, Bandaru Dattatreya, and the pressure exerted by the BJP government, Rohith’s fellowship was withdrawn and he was expelled from the hostel, which ultimately led to his suicide.

Over 10,000 students marched to the capital on February 24 to protest Rohith’s death. In their protest, the students draw attention to the disenfranchisements of Dalits in a Brahminical education system and the attacks on Rohith that was systematically orchestrated by BJP-ABVP. The protest of the students is a protest against the chilling climate of control being exercised by BJP on university campuses throughout India.

The attack on Universities across India is reflective of a broader authoritarian agenda directed at silencing difference and critical thought at sites of learning. Science and engineering curricula and research programs are being redone with an agenda for promoting Vedic science. History is being re-narrated to articulate a Hindu narrative of the nation state, devoid of evidence.

The attack of the Hindu right on universities such as JNU is an attack on the fundamental idea of India as a democracy that thrives in its pluralism and celebrates a culture of argumentation, as Amartya Sen so poignantly depicts in his book “The Argumentative Indian.”

The Narendra Modi government’s attack on Indian universities is an attack on thought, an attack on critical engagement, and an attack on learning as asking questions. Freedom of academic thought is under threat across India as the Indian state continues its attack on universities, teachers, and students.

The skilled girl effect: Worth more than the US and Chinese economies put together Asif saleh and sarah-Jane saltmarsh

ingly taking up leadership positions as Brishty Akhter, 18 is a skilled tailor Mahmuda and Khadija, and hundreds well, which has tremendous implicawho owns a shop where she trains and of other girls across Bangladesh are BRAC tions for the country’s workforce. employs other girls in southern Ban- now working in trades like IT, mobile computer whirs to life in a If Bangladesh stays on track, more gladesh. When she was 16, she became phone repairs and motorcycle servicsmall shop in Bangladesh’s than 80 percent of women will be work- an apprentice tailor and developed her ing. In a region with the lowest gender chaotic capital Dhaka. Out- ing in a decade’s time – up from a third skills. Then she did something almost parity in the world, these women are side rickshaw drivers bargain at the moment, says the World Bank’s unheard of. She convinced her parents working the same hours and employed for fares and street sellers call out the Chief Operating Officer and Managing to spend the money they had saved for in the same sectors as men. day’s fish prices. The phone rings. Has- Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati. her marriage to buy her a shop so she According to the Bangladesh Lana Hena, 15, takes the call in one hand, The story of economic empower- could start her own business. bour Force Survey 2013, labour force her other flying over the track pad to ment is rapidly changing. A USAIDIn Bangladesh, parents generally participation for women is 33.5 peropen Photoshop. It’s another new cli- funded study showed that labour force spend more money on their daughters’ cent, compared to 81.7 percent for ent needing a poster design. participation for 20- to 24-year-old weddings than on their education. men. If female labour participation An hour away in the rural town of women in Bangladesh more than dou- The country still has the fourth highest rates in Bangladesh rose by 2.5 million Tongi, Mahmuda Akhter, 16, sits in a bled over the past 10 years, coinciding child marriage rate in the world. per year, it would take just 10 years for mobile phone servicing shop in the with the garment boom. Garment exWhat gave Brishty, and her parents the participation rate to equal the curmain market. A stressed looking cus- ports accounted the confidence rent rate of male participation. tomer rushes in with his phone. Hold- for $24 billion last that her shop Now we need to give millions more ing a small screwdriver, Mahmuda year, 80 percent was a good in- women those opportunities. Empowpries open the cover of his mobile and of Bangladesh’s vestment? ering girls like Brishty will not only imdiagnoses the problem. total exports.

Brishty is a prove the economy but can also help In the outskirts of Rajshahi, six A new report from The McKinsey graduate of a BRAC skills training pilot decrease child marriage and give famihours from Dhaka, Khadija Akhter, Global Institute indicates that if given programme called Skills Training for lies the confidence to invest in their 18, kick-starts a shiny red and black the same job opportunities as men, Advancing Resources (STAR) children’s future careers. motorcycle she has just fixed. “Every- women could contribute $28 trillion to The programme pairs apprentices Gender disparity is a complex isthing should be fine now,” she tells the global economic growth. That is rough- directly with master craftspeople, in- sue, but simple solutions exist. Sigowner. She jumps on to take it for a test ly equivalent to the US and Chinese novating on the traditional informal nificant political and social changes ride around the block, disappearing in economies combined. apprenticeship model that has existed are also required, but harnessing the a cloud of dust.

There are moral reasons why coun- for men in South Asia for thousands of skilled girl effect could dramatically acNot so long ago it would have been tries should foster gender equality, but years. It is significantly cheaper than celerate those changes. unusual for a young woman to be a there are economic reasons as well. costly training institutions. After just It costs a few hundred dollars to graphic designer, a phone service pro- Women are more likely to spend their six months of training, apprentices be- equip a girl with skills through an apvider, or a mechanic – especially in a earnings on health, education, and gin working. Women and men are giv- prenticeship. Let’s #PledgeforParity country where few women drive. investing in the future. Empowering en the same choice of trades to pursue. this International Women’s Day. Invest Women are relatively new entrants to women is also a critical component of Trades are chosen based on the de- in girls, they’ll take care of the rest. the formal workforce in Bangladesh and each new sustainable development mands of an increasingly service ori- Asif Saleh is BRAC Director of Strategy, the majority of this new demographic goal. But beyond advocating for gender ented economy, continually mapped Empowerment and Communications are the first in their families to have a job. equality, women’s participation in the through smartphones. and Sarah-Jane Saltmarsh is BRAC Across the country, women are increas- workforce also makes economic sense.

As a result of skills training, Hasna, Strategic Communications Specialist Letters to the Editor should be sent to: The morung express, House No. 4, Duncan Bosti, Dimapur - 797112, Or –email: morung@gmail.com All letters (including those via email) should have the full name and Postal address of the sender.

A

WRITE-WING

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.

friDAY 01•04•2016

PERSPECTIVE

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Cricket hyper-nationalism: war by other means

T

Garga Chatterjee

he rise of the cricket team of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has undoubtedly been on the fairy-tale stories of the cricketing word in the recent years. The team, nicknamed the “Tigers” have made cricket arguably the most popular sport in Bangladesh, following patterns elsewhere in the subcontinent. The team has evolved from being a pariah to a weak side, whose test-playing status was questioned by others, to a maverick side that could put up a tough fight to occasional giant killers to its present status as an important force in the world of cricket. The relationship of cricket and political-ideological feelings has always been part of its pull and vitality in Bangladesh.

During the Pakistan period, cricket, like the armed forces, had an unofficial 'not welcome' sign for those from East Bengal. Cricket had the image of being a game elites played, especially fair-skinned sharif elites in the context of Pakistan. This attitude was brought out well from an account I had heard from a person who was visiting a veteran left-wing trade-unionist in Barisal, Bangladesh. The veteran fighter of the masses was irritated by the cricket enthusiasm of the young people of Barisal. He said, “Amago polapain khyalbe cricket? Cricket khyallbe Hanif Mohammed!” (translation – Our boys will play cricket? Cricket is for the Hanif Mohammeds!). Hanif Mohammed was a legendary cricketer from Gujarat and then West Pakistan, and this comment revealed his attitude about cricket and Bengalis being incompatible. Things have certainly changed since then, especially after its World Cup appearance in 1999 and attainment of test-playing status in 2000.

Notwithstanding that fact that popular cricket is the sighted male version of the game it has been, cricket has long become a proxy for nationalism, both insurgent and assertive. Written off as a 'basket case' after 1971, the rise of Bangladesh cricket has also been envisioned as a struggle of an underdog people, fighting against insurmountable odds, fired merely by their indomitable spirit.

This echoes the popular narrative of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation struggle and nation-state formation itself. More than one politician from Bangladesh has associated wins against Pakistan in cricket as being revenge for 1971. Thus, cricket also comes with the hegemonic assumptions of a nation state. When the idea of the nation-state is a contested one, cricket also reflects these multiple contestations, by proxy.

The political divides within Bangladesh continue to get refracted through the lens of cricket. Before the rise of the BCB team as a major cricketing power, the cricketing audience's allegiance was mostly divided between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) team. These divides were as much about domestic political attitudes and self-identities as they were about cricket and got best reflected during “India-Pakistan” matches.

Support was defined more by what the supporter opposed more. Those, for whom, the original sin of Pakistan and its state ideology defined their predominant dislike, came to support the BCCI team. Those, for whom, the regional hegemonic moves by Indian Union in general and anti-Bangladesh actions like border killings by BSF in particular serves as the primary dislike, PCB team was the one to support.

On top of these, there were undercurrents, true and alleged, that made rounds. For example, the suggestion that the Hindus of Bangladesh tended to support India, with the innuendo that it is religion that ties these citizens to the Indian Union, which is thier “natural” homeland as per the 1947 Partition's logic. These attitudes have sad on-the-ground consequences in the form of harmless taunts to not-soharmless aspersions about “disloyalty”.

The similarities to the narrative in the Indian Union that Indian Muslims secretly or overtly support Pakistan in cricket are unmistakable.

On the one hand, support for Pakistan is made part of a narrative where shared Muslim-ness is the basis of support with the allegation that such support is a grave disrespect to the hundreds of thousands who brutalized and killed in 1971 by the Pakistani occupation forces. This leads to the more damaging allegation that such support is a sign of their Pakistani collaborator or razakar political stance.

Now, BCB being a viable team, much of these energies now make themselves known in BCB vs PCB or BCB vs BCCI matches, where the pro-Bangladesh sentiment is at times coupled with antiPakistan or anti-India sentiment, as the case may be. Visible and well-known groupies of the BCCI and PCB team like Sudhir Gautam and Mohammad Bashir were alleged to have been manhandled when in Bangladesh. While the allegations were ultimately unsubstantiated, the popular discussions around it bring out earlier fault-lines.

Recent political events also cast their shadow. This is particularly evident in the age of social media. Indi-

an Union's Border Security Force has the sordid record of regularly gunning down people it considers criminal trespassers from Bangladesh. Naturally, there is a strong sentiment against this in Bangladesh, especially in the context of relatively weak military prowess visa-vis the Indian Union as also its geostrategic location that links its economic life strongly to the Indian Union. This sense of powerlessness and unfairness was channelized by a Facebook picture that went viral few years ago after a win of the BCB team over BCCI team.

It showed a crouching tiger amidst tall south Bengal grass and was captioned “Amra kantatar-e noy, maathe mari” (translation – We vanquish you in the cricket field, not in barbed wire). The reference to the barb-wired Indo-Bangladesh border and the killings associated with that border is unmistakable.

The post-partition nation-states of the subcontinent, whose hegemonic self-identities carry the indelible imprint of Partition-era faultlines, make it very difficult for people to hold multiple loyalties or “wrong” loyalties.

That is true for cricket too. Thus, it is not easy being a genuine fan of the BCCI or BCB or PCB team while being the citizen of the 'wrong' nation-state.

When the BCB team wins big against some team other than the BCCI team, the press in West Bengal is typically jubilant. When the BCB team defeats BCCI team, the loyalties of West Bengalis understandably remain unacknowledged, unpublished and undiscussed. No one can doubt that Bengal was partitioned in 1947 on the basis of religion, which conceived West Bengal as the Hindu Bengali dominant homeland and East Bengal as the Muslim Bengali dominant homeland - with the West faring much better than the East in providing security to its minorities.

Nonetheless, it is a fact that there have been more Hindu East Bengalis playing for the BCB team at a given time than Hindu West Bengalis in any other international cricket team.

With corporate money and glitz riding high on cricket hyper-nationalism, the game is often reduced to war by

other means. With cricket stars being elevated to the dubious status of warrior-gods, it is important that this phenomenon is put in the context of greater society, beyond nationalism and pride.

Few are able to do that better than Mashrafe Mortaza, the philosophercaptain of the BCB team who says, “I am a cricketer but can I save a life? A doctor can. But no one claps for the best doctor in the country. Create myths around them. They will save more lives. They are the stars. The labourers are the stars, they build the country. What have we built using cricket? Can we make even a brick using cricket? Does paddy grow on the cricket field? Those who make courtyards using bricks, make things at factories, grow crops in the fields – they are the stars.”

Mashrafe goes on to bury any comparison between real Bangladesh liberation warriors of 1971 and cricket stars - “What do we do? If I say it very bluntly – we take money, we perform.

Like a singer or an actor, we do performing art. Nothing more. The Muktijoddhad (Liberation warriors) didn’t face bullets to get money on winning.

Who is being compared to whom? If there are any heroes in cricket, they are Rakibul Hasans or martyrs like (Abdul Halim) Jewel...Rakibul Bhai had dared to enter the cricket field with 'Joy Bangla' inscribed on his bat (before the 1971 Liberation). That’s big. Even bigger was his going to the front with his father's gun. Shohid (martyr) Jewel left cricket and joined the crack platoon (a 1971 Liberation war guerilla formation). That is bravery. Dealing with fastbowling has romanticism and duty, not bravery.” And he has this to say on cricket-based patriotism - “I say, those who cry 'patriotism, patriotism' around cricket, if all of them for one day did not drop banana skin on the streets or did not spit on the streets or obeyed traffic rules, the country would have changed. This huge energy was not wasted after cricket and was used to do one's work honestly even for a day, that would be showing patriotism. I don’t understand the definition of patriotism of these people.”

CONversATiONs WiTh MY MuM

F

Samhita Barooah

or a long time I have moved out of home. My travels and work keeps me away from home. I keep myself posted with home people through some phone calls from time to time. My mum doesnt email so I cant mail her but I converse with her from time to time. When she is busy she doesn't call me but when she is free she will call me more often.

These days she calls me after she leaves home and before she starts her school work. She shares about the neighbourhood, family, food and sometimes about what's in news. On Sundays she would read out some of the headlines from local newspapers. My field location does not have access to electricity for very long period of time and my internet facility is also minimal to get access to latest news and events.

So I value my conversations with my mum as the sources of information about the socio cultural life in Guwahati city. Sometimes we share about mundane things like food which she ate in her family gatherings and weddings and also about how I manage food when I do not have access to kitchen facilities in the village. For her it is a way to ensure that I am getting my daily nutritional needs and that my health needs are taken care of.

For me when my mum shares about her foods, I realise how the market dominates her tastes and whatever the society offers. Like very recently she shared how she was trying out Ramdev's Atta Noodles while she would al-

ways stop me from eating Wai Wai or Maggie on health grounds but now just because its a new trend in the market she wants to try out. In some conversations sometimes we fight about serious issues which affects us. These are issues of difference and discrimination.

When my mum shares that the voting pattern will be influenced by certain section of society because of religious equations I worry. I ask which local news channels and newspapers are sharing such facts, she says almost all of them. These days paid news sources are increasing and people influence the mass psyche in that process especially during election time. For example my mum shared how muslims are a threat to the society at large and newspapers are proving such facts. I asked if she checked other sources in electronic and television media which she didnt because she has found her comfort zone in local language media sources. I asked her to reflect whether such thoughts are driven by political interests of hate and intolerance. She did not know about that much. She shared how some brahmin acquaintance of her said in some social gathering that even though we do not like right winged politics we need to vote for it to ensure our own survival.

Most of the elite, upper caste brahmanical hindus are threatened by power sharing possibilities, emergence of pluratistic societies and gradual disintegration of class and caste barriers which could transform the power dynamics of a hegemonic Assamese society. I am amazed at the perpetual ha-

tred of the diverse communities on the lines of religious differences.

Such differences are growing in enormous volumes in the context of Assam. Every political agency builds their manifestoes on the agendas of hate. Personal identity and political identity never matches in different contexts. This was evident when my mum made a distinction between our personal friends and neighbours from different religious backgrounds and those in the newspapers. I kept reflecting how the concept of personal is political operate in this context.

It was my mum who would always share her childhood memories of having friends from diverse communities and also sing songs of integration. I remember my mother singing zikir in a group without the bindi on her forehead during eid for doordarshan along with other women from her community group.

My mum also shares her lunch with many of her muslim colleagues at school and teaches children from diverse religious backgrounds. In her hey days of being a singer at All India Radio, she sang songs composed, written and even accompanied by artists and musicians from diverse religious backgrounds. I shared with my mum that what is being fed to the society out of fear, domination or hate is not what we have defined in the context of a diverse, adaptive Assamese social fabric.

We argue a lot about Assamese cultural milieu which cannot be defined by the market driven development, imposition of alien food habits in the name of health and longevity and sankritisa-

tion of cultural and religious practices which are far from the essence of a multicultural and dynamic Assamese identity. My mum sometimes also shares about the ideas of nonresident Assamese people whose influence is growing these days to define cultural and religious codes.

We also cannot be driven by the nonresident Assamese whose values and cultural contexts are frozen in time when they were opportunistic and moved away from Assam to find better avenues for themselves. Now they have monetary resources and a family root in Assam which they wish to fulfill their hidden vested interest of fame, power, politics, fears of being rootless and passion. My mum was patient to listen to my ramblings and shared that she does not like to talk to me on these issues.

But to remain within the social structure one has to conform to the norms.

The conversations with my mum continues to be difficult as she represents the society driven, culture conscious, protectionist section whose comfort zones are cemented into the layers of hegemonic patriarchial mindset.

Unless we converse and confront with such thought processes we shall never be able to reimagine a future which ensures our existence with all differences and diversities.

I just hope that such conversations across the generations continues to flow and connecting spaces are created in an atmosphere of vengeance, mistrust and intolerance.

Samhita Barooah Researcher and Travel Writer

7

The Little We Know About the Jihadists in Our Midst Kenan Malik

W

NYT

hat leads young European Muslims to blow themselves up on trains and at airports, to shoot down shoppers and concertgoers?

It is a question often asked ever since homegrown suicide bombers brought carnage to London’s transportation system in 2005. The attacks in Brussels have highlighted that it remains largely unanswered.

Those sowing terror in Europe are not foreign jihadists but European citizens, most born and brought up on the Continent, in places like the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek. The apprehension spreads beyond Europe; authorities in the United States, too, are increasingly concerned about homegrown attackers.

The conventional view is that homegrown terrorists are created through a process of “radicalization,” a conveyor belt that draws vulnerable individuals through several stages from religious belief to jihadist violence.

An influential 2007 New York Police Department report, “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” described a four-stage process of pre-radicalization, selfidentification, indoctrination and jihadization, through which people are “funneled” into terrorism. To be a “preradical” is simply to belong to a Muslim community; to “self-identify” is to accept Salafist beliefs. Indoctrination means being groomed by a jihadist organization; jihadization is the end point.

This schema caught the imaginations of politicians and policy makers and became central to counterterror policy.

The New York Police Department, for instance, established a secret surveillance unit to spy on Muslim communities, eavesdropping on mosques and cafes, looking for the signatures of radicalization. The program eventually shut down after much public controversy and two federal lawsuits. Yet, according to a Brennan Center for Justice report, the approach continues to influence the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies.

The F.B.I. issued its own report, “The Radicalization Process: From Conversion to Jihad,” that identified four stages of radicalization. Indicators included “wearing traditional Muslim attire,” “growing facial hair” and “frequent attendance at a mosque or prayer group.” Like the New York Police Department, the F.B.I. has conducted widespread surveillance of Muslim communities.

In Britain, the government’s flagship counterterrorism program, Prevent, includes surveillance of schoolchildren and college students. Official guidelines suggest that signs of radicalization include changing one’s “style of dress or personal appearance” or using “derogatory names or labels for another group.” Another sign, according to leaked teacher training materials, is an overt interest in Palestine or Syria. Among nearly 4,000 people identified last year as supposedly exhibiting signs of radicalization was a 4-year-old boy.

In France, mass closures of mosques and organizations suspected of enabling radicalization are underway.

Yet the evidence suggests that the concept is flawed and that such anti-jihadist measures are ineffective, even counterproductive. A secret British government memorandum leaked in 2010 dismissed the idea that there was “a linear ‘conveyor belt’ moving from grievance, through radicalization, to violence.” A 2010 American study sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security similarly noted that radicalization “cannot be understood as an invariable set of steps or ‘stages’ from sympathy to radicalism.”

Many studies show, perhaps counterintuitively, that people are not usually led to jihadist groups by religious faith. In 2008, a leaked briefing from Britain’s domestic security service, MI5, found that far from being religious zealots, many involved in terrorism were not particularly observant.

This view is confirmed by Marc Sageman, a former officer with the Central Intelligence Agency who is now a counterterrorism consultant. “At the time they joined, jihad terrorists were not very religious,” he observed. “They only became religious once they joined the jihad.”

The paradox is that the concept has become central to domestic counterterrorism policy even as government agencies discover it’s wrong. There is a gap between the reality of jihadism and a political desire for a simple narrative of radicalization.

In recent years, the official view of the process has become more nuanced. An F.B.I. website aimed at teenagers acknowledges that “no single reason explains why people become violent extremists.” Updated British strategy also accepts that “there is no single cause of radicalization.”

Yet the idea of a conveyor belt and telltale signatures of radicalization continue to be influential.

For many, though, the first steps toward terror are rarely taken for political or religious reasons. As the French sociologist Olivier Roy, the pre-eminent scholar of European jihadism, puts it, few terrorists “had a previous story of militancy,” either political or religious. Rather, they’re searching for something less definable: identity, meaning, respect.

“The path to radicalization,” reported a British researcher, Tufyal Choudhury, in 2007, “often involves a search for identity at a moment of crisis.” This occurs, he suggested, “when previous explanations and belief systems are found to be inadequate in explaining an individual’s experience.”

Finding few answers in mainstream cultures or belief systems, some search elsewhere, on the fringes. In the past, this might have led them to join movements for political change — that was certainly the route I took in my youth.

Now, however, such movements often seem as out of touch as mainstream institutions. So, shaped more by the politics of identity than by progressive politics, some find meaning in a highly tribal, stark and vicious vision of Islam. Ironically, some are as estranged from mainstream Muslim communities as they are from Western society.

It is not through mosques but through the Internet that such jihadists discover their community. Dissociated from social norms, finding their identity within a small group, radicals come to see world events as an existential struggle between Islam and the West and feel empowered to commit acts of horror.

Counter-radicalization policies fail because they look for signs of radicalization that are in reality meaningless, and try to disrupt a nonexistent “conveyor belt.” They have helped to create more illiberal societies without challenging jihadism, nurturing a mind-set in which a 4-year-old child can be viewed as a potential jihadist, while real terrorists slip the net. Our whole counterterror strategy needs a rethink.

Kenan Malik is the author, most recently, of “The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics” and a contributing opinion writer.

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

8

FridAY 01•04•2016

INDIA

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Kolkata horror - and how people rose to the occasion KolKata, March 31 (IaNS): Strewn body parts, splattered blood, mangled vehicles and people wailing - Kolkata's bustling Ganesh Talkies crossing resembled a war zone on Thursday after a flyover under construction came crashing over people and motorists.

It was business as usual on the busy street - one of the oldest and the busiest thoroughfares of the city before mayhem struck at around 12.25.

"Suddenly I heard a rumbling sound. Before I could realise what it was, I saw the flyover crashing down, crushing people and vehicles," said Raju Shaw, who runs a paan shop.

Scores of people like Shaw braved the fallen rubble to rush to rescue the victims buried under the debris.

Carrying the injured on their backs, the bravehearts began ferrying the injured to the nearest hospital. Others offered water to those had escaped with minor injuries but were too dazed.

Having cheated death by a whisker, street vendor Bimal Das also lent his hand in the rescue work before soldiers, the NDRF and Disaster Management Group poured in to clear the tonnes of rubble.

"I am lucky to have escaped certain death. The moment I heard the rumble, I ran to the opposite side thinking it to be an earthquake," said Das. He is still stunned by the tragedy that has claimed 14 lives and left at least 78 seriously injured.

Besides numerous pedestrians, cyclists and street vendors, witnesses said that

Prez, PM, others condole deaths in flyover collapse New DelhI, March 31 (IaNS): President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday expressed grief over the deaths in the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Kolkata. In a message to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the president said: "I am sad to learn about the collapse of the flyover under construction in Kolkata in which number of persons have lost their lives and many others are injured. The president wished for "speedy recovery" of the injured".

Vice President Ansari on Thursday also expressed grief. "I am deeply grieved and shocked at the tragic loss of life and injuries resulting from the collapse of an under construction flyover in Kolkata earlier today (Thursday). "I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved families and pray to the Almighty to give them strength and fortitude to withstand this immense loss. I also wish speedy recovery to the injured," he said. several vehicles including a crowded mini bus and taxis were trapped beneath the iron and mortar rubble.

The death toll is likely to shoot up.

A video of the disaster showed the Vivekananda Road Flyover - whose foundation was laid in 2008 and where work began in February 2009 - suddenly crashing with a roar, giving no time for anyone under it to escape.

With the collapsed flyover covering the entire road, rescue operations were badly hampered as cranes found it difficult to reach the spot. Later, people formed human chains to regulate the flow of soldiers.

Besides lending a hand in the rescue work, the locals also provided drinking

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed grief over the collapse of a flyover in Kolkata. The prime minister, who is in Washington, US, also reviewed the rescue operations.

"Shocked and saddened by collapse of under construction flyover in Kolkata. Took stock of the situation and rescue operations," Modi said in a tweet.

"My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Kolkata. May the injured recover at the earliest," he said in another tweet.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed sadness over the death of at least 14 people in the flyover collapse in Kolkata.

"Deeply saddened to know that precious lives have been lost in the Kolkata accident. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased," he tweeted. “This is an unfortunate incident and I express condolence from the depth of my heart," he said.

water to army and NDRF personnel who worked tirelessly, cutting through the mangled iron girders and mortars looking for survivors.

Several voluntary blood donation camps quickly came up. Many donors rushed to various hospitals. Several blood banks offered blood free of cost for the victims.

The tech savvy used social networking sites and WhatsApp to communicate useful information including the hospitals where the injured had been admitted and the helpline numbers put up by the government.

Cancelling her election rallies in West Midnapore district, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the spot and immediately

The Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also expressed shock and anguish over the flyover collapse in Kolkata, in which 14 people were killed.

"Extending her condolences to the family members of the deceased, Smt. Gandhi hoped that the injured are being suitably treated," tweeted INC India, the official Twitter account of the Indian National Congress.

"She has instructed the PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) and Congress frontal organizations to assist in relief efforts," the party tweeted.

The party vice president Rahul Gandhi also condoled the deaths in the "extremely tragic" flyover collapse in Kolkata. "News of the collapse of a flyover in Kolkata extremely tragic.

I hope rescue and relief operations reach those trapped and injured at the earliest," Gandhi tweeted.

"My heart goes out to the people who have lost loved ones in this tragedy," he said in another tweet.

took charge of the rescue operations.

Using a loudhailer, she repeatedly urged the hundreds of onlookers not to crowd the site and hamper the rescue work.

She announced in a sombre voice: "So far 14 people have died and 70 others have injured."

Banerjee asked police to control the crowds, ordered floodlights to be arranged at the site and drinking water provided to the media persons.

Besides announcing ex-gratia of Rs.5 lakh to the families of the dead and Rs.2 lakh for the injured, Banerjee promised action against the company engaged in building the flyover. "The guilty will not be spared. We will take action," said Banerjee.

Flyover collapse 'act of god': Company official A senior official of the infrastructure company that was in-charge of the construction of a Kolkata flyover, a portion of which collapsed on Thursday killing at least 14, described the incident as an "act of god."

"This particular work was given to us by the government of Kolkata. 60 to 70 percent is already over. One girder missed and the second one fell. This is how the accident has taken place... it is nothing but god's act," K.P. Rao, a senior official of the Hyderabad-headquartered IVRCL group, told the media.

"So far in 27 years we have constructed number of bridges... this has never happened before. We in the management are also A general view of the collapsed flyover in Kolkata on March 31. (REUTER Photo) under shock," he said.

Modi talks tough on terror, says UN risks its relevance Dual citizenship row:Rahul files reply, attacks Swamy BruSSelS, March 31 (IaNS): The United Nations is risking its relevance in the absence of a strong and structured response to terrorism, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned.

In an address to Indian diaspora in Belgium on Wednesday night, Modi regretted that the world had not come up with a proportionate response to terror despite the huge threat it posed to humanity.

"The world has failed to understand the threat of this hideous monster," he told the euphoric Indian crowd at the Brussels Expo here, finding fault with countries which differentiated between "good terrorism" and "bad terrorism".

Modi explained how how India had been battling terrorism for the last 40 years. "When we raised our concern, we were told it is a mere law and order problem -- until 9/11 happened.

"And when the earth shook beneath their feet,

Narendra Modi pictured during an address to an Indian diaspora in Brussels Wednesday.

they began to understand what terrorism is," he said, speaking days after terror attacks in the Belgian capital killed more than 30 people, including an Indian techie.

He, however, said that the UN had not been able to fully understand this "new challenge of the new era".

"The United Nations

knows everything about a war and how to stop it. But if you ask about terrorism, even the UN doesn't know.

The world body of such a grand stature has failed to perform its responsibility," he said.

He said that India had been requesting the UN for years to come up with a resolution that defines "who a

terrorist is and which country is a terrorist nation".

"I don't know when this will happen but the way situations are changing, it won't be too late when this organisation will become irrelevant."

He said India had never bowed to terrorism and will never do so and offered "deepest" condolences for the March 22 Brussels terror bombings.

He recalled the global Sufi conference held recently in New Delhi where scholars from the Muslim world denounced terrorism.

He said this approach was essential to stop radicalization and a right atmosphere had to be created to end terror.

He said he had spoken to many world leaders and emphasized "the need to delink religion from terror".

"No religion teaches terrorism," he said as he wound up his busy Belgian trip. Modi has left for Washington and will later fly to Saudi Arabia.

New DelhI, March 31 (PtI): Rahul Gandhi has replied to the notice of a Lok Sabha panel on the issue of his alleged "dual citizenship", questioning its decision of taking cognizance of a "complaint that is not in order" and daring BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to make public his British passport number and other relevant documents.

In his reply to the notice issued by the Ethics Committee headed by BJP patri-

scopic studies in Matanumadh area (86 km northwest of Bhuj) in Kachch district of Gujarat, a finding which links it to the Red planet. This work is part of a programme initiated by SAC-ISRO under its Mars mission.

"The landscape of Matanumadh with its unusual mineral assemblage, including jarosite, in a basalt terrain, mimics the geological environment of many of the identified jarosite localities on Mars," Saibal Gupta, professor in Department of Geology and Geophysics at IITKharagpur, told IANS. Presence of the rare mineral was reported from various parts of the surface of the Red planet by NASA's Mars exploration rover Opportunity in 2004. Since then, other rovers have detected jarosite at several localities on the planet's surface.

The fact that jarosite is found in limited natural terrestrial environments means "extreme and unusual" conditions are required for its formation and stabilisation.

"The Martian surface must, at some time, have experienced these conditions. Thus, the positive identification of jarosite, in addition to the previously reported minerals natroalunite and minamiite, is a major argument in favour of the Matanumadh Formation representing a Martian analog locality," contended Souvik Mitra, of IIT-Kharagpur.

In fact, as a clone, the Indian site more closely resembles the Martian surface than known Western Australian jarosite localites, note the researchers in the study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets in March.

The significance of the discovery is multi-fold and could have implications in the way we explore the Martian surface.

NASA is working to send humans to Mars in the 2030s, but there are many milestones to accomplish to ensure that astronauts come back to the Earth safely, the space agency says on its website.

"The two essential conditions for jarosite formation are near-surface acidic water and oxidizing conditions. Understanding how jarosite formed in the Matanumadh Formation may shed light on the final stages of aqueous (waterbased) activity in parts of the Martian surface," said Mitra. Last year, NASA scientists found evidence of flowing water on Mars.

Mitra envisages if the local tourism authorities can educate the locals

According to sources, Gandhi demanded that the complainant produce evidence to substantiate his allegation and file an affidavit in support of his contention."The documents on which he relies in support of his contention nowhere mention that I have ever declared myself as a British citizen," he said, alleging it is evident that the complainant has "wantonly misled".

"I urge Mr Swamy for

placing on record any proof of Rahul Gandhi being a British citizen by disclosing his alleged British passport number and relevant documents," Gandhi was quoted by sources to have said in his response to the notice.Gandhi was issued a notice in the 2nd week of March by Advani-led panel seeking his response to allegations that he declared himself a British citizen to occupy the post of the Director of a company there.

Above normal temperature this summer: IMD New DelhI, March 31 (PtI): The country will witness "warmer than normal temperature" this summer with heat wave like conditions likely over Central and northwest parts of India.According to the summer forecast issued by the India Meteorological Department, the first of its kind, for April to June, the seasonal temperature would be above normal by more than one degree Celsius over Northwest India.

There is also a high probability of 76 per cent of maximum temperatures

Scientists find Mars surface replica in India KolKata, March 31 (IaNS): Why wait for a million-dollar ticket to Mars when you can have an inter-planetary experience a la Oscar nominated blockbuster "The Martian" right here in India?

One simply needs to head over to the western Indian state of Gujarat to glimpse the remarkable rocky landscape similar to the Red planet.

A replica or "terrestrial analogue" of the Martian surface has been discovered in the state, thanks to Indian scientists from the Space Applications Center (SAC-ISRO) in Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad.

The team identified and documented the presence of a rare mineral jarosite through spectro-

arch L K Advani, the Congress vice president also said the complainant has "wantonly misled" on the issue."I am surprised that the committee of ethics has chosen to take cognizance of a complaint that is not in order. This is an endeavour to malign my good name.

I have never at any stage sought or acquired British citizenship. My identity is that of an Indian," Gandhi said in his reply to the panel secretariat on March 23.

about the site and its link to Mars, then it could also benefit regional tourism.

Most importantly, in addition to sending up sophisticated robots and probes on Mars to study it, investigations could be carried out right at the Matanumadh Formation at a reduced cost, to understand what transpired on Mars a few billion years ago, according to Gupta.

"This is no substitute to human exploration of the Martian surface, but that could be quite some time in the future. Till then, these analog localities provide a starting point for knowing what to expect."

"In fact, this work is a demonstration of what collaboration between scientists from different organisations within India can do, and SAC-ISRO is to be commended for this endeavour," Gupta added.

in the core Heat Wave (HW) zone during the 2016 hot weather season to be above normal. Core HW zone covers states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and met sub-divisions of Marathwada, Vidharbha, Madhya Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

IMD has also attributed the ElNino to the above normal temperature. 2015 was the warmest year ever

recorded since 1901. The country has also witnessed warm January and February, making it the warmest winter."The strong El Nino conditions over the Pacific Ocean that started in 2015 are still continuing.

However, the latest forecasts indicate that El Nino conditions are likely to weaken further and reach weaker El Nino conditions during the 2016 hot weather season.The weathermen have also attributed the increasing trend of greenhouse gases due to "anthropogenic activity".

Forty Karnataka officials suspended for re-exam paper leak BeNgaluru, March 31 (IaNS): At least 40 officials of Karnataka pre-university board were suspended on Thursday following the leak of the chemistry question paper of the second year pre-university course (PUC) re-exam earlier in the day.

"I have suspended 40 officials of the PU examination division and ordered an inquiry into the leak of the chemistry question paper for the re-exam that was re-scheduled today (Thursday) but cancelled," Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar told reporters here.

The re-exam in chemistry will be held on April 12 across the state.

The cancellation and suspension came amid massive protests by hundreds of angry students and worried parents at the board office in the city and in many districts across the state.

In the state legislature, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) lawmakers sought Ratnakar's resignation for the question paper leak just 10 days after a paper in the same subject (chemistry) got leaked and its exam held on March 21 was cancelled.

A rattled Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

assured the opposition members of taking stringent action against the officials but rejected seeking Ratnakar's resignation.

Earlier in the day, PU board director Pallavi Akruthi cancelled the re-exam on a tipoff from the state police crime investigation department (CID) sleuths that the question paper was being circulated in Bengaluru and Tumukuru in the wee hours.

Tumakuru is about 70 km from Bengaluru. The CID is already investigating the paper leak on March 21.

The education minister has set up a three-member committee to oversee the re-exam on April 12 and ensure that the question paper, to be set afresh, is not leaked again.

The committee will be headed by state transport secretary Rame Gowda, who was PU board director in 2013, with Akruthi and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan joint director P.C. Jaffer as the two members.

The re-exam was re-scheduled to Thursday from Tuesday (March 29) after the exam in the subject (chemistry) was cancelled on March 21 following reports that its question paper got circulated in 2-3 districts on Whatsapp through smartphones.

FridaY 01•04 •2016

WORLD

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

9

Nuclear terrorism fears loom over atomic summit

WASHINGTON, MArcH 31 (reuTerS): Just as fears of nuclear terrorism are rising, U.S. President Barack Obama’s drive to lock down vulnerable atomic materials worldwide seems to have lost momentum and could slow further.

With less than 10 months left in office to follow through on one of his signature foreign policy initiatives, Obama will convene leaders from more than 50 countries in Washington this week for his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, a highlevel diplomatic process that started and will end on his watch.

A boycott by Russian President Vladimir Putin, apparently unwilling to join in a U.S.-dominated gathering at a time of increased tensions between Washington and Moscow, adds to doubts that the meeting will yield major results.

The recent deadly militant attacks in Brussels have fuelled concern that Islamic State could eventually target nuclear plants and develop radioactive “dirty bombs,” a topic that may well be uppermost in leaders’ minds as they meet.

Despite significant progress by Obama in persuading dozens of countries to rid themselves of

ther destabilise an already volatile region.

All of this weighs on Obama’s agenda as he prepares to host world leaders on Thursday and Friday.

He inaugurated the event nearly six years ago, after using a landmark speech in Prague in 2009 to lay out the goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency.

There is no guarantee that once Obama, the driving force behind the initiative, leaves office in January his successor will keep the issue a high priority.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives on his official plane to attend the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit meetings in Washington, on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on March 30. (REUTERS Photo)

bomb-making materials or reduce and safeguard stockpiles, much of the world’s plutonium and enriched uranium remains vulnerable to theft.

FROM RUSSIA, NO LOVE The absence of Russia, one of the biggest atomic powers, could detract from decisions reached in Washington this week.

Obama, in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, said, “Our massive Cold War nuclear arsenal is poorly suited to today’s threats. The United States and Russia - which together hold more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons - should negotiate to reduce our stockpiles further.”

Kremlin spokesman

China launches unity push in Xinjiang with respect call BeIJING, MArcH 31 (reuTerS): China’s violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang has begun a campaign to promote ethnic unity with a call for respect of the cultures of the minorities who call the region home, while vowing another crackdown on terrorism and separatism.

Hundreds of people have been killed in unrest in Xinjiang in the past few years. The government blames the violence on Islamist militants who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan for minority Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people who speak a Turkic language and hail from Xinjiang.

Rights groups and exiles say one of the major problems in Xinjiang is government controls on Uighur culture and Islam, and point out that few Han Chinese who live and work in Xinjiang make any effort to learn Uighur or make Uighur friends.

Zhang Chunxian, Xinjiang’s Communist Party boss, launched “the year of ethnic unity progress” at a meeting in the region’s capital, Urumqi.

“We must respect differences, and take a respectful attitude to-

wards dealing with problems of (different) customs, to create an atmosphere in society of respect for the culture and customs of different peoples,” Zhang said, in comments carried in Thursday’s official Xinjiang Daily.

This can start from the smallest things in daily life, and people should be “guided” to live, work and study together so they can learn respect and tolerance, added Zhang. While saying there was progress in combating extremism and getting the various ethnic groups to get along with each other, he admitted that there had been a rise in ethnic disputes and terrorism remained a problem in some parts of Xinjiang. Companies that operate in Xinjiang need to be pushed into employing more minorities, and their culture and languages need encouragement and protection, Zhang said.

Bilingual education also needs improving, he added, referring to a policy that has long proved controversial in Xinjiang as many Uighurs fear their mother tongue is being pushed aside in favour of Mandarin.Han Chinese are generally not taught Uighur or about Islam at school in Xinjiang.

Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday Russia was skipping the summit because of a ”shortage of mutual cooperation” in working out the agenda.

While noting that Moscow had continued joint work on nuclear security, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Russia was going to “miss out on an opportunity” and that

its no-show illustrated the “degree to which Russia is isolated.” Russia has chafed over U.S.-led sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

Efforts to make the world safer have also been complicated by North Korea’s nuclear weapons advance and Pakistan’s move towards smaller, tactical nuclear weapons, which Washington fears may fur-

WHITE HOUSE TOUTS ACHIEVEMENTS BUT PROGRESS SLOWER The White House previewed the summit by touting a list of achievements in the U.S.-led effort to tie down loose bomb-grade materials, and arms control advocates commend Obama for galvanizing an international response to the problem.

However, many say progress has slowed since the last summit in 2014 and countries such as Japan, India and Pakistan are preparing activities that could increase stockpiles of nuclear materials.

“The Nuclear Security Summits have had a positive effect, but the strategic goal of developing an effective global nuclear

UN widen investigation of fresh sex abuse allegations uNITeD NATIONS, MArcH 31 (reuTerS): The United Nations on Wednesday said it has widened an investigation of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by foreign peacekeepers in Central African Republic and notified authorities in France, Gabon and Burundi about the charges.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday the world body had received new sexual abuse allegations against U.N. peacekeepers from Morocco and Burundi in Central African Republic (CAR), including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.

The U.N. press office released new information about the probe late on Wednesday, saying that a U.N. team led by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in CAR, known as MINUSCA, had traveled to the Kemo prefecture to investigate.

“The exact number and nature of these extremely troubling allegations are still being determined,” the U.N. statement said.

“The team has identified the contingents in question as those provided by Burundi and Gabon.”

“Allegations made against the French Sangaris forces in the same area are also being inves-

tigated,” the statement added.

“Alleged victims are being interviewed and will be provided with assistance and psycho-social and medical support.”

The U.N. statement said a senior U.N. official met with Burundi’s Ambassador Albert Shingiro and will meet soon with representatives of Gabon.

“Allegations are allegations,” Shingiro told Reuters. “We have to wait for investigation by a national team from next week. Our national policy on sexual abuse is zero tolerance.”

The U.N. statement added that the Burundian and Gabonese units accused of involvement in the abuse would remain confined to their camps for the time being.

The statement said authorities in France and Gabon have been notified.

The French and Gabonese missions were not immediately available for comment.

There have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in CAR, where MINUSCA assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014. France has been investigating allegations against its Sangaris force, which is not under U.N.

command, since last year.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Code Blue Campaign run by the advocacy group AIDS-Free World issued a statement saying that the U.N. children’s fund UNICEF recently interviewed 98 girls who alleged that they had been sexually abused by international peacekeepers.

Code Blue said in its statement that three victims interviewed by MINUSCA reported that in 2014, “they and a fourth girl were tied up and undressed inside a camp by a military commander from the Sangaris force and forced to have sex with a dog.”

Reuters could not independently confirm the allegations raised by Code Blue.

The U.N. has pledged to crack down on sex abuse allegations to avoid a repeat of past mistakes.

MINUSCA’s previous head, Babacar Gaye, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month.

In December, an independent review panel accused the U.N. and its agencies of grossly mishandling allegations of child sexual abuse and rape by international peacekeepers in CAR in 2013 and 2014.

N Korea in ‘top-speed dash’ for May congress, Kim’s nuclear policy SeOuL, MArcH 31 (reuTerS): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is poised to declare his signature ruling policy during a rare party congress in May and despite tough new U.N. sanctions, it is likely to be the twin pursuit of nuclear prowess and economic development.

North Korea’s official media have carried almostdaily reports and commentary extolling the “sacred road” to the day Kim’s leadership will be endorsed at the “victorious and glorious 7th party congress.”

This week marks the half-way point in what state media describes as a 70-day “top-speed dash to glorious victory,” a campaign that calls for ramped-up productivity and a sprucing-up of the capital Pyongyang as it prepares to greet delegates.

Propaganda posters in photos seen by Reuters urge residents: “Comrade, have you implemented your 70-day battle plan for today?”

The highlight of the congress, the first in 36 years, will likely be the formal adoption of Kim’s signature “byongjin policy,” said Cho Min, an expert on the isolated North’s leadership and former vice president of the

South Korean governmentrun Korea Institute for National Unification.

Byongjin means “simultaneous push” - in North Korea’s case for economic development and nuclear weapons capability. It follows Kim’s father’s Songun, or “military first,” policy and his grandfather’s Juche, the North’s home-grown founding ideology that combines Marxism and extreme nationalism.

“He (Kim Jong Un) doesn’t look willing to back down on nuclear armament and the congress is the place for maximum impact if he wants to declare it to the world,” Cho said, adding another nuclear test is “worryingly” likely in the run-up to the meeting.

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, leading to new United Nations Security Council sanctions early this month, backed by Pyongyang’s sole major ally, Beijing. Since taking power in late 2011 after the death of his father Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un’s tenure has been marked by turmoil and purges within his inner circle, including the 2013 execution of his powerful uncle Jang Song Thaek as well

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a demonstration of a new large-caliber multiple rocket launching system at an unknown location, in this undated file photo released

by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 22. (REUTERS Photo)

as five replacements of his defence chief.

“He’s tried other things such as (Workers’ Party) Political Bureau meetings, dismissals, demotions, etc., and it hasn’t had the effect he wanted,” said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership.

“The Party Congress is the most effective way to re-set North Korean political culture,” he said.

event that revises the ruling party’s charter and adopts new rules for its ultimate leadership body, officials in South Korea said.

It is a process that will continue until about 20 days before the congress, expected in early May, while the agenda is formalised at the same time, one of the officials said, based on the run-up to the last two meetings, in 1970 and 1980.

BATTLE PLAN “The preparations are The North is probably in no simple feat ... given they the midst of selecting more have to arrange to find than 3,000 delegates to the lodging for 3,000 people,

for example,” another official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Pyongyang residents have been mobilised before daybreak and after work, as well as during regular work hours, to make preparations, a Western source in Pyongyang told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

“People are really tired, and some of my contacts fall asleep while meeting me,” the source said.

The last party congress, 36 years ago, unveiled a new generation of party ap-

paratchiks and a reshuffling of the ruling apparatus to ready for Kim Jong Il’s rule, which only began 14 years later when his father died.

Once he took power, however, Kim Jong Il is believed to have ceased all formal party management.

“In many ways, Kim Jong Il ruled the country in open violation of the party charter,” Madden said.

Kim Jong Un, believed to be 33, is likely to continue taking steps to restore the party as the centre of administration, and could possibly announce measures to lift restrictions on the thriving informal economy.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute, said Kim appears “obsessed with nuclear weapons development,” which he views as cost-effective compared to expenditure on a conventional military and weapons, allowing him to save resources he can divert to light industries.

“Under Kim Jong Un, things have improved in terms of the economy,” Cheong added. “More bicycles are on the road and there’s more fish and more greenhouses.”

security system remains unachieved,” the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an antiproliferation watchdog, said in a report this month.

According to the group’s Nuclear Security Index, which tracks the safety of weapons-usable nuclear materials, the past two years have brought no improvement in a range of measures, including onsite physical protection, security during transport and the ability to recover lost radioactive materials.

The report also said many countries’ nuclear reactors were vulnerable to online attacks. Seven of 24 countries with weaponsgrade material, including China and Belgium, received the lowest possible score for their facilities’ cyber security.

Other critics point to a lack of an agreed-upon set of international standards for nuclear security or a mechanism for keeping tabs on common sources of radioactive material often found in hospitals and medical labs.

However, Laura Holgate, Obama’s adviser on weapons of mass destruction, cited commitments from 30 countries at the 2014 summit to secure their most dangerous material.

“The international community has made it harder than ever for ter-

rorists to acquire nuclear weapons, and that has made us all more secure,” she told reporters before the summit.

“DIRTY BOMB” FEARS Two of the Brussels suicide bombers secretly filmed the daily routine of the head of Belgium’s nuclear research and development programme and considered an attack on a nuclear site in the country, according to Belgian media.

U.S. experts are less concerned about militants obtaining nuclear weapon components than about thefts of ingredients for a low-tech dirty bomb that would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material and sow panic.

U.S. officials said they had no doubt that Islamic State, which controls swaths of Syria and Iraq, was interested in obtaining such materials, but Holgate said U.S. authorities had no “explicit indications” that the group had tried to do so.

More commitments from world leaders to enhance nuclear security are expected at the summit but anti-proliferation groups worry that without further meetings at the highest levels, interest could wane and improvements could backslide.

NLD seeks to bolster Suu Kyi’s dominant cabinet role

Myanmar’s NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles with army members during the handover ceremony of outgoing President Thein Sein and new President Htin Kyaw at the presidential palace in Naypyitaw on March 30. (REUTERS Photo)

NAYPYITAW/YANGON, MArcH 31 (reuTerS): Myanmar’s majority National League for Democracy (NLD) moved on Thursday to consolidate the dominant role of Aung San Suu Kyi in the new cabinet, underscoring the divide between the party and the powerful army over the junta-drafted constitution.

The NLD tabled a special bill, mentioning Nobel peace laureate by name, that would create the post of a National Presidential Adviser, giving her freedom to coordinate intra-ministerial affairs and help influence the executive.

The position would likely allow Suu Kyi, who will also oversee ministries of education, energy and electric power, foreign affairs and the president’s office, to formally circumvent the constitution barring her from the presidency and allow her to rule “above the president”, as she has planned.

The bill, reviewed by Reuters, allows the adviser to “contact and deal with government ministries, departments, organisations and associations and individuals”.

“It is specifically designed for Aung San Suu Kyi...she will be a negotiator among various groups and she can call on the government and civil organisations to meet,” said Aung Kyi Nyunt, a lawmaker from the NLD who proposed the bill.

Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest because of her push for democracy, guided the NLD to a landslide win at the polls in November. But she cannot assume the presidency under the charter drafted by the former junta because her two sons are British citizens, as was her late husband.

Instead, the parliament swore in Htin Kyaw, a close friend and confidant of Suu Kyi, as its first president with no military ties in more than half a century on Wednesday. “The whole world and the whole country know that the constitution must be amended. The military also needs to accept that,” said NLD’s Aung Kyi Nyunt.

The NLD’s bill will be discussed in the upper house on Friday, coinciding with the inauguration of Htin Kyaw’s five-year term. NLD lawmakers say they want to push it through before long public holidays starting on April 9.

The NLD has enough seats in both chambers to pass it.

The charter has been a bone of contention between Suu Kyi and the military, whose influential commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing, has reasserted the army’s political clout and warned against amending it quickly.

Relations between the armed forces and Suu Kyi will define the success of Myanmar’s most significant break from military rule since the army seized power in 1962.

The armed forces are guaranteed three ministries and control a quarter of parliamentary seats - enough to give them a veto over constitutional amendments and potentially limit the scope of Suu Kyi’s reforms.

10

friDAY 01•04•2016

SPORTS

THE MORUNG EXPRESS

Amnesty accuses Qatar of abusing World cup workers

GMS K. Khel Viswema had its Annual Sports Week 2016 on March 30 and 31. Events included March Past, athletics, football, volleyball, dodge ball, boat race, throw ball etc.

All Nagaland Tennis c’ship concludes

DIMaPur, March 31 (MExn): The Runners up - Vikhozolie Khate and Megot27th All Nagaland Tennis Championship solie Khate concluded today at the Chavino Memorial 3. Boys Under 18 Tennis Complex.

Winner - Veishalou Pao Below are the results of the annual tour- Runner up - Megotsolie Khate nament: 4. Boys Under 14 1. Men's Singles: Winner - Rokovozo Nagi Winner - Iciraibe Salie Runner up - Chundikung Kaurinta Runner up - Vitsizolie Nagi 5. Junior Girls 2. Men's Doubles Winner - Thejanino Khate Winner - Iciraibe Salie and Zhaputso Khate Runner up - Soihiamthai Kaurinta

3rd 10-NORTHERN ANGAMI T20 BASH 2016

Kohima Village Ground, Ziekezou

Vikings 117/3 in 15 overs [Meren 85] Warriors 118/6 in 13 overs March 31 match results: [Saha 31; Khriezo 2/34] 1st match North Block Warriors won Upper L. Khel Riders vs by 5 wickets Chede Strikers Man of the match - Meren Match abandoned, points 3rd match - 20 overs split 1 each.

RS Challengers vs Kenuo2nd match - reduced to 15 zou Wolves overs Wolves 96 in 20 overs [Alo North Block Warriors vs 16; Viketou 3(/20] Lower L. Khel Vikings Challengers 98/6 in 16.1

overs [Shozenlo 28; Tovi 3/29] RS Challengers won by 5 wickets Man of the match - Viketou April 1 matches Last league match - P. Khel Eagles vs Middle Bayavü Lions (7:00 am) 1st QF - Upper L. Khel Riders vs North Block Warriors (10:30 am) 2nd QF - Lower Bayavü Giants vs RS Challengers (2:00 pm)

Totok Chingnyu celebrates Silver Jubilee

Mon, March 31 (DIPr): The 25th Silver Jubilee Sport Meets of the Totok Chingnyu village got underway at Totok Chingnyu Public Ground on March 30 with Deputy Commissioner, Mon W. Honje Konyak as Chief Guest and Khoiwang Konyak President ENPO as Guest of Honour.

In his inaugural speech the Deputy Commissioner, Mon Honje Konyak congratulated the Students’ Union for attaining 25 years of its existence in the field of games and sports and encouraged the youths to identify their ability and display their skills and techniques and promote that identified games. At the same time he exhorted the youths to emphasize more on qual-

ity education of the students through their hard work and sincerity, and also to inculcate self discipline and enlighten their village through their activities. He challenged the youths to take advantage of God’s blessing and change the face of the village by upholding the traditions and culture of the people which is the root of its existences.

The Guest of Honour Khoiwang in his short speech urged the youths to bring change in the village and also to stay with unity and harmony.

The highlights of the day were exhibition match between Shaoyah Keang XI vs Longkha Hong XI, Special numbers and cultural dances by the participating clubs.

Doha, March 31 (aFP): Qatar World Cup stadium workers have suffered abuse and been subjected to forced labour, Amnesty International said Thursday, for the first time alleging rights violations at a 2022 tournament venue.

The London-based watchdog said labourers at the Khalifa International Stadium, mostly from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, were lied to over their salaries, went unpaid for months and were housed in squalid accommodation, which it claims amount to forced labour.

Seven workers at the venue, which will also host the 2019 World Athletics Championships, were even prevented from returning home to help their families after Nepal's devastating 2015 earthquake.

"This is a World Cup based on labour exploitation," said Amnesty's Mustafa Qadri. The poor treatment of construction workers is one of the major issues that has dogged the Gulf state since the controversial decision to award it the right to host football's flagship tournament.

The 51-page report, "The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game", is likely to increase international criticism of Qatar and put fresh pressure on FIFA and its new leadership, as well as World Cup sponsors.

The criticisms also extend to landscaping at the nearby Aspire Zone, a world-renowned sports

An Indian labourer sits in his room at a private camp housing foreign workers in Doha on May 3, 2015. (AFP Photo)

complex where Paris SaintGermain and Bayern Munich trained this year.

Amnesty said it carried out its research for a year until February and interviewed 234 men.

It claimed 228 said the wages they received were lower than promised.

Many had no choice but to accept reduced salaries as they had paid debtinducing recruitment fees of up to $4,300 to enter the Gulf, even though such fees are illegal under Qatari law.

Qatar was uncharacteristically quick to respond to the report, pointing out the steps it has taken to improve practices.

It said Amnesty's claims painted "a misleading pic-

ture" and were aimed at only four of the 40 companies working at the Khalifa Stadium.

'Like a prison' One group of men told Amnesty that a labour supply company, Seven Hills, did not pay staff for months.

Wo r k e r s a t t h e 40,000-seater stadium and Aspire Zone were also initially put in sub-standard and overcrowded accommodation, said Amnesty.

"In one case, the main entrance road to the camp was flooded due to inadequate drainage and smelled of raw sewage," the report said.

Amnesty alleged most labourers had their passports unlawfully confiscat-

ed, and 88 men including Nepalese "were denied the right to leave Qatar".

One worker, Deepak, said life in Qatar was "like a prison". "When I first complained... the manager said 'If you complain you can but there will be consequences. If you want to stay in Qatar be quiet and keep working'," he said.

Amnesty recognised the tournament's organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, had introduced safeguards, but urged Qatar to "fundamentally reform" its "kafala" sponsorship system, which restricts job changing or leaving the country.

Its report also criticised FIFA's "lack of meaningful

action".

Qatar defends record Supreme Committee chief Hassan al-Thawadi admitted abuses occur and organisers did not "have a magic wand that could fix the matter" but said the commitment to reform was "clear and steadfast".

He reiterated that no workers had died on World Cup projects and said relevant reforms had been introduced to address concerns raised by the report, even before the committee knew about it, he said.

These included wage protection, improved accommodation, and sanctions against companies named in the report including the termination of Seven Hills' contract.

"We have always maintained this World Cup will act as a catalyst for change -- it will not be built on the back of exploited workers," the committee said in a statement.

"We wholly reject any notion that Qatar is unfit to host the World Cup." Qatar's government said in a statement that it was "concerned by a number of allegations" made by Amnesty and would investigate.

FIFA responded by saying it was "fully aware of the risks" faced by workers in Qatar but said the World Cup was a "strong catalyst for significant change".

Qatar currently employs about 5,100 workers on World Cup sites. Their number will peak at 36,000 by 2018.

Shiva qualifies for Olympic Games, heartbreak for Mary Kom

QIan'an, March 31 (PTI): World Championships bronzemedallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) today became the first Indian boxer to make the cut for this year's Olympics by entering the Asian Qualifying Tournament's final but the celebrated M C Mary Kom (51kg) failed to book her Rio Games ticket after losing in the last-four stage here.

Shiva, given the top seeding in his weight category, lived upto the billing as he sailed past 2013 World Championship bronze-medallist Kairat Yeraliyev of Kazakhstan in the semifinal. He will face second seed Chatchai Butdee of Thailand in the final tomorrow.

With today's victory, the 22-year-old Indian is set for his

second Olympic appearance, four years after he became the youngest boxer to qualify for the multisporting extravaganza.

"I want to thank god for having managed to achieve this.

I was very worked up about this bout, it was the most important bout for me. So I am totally exhausted and relieved at the same time," Shiva told PTI. "I have very little time at hand for rest and recovery as the final bout is tomorrow itself. So, it's slowly sinking in.

I can't thank enough my coaches and all those who supported me in this journey. I hope to come good on expectations this time by winning an Olympic medal," he said.

However, it was heartbreak for another top seed, Mary Kom, who went down to old foe Ren Cancan of China in the semifinals, which will only translate into a bronze medal for her. In the women's category, only the gold and silver medal winners from this tournament will qualify for Rio Olympics.

The five-time world champion and London Olympics bronzemedallist, however, has another chance of qualifying for the Rio Games during the World Championships in May. Another Indian in fray in the men's draw was Commonwealth Games silver-medallist and fourth seed L Devendro Singh (49kg) but he lost to top seed Rogen Ladon of

Mongolia in the semifinals.

Assured of a bronze medal, Devendro will now fight it out for an Olympic quota place by taking on Mongolia's third-seeded GanErdene Gankhuyag tomorrow.

National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was effusive in his praise for Shiva, while also lauding the effort of other boxers.

"It was a very sensible, very planned, and very aggressive performance. His opponent was actually running around to save himself. It was a class performance and one of the best bouts of the day," Sandhu said.

"Shiva has matured tremendously and this was evident in his performance so far," he added.

public discourse

Appeal to christians in Nagaland for prayer April Fools’ dAy

I

t is with great pain, we learnt about the senseless bombing in a public park in Lahore, Pakistan, which killed at least 72 people and injured 341 others on Easter day 27th March 2016.

The dead included 24 children and their parents. They belonged to both Christian and Muslim faiths and had come to the Gulshan Iqbal Park to celebrate Easter on Sunday evening.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted Christians. The group has vowed more such attacks.

Pope Francis, who had in the Holy Week washed the feet of Muslims, Hindus and others, has condemned the Easter suicide attack. He has called upon civil authorities and all sectors of Pakistan "to make every effort to re-

store security and serenity to the population, and in particular to the most vulnerable religious minorities." The United Nations secretary general, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, has also condemned the attack, calling it an "appalling" act of terrorism.

We would like to appeals to the Indian authorities to pressure the Pakistan government to provide safety to all its peaceful citizens and hopes that Paki-

stan government will make every effort to bring justice to the victims of terror attack.

I would like to take this opportunity to make a special appeal to all Christians in Nagaland to kindly pray for God’s grace upon the suffering family members so that the peace of God and His comfort will continue to prevail.

Rev. Dr. Chen Rengma, Executive Secretary, Nagamese Baptist Churches Association

Aoleang: The Festival of the Konyak Naga

D

uring the first week of April after having completed the sowing of seeds in their new jhum fields, the Konyaks celebrate their most important festival; the Aoleang Festival, which marks the beginning of spring season and a new year. It is a time when the Konyaks are at their most jovial mood, displaying a huge appetite of fun and laughter.

The first day of the festival is called the "Hoi Lah Nyih". It is spend in preparing for the festival where the villagers collect firewood and vegetable items, prepare rice beer and weave new traditional cloths and ornaments. On this day, every family also partakes in the ritual of soothsaying, where chickens are sacrificed and the future is predicted by the shape of the intestine.

The next two days, "Yin Mok Pho Nyih" and "Mok Shek Nyih", are spent searching and gathering domesticated animals which will be killed in the festival. Young tribal boys are also trained during this period in traditional male practices.

The fourth day, "Lingnyu Nyih", is the most important and lively. Men and

women of the Konyak Tribe wear their charming colorful traditional dresses and ornaments. The entire day is spent celebrating through beautiful dances, singing, heavy drinking, community feasts and endless merrymaking. The ancient headhunting ritual of the Konyak Tribe is also reenacted during this day, where Konyak men start dancing from the village gate, shoot their guns in the air and appear to hold their enemy's head in their hands as a display of victory.

The fifth day is called "Lingha Nyih".

This day is observed by honouring each other. The old men of the village are honoured by the young boys and their parents call their married sisters and daughters respectively and offer them the best feast. On this day the families of the dead visit the cemetery of their dead relatives and pay their last homage to the departed souls.

The sixth day or "Lingshan Nyih" which means the final day of the Aoleang Monyu. The day is spent in cleaning the village and houses which dirtied during the Aoleang days.

B. Mankam Loika Kuda Village B' Khel, Dimapur

T

he day 1 of April is known for playing pranks on others for one' s advantage or fun. Many do know this day for trivial jokes or fun but the origin of this Fools’ day remains obscure.

It is said that prior to the 15th century, Europe’s nations and city states operated utilizing the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar moved the date of the New Year from April 1 to January 1.

Catholic monarchies were naturally the first adopters of the Gregorian calendar and Protestant nations followed subsequently.

Given the nature of the reform, both in terms of communicating such a fundamental change to a large population and dealing with critics of the new calendar system, Europeans, to a large extent, continued to celebrate the New Year between March 25 and April 1. April fools were those who still celebrated the holiday in the spring and were the subject of pranks and ridicule by those who observed the New Year months ago. This is just one of the theories transmitted to the present generation.

Mark Twain humorously stated, “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four days.” Nobody wants to be fooled on this day so remains alert to cross-check every single task given by others. It may be a false alarm or messages to be communicated. But on the other days, we remain unaware of the many trickeries that comes on our way. There are pranks that don't incur harm orloss, but there are some that bring disaster and ruin.Now, on amore sobering note, manywonders if this life is all a joke and God has played that on them.But I wouldn't go that far. As i perceive it, Humanity has totally lost the sense of being sensible in discerningthe pranks of the one who is playing adirty joke on every gullible souls.

Firstly, understand that the one who is playing this prank is the devil. Some are being tricked to believing a lie all their lives. Look around today, the disbelieve in God and his Saving power. The deception of false religions and philosophies. The false images of seductions displayed in the movies. The false impression of sexual satisfaction by involving in pre- and extra marital bonds. Theseare all a lie. But many are willing to buy it with their lives. They are happy to trade their souls for those deceptive wiles and scheme of the evil one. Truly, humanity has been easily fooled for all these years butare far from realizing it.

The Question on thisday is: When will we gain our sanity and expose the evil prank? When are we going to realize it before the prank destroys us and our loved ones? Yes, its April Fools' Day and its OK to be fooled by friends but there's an enemy that is playing a real fool on us 24/7, so stay alert and don't let him get the better of you!

Vebu Khamo, Kohima Bible College.

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.

Friday 01•04•2016

EntErtainmEnt

Toddler fashionistas are taking over Seoul Fashion Week

A

t Seoul Fashion Week in 2015, hundreds of stylish toddlers took centre stage at many of the prestigious shows - some even making it to the front row.

And now the trendy tots are back, with many stepping out at Seoul Fashion Week Fall/Winter in designer coats, striking accessories and adorable matching get-ups.

One little girl was snapped wearing a full camo outfit complete with military-style pants, a mini bumbag, heavy black boots,

a tiny matching cap and a snug leopard print jacket. Her friend posed alongside her wearing a black fedora, an over-sized white bow-tie, skinny jeans, fashionable sunglasses and black boots - all while holding his favourite toy and a snack. Another pair stepped out wearing matching chic suits. The toddlers donned matching red fedoras, checked black and white suits, tiny bowties, shin-length navy socks and shiny dark brown shoes. Each of them also proudly wore very styl-

ish round sunglasses with a blue reflective tint.

Two girls wore their eyepopping outfits like professionals as they were snapped shortly before they attended one of the shows. One of them wore a matching yellow and pink dress and coat with cartoon prints and floral gumboots, while the other wore a yellow cardigan and skirt with a feminine blue floral coat.

Each of them wore matching pink fascinators with pink pom poms on top. One very cool pair

'Happy wife, happy life'

H

e's the Hollywood heartthrob who gushes about his wife every chance he gets. And on Wednesday at the white carpet premiere for his new film Eddie The Eagle in Melbourne, Hugh Jackman revealed his daily mantra, which has led to 20 years of wedded bliss with Deborra-Lee Furness.

When asked by Sunrise's Edwina Bartholomew if, like the Olympic Games, he has a slogan to live by, the 47-year-old replied: 'Just have a go...and the other one, most important one, is drummed into me every single day, "happy wife, happy life". The screen and stage star then giggled before making it clear it's a tried and tested motto, adding: 'We're about to celebrate our 20th [anniversary]'.

At the preview Hugh greeted hundreds of fans

who had cued up to see him and snap a selfie but the Wolverine star has his number one fan by his side, as he walked the white carpet with his wife, Deb. This isn't the first time the 2008 People magazine Sexiest Man Alive has spoken about the couple's impending milestone anniversary.

Appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in April, the Les Miserable star said: 'She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me and it gets better and better.' Adding: 'And I'm kind of really grateful that I met [her] before anything kind of happened because everything that's happened in my career and on screen, off screen - we've always done it together.'

The couple met on the set of Australian TV drama Correlli and married a year later in 1996. Since then, the PAN actor has regularly praised his wife

in interviews and shared flashback photos on social media from the 90s.

Although, Deborra isn't as much of a fan of the throwback images, admitting on The Project last November: 'I get grumpy when he puts bad ones up'.

The couple have two children Oscar, 15, and Ava, 10, who were both adopted in the US after the couple struggled to adopt in Australia. Since their experience, the couple have used their celebrity in recent years to push for changes

struck poses against a white wall in their stylish street-style looks.

The young girl looked proud as ever in her cap, pink sunglasses, high navy socks, tights and grey mini skirt. Her brother wore a matching cap with a layered jumper, denim shorts and baggy shorts.

A style-conscious mother posed with her adorable toddler who was decked out in gold chains, black jeans a long baggy white shirt and a red leather jacket embellished with silver studs.

Hugh Jackman reveals the slogan he lives by every day as he gets set to celebrate 20th wedding anniversary with Deborra-Lee Furness

to the adoption process in Australia through their foundation Adopt Change.

The couple are currently back home as Hugh continues to promote Eddie The Eagle in Australia but it's not known if they will celebrate their anniversary Down Under or in the US. Source: MailOnline

New Star Wars documentary released

S

tar Wars actor John Boyega talked about the cool and crazy experience of joining the sci-fi franchise and working with a new director on Episode VIII on Tuesday. Boyega was attending the UK gala screening of Secrets of the Force Awakens A Cinematic Journey, a documentary on the making of the international blockbuster directed by J.J. Abrams.

It's a definite cool experience and there's something that is quite crazy about this whole thing of 'Star Wars' and how much people still love it after so many years, Boyega said of the movie's success. I'm so glad that I got to play a part in this huge story.

Disney is also planning to expand the Star Wars universe with spin-offs, including one about a young Han Solo. The studio has yet to reveal who take on the role made famous by Harrison Ford and Boyega said he was keeping a close eye on developments. I think fundamentally it's that charm. I think we forget that this is not the Han Solo from the trilogy, this is a younger Han Solo, he said.

C M Y K

Source: Reuters

Other impressive looks included a little girl wearing a beret and denim jumpsuit and a little boy in a full length light denim jumpsuit with a skyhigh pink beanie, as well as gold chains and a black bumbag.

In October 2015, stylish toddlers impressed crowds at the Spring/Summer fashion week with their adorable accessories and enviable designer clothing.

Instagram was flooded with snaps of toddlers dressed in the finest street wear Seoul has

to offer - from biker jackets and leather pants to high-end knits and adorable bomber jackets.

One baby fashion guru appeared in a Ralph Lauren beanie as he posed for photos at the entrance to one of the shows while others posed in denim jackets, ripped jeans and high-tops for the occasion, paired with gold chains and matching Stussy beanies.

Another little girl kept it cool in a pair of off-the-shoulder overalls and a mustard shirt.

Source: Mailonline

Neha Dhupia keen on doing sports biopic

I

n a career spanning more than a decade, Neha Dhupia has featured in films ranging from romance to comedy, but the actress says she would now love to star in a sports biopic. The actress, who is a well-known fitness enthusiast, feels it would be great to portray a true story of an athlete on screen.

"I would love to do a sports biopic.

I love sports and I think it would be amazing to be a part of a true story and play an athlete. I am ready for something like this," Neha told PTI. The 35-year-old actress rose to fame with her bold role in "Julie", before turning to off-beat cinema with critically acclaimed films like "Ek Chalis Ki Last Local" and "Phass Gaye Rey Obama". Neha will be next seen in the comedy "Santa Banta Pvt Ltd". The film stars Boman Irani, Vir Das, Johnny Lever among others.

Having acted in blockbuster comedies like "Singh is Kinng", "Garam Masala" and "Kyaa Kool Hai Hum", Neha says she finds the genre easy."Comedy is easy. You have to react to what others are saying and it is all about the timing, the dialogue delivery.

In comedy, an actor needs to be well aware of his or her part. It

might be easy to do once you get it but comedy is a serious business."

Quizzed her on who she thinks has a good comic timing among the actress, Neha said, "I think Kangana (Ranaut) has a great comic timing on screen. Also Kirron Kher. I think she is fantastic."

In "Santa Banta Pvt Ltd", the former Miss India will be seen sharing screen space with actors who are well versed in comedy, from Johnny Lever, to Vijay Raaz, and Neha says she got to learn a lot while working with them. "It was such a fantastic experience shooting for the film. What I realised was, everybody, from Johnny sir, to Vijay, Boman and Vir belong to different school of comedy.

They are all funny but not in the same way. It was a learning experience working with the entire team." Directed by Akashdeep Sabir, "Santa Banta Pvt Ltd" also stars Lisa Haydon, Ram Kapoor, Vrajesh Hirjee among others. The film is scheduled to release on April 22.

Source: PTI

Ben Affleck has written a standalone 'Batman' film

A

ctor-filmmaker Ben Affleck, who stars as Batman in superhero film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", has written a script for a solo Batman movie. William Morris Endeavor co-CEO Patrick Whitesell, whose agency represents Affleck, confirmed the project, reports aceshowbiz.com. Asked about how many movies Affleck had signed up to now, Whitesell said: "He's contracted to do at least Justice League (Part) One and Two, so at least three times wearing the cape.” Whitesell added: "There's a script that he's written that is a really cool (Batman) idea, so that's out there as an option." Last year there were reports that Affleck was working on a standalone Dark Knight movie as director, star and co-writer.

S

inger Beyonce Knowles, who earlier faced a backlash over her controversial song "Formation" and its politically-charged performance at the Super Bowl 50, is now said to be readying a new music video that will centre on the families of teens who were killed by police.

Over the weekend, Knowles's reputable fan site The Beyhive revealed that one of her upcoming visuals would feature the parents of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Tamir Rice. The parents will reportedly appear in the video holding photographs of their slain sons, reports aceshowbiz.com. Martin was 17 years old when he was killed by security guard George Zimmerman in February 2012. Brown was 18 when police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot him in Ferguson in 2014, the same year 12-year-old Rice died at the hands of a Cleveland police officer. Their tragic deaths helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement. More details about the video or which song it is for are still unknown. However, her fans believe the track is part of the singer's new album that is expected to be released sometime next month before she begins her "Formation" world tour on April 27.

Source: IANS

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THE MORUNG EXPRESS

West Indies Men, Women enter World T20 finals Simmons rides luck to carry WIndies into final Cooper fires WIndies women

MUMBAI, MArch 31 (reUters): Late replacement Lendl Simmons led a charmed life to blast 82 not out and carry West Indies to a nail-biting seven-wicket win in the last over against India in the second semifinal of the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

It capped a perfect evening for the West Indies as their women’s team also reached the final. Captain Stafanie Taylor scored 25 runs and took three wickets to help defeat New Zealand by six runs and set up a final against champions Australia on Sunday.

At the Wankhede Stadium, Simmons was caught twice, on 18 and 50, but both times the bowlers had overstepped for no-balls and he made the hosts pay dearly for their mistakes as West Indies set up a final against England on Sunday.

Earlier, Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form by smashing an undefeated 89 to guide India to 192 for two after they were put in to bat. West Indies lost Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels early in their reply but

Lendl Simmons whacks the ball through midwicket, India v West Indies, World T20 2016, semi-final, Mumbai, March 31. (Getty Images)

opener Johnson Charles kept them in the hunt with a 36-ball 52 and a thirdwicket stand of 97 with Simmons.

The right-handed Simmons plays for Mumbai in

the Indian Premier League and was only called into the squad two days ago as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher.

He cracked seven fours and five sixes in 51 balls

and added an unbeaten 80 with Andre Russell for the fourth wicket to take West Indies home with two balls to spare. Russell, known for his powerful hitting, contributed 43 off 20 deliveries.

C

Earlier, the West Indian bowlers began strongly, allowing the home team just six runs in the first couple of overs but India then took control in front of a stadium filled to the brim with fans wearing the team's blue jersey.

India, the inaugural champions in 2007, dropped under-performing opener Shikhar Dhawan and the move paid off as Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) put on 62 for the first wicket.

That laid the perfect foundation for Kohli, who led his side into the last four with 82 not out against Australia in the previous match, as he compiled a third unbeaten half-century in the tournament.

Kohli began nervously, twice going close to being run out, but made the opposition pay for failing to take their chances.

He struck 11 fours and a six in his 47-ball knock, putting on 66 for the second wicket with Rahane and an unbroken 64 for the third with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (15 not out).

Alonso to miss Bahrain Grand Prix

M Y K

A Basketball match in progress during the 1st Invitational Basketball League being held under the aegis of Team Amplified at D. Khel Ground, Seikhazou, Kohima village on March 31. This event will go on till April 2. Morung Photo.

NBA: Warriors beat Nuggets in OT, Spurs still perfect at home

them scored. New Orleans, meanwhile, had just nine players in uniform. Seven of them scored in double figures, led by the 18 points of Alexis Ajinca.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) lays the ball up as Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, rear, defends during the second half of an NBA game Wednesday, March 30, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo)

Los AngeLes, MArch 31 (AFP): The Golden State Warriors kept their bid for a record-setting NBA regular season on track with a 10396 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Stephen Curry scored 31 points and the Warriors overcame a double-digit, second-half deficit to notch a club record 68th win of the season. They have lost only seven games.

Klay Thompson forced overtime with a threepointer with 15 seconds left in regulation.

He scored 18 points to help the Warriors edge closer to the NBA record 72 regular-season victories posted by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

Golden State need five wins in their last seven games to surpass the record. They finish out the season with home games against Boston, Portland, Minnesota, San Antonio and Memphis, and road games at Memphis and San

Antonio. Gordon Hayward scored 21 points and Rodney Hood added 20 points for the Jazz, who had won eight of 10 games.

The Nuggets are now tied with the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks in a battle for the last two Western Conference playoff berths.

The Jazz were hurt by their performance from the free-throw line, making just 13 of 29 from the stripe.

Hayward gave the hosts an early lead in overtime, but Utah's offense then succumbed under pressure.

Curry scored six straight points in overtime and Draymond Green added a slam dunk for a 101-93 lead.

Spurs perfect at home While the Warriors continued to close in on the regular-season wins record, the San Antonio Spurs broke one mark set by that Michael Jordan-led Bulls team of 1995-96 with their 38th straight home

win of the season without a defeat.

Argentine veteran Manu Ginobili scored 20 points, including nine in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs finish off a 100-92 triumph over the injury depleted New Orleans Pelicans.

The Spurs took control of the contest with a 22-9 scoring run spanning the end of the second quarter and first six minutes of the third.

The Spurs improved to 63-13, matching a franchise record for wins in a season.

The Spurs have won 47 straight regular-season games in San Antonio dating back to last year, the second-longest home winning streak ever behind the continuing 54-game home win streak of the Warriors.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green added 16 points each for the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in 11 points. Of 13 players who saw action for the Spurs, 12 of

50 win Raptors The Raptors notched a milestone victory in Toronto, downing the Atlanta Hawks 105-97 to reach 50 wins for a season for the first time in franchise history.

DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with a gamehigh 26 points to go with six assists and five rebounds.

"It means everything to me," DeRozan said. "My whole career, I've been through the tough times, now to be called the winningest Raptors of all time and now to break a franchise record three years in a row -- it definitely means a lot to me."

Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and nine rebounds, while Kyle Lowry, still nursing a right elbow injury, contributed 17 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

MAnAMA, MArch 31 (AFP): Fernando Alonso will not take part in this weekend's Grand Prix in Bahrain for medical reasons following his dramatic, death-defying crash at the Australian GP. "Following a decision by the FIA doctors, Fernando Alonso will not be participating in this weekend’s 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix," Alonso's McLaren team said in a statement.

Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne, the reigning GP2 champion, will make his Formula 1 debut in place of Alonso.

FIA said that "following an examination undertaken this morning at the Bahrain International Circuit Medical Centre, it has been decided that McLaren Honda F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso should not take part in this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix".

Alonso said he had battled until the last moment in a bid to be fit for Sunday's race. "I tried until the last minute to race in Bahrain after the accident in Australia, (they have) have been hard days logically after such an impact, but until the last second I try to race to help the team after the incredible work they have done this week," he said on his Instagram account.

"I understand the position of the FIA doctors and now I will try to help my teammate @svandoorne to make the most of the weekend. Thanks to everyone #mclarenhonda #oneteam."

to first World T20 final

Britney Cooper celebrates after scoring her half century. (AFP Photo)

MUMBAI, MArch 31 (AFP): Britney Cooper fired a half-century as the West Indies beat New Zealand by six runs in Mumbai on Thursday to reach the women's World Twenty20 final for the first time.

The right-hander scored 61 off 48 balls as the Windies made a formidable 143 for six in their 20 overs after the Kiwis won the toss and opted to field.

Cooper's impressive knock included five fours and two sixes before she was caught by Rachel Priest off Sophie Devine,

who took four wickets for 22 runs at the western Indian city's Wankhede Stadium.

"Congrats to my amazing team. We worked really hard," Cooper said afterwards. "This is our fourth semi-final (at a World Cup) and to finally cross this border... I hope I score another 61 in the final," she added.

Captain Stafanie Taylor was the West Indies' second-highest scorer with 25, while Deandra Dottin chipped in with 20 before New Zealand could only make 137 for eight in their 20 overs.

Off-spinner Taylor was the star of the West Indies' bowling attack, taking 3-26.

New Zealand lost openers Suzie Bates and Priest for just 12 and six runs respectively, dealing early blows to their chances of successfully chasing 144.

Sara McGlashan top-scored with 38 while Amy Satterthwaite notched 24 runs in a 59-run fourth-wicket partnership that took the White Ferns close, but both holed out to Shemaine Campbell in the deep from successive Taylor deliveries.

The lower order could not muster the power needed to see them over the line, and New Zealand followed their men's team in going unbeaten through the group stages, but losing in the semi-finals.

The West Indies will take on threetime defending champions Australia, who edged past England in the first semi-final, in Sunday's title showdown in Kolkata.

Matthai wins Arunachal Festival of Speed 2016

A participant in the 1600cc class in action in the Rally Sprint at Sangti Valley. (Photo: JK Tyre Motorsport Facebook page)

DIrAng, MArch 31 (IAns): The third JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed (AFOS) reached its climactic finish as Philippos Matthai of New Delhi won the overall title after stringing together consistent performances in the Auto Cross, Hill Climb and Rally Sprint events.

But it was by no means a cakewalk for the experienced rally driver as he was pushed to the very end by Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) regular Sanjay Takle and the defending national champion in the Group N 2000cc class Rahul Kantraj from Bengaluru.

Each of the three drivers registered wins in the three categories of AFOS. Matthai threw down the gauntlet by winning the Auto Cross on Wednesday in front of a packed house at the Lopon Stadium in the centre of the town but Kantraj and Takle hit back by winning the 5 km Hill Climb and the 6 km Rally Sprint respectively.

Kantraj came up a masterful display of speed and car control on the 5 km run up the mountain face at the Rungja Apple and Kiwi Farm. Matthai, who was plagued by car troubles in Hill Climb in the last two editions, finally managed to break the jinx by finishing second behind Kantraj.

Takle came on to his own in the Rally

Sprint by powering his Mitsubishi Cedia through riverbeds and sandy soil of the Sangti Valley to beat Matthai by a massive margin of over 10 seconds. Kantraj claimed third place in the sprint that was good enough to assure him of overall second.

In the 1600cc class, Karna Kadur, who dominated this category in the 2015 National Rally Championship, was the man to beat right from the first day. Though Dean Mascarenhas tried to keep the Bengaluru driver honest, in the end it was the flawless driving by Kadur that made the vital difference in the results. Druva Chandrashekar, also of Bengaluru, finished third.

Another star attraction Suresh Rana, who has claimed the Raid de Himalaya nine-times driving various SUVs, remained the king of this category. Rana posted the best times in the SUV class in all the three disciplines ahead of Lima Jamir of Nagaland and local favourite Naku.

In the quad class, Chibor from Meghalaya, who finished second last year, managed to take an easy win ahead of Bitu and Kevin Salo from Nagaland.

In the ladies class, Bethadsha Bareh took the top honours by winning the Hill Climb and Rally Sprint.

Clippers cruise past T'Wolves In Minneapolis, Chris Paul scored 20 points, handed out 16 assists and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 99-79 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Clippers won their fourth straight, strengthening their grip on fourth place and the final home-court advantage berth in the Western Conference playoffs.

They are 6 1/2 games ahead of the injury-hit Memphis Grizzlies, who lost 109-105 at home to the Denver Nuggets and are now just two games in front of the Portland Trail Blazers for the fifth seed in the West.

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