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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 353
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And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time
Jackie Chan’s Nitish, Son Jaycee Mulayam, Lalu slam PM Modi charged over drug offence [ PAGE 08]
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Nagaland to observe National Consumers Day [ PAGE 2]
Fatal shooting reported at Myanmar mine protest [ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 11]
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Tuesday, December 23, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4 – Jesus Christ
Liverpool scores late for draw vs Arsenal [ PAGE 12]
100 years in, dreaming of the next 100 Western Rengma people of Assam commemorate 100 years of Christianity Morung Express News Karbi Anglong | December 22 American Baptist missionaries first came to what is now the North East of India in 1836. In their original endeavour to take the gospel to China and Burma, they stumbled upon the ‘hill peoples’ of the region. In 1914, the first Western Rengma person in Assam was baptized, laying the eventual foundation for the conversion of all Western Rengma people to Christianity. From December 19-21, the Rengma people in Assam celebrated 100 years of Christianity taking root in their soil under the theme ‘From Darkness to Light.’ “No one has seen god but if we love each other, his love is perfected in us,” said Rev. Taku Longkumer of the American Baptist International Ministries while giving his message to the Western Rengma people. The centenary celebration was organized by the Western Rengma Baptist Association (WRBA) at its Christian Centre in A-Jongpha village, where more than a thousand Rengma people, old young men women, gathered to stay together in makeshift camps and pray for everyone’s well being. In attendance were people of other origins—Karbi, Tiwa, Garo, Bodo, Nepali, Adivasi and Assamese—to celebrate the occasion together. “You need to love and trust each other and let the love of god be passed on from one to the other. Only love can overcome fear,” Rev. Taku exhorted the gathering on December 21 while speaking on ‘Enmity to Love.’ Churches here today, he said, are not
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
(LEFT) Oldest surviving Western Rengma elders, two of them over 100 years of age, in front of the monolith erected in commemoration of 100 years of Christianity having taken root in their soil. (RIGHT) The Centenary Choir practices hymns before presenting them to the 1000+ audience that gathered at the WRBA compound, A-Jongpha, Karbi Anglong, from December 19-21. (Morung Photos)
shining, overcome by darkness, asking them to rise above blaming others, and spread the love of god and his message. It is good to honour and remember those who have come before us in the past 100 years, reflected Katie Longkumer of the American Baptist International Ministries in her greetings, but this is also “a time to dream what god wants to do to us, through us, in the next 100 years.” She urged the Rengma people to take forward the vision left incomplete by the American missionaries of yore. Significance of Christianity There will be “untold development,” said Dr. Eli Seb Rengma in the next 100 years “if we lead a true Christian life.” Dr. Eli is the grandson of the first person, Lt. Serisheng Sebu, who was baptized by American missionary Rev. JM Carvell, along with Lt. Jokhen Sebu, in 1914. They were the first persons to be sent to a mission
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Governor extends Christmas greetings
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KOhimA, December 22 (DiPr): Nagaland state Governor, PB Acharya has extended his warmest greetings to the people of Nagaland for Christmas 2014. “On the occasion of Christmas, I extend my warm greetings to the people of Nagaland. Christmas is an occasion to renew the bonds of love, tolerance and compassion as has taught by Jesus Christ to the world. The celebration of Christmas re-assures the believers of Christ to live on the principle of humanity,” the Governor stated in his message. “May the celebration bring peace, happiness, progress and prosperity to everyone,” he added.
ligion has kept the strength in people to survive on the path from their insecure homes to being displaced persons at camps to making the anxious journey back home, this was the first occasion that brought them all together with Karbi leaders who gave the message of reconciliation and peace. “The Rengmas and Karbis have lived together for years now. In the past 100 years, we have shed violence and learned to live as brothers and sisters,” highlighted Rev. Davidson Ingti, general secretary of the Karbi Anglong Baptist Convention. Some of the first missionaries and teachers in the Rengma villages in Assam, he informed, were Karbi people. Stressing that the recent violence was “not a war between tribes,” Rev. Ingti said that this centenary has been a platform to come together for more Coming Together It has been a year since the West- peace rallies, “a commemoration of ern Rengma people faced violent god’s love towards Rengmas in parconflict on home ground. While re- ticular and Karbi Anglong in general.” through the church,” she listed out optimistically. Violence reduced, “bad traditions” were shed for the “good traditions,” like sacrifice rituals that were becoming economically unviable for the people. But there were downsides. “We could not preserve much of our traditional practices due to Christianity. Our ancestors could not differentiate between religion and culture,” reflected Dr. Eli, noting how “religion and culture mingle.” Dialects have been lost in the process as have rich folklore projected through songs. “We don’t even know how to weave baskets anymore!” He suggested that this must be changed and people given incentives to teach traditional arts and values, as well as learn them.
PMO note says Christmas is working day for govt Opposition urges Modi to speak on conversion issue
New Delhi, December 22 (AgeNcies): A wishlist sent out to ministries by the Prime Minister's Office on celebrating "good governance day" on December 25 suggests it could be a working Christmas for many in the government. Sources said a detailed plan and directive from the government could follow. It is former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 90th birthday on Thursday and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that it would be observed as "good goverI am not feeling the Christ- nance day." mas spirit, I need to shop The PMO note suggests that minsome more. isters and MPs should visit "sensitive The Morung Express districts and organise events on good
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school in Golaghat to study, where they were baptized. With the help of missionaries, the first school at Shaho village (Lolashunyu) was set up; eventually the first church was established in the Western Rengma areas in 1932. “Without Christianity I might not have been alive today, falling to alcohol, sickness or head hunting,” said Dr. Eli, the second medical doctor to have come out of the Western Rengma areas. His father was the first reverend, he informed. Women, like his mother, he noted, were not allowed to be educated before, and Christianity according to him has helped bridge that gap. After Christianity came, “we women felt more empowered and confident to educate our children,” corroborated Elisa Seb, vice president of the women’s department of the WRBA. “We learnt how to interact with outsiders, learning hospitality. We started becoming leaders
For Benting Teron, chairman of the Karbi Anglong Peace Forum as well as executive secretary of Nihang Karbi Baptish Association, more awareness needs to be raised among the people for “peace in our land.” “We need reconciliation but first we have to allow healing,” he said. Since the violence took place last year, no investigation has taken place, he informed, and only a sense of bitterness prevails. “Through this centenary celebration, I request Rengma leaders to help spread the light of the gospel to the Karbi people—this will help maintain peace,” he suggested, highlighting how the Rengma people might have achieved 100% Chrisitianity, but only about 15% of the Karbi people are Christian today. “The message should be sent out that the Karbi and Rengma people are one, and nothing can separate us,” he maintained. In the past year, the churches initiated measures to address both the Rengma and Karbi people at a time when fear prevailed. The WRBA, along with its Karbi associates, put together exchange programs, for instance, wherein each of its 17 affiliated churches attended services at Karbi churches and vice versa. “Christianity gave our people hope to survive when they were confused and panic stricken—our Christian brothers and sisters helped us then,” recalled Phenpiga H. Rengma, president of the Rengma Naga Students’ Union, which was at the forefront of working with the survivors of December 2013. “Centenary is a time to reconcile and renew relationships. This program has been successful because Karbi leaders addressed the Rengma people, giving the message of love. The sound system came from the Karbis, and they even presented songs,” said Nshenthang Jishing, president of the WRBA, proud that the celebration had achieved its theme in bringing people together, from darkness to light.
governance and sanitation on December 25" and also organise other events. It has also suggested holding seminars with eminent speakers, egovernance camps and promoting digital literacy on that day. A detailed circular from the Department of Personnel and Training is expected soon, which is likely to calendar Thursday's activities for ministers and government employees on Christmas Day- a gazetted holiday. There has already been controversy over an Education Ministry circular on students' participation in activities for good governance day, but the government has clarified that
schools will be closed for Christmas as usual. Sources have however not ruled out the participation of students on what is being called a "voluntary basis." Ruling party BJP wants representatives to share the NDA government's achievements with the people that day and to draw parallels between the six-year rule of the Vajpayee government and the first six months in office of the current Narendra Modi government. The BJP's lawmakers have also been told to include a two-hour cleanliness drive and a feedback session with citizens in their constituencies on Christmas, sources said.
India may end support to Palestine at UN Move marks tectonic shift in foreign policy New Delhi, December 22 (AgeNcies): In what is seen as a major shift in foreign policy, India may abstain from voting in favour of the Palestinian cause at the UN General Assembly, The Hindu reported on December 21. The Modi government is expected to take the step, which is seen as a decisive one in the light of India’s efforts at strengthening relations with Israel. At the same time, this fundamental alteration in foreign policy may raise concerns in West Asian capitals. India was one of the first non-Arab countries to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” Mahatma Gandhi had remarked: “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong
and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs... Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.” A PLO office was opened in New Delhi in 1975. In 1980, full diplomatic relations were established between the two nations. In 1996, India opened a Representative Office in Gaza. In 1995, India pledged US $1 million in aid to Palestine and followed it up with an additional $1 billion in 1996. India also accepted Palestinian refugees from Iraq in 2006, many of whom were later resettled in Sweden. In October, Sweden officially recognised the state of Palestine. In 2006, India issued a strong statement against the Israeli invasion of Gaza, describing the use of force as “disproportionate and excessive." In July, when Israel mounted an offensive on Gaza in attacks that killed an estimated 2,200 people, India had reiterated that its Palestine policy remained unchanged and urged the two sides to talk. At the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in New
York in September, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that India, as the founding member of NAM, remained committed to the Palestinian cause. However, India’s ties with Israel have grown from strength to strength since 1991, when the two countries established diplomatic relations. In 2000, Jaswant Singh, Foreign Minister in the NDA government under Prime Minister Vajpayee, became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Israel. In 2003, Ariel Sharon became the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India. However, even the Vajpayee government made no changes to India's voting record at the UN. Currently, India is the largest customer of military equipment from Israel. The West Asian country is India’s second largest military partner after Russia, with the military business between the two countries estimated at around US $9 billion. In this climate marked by deep investment in each other by both countries, the Palestinian cause could emerge a casualty.
New Delhi, December 22 (AP): Opposition lawmakers, charging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done little to stop hard-liners in his party from forcibly converting religious minorities to Hinduism, threw Parliament into an uproar Monday, with the upper house repeatedly adjourned after descending into shouting matches. Right-wing Hindu groups allied with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have conducted a series of ceremonies across India over the past week to convert Christians and Muslims to Hinduism. Some of the Muslims, though, later said they had changed religions out of fear, raising the specter of religious communalism and a growing political divide in a country that has struggled for years with intermittent HinduMuslim violence. Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist and longtime member of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal, one of the two main groups behind the conversions, has remained mostly silent on the issue. On Sunday, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, converted 30 Christians to Hinduism in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In the western state of Gujarat, the VHP said 200 Christians had participated in weekend "homecoming" ceremonies. Similar conversions were performed earlier this month in the north-
ern state of Uttar Pradesh, where around 100 Muslims converted to Hinduism. Many, though, said later that they were threatened with violence if they didn't go along, and that they were promised government ration cards and money if they did become Hindus. Hindu hard-line organizations were key political backers of Modi, who was voted into office earlier this yearinavictoryoverthelongpowerful Congress party. Since his election, the hardline groups have become increasingly vocal, calling for the transformation of India into a Hindu nation. "We are going to take the percentage of Hindus to 100 percent in the country," Praveen Togadia, a VHP leader, said in a weekend speech. "We won't tolerate Hindus becoming a minority in the country." Indian Muslims have long been wary of Modi. In 2002, he was accused of failing to stop anti-Muslim riots that shook Gujarat state, where he was then the top elected official. The violence left at least 1,000 people dead. Modi has rejected the accusations, and India's Supreme Court has said that it found no evidence to prosecute him. Some Christian groups say fear has also been spreading in their communities. Early this month, a Roman Catholic church was burned in New Delhi in a suspected case of arson. Last week, a group singing Christmas carols was at-
tacked in the southern city of Hyderabad. Meanwhile, as members of Parliament have battled over the past week about the conversions and the statements by Hindu leaders, Modi has barely mentioned the issue at all. "The prime minister's silence has been deafening," said Dominic Emmanuel, a spokesman for the New Delhi Archdiocese. "If Modi does not speak up now, the situation is going to slip out of his hands." Christians account for about 2.3 percent of India's 1.2 billion people and largely coexist peacefully with Hindus. About 14 percent of Indians are Muslims. Education minister, Smriti Irani, caused an uproar a couple of weeks ago when she suggested canceling the Dec. 25 school holiday so students could attend classes on good governance. That idea was quietly scuttled. Opposition lawmakers say Modi's silence is damaging the secular nature of Indian society and the religious freedoms guaranteed by the country's constitution. The upper house of Parliament was repeatedly adjourned Monday after opposition lawmakers demanded that the prime minister clarify his position on the conversions. The impasse in Parliament has paralyzed a series of key bills, stalling government efforts to overhaul the economy and boost growth.
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