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SunDAY • JAnuArY 24 • 2016
DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 22 • 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
P o W e R
Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life Saudi-Iranian proxy war over Syria spreads to Davos PAGE 09
o F
T R u T H
— Seneca
Orientation on National Legal Services Authority new schemes
Pandey’s debut ODI ton helps India avoid whitewash
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netaji was not on Britain’s WW ii list of war criminals
A group of families huddle by a fire at a kitchen hearth in one of the homes at Waoshu-a Chang Naga village for a feast to celebrate Poanglum festival recently. During the festival, it is common for families to get together in groups to share food together. Waoshu village is located some 42 kilometers away from Tuensang town and has around 115 household. (Photo: Toshi Kichu)
RSS takes out maiden march in Meghalaya
ShIllong, January 23 (IanS): The RSS on Saturday took out its maiden ‘Path Sanchalan’ (procession) here in the capital of Christian-majority Meghalaya. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) slammed the Congressled Meghalaya United Alliance government for its failure to ensure rapid development in the state and for begging for developmental funds from the central government. In Shillong, nearly 300 RSS cadres -- mostly from the indigenous Khasi and Jaintia communities from across the Khasi and Jaintia Hills areas -- donning khaki shorts and white shirts and armed with sticks marched from Upper Mawprem to Balika Vidyalaya School.
RSS cadres also took out a road march in Zikzak area of South West Garo Hills district to pay tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 119th birth anniversary. “It is a historic moment for us (RSS) today in Meghalaya to take out Path Sanchalan in Shillong and Garo Hills to pay tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 119th birth anniversary. We were expecting at least 500 RSS cadres to take part, since the strength of the RSS in Shillong is 800,” RSS Shillong unit leader Makashang Khongshei said. Khongshei, who has been associated with RSS since 1993, exuded confidence that more people will be joining the group in Meghalaya to protect the interests of the indig-
enous people. “We are not against any person belonging to any religious faith as our base is to be a ‘Rashtriya’ (nationalist). In India, there are 33 crore ways of worshipping god. Therefore, it does not matter, Christian or non-Christian, but what we need is unity,” he said. Addressing the cadres, Khongshei lashed out at the failure of the government to develop the state. “In 44 years of statehood, Meghalaya is nothing but a failed state without any hope for its people. This state has no education policy, agriculture policy and no policy for youth but only corruption. If you check the records, Meghalaya is nothing but a state still copying and pasting rules and regulations from Assam,” he said.
KolKata, January 23 (IanS): Documents in the external affairs ministry that were declassified on Saturday reveal that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s name did not figure in the “list of war criminals” drawn by Britain after the Second World War. Following queries by the external affairs ministry through the Indian High Commission in London, Britain’s ministry of defence in its reply in December 1998 had specified that it could find no evidence indicating that the British government treated Netaji as a war criminal. “With reference to the specific question as to whether Subhas Chandra Bose’s name was included by the UK in its list of war criminals drawn up after the Second World War, I have been unable to find any evidence that any such action was taken by the United Kingdom,” read a letter from J.J. Harding of Britain’s ministry of defence. Following a petition by Kolkata-based advocate Rudra Jyoti Bhattacharjee before the Calcutta High Court enquiring if Netaji’s name featured in such a list, as well as the matter being also raised in the Lok Sabha, the Indian authorities had made several enquiries with their British counterparts in 1998 and then again in 2000.
Netaji’s ‘death’ being used for petty politics: Amartya
KolKata, January 23 (IanS): The circumstances of the “death” of Subhas Chandra Bose are being used for petty politics at a time when India badly needs Netaji’s vision of justice, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen said on Saturday. On a day when the Narendra Modi government declassified secret files on Netaji, Sen said it was “peculiar” that some believed that the files would reveal the Congress leadership’s hand in Netaji’s “death”. “The circumstances of the death are sometimes made the way for producing an element of petty minded politics. The sole idea that somehow it would come out that the leadership of the Congress had a special role in the end of Subhas Bose’s life would be a rather peculiar story,” said Sen. Speaking on the occasion of Netaji’s birth anniversary celebrations here, Sen seemed to favour historian Leonard Gordon’s theory that Bose died in a plane In its reply, the Imperial War Museum had quoted Nigel Jarvis, a historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to claim that the list of war criminals was drawn up only for German and Japanese nationals and not Indians. “Jarvis informed me that Netaji Bose’s name was never on the list of war criminals because he was regarded as a traitor and a political figure, not as a war criminal. “Even if he had been
crash in 1945. “I don’t have the expertise which Gordon has. He may be right. I think he is. But some think he is not. But this is not an issue of history rather than that of antiquarian interest.” Sen said importance of life was enormously greater than the importance of the circumstances of the death of a person. “Whether he died in the plane crash or he died somewhere else, it would be hard to think that he is alive,” he said. While he expressed his interest in knowing the contents of the declassified files, Sen asserted that Netaji’s vision of justice and equity was the need of the hour when the country was experiencing increased communal division. “People want to know what happened to him, but we know what his vision was.” “His vision of justice and equity continue to be profound and we need it in every sphere of life, especially when in the country a sense of division is being cultivated on communal lines,” added Sen.
on any such list, his name would have been removed following his death shortly after the Second World War,” Peter Simkins of the Imperial War Museum said in his reply to the Indian High Commission in 1998. “Jarvis also told me that this same question has been raised several times before and that in the past official answers have normally been supplied either by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or by the Army Historical Branch of
the ministry of defence. “Jarvis also confirms that there was no list of war criminals for Indian nationals, such a list existed only for Japanese and German nationals,” says the letter by Simkins. In 2015, Bengalurubased journalist Choodamani Nagendra had sought information under the RTI about the status of Netaji as a war criminal. But the ministry of external affairs refused to give such information.
Violence against women in a culture of impunity soldiering on for story: strange
Dolly Kikon releases monograph on sexual violence in Dimapur Morung Express News Dimapur | January 23
Impunity and sexual violence have become entwined in a way that both have seeped into the veins of Naga society today. ‘Life & Dignity: Women’s Testimonies of Sexual Violence in Dimapur (Nagaland),’ a monograph highlighting the existence of sexual violence within the supposedly secure confines of the home was released on January 23. Written by Dolly Kikon, currently a postdoctoral fellow at
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
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the Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University, the monograph spells out testimonies of survivors and the existing culture of impunity that needs be understood within the context of power relations, inequality and poverty in a militarised society. With firsthand accounts of rape survivors, it examines how a general culture of impunity has further perpetrated crimes against women in Nagaland – the voiceless victims traumatised for life and the perpetrators going blameless. The shroud of impunity, according to the monograph, was partly, if not entirely, a legacy of decades of militarisation that Nagaland State and its populace have been enveloped in; and the Naga culture itself.
the theme of the book should reach everyone. According to him, the core essence of the book lies in the ‘Three Cs alluding to the ‘Context’ and ‘Culture’ against which it has been set, and the ‘Call’ to act. He said that the book keeping in context the militarised set up in a predominantly patriarchal environment sets out to capture how the culture of impunity the armed forces has enjoyed has been passed down consciously or unconsciously to the Naga society. “It has led to a culture of acquiescence… of acceptance (of what’s been handed).” This culture of acceptance has, to a great extent, contributed to the impunity of perpetrators as Para Legal Volunteer, NK Keny indicated to an increasing trend of violence against wom-
en and children in the State. According to Keny, cases of divorce and domestic violence are high while measures for rehabilitation are virtually absent. “We have a lack of social support. We don’t support one another.” Stating the book to be a “genuine essay of real events,” Keny said that awareness of the reality is crucial. Alongla Aier of Sisterhood highlighted the lack of awareness on the issue of violence against women and the practice of resigning or leaving it unto fate. “Most women here have no idea of the concept of violence against women… we are own enemies, we keep quiet.” The monograph is available at the Sisterhood Network’s office in Burma Camp, Dimapur.
Ar and 3 nagaland newspapers address issues around Notification
DIMaPur, January 23 (MExn): As a positive step and willingness to maintain cordial relations between security forces and the media in Nagaland, the Assam Rifles has decided to withdraw its notice issued to five Nagaland-based newspapers on October 24, 2015 and also agreed to contribute in strengthening the freedom of the press. This was resolved in a meeting held between the Assam RiYou taught your mother to play Star war? .. i swear I fles and the Editors of Nagaland will Zap you, if you intro- Page, Eastern Mirror and The duce her to fb or whatsapp. Morung Express - T Monalisa Changkija, Witoubou Newmai and Aküm Longchari - in Dimapur on January 14. The meeting Press statements, memo- was held following a direction by randums, articles, reports the Press Council of India (PCI) and news related docu- to discuss and resolve issues bements should be sent to tween the parties concerned. morung@gmail.com The Government of Nagaland, which is also one of the stakeEditor, holders, failed to send a repreThe Morung Express sentative to the meeting.
Public Information
“…I illustrate how violence against women takes place within a larger ‘culture’ of impunity,” Kikon writes in one section captioned ‘Sexual violence and the culture of impunity in Dimapur’ and, continuing in the same breath, “… this monograph presents the voices of rape survivors and examines how Naga ‘culture’ is employed to propagate the existing impunity.” The release-cum-discussion programme had in attendance Dr. Melvil Pereira, Director of the North Eastern Social Research Centre (NESRC), Guwahati. The NESRC is the publisher of the monograph. “This book will be disturbing. And that disturbance should make us act,” commented Dr. Pereira, while stating that
• Nagaland Page, Eastern Mirror and The Morung Express agree to follow the general guidelines of the Press Council of India in spirit • Assam Rifles withdraws notice issued to five Nagaland-based newspapers and agrees to contribute in strengthening freedom of the press • Government of Nagaland fails to send representative to the meeting
A joint statement from the three Editors and Col. Rajesh Gupta on behalf of the Assam Rifles informed that after engaging in a “free and open” discussion with constructive viewpoints exchanged, they jointly resolved to make efforts to resolve the issues pertaining to the ‘Suomotu cognizance with regard to Notice to Nagaland media by Assam Rifles.’ In the meeting, keeping in mind the “broader perspectives concerning national interests,” and in order to “preserve the free-
dom of the press and to uphold democratic principles,” the three Newspapers resolved that they will hold themselves to the “highest standards of journalistic ethics and norms,” and will follow “in spirit the general guidelines of the PCI, as well as Nagaland-specific guidelines for journalists, as and when prescribed by the same.” The Assam Rifles and the three Editors also decided not to breach the “red lines” as flagged in the meeting to ensure that a “conducive working environment” is retained.
The gathering also registered disappointment at the failure of the Government of Nagaland to depute a representative to attend the meeting as agreed in the PCI meeting on December 11, 2015, thereby “abdicating its responsibility towards upholding the freedom of the press.” It was further felt that the Government of Nagaland needs to take positive steps to create conducive atmosphere that will facilitate the media in Nagaland to function responsibly as the fourth pillar of democracy without interference or pressure from inimical forces. Meanwhile, PCI Chairperson, Justice CK Prasad, while expressing concern over the “apathy” of the Nagaland Government over the issue, said that the Council is planning to evolve guidelines for the media and security forces on reporting in conflict situations.
motivations of ‘war journalists’ Vikas Datta IANS
It is seen as a glamourous branch of journalism which has drawn the most famous writers and politicians - Arthur Conan Doyle, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Edgar Rice Burroughs - but war reporting is also the most lethal for its practitioners, given they face a situation where their very lives are on the line. What draws journalists to covering conflict, which has claimed lives of over 1,000 of their ilk, and what myths have arisen about it was the focus of a session titled ‘The Frontline Club’ at the Jaipur Literature Festival here on Friday. British journalist Christina Lamb, who has extensive experience of covering Afghanistan and Pakistan since the 1980s, said journalists have now also become targets, and despite being better placed as far as logistics and access are concerned, the danger they face has grown manifold. The motivations may differ but one that remains constant is a thrill of facing the unexpected. For legendary British war photographer Don McCullin, it is the imperative of finding information through first-hand experience. “I like to get to the bottom of things. I am not content with snippets. I want the truth,” he said, claiming news coverage may “not necessarily reflect the whole picture” and has an increasing lack of “depth”. “Instead of looking at my lovely English garden, I would rather step out of my comfort zone and visit a site of conflict,” maintains McCullin who has worked in Berlin during the construction of the wall, began covering conflict in 1964 with the civil war in Cyprus and has since covered wars in the Congo, Biafra (Nigeria), Israel, Vietnam, Cambodia, Northern Ire-
land, Bangladesh, Lebanon, El Salvador and Kurdistan. On the other hand, Indian journalist Samanth Subramanian confesses the experience has a bitter after-taste. The author of ‘This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War’ admits he is haunted by the fear he saw on people’s faces during conflict, which left him in a “constant existential paradox” that makes it difficult to disengage from. McCullin concurred, noting personal emotions do surface eventually when they face “situations you can’t control” and a sense of alienation emerges from realisation that despite their expressed interest, most people don’t want to know his experiences or the truth. Award-winning Israeli novelist David Grossman, who both covers and resides within the Israel-Palestine conflict, has a different take. “I try to look at the effect of this conflict on both sides. I try to understand how conflict affects human relationships, language, prospects of a future. There are so many things that are polluted and poisoned by conflict,” said Grossman, who follows it in an “intimate, personal way” after his son’s death in the 2006 Lebanon war and consequently not regarding his brand of journalism as “covering” the situation but “bearing witness to the larger picture”. Noting conflict “deeply impacts” people, he says the challenge is to remain sober and disregard stereotypes, adding it takes courage to listen to stories and see realities of both sides of a conflict, but that was necessary for any hope of resolving it. He maintains the larger war is lost when people get used to conflict as a way of life, and relinquish any possibility of a better alternative. “This is why war reporting is so important - to keep alternatives alive,” he stressed.