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tuesDAY • MAY 17 • 2016
DIMAPUR • Vol. XI • Issue 134 • 12 PAGes • 5
T H e
ESTD. 2005
P o W e R
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No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution... revolution is but thought carried into action Armed with drones, aid workers seek faster response to earthquakes, floods PAGE 09
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
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naga Plebiscite - the basis of sovereign nation our Correspondent Chedema | May 16
The Naga National Council (NNC) today observed the 65th anniversary of the Naga Plebiscite of 1951 here at Chedema Peace Hall, near Kohima. Addressing the gathering, NNC presnullah .. nullah!!get off the ident Adinno Phizo said sixty-five years main road and go from the ago on May 16, over six thousand Nagas nullah. much better there. came from all over “our country to Kohima to witness and to give their pledge that The Morung Express they will stand by our nation.” “Big or small, a nation is a nation. Poll QuEsTion Vote on www.morungexpress.com But when your next neighbour ridicules your existence, the right way to sMs your answer to 9862574165 do is not fight but to show in action. Fighting voter corruption That was the reason the Naga National is as important as fighting Council (NNC) “under the leadership politician corruption of AZ Phizo decided to have a voluntary to ensure Clean Election Plebiscite by the Naga people for the in Nagaland? Naga people,” Adinno said. She recalled that AZ Phizo travelled Yes no others all over the country for four months on foot and explained the situation to the Is the lack of foundation (eg: infrastructure, proxy people. “As the Nagas loved their counteachers, delayed salary, text try, they understood their right easbooks) the primary cause ily. In the Plebiscite, two choices were for poor results in Nagaland given - independence or join India. Government High Schools? The out-come was 99.9% pledged to Yes 54% stay independent. All the arrangement no 18% was carried out openly, and the NNC others 28% even informed the Indian government Details on page 7 four months before it took place,” she added. Adinno said that this Plebiscite had shown to the world that Nagas are a “sovereign nation.” Quoting AZ Phizo’s speech on the DimaPUR, may 16 (mExN): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), citing information in a letter received from the Department of School Education, today said that the department has dispatched all text books to the concerned schools from the department godown. A press note from NSF asked schools who have not received text books to report to the NSF office or contact 9856082145 or 8413847736.
exit Polls
WB to Mamata, Assam to BJP, Kerala to Left, TN to DMK NEw DELhi, may 16 (iaNS): Exit polls at the end of five-state elections on Monday evening predicted a Trinamool sweep in West Bengal, a BJP win in Assam, a Left victory in Kerala but the verdict was split over Tamil Nadu, with advantage to the DMK. The DMK was also tipped to win in Puducherry. In the biggest popularity test since the Lok Sabha polls of 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared poised to win in Assam for the first time, ending 15 long years of Congress rule. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was set to retain power with a slightly reduced majority. According to ABP-Nielsen, the Trinamool would win 163 of the 294 assembly seats. The CPI-M-led Left Front and the Congress combine would get 126 with a solitary seat going to the BJP. Others would get four seats. The exit polls were divided over Tamil Nadu. Two surveys predicted a defeat for Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK. But a third said she would retain power comfortably, winning 139 of the 234 seats. In Kerala, however, the Left could return to power.
— Emma Goldman
Rashford in, Walcott out as England name Euro squad
ANSTA Zbto alleges delay in disbursement of salaries
NNC observes 65th anniversary of Naga Plebiscite
All textbooks dispatched by DoSE: NSF
T R u T H
55 Plebiscite signatories including nnC President, Adinno Phizo and others during commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the naga Plebiscite at Peace Hall, Chedema, on May 16. (Morung Photo)
day of the Plebiscite, Adinno said: “We shall do all what is humanly possible so that we shall not have to go down in history in shame or live in sorrow and disgrace; what else we cannot, we leave it to God’s own mercy and to His care and pray that we do not become a victim of Indian imperialism. This Plebiscite is not whether Nagaland should become a part of India or not. This is only to show India and the world of Naga unity as one effective nation in order to let India know the position of Nagaland.” Adinno claimed that after the Naga Plebiscite result was made known, the Indian Government sent an emissary who held a meeting with AZ Phizo in Shillong, Assam and offered “any amount of money” for the development of Nagaland. She said that Phizo refused, and quoted him as saying: “my body is mine if you need my help, I can help what I can do, but my country is not mine but you can talk to my people.” “He was always conscious that once we lose our country we shall no longer be free men, and development does not bring freedom,” said Adinno.
She further claimed that after the death of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian Government “disregarded their national policy of non-violence and invaded Nagaland.” She recalled the government sending in armed forces from 1954 onwards to 1964 till the ceasefire agreement was signed between the Federal Government of Nagaland and the Government of India. “Everywhere people remembered those who died for their country. Many Nagas suffered and died in defence of our country, and for their sacrifice Nagaland survives today,” said Adinno. She however lamented that “a section of Nagas went in the wrong direction and brought in many evils after the ceasefire agreement with India. There are people who use the so-called Shillong Accord as a ghost and scare others to disturb people’s mind but truth shall prevail. Hope they will realize their mistake.” Adinno further stated that the Nagas are not asking anything from India. “Nagaland was and is never a part of India. Besides, Nagaland is not an enemy of India. What the Nagas expect from
India is that reason must prevail and usher in peace between Nagaland and India,” she said. Fifty five signatories of the Plebiscite were present during today’s commemoration. They were honoured with mementos. Among them, Rev. Yankey Patton, former Chaplain FGN and Rev. Majabong shared their experiences during the Plebiscite.
Tribute to the Naga Plebiscite of 1951
Paying tribute to the Plebiscite, Kaka D Iralu said that the event of 1951 was “like seeing the very finger of God directing our national leaders to stake our rightful claims, over our rightful lands, at the rightful time, in our history.” Reminding that Naga leaders had also submitted several memorandums to both the British before 1947 and to the Indians after independence regarding the Naga national stand, Iralu lamented that “the Assam Rifles and the Assam Armed Police, from the former British Assam, continued to occupy our lands upto 1954. Then in 1955, the Indian
army invaded Nagaland and occupied every nook and corner of our lands after burning our villages to ashes.” Because of this, he reasoned that the Naga declaration of independence on August 14, 1947 and the May 16, 1951 Naga Plebiscite went un-noticed by the world. Iralu however said that whether the world recognizes Naga independence or not, it is the prerogative right of any nation to raise their own independence flag over their own independent territories. He said that Nagas “have no right to raise our flag over some neighbouring country’s land because such an action would amount to an act of invasion. Going by the same political principle and international law, neighbouring country like India or Burma also has absolutely no right to raise their flags over our ancestral lands and claim that our lands and our people belong to them.” He called upon the Naga people to “unequivocally reiterate that we are an independent nation with all the rights and privileges thereof. Let us also, with one united voice, declare again to the world that Nagaland and Naga territories do not belong to India or Burma.”
Youth voices
Also speaking during the event, Chakhesang Youth Front (CYF) President, Welete Kapfo, said that because of the “legacy left behind by the NNC (and) by our great heroes, even today we uphold the original principle of the Plebiscite -1951 under the leadership of Late A.Z. Phizo.” Meanwhile, saluting the 1951 Plebiscite signatories present on the occasion, Angami Youth Organization President Medo Yhokha said “We salute you, we honour you. We will be the ambassador of this Plebiscite.”
2016 April was hottest ‘Nagaland stands lowest in share of tax’ Storm fells trees, snaps power lines month in Earth’s history Kohima, may 16 (DiPR): Nagaland for departments like School Education, Morung Express news midway across the road bringDimapur | May 16
Monday afternoon’s storm in Dimapur created chaos for the Power department as trees felled by the heavy winds snapped powerlines disrupting supply to several localities. The most affected were localities being supplied by the Airport, Purana Bazaar and Naharbari feeders (lines). Purana Bazaar and Airport feeders were restored at around 9:00 pm while work was ongoing to restore the Naharbari feeder. A number of low tension distribution lines and poles were also damaged in several locations with a department official informing that lines snapped at Lengrijan, main town area and in Signal Basti. In Signal Basti, near the IOC depot a twin pole was almost brought down after a tree snapped and fell on the lines. The tree fell and slanted
ing down with it telephone as well as powerlines and creating a traffic jam under heavy downpour. There was no report of any casualty. A brief press release from the Executive Engineer, Dimapur Electrical Division further informed that high tensions lines were also damaged. Stating that work was underway to restore supply early, the release requested the consumers to bear with the inconvenience. In Kohima, the storm damaged buildings with the Government Middle School at the Bye Pass side among the affected structures. Damages were also reported at Chiechama village and in other districts. The scale of damage could not be ascertained as attempts to reach the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority through their emergency number went unanswered.
LoNDoN, may 16 (aGENCiES): Assuring that 2016 will be the warmest year on record, new data released by NASA showed last month was the hottest April the planet has experienced in modern times. The new record broke the previous one by 0.24C, which was set in 2010, at 0.87C above the baseline average for April. That record itself broke one set three years earlier at 0.75C above the baseline average for April. The information showed that April 2016 was the third month in a row to break the monthly record by the largest margin ever and the seventh month in a row to be at least 1C above the 1951-80 mean for that month, the Guardian reported. The global temperature of land and sea was found to be 1.11C warmer in April than the average temperature for April during the period 1951-1980. Andy Pitman from the University of New South Wales said: “The interesting thing is the scale at which we’re breaking records. It’s clearly all heading in the wrong direction.” The figures released over the weekend make it all but assures that 2016 will be the warmest year on record and probably by the largest margin ever. (With ANI inputs)
stands lowest in the share of taxes collected in the country. This was revealed during a one day training on Income Tax & TDS jointly organised by the Finance Department, School Education Department and Directorate of Income Tax, Guwahati held on May 16 at NBCC convention hall. As of record among the NE states, Assam stands 1st in the list of Income Tax collected, Meghalaya stands 2nd and Nagaland stands 6th. Highlighting the importance of Income Tax & TDS, as per the provisions of section 80 CCD of the Income Tax Act, 1961, each individual employed by the Central or State Government are bound to pay their income tax. Finance Commissioner Temjen Toy said that taxes have to be paid at the source. Stating that though tribals are exempted from paying Income Tax, it was important
which has a large number of non-tribals as employees from whom their income taxes should be derived. Towards this, he said, the DDOs have an important role to play, lest the burden of paying the penalty becomes extremely high. OSD (Finance) V Kezo said that Income Tax is a “sovereign levy” and the State Government is duty bound to facilitate for proper deduction of tax at sources on a monthly basis. Stating that the State Government is collecting all information on all non-tribals who are not paying income taxes, he urged the DDOs to encourage and sensitise those employees to start paying their TDS. In view of the importance of Tax, more DDO’s will be appointed in all the Departments and provide assistance in the form of Chartered Accountant to help in filing the Income Tax.
naga nationalist leader Major (retd) tadingpou laid to rest
Twin total shutdowns begin in Manipur newmai news network Imphal | May 16
A Joint Action Committee (JAC) began a 48-hour total shutdown from midnight of May 16 in the tribal areas of Manipur to protest against the hardpressed Manipur government for allegedly failing to relieve the plight of the tribal people. The strike is backed by the United Naga Council (UNC) and Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF). At the same time, the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) has called for a state wide shutdown on May 17 beginning 6:00am to register protest against the Manipur government for failing to fulfill their charter of demands. Last Monday, the state government decided to depute an all-party delegation to persuade the central leaders to implement three bills, which the government says aim to protect the interests of all indigenous communities in Manipur. The passing of the bills on August 31 last sparked controversy which subsequently led to violent protests in Churachandpur district where nine protesters were killed when they
confronted armed police. The three bills are currently pending with the President awaiting his assent. The all-party delegation was supposed to leave for New Delhi today, but it was cancelled. Sources informed that the delegation is seeking appointment from the President, Prime Minister and Home Minister before heading for the national capital. Earlier, it was announced that the all-party delegation would visit New Delhi on May 16. Sources said the delegation is likely to leave Manipur in two-three days. The Churachandpur JAC called the strike in the wake of the state government’s alleged allegiance shown towards the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS). The UNC has criticized the Manipur government’s decision to approach the centre on the ILP issue. It announced to endorse the 48-hour total shutdown. The Naga body said the passing of the bills has further divided the tribals and valley people. The Mizo People’s Convention (MPC) has meanwhile condemned the resolution of the May 9 meeting of the All Political Parties chaired by
Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The decision of the All Political Parties came following mounting pressure from JCILPS. The committee said the All Political Parties should impress upon the Centre to implement the three bills before the ensuing polls to the Imphal Municipal Corporation (IMC) scheduled to be held on June 2. It threatened to boycott the polls if the pressing demand was not fulfilled. The Naga Political Leaders Forum Manipur argued that the Protection of Manipur Peoples (PMP) Bill, 2015, which is supposed to be based on National Registration of Citizens, 1951, Census Report 1951 and the Village Directory 1951 for defection of migrants for determining indigenous people, are found to be invalid documents for the purpose (according to Assistant Director of Ministry of Home Affairs, Directorate of Census Operations, Manipur). Besides the ILP issue, Manipur is facing a slew of problems like the demand of Scheduled Tribe status for the majority Meitei community, which has apparently caused a rift between various social organisations.
People lay wreath over the coffin of Late Major (Retd) Tadingpou Gangmei on Monday.
DimaPUR, may 16 (mExN): Glowing tributes were paid to Late Major (Retd) Tadingpou Gangmei, Tatar of Zeliad (ZLR) Region, NSCN (IM), who had led AZ Phizo to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1956. Regarded as a steadfast Naga nationalist leader, Major Tadingpou Gangmei breathed his last on May 15 early morning. He was 86. His funeral service was held at Zeliangrong Baptist Church, Dimapur on Monday. Hundreds gathered at the funeral to pay their last tribute. NSCN (IM) Chairman,
Isak Chishi Swu, in a condolence message, said the service rendered by Late Tadingpou to the “sacred cause of the nation would always be remembered.” Swu’s message was read out by Qhevishe Chishi, convener NSCN (IM) Steering Committee. Dr Rev VK Nuh, Chairman, Naga Archive and Research Centre (NARC) described Tadingpou Gangmei as “one leader among many recognized to be a star and a noble man of the Naga who stood truthfully for the Naga nation.” “Major Tadingpou Gang-
mei has shaped a legacy that the future generations may reap in joy of what he has sown in sweat and tears,” Dr Nuh stated. Chairman of Zeliangrong Village Council, Dimapur remembered Tadingpou Gangmei as a true gentlemen, a fatherly figure who had good rapport with all the people in the Village. Late Tadingpou joined the Naga National Council in 1956. He was then appointed as Inspector Border Intelligence by FGN in 1958. Further, in 1965, Tadingpou was appointed as executive officer in the First Brigade and promoted to Major in 1967. He was nominated as Consultative Body member to NSCN (IM) in 1999, following which he was appointed to Tatar in August 2006. He served in the same capacity until his demise. Late Tadingpou is survived by his wife, Mrs Hiasuangle and six children. The NSCN (IM) in solemn respect of the deceased leader declared May 16 as a Naga national holiday.