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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 240
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www.morungexpress.com
Monday, September 1, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
NMP+ campaign against stigma & discrimination
Taylor Swift set to share her expertise...
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north east mulls over how to fill the ‘knowledge gap’
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
Morung Express news Dimapur | August 31
He is suffering from liver cirrhosis. Causes? Ammm. In Nagaland, the most common causes are chow, momo and cold drinks abuse.
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Are you satisfied with how the Nagaland state government has addressed the boundary issue? Yes
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No AFSPA review now, states Rijiju New Delhi, August 31 (ht): Admitting that Irom Sharmila’s struggle had had significant impact, Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju has said many things need to be considered before a review of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). “A review of the AFSPA is not on the cards right now. The entire gamut of inputs from security forces, agencies, state governments etc has to be taken into account before a review is undertaken,” Rijiju told HT. “While human rights is vital in a democratic set-up like ours, the country’s national security is supreme and is non-compromisable. The AFSPA issue needs to be considered in a much deeper manner and is not something that can be settled in a jiffy.” Admitting that Sharmila’s struggle has had significant impact, Rijiju said he is open to meeting her in person. Sharmila had been on an indefinite hunger strike for the last 14 years in protest against the AFSPA in Manipur. Under AFSPA, in Kashmir and parts of Northeast, security forces have the right to take action without fear of possible prosecution.
Batteries to run on sugar
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New York, August 31 (iANs): In a breakthrough to develop longlasting batteries for smartphones and other gadgets, scientists have successfully created a sugar biobattery that completely converts the chemical energy in sugar substrates into electricity. This biobattery can achieve an energy-storage density of about 596 ampere-hours (A/h) per kg - an order of magnitude higher than the 42 A-h/kg energy density of a typical lithium-ion battery used in various gadgets. The sugar biobattery is also less costly than the lithium-ion battery and environmentally friendly, researchers reported in the journal Nature Communications.
There are many books written on the North East (NE) of India, but only the people from the NE are interested in them. Despite efforts, thus, there is a ‘knowledge gap’ between ‘mainland India’ and the landmass that lies North East of it. Concerned that this gap is creating stereotypes and leading to increased misunderstandings, historians and scholars met recently in Shillong where they considered the development of a syllabi and teaching tools on the NE for under-graduate and post-graduate students across India. Dr. Atso Venuh, Assistant Professor at the Department of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, was part of this two-day meet organized by the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (CNESPR) at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. “No central university in other parts of India covers the history of the NE. Even in Nagaland, two full papers on Naga history, for instance, at the under graduate level, and one at the post graduate level, were introduced only 3 years back,” says Dr. Venuh, adding that these histories are “sensitive” and “we need to be careful about developing
the syllabi.” As discussed in Shillong, the attempt would be to introduce NE history on the lines of its social history, polity, environment and economic history, etc. The proposed syllabi will look “beyond boundaries” and will cover States as well as Peoples—it could also bring closer ties between the people of the NE, he offers.
medium textbooks, as suggested by the Committee, Jamir feels that the private sector should be encouraged to promote the NE— special sections on the KBC, for instance, could help. “We had a discussion with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting about how the media can play a big role by covering and projecting the positives rather than the negative aspects of the region,” he suggests. Regionally, infrastructure could be boosted. Except for Assam, no other State in the NE has ‘uplink’ facilities (for satellite broadcasting)—could some Outside Broadcasting vans not be provided, wonders Jamir. At the core of it all, however, he points out, is “how important can this region become to India or the world?” “We have no economic or political status—while politically we raise interest in India only vis-à-vis China, all other attention goes to the commercial hubs of Mumbai or Kolkata. As long as we are not important, no one will engage with us,” reflects Jamir. For him, the NE and a projection of it as a violent region cannot be the only point of engagement forever—it is not the nature of aspirations. Recommendations and actions need to be implemented in policy by the Government of India.
As long as the North East region is not important to India or the world, no one will engage with it!
The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn
Yes
–Henry Paulson
Irresistible Liverpool trounce Spurs, Villa win
Philippine troops pull ‘greatest escape’ in Golan
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Is ignorance of the North East people and their culture the cause for the rising discrimination?
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In just about every area of society, there’s nothing more important than ethics
India seeks Japan’s help to combat sickle cell disease
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Diego Ferreira, right, punches Ramsey Nijem, left, during the second round of a lightweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 177 in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, August 30. Ferreira won in the second round. (AP Photo)
Border conflicts: UNTABA flays Nagaland & Assam Govts ‘Review all existing interim agreements’
DiMAPur, August 31 (MexN): The United Naga Tribes Association of Border Areas (UNTABA) today expressed dismay at the strategy adopted by the Assam and Nagaland State governments to tackle the border imbroglio. The UNTABA, in a media release, cited the August 30 meeting between officials of Assam and Nagaland in Dimapur as an instance, which it termed was an ex-
ercise with no substantial outcome. “It only tried to absolve the abject failure of the 2 (two) Governments in preventing clashes in the border areas in spite of various terms of Agreements entered between the two and the Home Ministry, Government of India starting from 1972 onwards,” the UNTABA said in the statement. UNTABA chairman Hukavi T. Yepthomi and general secretary Ejanthung Ngullie, in a statement held the governments of the two states responsible for the recurring boundary conflicts. It stated that the Ralan inci-
dent was an upshot of two governments’ negligence. “The Government of Assam deliberately facilitated the unabated encroachment from its side (while) successive Government(s) of Nagaland has remained a silent observer all these years over the illegal actions of the Government of Assam...” Any consultation between the two State governments “must seriously consider and review the existing terms of agreements ... and firmly put in place appropriate legal structure for preventing such incidents in future,” it stated, while adding, “otherwise
such exercise (August 30 meeting) amounts to nothing as seen by the outcome of yesterday’s (August 30) meeting.” It further stated that while the government of Assam has instituted Inquiry Commission to study the circumstances leading to the repercussions of the Ralan incident, the Nagaland government on its part has failed to inquire into the killings of Subong Temjen April 13, 2014 and Ento Chakhesang on May 13 by the Assam Police during the conflict along the Karbi-Anglong- Dimapur inter-state boundary.
That, no doubt, will take time. However, what of discrimination against the people of the NE till then? “Why not squeeze in a slot about the NE during Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)?” asks Alemtemshi Jamir (IAS retd.), who travelled through metro cities in India as part of the Bezbaruah Committee expressing concern over the “limited knowledge” of the NE despite high end institutions of learning. The Committee submitted several recommendations and actions plans to the Home Ministry of the Government of India in July this year—the latter has neither released the report till date nor taken it up at a policy level. In the time that a NEbased syllabi is inserted into NCERT or vernacular
says Senegal People-to-People dialogue Ukhrul incident: UNC to decide WHO Ebola case ‘a top Call for internal reflection course of action on Sept 1 priority emergency’
First understand the problem on the ground, and then engage with it Morung Express news Dimapur | August 31
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said at a meeting in Guwahati this August that people-to-people contact in the disturbed border regions of Assam and Nagaland would remove misgivings and help build bridges of understanding between the people living along the inter-state border. The Government of Nagaland and that of Assam have now embarked upon State-level meetings on all rungs of bureaucracy in a bid to eventually “building trust and confidence between the people of Assam and Nagaland.” The dearth of ideas on the subject as well as the non-acknowledgment of ground realities could prove to be stumbling blocks, say activists. “The people who are dealing with the border issue on the Nagaland side need constructive and creative ideas to look at this issue,” says peace activist, Niketu Iralu. A consultation could help. “We are not able to keep pace with the problems we are creating—in Nagaland, there should be a consultation with people from both inside the government and outside it to get an objective response around which to work,” he ponders, though this should not be on the lines of a “public meeting” which then confuses more people than
give direction. While Iralu stresses on the importance of civil bodies from both Assam and Nagaland meeting regularly, it is essential on the Nagaland side, he suggests, to first understand the problem on the ground and then engage with it. Human rights worker, Xonzoi Barbora finds this idea useful, as he does the engagement of the two State governments on the issue. “We have to figure out what these fights are about first of all,” says Barbora of the border issue, and puts his foot down—“It is about land! The people of the region are poor, and we are surrounded by rich government land. We have to reflect on this. But who else owns land in these disturbed areas?” For him, an acknowledgment that people who die in these areas are those without any rights to property anywhere has to be there—a simple cadastral survey by local BDOs, for instance, he suggests, could be telling of who the large landowners are, and who creates these skirmishes. “It is good that the governments are engaging in this—they should look deeply into the core of what has become of land and rights over it,” says Barbora, while calling for reflection in Nagaland about the “fiction” of community held land while private ownership of land, especially in the foothill region, proliferates. He also calls for rooted media coverage of the issue, with stories being reported from the border belt regularly, which remains mostly under covered in Nagaland, and is filled with speculation in Assam. All this, in essence, would lead to a deeper people-to-people engagement.
Last rites of deceased on Monday
seNAPAti/ukhrul, August 31 (MexN/NNN): The United Naga Council (UNC) will hold an emergency Presidential Meeting of all Naga Tribe Hohos and frontal bodies at Ukhrul soon after the public funeral of the two deceased and collectively decide the course of agitation or action to protest on September 1. The UNC said today that the last rites and public funeral of the two deceased people from Saturday’s rally will be held in Ukhrul town on Monday (September 1). UNC leaders said that during the public funeral of the two persons, a simultaneous public protest will be observed in all the Naga hill districts of Manipur. They also announced the total shut down in both the national highways and all business establishments for two hours from 10 am till 12 noon. The UNC confirmed that it has communicated to all its units and Naga civil bodies to strictly enforce the said ‘total bandh’ for two hours during the funeral to show solidarity to the victims and those injured in the Ukhrul incident. Meanwhile, the post mortem of the two deceased persons was held at the Ukhrul district hospital on Sunday reportedly by ‘forensic specialists’ from Imphal. While the procedure was captured on video camera, both bodies showed death by bullet injuries. The UNC has asked the apex bodies of Nagas in Manipur to be present for the funeral and meeting.
Naga Hoho for revoking 144 CrPC
Condemning the Ukhrul incident, the Naga Hoho today stated that it had urged the Government of Manipur (GoM) to “relax” Sec. 144 CrPC in Ukhrul district “sensing that the citizens were subjected to undue harassment” ever since the imposition of it. “It is as though Government of Manipur have been waiting for the people to assemble in large number to register their protest whereby they can demonstrate their military superiority.” The Naga Hoho urged the Government of India to immediately direct GoM to revoke the imposition of laws that “restricts citizens to a life of honour and dignity.”
NSF for thorough investigation
The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has also condemned the incident and asked the Government of India to set up an independent enquiry body to “thoroughly investigate” the incident and punish the officer(s) responsible. “The incident has clearly shown the intention of the Govt. of Manipur that the Manipur commandos and IRB are deployed in the district not for safeguarding but for militarization and bring fear psychosis in the minds of the peace loving citizen,” NSF stated in a press statement appended by its Speaker RS Jollyson and Vice President Joseph Nguori. The Federation has questioned the Manipur government on the “rationale” behind still promulgating CrPC 144 in Ukhrul district when the public has sought to do away with it.
NSUD demands CBI enquiry
Expressing “extreme displeasure” at the GoM, the Naga Students’ Union Delhi (NSUD) has demanded a CBI enquiry into the killings of unarmed civilians and immediate intervention of Government of India for “lasting political solution.” It has stated that revoking of CrPC 144 in Ukhrul is not enough. “Words are insufficient in condemning the GoM’s brutal way of snatching the lives of two young and promising men from the Naga community and causing grave injuries to hundreds of peaceful demonstrators,” NSUD stated in a press statement. “The indiscriminate and deliberate firing by an agency of the state government on unarmed civilians during the rally has clearly shown that the Nagas in Manipur cannot live with the dominion community under one administrative roof any longer.”
DAkAr, August 31 (AP): The effort to contain Ebola in Senegal is “a top priority emergency,” the World Health Organization said Sunday, as the government continued tracing everyone who came in contact with a Guinean student who has tested positive for the deadly disease in the capital, Dakar. Senegal faces an “urgent need” for support and supplies including hygiene kits and personal protective equipment for health workers, the WHO said in a statement Sunday. “These needs will be met with the fastest possible speed,” the WHO said. The presence of Ebola in Senegal, a tourist and transport hub, could complicate efforts to bring the outbreak under control. The country has already closed its land border with Guinea, where the outbreak originated, and barred air and sea travel from Sierra Leone and Liberia in an attempt to keep the disease out. In Dakar on Sunday, at least one pharmacy was limiting purchases of hand sanitizer to one small bottle per person because of rising demand — underscoring fears that the number of cases in the city could soon multiply. There is no cure or licensed treatment for Ebola, so health workers can only provide supportive care to patients such as keeping them hydrated. Health care workers are especially vulnerable to infection. The WHO says 240 health workers have contracted the disease during the current outbreak and more than half of those have died. In Sierra Leone on Sunday, officials said they had avoided a strike threatened by workers at an Ebola treatment center in the east of the country, the region hardest hit by the outbreak. Protective equipment is being sent to the health workers and a “monthly incentive allowance” will be paid on Monday, health ministry spokesman Sidie Yahya Tunis told The Associated Press.
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