Inhuman distance

By RK Lakhi Kant The culprits in a collective crime, the people, choose to walk a bit away from beleaguered beggars, mad men in rags, or poor men in need.

By RK Lakhi Kant

The culprits in a collective crime,
the people, choose to walk a bit
away from beleaguered beggars,
mad men in rags, or poor men
in need. This is big irresponsibility;
why can`t the people who come by
such unfortunate men offer them
something – food, clothes, a small
employment, or some
money to buy themselves
the next meal.
It is only because of an
irresponsible citizenry
that men suffer in acute hardship.
The morally corrupt government
regulates income tax
and other sources of revenue,
but what for – nothing is done
even for those pushed to begging.
First we put them in the spot
they are in and next
we treat them as untouchables.
Inhuman!
One man`s suffering is
reason enough to
implicate the rulers.
But this wisdom is now found
neither in the men
nor their government.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/01/inhuman-distance/

Saranamai people plea for additional health centre for Saranamai circle

By Shyam Waikhom IMPHAL, January 10: Residents of Saranamai circle under Paomata Block of Tadubi Sub-Division are facing difficulties in getting access to proper health care services as the Primary

By Shyam Waikhom

IMPHAL, January 10: Residents of Saranamai circle under Paomata Block of Tadubi Sub-Division are facing difficulties in getting access to proper health care services as the Primary Health Centre there is too far away and has a limited stock of medicines. They are demanding that a PHC should be opened in Khaikho village which can be easily accessed by people from all the surrounding villages.

The PHC at Paomata is the first port of call for the locals of Saranamai village, Siimai Khaikho village, Maiba village, Phuba village and Liyai village whenever anybody from these villages feels sick. Even if it has been upgraded to a Community Health Centre (CHC), people still have to face problems due to lack of medicines and medical staff.

It was upgraded to a CHC by the efforts of ADC members who are making contributions in the building construction. Another alternative Health Centre is located at the Tungjoi village. As per official records, the Tadubi sub-division has four Health Centres with the PHC at Paomata being among the four. Paomata block is located around 99 km away from Imphal and is about 53 Km away from the Senapati district headquarters. Saranamai is about 14 Km away from the Tadubi sub-division whereas Khaikho is about 17 km away.

`Whenever anybody needs medical treatment, he has to travel 7 Kms to reach the PHC which lacks medical facility and doctors. If the situation of the patient is serious, a proper medical treatment can be availed only at the Senapati District Hospital. But in worst case scenarios, patients have to go all the way to Imphal for a proper treatment. They have to spend lots of money, sometimes even selling off their property as most of the people at the circle are farmers. Sometimes due to a lack of immediate attention at the PHC, people die on their way to a better medical facility`, said V Kho, chairman of Khaikho village at the Sanaramai circle.

He further said it is during the rainy seasons that people suffer the most as pregnant women have to be carried in improvised Sagais till Paomata PHC by foot on the muddy road. The deplorable condition of the road makes it impossible for vehicles to travel during the rainy season, he added.

The dispensary at Tungjoy is ill equipped to provide treatment to victims of even small accidents. Recently, those who got injured in a truck accident succumbed on their way to the district hospital because proper medication couldn`™t be provided in the PHC and other health centres, he narrated.

People settled in the Saranamai circle have drawn the attention of the State health director to establish an additional Health Centre at Khaikho with sufficient medicines and where the doctors are available round the clock.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/01/saranamai-people-plea-for-additional-health-centre-for-saranamai-circle/

Hammer and Nails

By Malangba Bangormayum The duo Simon and Garfunkel sang `I`d rather be a sparrow than a snail Yes I would, if I could, I surely would/ I`d rather be a

By Malangba Bangormayum

The duo Simon and Garfunkel sang `I`d rather be a sparrow than a snail Yes I would, if I could, I surely would/ I`d rather be a hammer than a nail Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would` You get the picture what they were getting at. It`™s better to be wise than foolish, strong than being weak. This refrain one gets to hear in different contexts and situations. On TV, I see people trying to outwit, out-speak, the other. Now there are reality shows, where you prove that you can out-sing, out-dance, out-do any other. And you get fame and fortune for that. We love winners; we extol those who are better. I note this not to register any complain against it. Who does not love excellence?

Lately, I have been wondering whether there can be any virtue in being not wise, being not intelligent, being not fast? Is there any good in being not healthy? To the last question I can answer a qualified response (of course the question frames a qualified response). I learnt as part of high school biology that those who suffer from the disease called sickle cell anaemia have resistance against malaria.

It`™s not much fun to be anaemic, but if you are in a place where malaria is endemic, then it might not be that bad to be sickle cell anaemic. Can we push this case for the other questions in the beginning of this paragraph? Can we say that there are sometimes situations in which it is alright to be dumb, or are there cases where it is positively better not to be wise, not to be beautiful or amazing, mind-blowing or such superlatives that the judges on reality TV shows shower on the contestants? Can there be a reality show where the search is for the dumbest person? How would be the rating? I throw these questions for a response if you please.

Ignorance is bliss, there are sayings amounting to that. There are also deeply entrenched intellectual and spiritual traditions which take knowledge to be the key to soteriological aspirations. Ignorance and knowledge in the ultimate analysis could turn out not be a far cryfrom each other but intuitively, and at least in our common understanding, they are wholly different things.

I keep telling my wife that I have become wiser since I married her. This could be understood in at least two different ways. It could either mean that she is the cause of my getting more intelligent or it could be a way of saying something ordinary i.e., people get wiser with age and that we are getting older together. Depending on her mood she is pleased some times, sometimes she is annoyed and tells me not to be sarcastic. But, seriously, I feel that I have become wiser in the last few days. Something is happening to me. That`™s how I feel.

When I share this with my wife she has a good laugh. Let me explain why I say I feel wiser. There is something reminiscent of the Socrates of Platonic dialogues here. I vaguely remember the dialogue in question had something to do with the Oracle of Delphi. One can look up on the internet: another portal to becoming more intelligent, more informed and wiser.

I have been having this reconciliation, lately, with myself that some of the thoughts I had and actions that I had performed were not the best. I never could reconcile until recently that I ever was wrong. Somehow, I tried to defend myself, rationalise to others and myself all my actions. Lately, pride is on the wane, humility on the rise.

Strange enough, humility seems to make things clearer for me. It has shown that I was wrong; I was definitely not wise. I have come to know that I might be foolish sometimes, if not always. This realisation is what I mean by my becoming wiser. The realisation that I was, am, may and can be ignorant and wrong. The realisation that I am simply dumb*** sometimes and acted like one has dawned on me with the coming of the New Year. This could be a temporary phenomenon. My conceitedness might creep back any day without my knowing.

Remember that movie Dumb and Dumber, the film about two idiots trying to outsmart one another? We laughed at them. We laughed at their dumbness, more so at their thinking that they were smart. A person who is a fool and knows he is a fool is smarter than the person who is a fool but does not know that he is a fool. Therefore, in the scale of dumbness, I might claim that I am smarter than those two characters.

Now, where can we put a person who is wise and knows that he is wise? Obviously, he has to be above someone like me. But the catch is this, is it ever possible that for such someone to know that he is wise? If we take for granted the human condition as rooted in its limitedness, then for any human being whatever knowledge and wisdom he has, has to be seriously limited on the cosmic scale. So, if someone knows that he is wise, he is mistaken and a bit conceited. Mistakes and knowledge do not go together; neither do conceit and wisdom. Therefore, one can claim that there can be no wise man who knows that he is wise! This means that there is no person wiser than the likes of me.

Let me tell my wife this discovery of mine. I have a feeling that instead of laughing she might cry this time.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/01/hammer-and-nails/

Truth vs Hype: Manipur – No Peace Without Justice – NDTV

Truth vs Hype: Manipur – No Peace Without JusticeNDTVThere is an uneasy calm over insurgency-hit Manipur, which has completed a year – 2014 – with the lowest number of killings in clashes between security forces and militant groups. But the peace may b…

Truth vs Hype: Manipur – No Peace Without Justice
NDTV
There is an uneasy calm over insurgency-hit Manipur, which has completed a year – 2014 – with the lowest number of killings in clashes between security forces and militant groups. But the peace may be deceptive; it comes after a Supreme Court committee …

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNGpP8at08znLvajVPLqa6TlpjAukg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=uhOyVJDQKaT-8AHc5oCQBQ&url=http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/truth-vs-hype/truth-vs-hype-manipur-no-peace-without-justice/351793

Revive Manipur’s public transport system – The Sangai Express

Revive Manipur’s public transport system
The Sangai Express
Mysore district population is much more than that of Manipur. The mass transport service in Mysore starts at 6 in the morning and closes at 10 pm. The roads are not too congested and traffic is fast moving. The buses are mostly low-floor type or fixed

Revive Manipur's public transport system
The Sangai Express
Mysore district population is much more than that of Manipur. The mass transport service in Mysore starts at 6 in the morning and closes at 10 pm. The roads are not too congested and traffic is fast moving. The buses are mostly low-floor type or fixed

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHilWyioohxDKrdwynp2vIOO-1SjA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=0pKxVOjpCaf98AGo44GQDA&url=http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/page/items/47230/revive-manipurs-public-transport-system

Manipur Encounters: Burying the Truth – NDTV


NDTV

Manipur Encounters: Burying the Truth
NDTV
Imphal: In an overgrown field outside Manipur’s capital, Basanta Nameirakpam points to the spot where his son, Nobo, lies buried. The 27-year-old was killed in an encounter by a joint team of Manipur police commandos and Assam Rifles in April, 2009.


NDTV

Manipur Encounters: Burying the Truth
NDTV
Imphal: In an overgrown field outside Manipur's capital, Basanta Nameirakpam points to the spot where his son, Nobo, lies buried. The 27-year-old was killed in an encounter by a joint team of Manipur police commandos and Assam Rifles in April, 2009.

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHEMaz-uarHvaYFbXdXdmfWZzjniw&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=tXaxVODLBqHy8QHGnoHYDw&url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/manipur-encounters-burying-the-truth-646955

Manipur’s Andro village becomes popular tourist destination – Web India


ANINEWS

Manipur’s Andro village becomes popular tourist destination
Web India
The north-east region has immense tourism potential. In Manipur, the ancient Andro village is gradually becoming a favorite among tourists due to its scenic beauty and the glimpse it provides into the rich tribal traditions. The scenic beauty, good
Village in Mnp becomes popular tourist destinationNagaland Post

all 3 news articles »


ANINEWS

Manipur's Andro village becomes popular tourist destination
Web India
The north-east region has immense tourism potential. In Manipur, the ancient Andro village is gradually becoming a favorite among tourists due to its scenic beauty and the glimpse it provides into the rich tribal traditions. The scenic beauty, good
Village in Mnp becomes popular tourist destinationNagaland Post

all 3 news articles »

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNGNHF9eTFpv7642wO4YUr9e-bxQ0w&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778708451541&ei=tXaxVODLBqHy8QHGnoHYDw&url=http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20150110/2524608.html

Manipur’s Andro village becomes popular tourist destination – New Kerala

Manipur’s Andro village becomes popular tourist destination
New Kerala
The north-east region has immense tourism potential. In Manipur, the ancient Andro village is gradually becoming a favorite among tourists due to its scenic beauty and the glimpse it provides into the rich tribal traditions.

and more »

Manipur's Andro village becomes popular tourist destination
New Kerala
The north-east region has immense tourism potential. In Manipur, the ancient Andro village is gradually becoming a favorite among tourists due to its scenic beauty and the glimpse it provides into the rich tribal traditions.

and more »

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNEimdxdKneJPyCqUYf4h9MNGw0smA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778708451541&ei=uhOyVJDQKaT-8AHc5oCQBQ&url=http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-4336.html

Festivals bring together people of Manipur – New Kerala

Festivals bring together people of ManipurNew KeralaIn Manipur, celebration of different festivals bring people together and gave out a message of peace and unity besides promoting the indigenous cultures. Living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur a…

Festivals bring together people of Manipur
New Kerala
In Manipur, celebration of different festivals bring people together and gave out a message of peace and unity besides promoting the indigenous cultures. Living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Zeliangrong people gather in Senapati …

and more »

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNEdQFPIdiAj5oSh8hBeNE2STKXIAA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778708452704&ei=tXaxVODLBqHy8QHGnoHYDw&url=http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-4337.html

Festivals bring together people of Manipur – Business Standard

Festivals bring together people of ManipurBusiness StandardIn Manipur, celebration of different festivals bring people together and gave out a message of peace and unity besides promoting the indigenous cultures. Living in the tri-junction of Assam, Ma…

Festivals bring together people of Manipur
Business Standard
In Manipur, celebration of different festivals bring people together and gave out a message of peace and unity besides promoting the indigenous cultures. Living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Zeliangrong people gather in Senapati …

and more »

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNG4qCE3NC2gQNY5Ru-LIus1358iTw&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778708452704&ei=8kSyVNDZEaf98AGo44GQDA&url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/festivals-bring-together-people-of-manipur-115011000814_1.html

Manipur’s Andro village becomes popular tourist destination – ANINEWS


ANINEWS

Manipur’s Andro village becomes popular tourist destination
ANINEWS
Imphal, Jan. 10 (ANI): The north-east region has immense tourism potential. In Manipur, the ancient Andro village is gradually becoming a favorite among tourists due to its scenic beauty and the glimpse it provides into the rich tribal traditions. The


ANINEWS

Manipur's Andro village becomes popular tourist destination
ANINEWS
Imphal, Jan. 10 (ANI): The north-east region has immense tourism potential. In Manipur, the ancient Andro village is gradually becoming a favorite among tourists due to its scenic beauty and the glimpse it provides into the rich tribal traditions. The

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNH5CUeVk8WbOFxH_Wd97BqKCc62lg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=8kSyVNDZEaf98AGo44GQDA&url=http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail2/story199177/manipur-039-s-andro-village-becomes-popular-tourist-destination.html

Festivals bring together people of Manipur – ANINEWS

Festivals bring together people of ManipurANINEWSLiving in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Zeliangrong people gather in Senapati district for five days to celebrate Gaan Ngai, a post-harvest festival. Cultural performances and traditio…

Festivals bring together people of Manipur
ANINEWS
Living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Zeliangrong people gather in Senapati district for five days to celebrate Gaan Ngai, a post-harvest festival. Cultural performances and traditional rituals marked the celebrations at Mahakabui …

Read more / Original news source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHttMjf0bs3ZNaFzzF3v7x50ll4zA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=uhOyVJDQKaT-8AHc5oCQBQ&url=http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail2/story199178/festivals-bring-together-people-of-manipur.html

Book Excerpt / Frontier to Boundary

By Pradip Phanjoubam (The following is another excerpt from the author`™s forthcoming book written as a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, IIAS, Shimla.) When the British took

By Pradip Phanjoubam

(The following is another excerpt from the author`™s forthcoming book written as a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, IIAS, Shimla.)

When the British took over the administration of Assam in 1826 after repelling the Burmese in the First Anglo-Burmese War, Assam constituted almost the entire Northeast, with the exception of the kingdoms of Tripura and Manipur. Available commentaries and records from the period indicate there were two primary interests of the British in the newly acquired territory of Assam, which was initially kept under the British province of Bengal.

The first was strategic. They were interested in keeping the region as the first layer of buffer between their established Indian territories and possible hostile neighbours and rival European Powers as we have seen in the previous chapter. That the British thought fit to intervene and stop the Burmese push westward beginning 1824, is testimony to this interest. The Burmese kingdom, with capital at Mandalay, would also come to be ultimately annexed into the British India Empire after the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, and Burma itself would become the next layer of buffer between core British territory and what Lord Curzon called `spheres of interest`™ of rival European power, the French. This too has been discussed.

The second interest was economic. The region, it was soon to be discovered, is rich in mineral and forest resources. Its potential as a tea growing area had already become evident. Robert Bruce, encountered wild tea growing in the Assam hills in 1823, and in the next few decades, tea gardens rapidly spread through the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys, causing land pressure and frictions between tea planters and local farmers. These lucrative expanding business interests obviously had to have security cover. Details of how the British charted out their ways to ensure a level security matching their needs and interests, cost effectively, has already been described in the chapter on militarisation of the Northeast.

A convenient entry point to start an assessment of the nature of British administration in the Northeast region would be to briefly refer to the history of the McMahon Line 1914 and the circumstances of its drawing. One of the consistent themes that run through all boundary making exercises of the British in their former colonies is the notion of the frontier, as distinct from a boundary. Here is how Sir Henry McMahon the man behind the McMahon Line described this notion. In his address to the royal society of Arts in 1935 he noted that `a frontier meant a wide tract of borderland which, because of its ruggedness or other difficulties, served as a buffer between two states. A boundary, on the other hand, was a clearly defined line expressed either as a verbal distinction, that is, `delimited`™, or as a series of physical marks on the ground that is `demarcated`™. The former thus signified roughly a region, while the latter was a positive and precise statement of the limits of sovereignty.`™

The Northeast in British hands began as a frontier therefore boundaries were ambiguous for a long time, and some of these ambiguities, in particular that of the McMahon Line, tragically still persists. This outlook is evident in the manner in which the British looked at the hill areas beyond the fertile alluvial plains of Assam. This is also again evident in Henry McMahon`™s effort to create a double layered Tibet, Inner Tibet and Outer Tibet, the southern overlapping perimeters of which would form the border between Tibet and India, during the Simla conference of 1913-1914. This will come up for a more detailed discussion later in this chapter. There are still more evidences of this frontier approach to the Northeast. As for instance, the notion of the `excluded area` and `partially excluded area` declared on 3 March 1936 when the Government of India Act, 1935, came into force, amounts to giving an institutional mandate to this outlook. Much earlier, in the administration of the tribal areas of the Northeast, this approach had been around in different avatars. Hence, by the Government of India Act, 1919, the territories that came to be categorised as `excluded areas` and `partially excluded areas`, were simply called as `backward tracts` and were left un-administered.

The Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation which was promulgated in the year 1873, can be said to be a prominent predecessor of these later declarations. The regulation created an `Inner Line` beyond which no British subject could cross without a permit. However, as if anticipating future misinterpretations, British authorities and commentators of the time repeatedly stated that the Inner Line did not constitute the international border. By implication though, beyond this Inner Line was an Outer Line. Some eminent scholars like Alastair Lamb claim the Outer Line was not just implied, but existed officially, thereby raising the question of where this Outer Line actually was. This is pertinent, for if this Outer Line did exist officially, it would mean this was where the international boundary was between British India and Tibet. Furthermore, the path of the Outer Line, Lamb contends in a map, is nearly identical to the Inner Line. It runs from the southern base of Bhutan along the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh right up to Nizamghat near Sadiya in the Lohit Valley.

Outer Line

The intriguing thing about this claim is, if the Inner Line and the Outer Line are either identical, or else are set apart by only a few kilometres, it does not make administrative sense. The British India government as well as the British home government denied there ever was an official Outer Line, and that the implied Outer Line, was always roughly where the McMahon Line was drawn in 1913-1914. Lamb himself notes that `the India Office, as we have seen, was already in November 1911 implying that the new Outer Line was really the same as the old Outer Line. The Indian Republic is still saying this today.`™ Tellingly however, while Lamb reproduces a number of maps showing separately the Inner Line and Outer Line, there is not one which has both the lines on the same map. He also acknowledges overlaps of the two in certain sectors: `The definition of the Inner line in Darrang and Lakhimpur Districts of Assam adjacent to the Himalayan range, which took place in 1875-6, rather tended to obscure the definition of the international boundary, or Outer Line, which was made here at the same time.`™

Lamb is so passionate about this theory of the existence of two lines that he would go to the extent of calling those who deny this as `apologists of the Indian side`™. Lamb further writes: `Of the existence of the Outer Line, however, there can be no real doubt. It has been implied in such instruments as the British agreement with some Abor gams… It followed the line of the foot of the hills a few miles to the north of what became the course of the Inner Line.`™ Two administrative boundaries running parallel to each other, one of which an international one, separated from each by only a few miles and even overlapping in certain sectors seems to defeat the very purpose these lines were meant for, that is, if at all an Outer Line officially existed.

There apparently were some inter-government exchanges of notes in which an Outer Line was referred to, but this could have been slips born out of bureaucratic mental lethargy so common especially in routine and mundane usage of references, and what was meant could have probably been the Inner Line itself, for unlike the Inner Line which came into existence by promulgation of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873, there exists no record of any ordinance or regulation or Act by which the Outer Line was created. Since Lamb`™s old `Outer Line`™ runs along the foothills of the Assam hills, this supposed `international boundary`™ excludes the present state of Arunachal Pradesh, somewhat giving credence to China`™s claim of this territory as South Tibet. Lamb claims this old `Outer Line`™ was later pushed northwards as a counter to a Chinese Forward Policy in the first decade of the 20th Century, to become the new `Outer Line`™. This new alignment is where the McMahon Line was to be drawn.

Nobody however disputes or can dispute the existence of the Inner Line which was created by a definite Regulation. The logic for introducing this line, even Lamb admits, is also far from ambiguous: `it was a device to create a buffer zone, as it were, between the international boundary and regularly administered territory, a tract which marked the transition between the tribal hills and the Assamese plains. By limiting access from the south to this area it was hoped to minimise the risk of trouble with the tribes. At the same time, tribesmen who crossed the international boundary from the north, but remained beyond the Inner Line, still passed under British jurisdiction should the authorities choose to exercise it`™.

Colonial historian Edward Gait has this explanation for the Inner Line in `A History of Assam`: `The unrestricted intercourse which formerly existed between British subjects in Assam and the wild tribes living across the frontier frequently led to quarrels and, sometimes, to serious disturbances. This was especially the case in connection with the traffic in rubber brought down by the hillmen, for which there was great competition. The opening out of tea gardens beyond the border-line also at times involved the Government in troublesome disputes with the frontier tribes in their vicinity.`™ In order to prevent the recurrence of these difficulties, `power was given to the local authorities by the Inner Line Regulation 1873 to prohibit British subjects generally, or those of specified classes, from going beyond a certain line laid down for the purpose without a pass or license issued by the Deputy Commissioner and containing such conditions as might seem necessary. As it was not always convenient to define the actual boundary of the British possessions, this line does not indicate the territorial frontier but only the limits of the administered area; it is known as `Inner Line`…`™ This line was `being prescribed merely for the above purpose, it does not in any way decide the sovereignty of the territory beyond. Such a line has been laid down along the northern, eastern and south-eastern borders of the Brahmaputra valley,`™ he further explains. These accounts also indicate how the Inner Line was amenable to changes as per the whim of the administration: `There was also formerly an Inner Line on the Lushai marches, but is has been allowed to fall into desuetude since our occupation of the Lushai hills.`™ Further, the other important purpose of the Inner Line was to limit the land grab by tea planters into the hills causing frictions between the administration and the hill tribes. `Planters are not allowed to acquire land beyond the Inner Line, either from the Government or from any local chief or tribe.`™

An important colonial administrator and author in the northeast, Alexander Mackenzie explained how this regulation was also meant to protect elephants against unauthorised captures. The Bengal Inner Line Regulation `gives power to the Lieutenant Governor (of Bengal and with responsibility for Assam) to prescribe a line, to be called `inner line` in which each and any of the districts affected, beyond which no British subjects of certain classes or foreign residents can pass without a license. The pass or license, when given, may be subject to such conditions as may appear necessary. And rules are laid down regarding trade, the possession of land beyond the line, and other matters, which give the executive Government an effective control. The regulation also provides for the preservation of elephants, and authorizes Government to lay down rules for their capture.`™

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/01/book-excerpt-frontier-to-boundary/